I admire Ruby on Rails applications. Something about the API and the Web 2.0 applications built upon Rails leads to satisfying visual and interaction experiences. Review any of the applications in the 37Signals suit to see these qualities.
Today I read on TechCrunch that ZenDesk, makers of a capable online support portal and help/support desk application, has secured additional funding and picked up a powerful board member, Peter Fenton.
For years, players like RightNow have pushed a quasi-Open-Source support solutions - in their case a PHP underpinning but ultimately their platform is closed and from the old-school of knowledgebase tools and help-desk solutions. Now we see a new breed of support and help-desk software emerge informed by Web 2.0 principles. HelpStream is another player to watch.
I read idea couture's white paper, An Executive Guide to Social Media by Edwin Lee with Scott Friedmann. They summarize clearly why Web 2.0 matters in support:
"social media is not about the technology...not just about the blogs, forums, social networks, etc. It's about how technology enables the 4C's that apply to consumers: connectivity, conversations, co-creation and community. The train has left the station and long gone are the days when companies wielded near absolute control over their messaging. Consumers are holding their own discussions about your brand and re-mixing the messages as they please."
We will inevitably grow tired of Twitter and FaceBook in a years time and move our conversations elsewhere. Supporting technology products may become like immunology for influenza - you adapt quickly and expect change but the basic principles of taking care of customers don't change.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Death of a thousand cuts. Life of a thousand caresses.
Your company will grow loyalty and revenue through attention to the small details (and the big ones). You have to be paying attention and be willing to fix the long tail of small niggles and annoyances. This was my fleeting thought yesterday as I mused a small facet of customer care for a new product my company is working on.
Consider the seemingly simple issue of software rights on your computer. I purchase a PC and then purchase and register, for that PC, a single-license copy of Adobe Acrobat. There are a number of scenarios that may play out in my PC life-cycle that show how customer expectations and needs should be anticipated.
Consider the seemingly simple issue of software rights on your computer. I purchase a PC and then purchase and register, for that PC, a single-license copy of Adobe Acrobat. There are a number of scenarios that may play out in my PC life-cycle that show how customer expectations and needs should be anticipated.
- I may need to have the PC repaired which results in the PC itself being replaced by a B-stock unit. Now I need to re-register the software on that PC and de-register the old PC.
- I decide to get a new PC and wish to bring the software to the new PC. There are two issues here - perhaps the version of Windows or OS X does not match the requirements for Acrobat. Also I am assuming that Adobe allows license transfer to another PC outside of a repair scenario.
- I decide to sell the PC and I bundle my software with the sale. What are the rights of the purchaser for support, upgrades, resale etc.?
- I give the PC to a family member. What rights does that person inherit around the Acrobat software?
- I die and the PC is inherited by a relative. What rights does that person inherit for the Acrobat software?
- I get spy ware on my PC and I wipe the disk and start over installing everything afresh. I lose the tokens that Adobe stored on my PC for registration and need to re-verify my license.
It seems to me that consumers don't need to be exposed to the complexities of these scenarios and should be insulated from the complexities of re-registration. Consumer rights should be clearly stated in non-legal understandable language - just like nutrition labeling but also in legalese to satisfy lawyers' needs.
So much needless interaction goes on regarding DRM and license protections. These transactions could be handled more elegantly using centralized processes for license and ownership management. Simplicity and consistency are key principles.
A good example of an ownership pain point - Apple iTunes store does not allow re-download of music that has been purchased. Amazon responds with the ability to download your purchased music repeatedly. In a digital era, I would not mind paying a small fee to Amazon or Apple for this service - I know the bandwidth and data maintenance costs a modest amount. The value to me of knowing I can re-download gives me the freedom to avoid using a home network backup solution.
Software migration and ownership transfer feels like an area of small cuts right now. Small cuts collectively feel like a big wound and a disincentive to trade. Small caresses are harder to execute but are so valuable to the customer; download Firefox and you notice how thoughtful the whole process is. Not only is this software free but the experience of acquisition is beautifully managed - auto-detection of OS to prevent offering multiple possible downloads, immediate forwarding to a welcome & help page once you start the download, collection of survey data if you choose to un-install.
