Recently I spoke to two major brands regarding customer experience measurement. One was a well known fast food chain of franchises and the other was a major retailer. Our conversation flowed towards the obvious- social media. Both companies utilized best in class monitoring software (Radian 6 to be specific ) and had an internal team of two full time employees who were in charge of mining the data and producing reports that revealed a wealth of information about each brand and their competitors.
They are on the right track I thought. Up to recently, many brands did not feel it important to listen to what people were discussing about them online. However, most recently things have started to change. Market researchers are now finding value in “Social Research” and adding this service to their portfolio. Companies like the ones mentioned here actually have an internal department who keeps their finger on the pulse 24/7. Smart? Well, maybe.
So what’s the problem you ask? Well in my experience many times there is no marriage of the data so to speak. Because most companies have decided this function belongs to the marketing department. Marketing is collecting the data and analyzing it but it stays there. In the marketing silo. Next you have the operations silo- they are responsible for the district manager audits, the mystery shopping program, interacting with employees, etc.. Customer Loyalty (if there is one) is in charge of the loyalty program and analyzing that data to further the program. Perhaps we can throw in customer feedback in the mix as well.
I could go on but you get the idea. Imagine if all the silos worked together for the benefit of the company and it’s customers. Leveraging internal customer satisfaction data and knowledge would give any company a competitive advantage in my opinion.
How does your company handle this issue? Please share your thoughts with us.
