Put Customer Support out of Business

“The birth of the new constitutes a crisis, and its mastery calls for a crude and simple cast of mind -- the mind of a fighter -- in which the virtues of tribal cohesion and fierceness and infantile credulity and malleability are paramount. Thus every new beginning recapitulates in some degree man's first beginning.”

~ Eric Hoffer

Properly approached, Customer Support's evolutionary goal is to put itself out of business by transforming from a Cost Center to a Profit Center.

Correct utilization of a Customer Support department is to ascertain customers' needs, then systematize an automated solution. The vision is to comprehend your customer and provide for their needs and wants in the most simplistic and universal way. Ask yourself, "Why is your product(s) failing to meet all of your customers' needs up front?" A company cannot successfully blame the customer - this is an arrogant approach that seeks to excuse the company from accountability and stifles ingenuity.

Following are common evolutionary stages of Customer Support. Each stage represents a varied level of change in the culture of the Support division, but the complete evolutionary change will not be realized unless the changes are supported and implemented throughout the company. Hopefully by appreciating the stages listed below, companies may be able to avoid most pitfalls. Not all stages need to be gone through to realize the final product, but the lessons and growth of each is critical.

1. Scramble to get triage in place to address product / service failures. Provide answers, troubleshooting, and to place orders.
2. Evaluate internal processes to identify gaps in being able to assist customers (the gaps are typically the lack of knowledge and skills in employees, IT infrastructure issues, lack of operational efficiency, poor management, lack of empowerment, and a sense of disorganization because a lack of experience and knowledge at all levels).
3. Begin the cycle of process improvement to address gaps. Unfortunately, Customer Support progress is hindered by a lack of executive support in either finances or assistance. The executive level is notorious for viewing Support as a necessary evil and a financial black hole. NOTE: this is the point at which most evolution is stifled, and improvements are minimal, slow, and driven by fear of losing one's job. Most progress during this time can be attributed to those team members who take personal pride in not giving up and keep pushing.
4. Typically, the executive team believes that failures in Support are due to the inabilities of the Support staff. Consultants are commonly brought on to evaluate the needs of the Support division. The executive team commonly expects the consultants to provide them with information that supports their predetermined notions, and at times finds it hard to look beyond these notions.Executive team hires new leadership (permanent or consultants) to drive improvements. This is most likely needed since Support leadership is initially comprised of "buddies" of the founding executives, who do not contain the required skill-sets to take the division to the next level.
5. Determine customer contact drivers (items driving customers to call for support). This involves the categorization (qualification and quantification) of these drivers.
6. Evaluate the contact drivers for areas to improve Support processes. The identification of gaps now loops in contact drivers.
7. Realization that new / improved IT tools need to be put into place to properly support the customer, product life-cycles, maintain legal history, and capture data for further evaluation.
8. With a new plateau of progress in cost savings and revenue generation, executive team brings in a new set of consultants to change the culture of the Support division. These changes typically involve the development of management skills, better approaches to resolving issues (customer and employee), performance-based incentives, and an occasional leadership change if there are significant issues. It is recommended that the consultant perform "skip-level" interviews with "lower-level" staff (including front-line, supervisors, and etc.) to get a more complete picture of the division and areas of opportunity.
9. Based upon consultant recommendations, new processes, procedures, operational structures, and etc. are typically implemented.
10. Customer satisfaction data collection and evaluation. The identification of gaps now loops in the needs and wants of customers. This is a huge evolutionary step.
11. Set attainable, yet aggressive, goals on improving customer satisfaction. Goals need to have measurable components to track and report progress.
12. Implement process / product / service improvement teams. The feedback and goals should be 360, with insights being provided and utilized by all divisions of the company - executive financial commitments, product development, Support empowerment, and etc.
13. The final ingredients require: A) a company culture that is cohesive and committed 360 (across all divisions); 2) A comprehensive view of contact drivers and customer satisfaction needs. With these items in place, the company will be better able to design products / services that transform the front-line Support team to not only become part of the product / service, but a "value-add" - an enhancement to the company's products and services.
14. The Support division becomes a part of the company, not just a "clean-up" team.

The moral is: To realize the evolutionary change from Cost Center to Profit Center the culture change must occur throughout the entire company and not just a division. The Support division is part of the product / service that the company is offering. Like a chain, the product / service is only as good as the poorest quality component. Make Support your strongest component... because it will drive the quality of the whole.

~ Jason Saetrum

Customers Really Don't Want Your Product!

"Customers really don't want your product, they want what it provides."

~ Jason Saetrum

Many, not all, companies and manufactures do not understand what they are selling. They are trying to sell a) tables and chairs, b) computers and software, or c) cars. But that's not what consumers are purchasing. Consumers are purchasing:

- a) a place to enjoy time with their family - eating dinner or playing games.

- b) reliable tools that allow them to make money, play games, or build memories with digital photos.

- c) status symbols, an adrenaline rush, and safety for those they love.

If you want to make money, be successful, solve concerns and issues, make things better - you need to start with understanding what makes people tick. What drives them - their motivations. It is said that there are two forms of motivation - internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic). You can also study Herzberg's and Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a starting point - BUT - don't let the conjecture get in your way of imagination and appreciation for society's needs and wants.

Honestly, keep a small journal at your side at all times. Spend time looking at people and ask yourself over and over the following types of questions:

- Why did they buy that car, those clothes, that jar of food, and etc.?

- What is in their way of having an easier life, what is making them make the extra effort?

- What would make them happy, or happier? If they had more money, what would they choose? (Not that money is the panacea, but because that is what corporate profits are made of).

- What are they, or what would they rather be, spending their time on?

- (I hate to bring this one up, but...) How can we help them be more lazy in getting what they want?