From my small examples above, I can share that I rarely purchase from iTunes store but I readily purchase from Amazon. I have warm feelings for the Mozilla foundation but am neutral about Microsoft and IE.
You have to have the fundamentals right in your product. But customer satisfaction often comes from the additional gloss of the many small thoughtful details in delivery and life-cycle management. Apply thought to the long tail of small tasks that customers experience. I choose life - the life of a thousand caresses.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Website redesign lessons
When you go through a corporate site re-branding and restructure, beware the consequences for your support site efficiency. Here are some key factors to consider:
1. A design agency is likely to know almost nothing about support site usability. Don't assume they know anything even if client example sites included a support section. Designers tend to have a strong voice in homogenizing site features.
2. Search design is critical to your success. That is, placement of the search box(es), global controls over collections and organization of search results.
3. Evaluate top-down design decisions for your customers. Using flashy animated elements or elements that do not work well with older browsers, may not make your customers happy.
4. Consider how Web 2.0 elements may newly assist customers.
5. Consider the importance of URL consistency. How much redirection will be needed and how much you will need to redirect to generic areas like the home page of support.
6. Battle the righteous fight with your Marketing group if they attempt to make it difficult for customers to identify your individual product SKUs. Marketing and Sales departments think about now and the future. Customer Service groups think about now and the past.
7. Customers may understand support lifecycle management as a principle but they understand it like taxes; a necessary evil. Keep older content even if it does not meet the branding guidelines but make it clear that the customer uses it unsupported and at their own risk.
8. Your KPI measures may be harder to measure in recessionary times or the tools available may differ at the end of the project. Be ready to be flexible on KPI measurement.
9. Do your homework before the redesign to establish the relative importance of your support within your web ecosphere. It's a bit like division of Antarctica - control the appropriately sized slice of the cake.
Customer Support groups need to protect brand loyalty and the support & service value that customers purchase. The cost of service and support is part of your COGS in a B2C product. It's a long term play but one worth protecting for a faster recovery from constrained times.
1. A design agency is likely to know almost nothing about support site usability. Don't assume they know anything even if client example sites included a support section. Designers tend to have a strong voice in homogenizing site features.
2. Search design is critical to your success. That is, placement of the search box(es), global controls over collections and organization of search results.
3. Evaluate top-down design decisions for your customers. Using flashy animated elements or elements that do not work well with older browsers, may not make your customers happy.
4. Consider how Web 2.0 elements may newly assist customers.
5. Consider the importance of URL consistency. How much redirection will be needed and how much you will need to redirect to generic areas like the home page of support.
6. Battle the righteous fight with your Marketing group if they attempt to make it difficult for customers to identify your individual product SKUs. Marketing and Sales departments think about now and the future. Customer Service groups think about now and the past.
7. Customers may understand support lifecycle management as a principle but they understand it like taxes; a necessary evil. Keep older content even if it does not meet the branding guidelines but make it clear that the customer uses it unsupported and at their own risk.
8. Your KPI measures may be harder to measure in recessionary times or the tools available may differ at the end of the project. Be ready to be flexible on KPI measurement.
9. Do your homework before the redesign to establish the relative importance of your support within your web ecosphere. It's a bit like division of Antarctica - control the appropriately sized slice of the cake.
Customer Support groups need to protect brand loyalty and the support & service value that customers purchase. The cost of service and support is part of your COGS in a B2C product. It's a long term play but one worth protecting for a faster recovery from constrained times.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Extract from ASP paper - The Great Customer Experience
Jeffrey Tarter kindly included my contribution in the Association of Support Professionals report entitled, "The Great Customer Experience". Here's the extract of my portion:
"Measured response is best; the Wow! factor is unnecessary for most customer support interactions. Only if a situation warrants it, should the customer service experience be delivered in a surprising way. For example, you walk in expecting a fight over a warranty claim; you explain the situation passionately, the store assistant grants you leeway and you get what you wanted. By contrast, in a routine scenario, the measured response should be efficient and consistent. Overdoing the response seems wasteful and a bit like overbearing hosts who over-serve guests in their home. The guests may be unlikely to return. I am personally most impressed by efficiency and clarity coupled with thoughtful policy.
