More than Customer Satisfaction: A Case Study in Engagement

Only a few years ago, providing good customer service meant managing a call center to field complaints. The advent of the digital age and the resulting individualization of everything from publishing to advertising have lead consumers to expect more from service providers. Customer satisfaction is no longer enough - now, innovative companies are using increasingly sophisticated customer feedback mechanisms in a quest for fully engaged consumers who are emotionally connected to their favorite brands. In fact, the New York Times reported on March 24th that some companies are even using Twitter to find and respond to customer complaints. In today’s customer service 2.0 world, winning companies are engaging both employees and consumers across several forms of media.

PeopleMetrics’ research shows that companies with high customer engagement enjoy significantly higher ROA, ROI, ROE, EPA, and Gross Margin.

Securing passionate, engaged companies begins with the employees who interact with customers on a daily basis. If a company’s employees are engaged and passionate about providing excellent customer service, customers are more likely to be engaged as well. This is especially true in service industries such as banking, hotels, and retail, where employees interact with customers on a day-to-day basis.

PeopleMetrics measures the engagement of employees and customers according to four standards: Retention, Effort, Advocacy, and Passion. Fully engaged customers and employees are loyal, put forth their best effort, advocate for the brand, and are passionate about their love for a company. When both customers and employees demonstrate these attributes, a customer centric culture is achieved.

To show how an organization can increase customer and employee engagement, let’s look how PeopleMetrics helped one company, Signature Flight, create a customer centric culture.

First, a little background information. Signature Flight provides fueling, hangar and office rentals, ground handling, passenger services, maintenance, fuel purchasing and deicing services at more than 75 locations throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. With increasing competition and the commoditization of aviation services, customer and employee engagement are key to Signature Flight’s goal of being the leading Fixed Base Operator (FBO) in safety and customer service.

The first step in Signature Flight’s plan to build a customer centric culture was gathering customer feedback, so they turned to PeopleMetrics. PeopleMetrics implemented their Customer Engagement Management solution, which allowed Signature Flight to gather customer opinions through email and point-of-service surveys.

This customer feedback is made available to Signature Flight’s managers through real time email alerts and an online hub. Email Alerts are color-coded so managers can easily tell whether immediate action should be taken to address an Alert. Positive comments are blue, while complaints are red. In addition to sending Alerts directly to managers, they are filed in an online hub that allows managers to view customer feedback, track progress on actions taken, and share results from these actions. This system has created a new level of transparency throughout the organization and enables senior management to keep a daily pulse on service quality.

On the employee side, celebrating exceptional customer service is crucial in creating a customer centric culture. PeopleMetrics’ technology allows positive blue alerts to be emailed to entire teams so they can celebrate the excellent work of individual employees. Signature Flight has also implemented a recognition program for employees who receive the most positive comments from clients. This is constant motivation for employees to deliver outstanding customer service.

Signature Flight has been able to re-engage otherwise frustrated clients through this customer feedback system. As an example, one customer complained, "Last time I was in here there was a computer problem; it took over 45 minutes to get me fueled and to get it paid for." Upon completion of this customer’s survey, an Alert was immediately sent to the appropriate manager. The manager responded by investigating the details of the problem and quickly addressing the customer’s concerns. Furthermore, Signature Flight took advantage of this customer’s feedback by implementing a new system and discussing the issue in the next manager meeting. As a result, Signature Flight earned a loyal, engaged customer, saw a significant improvement in operations, and shared this "best practice" with all their airport locations.

By using PeopleMetrics’ Customer Engagement Management tool, Signature Flight enhanced their brand image and enjoyed a competitive advantage in a competitive industry. Most important, by embedding the Voice of the Consumer in their organization, sharing best practices, and giving employees incentives to provide exceptional customer service, Signature Flight created a truly customer centric culture and enjoyed fully engaged customers and employees.

More Than Customer Satisfaction
PeopleMetrics, Inc.