- There are more, but the key is to "listen" to people's words, tone of voice, actions, facial expressions, what worries them, and etc, etc.

~ Jason Saetrum

Success vs. Customer Support

"The need for Customer Support predominately exists because of Company failures."
~ Jason Saetrum

SOLUTION

• When ever a product, document, or tool is checked for understanding and quality a company should not just use an expert QC employee. They should have a team of four:    1) the Expert (Subject Matter Expert), 2) the Extreme Novice, 3) someone on the Front-line, and 4) the all important "Mis-matcher." DO NOT REVEAL OR ADVERTISE WHO PLAYS WHICH ROLE IN THE TEAM.

 The "EXPERTS" (SMEs) come in the most "sizes and shapes." From the manager's best buddy, to the most arrogant, the most tenured, engineers, the quality control rep, etc, etc. You will want to pick the person who is the most committed to the product. They may be the ones who tend to be the most defensive about the product because they take change and feedback as a reflection on them and that they may have a "defect." Things usually have to be their idea - they want you to bring them a problem and let them solve it. They thrive in an atmosphere of autonomy, the "biggest, baddest" tools, sincere gratitude and acknowledgment, and a listening ear (bribing with caffeine and Krispy Kreme donuts goes a long way too.)

• You may run into issues with the Expert belittling your other team members for not knowing the "obvious" and shooting them down for their ideas (FYI - this is one of the reasons that your product / service is not as good as it could be). On the flip-side, the Expert is one of the key reasons that your product is as good as it is.

 The "EXTREME NOVICE" is someone who will generally be quiet because they feel inferior to the other team members. It is important to try and give them first attention - preferably before the team meetings. Remember to always write down their feedback, it validates their experience and observations. These team members represent the majority of your customers. With your experience, their feedback will commonly appear inconsequential and tiring, but they are your customer. They are driving the calls, complaints, company opinions, emails, letters, AND the good words about your company to their friends.

• Note: as time goes by, your Novice may become "too educated" and can be moved to a different position in the company. Expect to rotate through Novices. This will keep your touch with the consumer fresh and user-friendly.

The "FRONT-LINE" individual is the customer-facing person who interacts with / touches the customer everyday. Whether it be the customer service rep on the phone, a sales person from a retailer, or etc. This is the person where the "rubber meets the road." They are the "face" of the company. Every interaction that they have with a customer they want to resolve their concern / issue. They tend to be the most creative - they are only limited by the company's policies and the engineers' designs. These are the folks who get the most frustrated because they don't feel like they are listened to.

• You find that you have the highest turnover with this group. You spend the most money on their training - then because they turn over so quickly - the money spent on training becomes too expensive and the management looks for ways to cut training costs and speed up the training because they're running low on these employees. In this day and age, the "Information Age," Human Capital becomes the most important resource. Embrace It!

A word on the "MIS-MATCHER" - this is an employee that is bright, but is commonly "flagged" as someone who is negative, goes out of their way to be heard, can be somewhat offensive, has a problem with authority, etc. You get the point.

Even Microsoft understands - re: the "Crabby Office Lady" (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/FX101679371033.aspx)

• The key here is to not let them know that this is their position in the team. They need to be asked or assigned to this team because you value their insight. Don't overplay it, or it comes across as a setup - which it is not. They are invaluable because they will give you a completely different perspective on things that you won't get any other way. You may have a team of experts, but they operate on the same principles and their insight will be limited to their experiences - but the world is made up of many people who operate on different principles and experiences. It will be your "Mis-matcher" that will push the envelope (and yes, everyone's patience) and bring the opposite view. Experts will only take you so far. You want all types of customers, and you want to make them pleased with your products and services.

• Note: your patience will be tried, the "Mis-matcher" will most likely have to be reigned in at times and they may withdraw for a bit, but their desire to be heard will bring them out of it. You may have others complain, or even want them fired because they "don't fit in." As the leader you will have to keep these things close to your vest and lead / facilitate the team to solutions.

Leading and facilitating teams is an art and can be the difference between your company's evolution or dissolution. I will discuss this more later.

~ Jason Saetrum

Between Here and There

"The difference between "Here and There" is "Here and Hear."

~ Jason Saetrum

Companies spend tens-of-thousands and millions of dollars on making their companies successful and to imbue that mindset into their employees. They setup financial incentive programs, leadership training, hands-on exercises, labs, reading material, self-help tools, computer and web-based training modules, mentors, teams, better and better knowledge bases, competitions, prizes, and awards.

Try setting up "Solution Teams." An incentive that allows high-performing, front-line employees the privilege to devise and present ideas on how to improve company products, services, and processes. This is not a full-time position because the cutting-edge thoughts come from being in the "trenches." Employees are allowed time away from their duties to develop ideas and solutions that would make the customers happier. It is these high-performing employees that are striving and successful at making customers satisfied. You want to clone their solutions and abilities.

In the technology industry, ideas such as the Restore CD, placing labels in easier to find places, color-coding the connecting components on the back of the PC, product setup posters, and etc. came from such teams as these. These solutions have cut down calls to companies, reduced returns, and sped-up the resolution to problems.

Companies need to empower their employees with knowledge and trust and delegate responsibility and accountability. Then quickly follow-up with genuine acknowledgment and praise. Only then will they see the true effectiveness of their company initiatives and incentives.

~ Jason Saetrum

"I" Am Part of "Us"

There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit."

~ Pres. Ronald Reagan

Photos from www.motorsport.com 

~ Jason Saetrum

If You Want a Thing Bad Enough

If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it
If only desire of it makes you quite mad enough never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry and cheap for it
If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,
If gladly you'll sweat for it, fret for it, plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,
If you'll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity, strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,
If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,
If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You'll get it!

~ Berton Braley