Occasionally you come across examples of innovation in customer service where there is a major step forward in both business and customer goals. Apple’s move to allow returns through stores is a good example of this. Apple gets the opportunity to screen devices using Genius Bar staff before they get shipped to distant repair centers. This disambiguates software issues from hardware issues, reduces unnecessary shipping traffic and gives the customer a feeling that they are being dealt with by well-qualified staff. Apple lined up many stars to make such an innovation possible. Others can emulate this kind of retail experience using remote-control tools, self-service troubleshooters and clear policy.
Research on the topic of service recovery suggests that a customer is more likely to be dissatisfied with your company if you handle an escalation from a customer experience poorly, than if you did nothing at all. Despite the best will in the world, customers will have bad experiences when interacting with support and service; policies are utilitarian by nature and so exclude outlier scenarios. I believe the take-home from both Apple and the research on service recovery is the simple human need for connection with the company; if the product not only functions well but the company officers care enough to provide efficient customer service, then the customer may feel disposed to keep paying their salaries by buying another ‘reliable’ product. Reliability is not just about hardware. If your corporation operationally splits the cost of support, the cost of warranty and the cost of customer retention (and acquisition), then you should create alliances on the back-end to ensure your internal groups are all investing in the customer relationship, in concert.
Great customer support experiences are like small clouds that pass through the sky fleetingly, there and then gone. The direct product experience is the main show."
"Measured response is best; the Wow! factor is unnecessary for most customer support interactions. Only if a situation warrants it, should the customer service experience be delivered in a surprising way. For example, you walk in expecting a fight over a warranty claim; you explain the situation passionately, the store assistant grants you leeway and you get what you wanted. By contrast, in a routine scenario, the measured response should be efficient and consistent. Overdoing the response seems wasteful and a bit like overbearing hosts who over-serve guests in their home. The guests may be unlikely to return. I am personally most impressed by efficiency and clarity coupled with thoughtful policy.
Occasionally you come across examples of innovation in customer service where there is a major step forward in both business and customer goals. Apple’s move to allow returns through stores is a good example of this. Apple gets the opportunity to screen devices using Genius Bar staff before they get shipped to distant repair centers. This disambiguates software issues from hardware issues, reduces unnecessary shipping traffic and gives the customer a feeling that they are being dealt with by well-qualified staff. Apple lined up many stars to make such an innovation possible. Others can emulate this kind of retail experience using remote-control tools, self-service troubleshooters and clear policy.
Research on the topic of service recovery suggests that a customer is more likely to be dissatisfied with your company if you handle an escalation from a customer experience poorly, than if you did nothing at all. Despite the best will in the world, customers will have bad experiences when interacting with support and service; policies are utilitarian by nature and so exclude outlier scenarios. I believe the take-home from both Apple and the research on service recovery is the simple human need for connection with the company; if the product not only functions well but the company officers care enough to provide efficient customer service, then the customer may feel disposed to keep paying their salaries by buying another ‘reliable’ product. Reliability is not just about hardware. If your corporation operationally splits the cost of support, the cost of warranty and the cost of customer retention (and acquisition), then you should create alliances on the back-end to ensure your internal groups are all investing in the customer relationship, in concert.
Great customer support experiences are like small clouds that pass through the sky fleetingly, there and then gone. The direct product experience is the main show."
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
iPhone return rates - reflecting on a SquareTrade study
SquareTrade Inc released a perceived reliability study of iPhone versus Blackberry versus Treo smartphones. The study is designed to draw attention to SquareTrade to sell more extended warranty and insurance products. However their role in receiving warranted product places them in a position to gather data that can be useful to the industry. Similar warranty players include Warrantech, Asurion and Assurant.
MarketWatch commented, "The study, based on data from over 15,000 phones, finds that only 5.6% of iPhone users reported a device malfunction in the first year of ownership, compared with 11.9% of BlackBerry owners and a staggering 16.2% of Treo owners."
While a proportion of failures may be genuine hardware failures, the number of no trouble found (aka. NTF) is usually the vast majority. By NTF, the industry means that upon inspection at the repair facilities, the smartphone had nothing wrong with it by reference to the specifications in the repair process. This does not mean that the customer has misperceived. The customer in most cases perceived a frustration or failure. The revelation of NTF is that products are not necessarily acceptable or supportible in a cost-effective way. This is a multi-million dollar puzzle that iPhone's creators seem to understand better than most. The carbon-footprint of all these returns and refurbishments is staggering. What a waste of materials and effort.
While I am not directly involved in NTF reduction, here is my perception of why iPhone is doing so well in customer acceptance (not returning the phone):
MarketWatch commented, "The study, based on data from over 15,000 phones, finds that only 5.6% of iPhone users reported a device malfunction in the first year of ownership, compared with 11.9% of BlackBerry owners and a staggering 16.2% of Treo owners."
While a proportion of failures may be genuine hardware failures, the number of no trouble found (aka. NTF) is usually the vast majority. By NTF, the industry means that upon inspection at the repair facilities, the smartphone had nothing wrong with it by reference to the specifications in the repair process. This does not mean that the customer has misperceived. The customer in most cases perceived a frustration or failure. The revelation of NTF is that products are not necessarily acceptable or supportible in a cost-effective way. This is a multi-million dollar puzzle that iPhone's creators seem to understand better than most. The carbon-footprint of all these returns and refurbishments is staggering. What a waste of materials and effort.
While I am not directly involved in NTF reduction, here is my perception of why iPhone is doing so well in customer acceptance (not returning the phone):
- Apple reliability is hard won through rigorous hardware design and testing.
- Apple has a true commitment to fix customer frustrations and bugs (primarily in the software)
- And the icing on the cake is an update mechanism that is mindlessly simple to execute.
- The tolerance level for a beautiful device is much higher than for one which is perceived as less stylish or outmoded.
- Apple is controlling the customer care experience in stores and at their call centers (not through ATT call centers and ATT outsourcers.) The Apple KM process extends to all those who authorize returns.
- There are few understanding gaps with iPhone - the complex has been rendered simple or omitted from view. No one needs to see an APN configuration dialog such as you see in Windows Mobile or Palm OS.
- The iPhone rarely causes user frustration. It has foibles but it generally behaves well. You can be certain that all products receive a usability audit.
- iPhone has unrivaled features you cannot get elsewhere - the web browser is still the best mobile browsing experience.
- Apple has re-engaged the enthusiasm once felt by Palm OS customers by creating a marketplace for applications to enhance the experience and raise the investment commitment level of its customers.
- Apple brand is both strong and aspirational. Who does not like the instant kudos of being associated with an aspirational brand. This is a double edged sword if Apple should misstep.
- Apple in my experience is good at creating reliability for the warranty period. The report also commented upon this. Second year reliability is a concern. If this is a conscious choice by Apple, it is not something to be proud of.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The culture of care
I admire products that subtly exude care; a caring about quality. Good parents are like this too - they abide courageously with the good and the bad from their child. In the context of a product, I regard care as responsible attention to detail. Many technology products have trendy feature-sets but they have foibles that were overlooked, ignored or missed. Usable, delightful, fit for purpose, non-abusive material, non-abusive manufacturing process, fairly priced, consistent and delivered in a timely way, these are the attributes of carefully designed products.
I have a Sangean WiFi radio in my home. It's a wonderful radio with rich tones and easy setup. I use it to listen to radio stations from home and BBC on-demand programs. I set up my favorite podcast on Reciva.com (the companion site to most WiFi radios - where you store your favorites). But when I play a podcast, the radio often resets or restarts the podcast 10 minutes into playback. My guess is that Sangean skimped on the buffer memory for streaming. It makes me feel bad about the whole radio but I have resigned myself to streaming the podcast from my PC using the PC-share feature.
Consistency is one of the main factors of care. To maintain intrinsic quality, demonstrates grit and intelligent stubbornness. Apple is one of the brands that comes to mind when I think of a high-level of care and attention to detail. Their success was hard won over a long period; it is not a 'flash-in-the-pan' success. Professional artists and academics require rigorous and consistent quality standards if they are to perform and feel willing to re-purchase. It may seem like you are buying just another laptop when you buy a MacBook but you get professional-grade audio and video playback facilities as standard. The reason Apple computers have an aura of cool is because professionals recognized this quality early on and continued to use these products. People who aspired to be like these artists noticed and followed suit without necessarily understanding the linkage.
To excel at technological choices, takes luck and takes careful tending of the supply chain. I like to think of any purchase as an act of drawing up material from the earth. It is like sucking water through a hose. By taking a plastic bag in Safeway, you are driving the bag supply chain to deliver more to that Safeway store. The bag manufacturer uses oil to produce the bag plastics, package the bulk materials and to deliver the bags to that store. The oil companies literally take the material from the earth. It all sounds obvious but it requires effort and care to think about it repeatedly. Being willfully grateful is the answer. Purchasing is a privilege and should not be indulged mindlessly.
The current downturn in economics can be viewed as a time for the supply-chain and the vacuum-hose of manufacturing to allow the earth to rest. Less money in your pocket means more care with selection of your purchases - by necessity. The same economics drove Toyota Prius sales when petrol prices skyrocketed in the summer of 2008. This change in demand also drives manufacturers to supply goods that are appropriate to a more selective customer base. In reality, lower price goods or high-quality mid-tier goods will sell. For my next post, I plan to research how spending patterns changed in former deep recessions to see how it affected product quality and environmental impact.
I have a Sangean WiFi radio in my home. It's a wonderful radio with rich tones and easy setup. I use it to listen to radio stations from home and BBC on-demand programs. I set up my favorite podcast on Reciva.com (the companion site to most WiFi radios - where you store your favorites). But when I play a podcast, the radio often resets or restarts the podcast 10 minutes into playback. My guess is that Sangean skimped on the buffer memory for streaming. It makes me feel bad about the whole radio but I have resigned myself to streaming the podcast from my PC using the PC-share feature.
Consistency is one of the main factors of care. To maintain intrinsic quality, demonstrates grit and intelligent stubbornness. Apple is one of the brands that comes to mind when I think of a high-level of care and attention to detail. Their success was hard won over a long period; it is not a 'flash-in-the-pan' success. Professional artists and academics require rigorous and consistent quality standards if they are to perform and feel willing to re-purchase. It may seem like you are buying just another laptop when you buy a MacBook but you get professional-grade audio and video playback facilities as standard. The reason Apple computers have an aura of cool is because professionals recognized this quality early on and continued to use these products. People who aspired to be like these artists noticed and followed suit without necessarily understanding the linkage.
To excel at technological choices, takes luck and takes careful tending of the supply chain. I like to think of any purchase as an act of drawing up material from the earth. It is like sucking water through a hose. By taking a plastic bag in Safeway, you are driving the bag supply chain to deliver more to that Safeway store. The bag manufacturer uses oil to produce the bag plastics, package the bulk materials and to deliver the bags to that store. The oil companies literally take the material from the earth. It all sounds obvious but it requires effort and care to think about it repeatedly. Being willfully grateful is the answer. Purchasing is a privilege and should not be indulged mindlessly.
The current downturn in economics can be viewed as a time for the supply-chain and the vacuum-hose of manufacturing to allow the earth to rest. Less money in your pocket means more care with selection of your purchases - by necessity. The same economics drove Toyota Prius sales when petrol prices skyrocketed in the summer of 2008. This change in demand also drives manufacturers to supply goods that are appropriate to a more selective customer base. In reality, lower price goods or high-quality mid-tier goods will sell. For my next post, I plan to research how spending patterns changed in former deep recessions to see how it affected product quality and environmental impact.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Judging the ASP Online Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2008
I have judged the http://www.asponline.com/ annual web support site awards for a couple of years. I took a break for two years and am back this year again. I got my packet of review materials from five entrants late last week. In past years I have had more entries for companies whose sites I admire. This year I received entries for lesser known companies or more B2B companies.
So selfishly, I have less to learn from the entry essays this year but there are always nuggets of wisdom to be found.
Outside of the competition, I have noticed some interesting trends that are not yet captured in the judging guidelines. For example, Web 2.0 seems to be almost ignored by larger technology sites. I note Dell as a major exception here - they have created a progressive customer engagement site, Dell Community. The components are video (delivered via a Flash UI), Ideas (an ideas exchange), Forums (the same as the old forums but a good Lithium forum implementation) and Blogs. There are a few other elements here like Wikis and Podcasts and RSS that hark to an older form of engagement. So what is progressive about this? Video - the video player uses real technicians and engineers to show and tell. The player directly links to the buy-path of the products shown. Videos can be rated and commented upon. The ideas exchange is a place for customers to directly tell Dell product marketing people and support people what the feel about the products now and how they want Dell products to be shaped in the future. Another company who embraces this idea is Lego - Mindstorms is a classic example of direct customer engagement. Lego is openly discussing new feature choices with key customer segment volunteers.
Another trend missing in the ASP judging guidelines is the trend towards integrated support that is both visible and invisible to the customer. Broadband vendors have embraced vendors like SupportSoft to help them with the multifarious connectivity issues in phone, cable and multi-play scenarios. You barely see the software unless a problem arises. Even when you do see it, the software is auto-checking the issue - interaction is rarely needed. Symantec doploys chat tools and knowledgebase directly embedded in the product interface - Norton 360 is a good example of this. Look at any Microsoft Office product to see integrated knowledgebase right in the product UI. Why assume that a customer will know to go to your website. In the case of Microsoft, it is a gamble that they would find the right section of your site to get the help they need. Present the help where it is needed and give yourself the opportunity to update the messaging and to gather rich usage data. Support Chat is much more than it seems on the surface - it implies so much more when you see what comes with it - it usually is allied to a scripting tool - somewhat like BAT files - which allows remote computer discovery and the ability to effect changes remotely. Initiating a Chat session can trigger a set of self-checking routines that make a customer interaction with a support agent unnecessary. If your PC is acting badly because the CPU is overloaded, the auto-checking scripts can find this quickly and alert you before you get thru to a person. It's easier for the customer and saves CSR time.
In short, I see much web support today (2008) based around a transactional break-fix and search/navigate model. I believe the next generation of support will be much more about customer engagement, sharing, rating and automated self-diagnosis. The B2B area may take longer to embrace this but there are signs that this area is catching on too.
So selfishly, I have less to learn from the entry essays this year but there are always nuggets of wisdom to be found.
Outside of the competition, I have noticed some interesting trends that are not yet captured in the judging guidelines. For example, Web 2.0 seems to be almost ignored by larger technology sites. I note Dell as a major exception here - they have created a progressive customer engagement site, Dell Community. The components are video (delivered via a Flash UI), Ideas (an ideas exchange), Forums (the same as the old forums but a good Lithium forum implementation) and Blogs. There are a few other elements here like Wikis and Podcasts and RSS that hark to an older form of engagement. So what is progressive about this? Video - the video player uses real technicians and engineers to show and tell. The player directly links to the buy-path of the products shown. Videos can be rated and commented upon. The ideas exchange is a place for customers to directly tell Dell product marketing people and support people what the feel about the products now and how they want Dell products to be shaped in the future. Another company who embraces this idea is Lego - Mindstorms is a classic example of direct customer engagement. Lego is openly discussing new feature choices with key customer segment volunteers.
Another trend missing in the ASP judging guidelines is the trend towards integrated support that is both visible and invisible to the customer. Broadband vendors have embraced vendors like SupportSoft to help them with the multifarious connectivity issues in phone, cable and multi-play scenarios. You barely see the software unless a problem arises. Even when you do see it, the software is auto-checking the issue - interaction is rarely needed. Symantec doploys chat tools and knowledgebase directly embedded in the product interface - Norton 360 is a good example of this. Look at any Microsoft Office product to see integrated knowledgebase right in the product UI. Why assume that a customer will know to go to your website. In the case of Microsoft, it is a gamble that they would find the right section of your site to get the help they need. Present the help where it is needed and give yourself the opportunity to update the messaging and to gather rich usage data. Support Chat is much more than it seems on the surface - it implies so much more when you see what comes with it - it usually is allied to a scripting tool - somewhat like BAT files - which allows remote computer discovery and the ability to effect changes remotely. Initiating a Chat session can trigger a set of self-checking routines that make a customer interaction with a support agent unnecessary. If your PC is acting badly because the CPU is overloaded, the auto-checking scripts can find this quickly and alert you before you get thru to a person. It's easier for the customer and saves CSR time.
In short, I see much web support today (2008) based around a transactional break-fix and search/navigate model. I believe the next generation of support will be much more about customer engagement, sharing, rating and automated self-diagnosis. The B2B area may take longer to embrace this but there are signs that this area is catching on too.
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