CUSTOMER FLOW MANAGEMENT A QMATIC WHITEPAPER PART I: INTRODUCING CFM

Transcription

1 CUSTOMER FLOW MANAGEMENT PART I: INTRODUCING CFM A QMATIC WHITEPAPER This whitepaper is the first part of three in a series of whitepapers aimed at explaining customer flow management, how it fits into the Customer Experience Management category and how organizations can gain competitive advantage by adopting it Q-MATIC AB. All rights reserved. Ver 1.0

2 About this white paper Ask anyone whether they like standing in line and the answer will almost invariably be no. So how can some establishments get away with relatively long dwell times without generating complaints? Part of the answer might be Customer Flow Management, a methodology invented and developed by Qmatic AB based on more than 30 years of accumulated experience from a wide range of industries and countries. This white paper aims to introduce the benefits of Customer Flow Management for your business and show how waiting need not always be a pain for your customers. Page 1

3 When your welcome falls flat Recent years have seen massive developments in the field of Big Data, business intelligence (BI) and Data Discovery, whereby manufacturers and retailers rely on tools from vendors such as SAP, Oracle or Qlikview to analyze historical data for the purpose of gaining insights into customer behavior. Customer Flow Management is a methodology invented by Qmatic to harmonize the customer journey and to deliver remarkable customer experiences. Similarly, another set of tools has been touted as changing the way companies manage their relationships with customers. Companies such as Salesforce.com offer customer relationship management (CRM) software suites that enable corporations to manage their customer relationships with unparalleled insight and granularity. The aim of all these tools, which large corporations will routinely invest millions of pounds, euros or dollars in, is essentially to drive sales and profitability. A similar process happens in the delivery of public services. However and despite the rise of the Internet, the point at which customers and products or services meet is usually a physical space, whether it is a high street store, a bank or a hospital waiting room. And that is where all of an organization s costly investment and detailed understanding often falls flat. No amount of expenditure on BI, CRM or disconnected Customer Experience Management (CEM) system can make up for a poor experience when a customer walks through your door. When you have a customer on your premises, they are usually there for the express purpose of buying something or soliciting your services. This is often the most critical stage in your sales process and in these days of making sure that every customer receives a personalized and seamless journey it is even more important to look at the integration of the virtual and physical world. So if you are prepared to spend on BI, CRM and CEM, it makes sense to spend on something else which will allow you to analyze in-store customer behavior in real time. This competitive methodology is called Customer Flow Management (CFM). Based on insights provided by using CFM, it is possible to deliver CFM solutions that addresses not only the customer experience, but also provides tangible means to increase sales and/or reduce operational cost. Page 2

4 CFM Explained CFM can be defined as managing the customer journey and the customer s experience from initial contact to final service delivery. It helps companies adopt a customer-centric perspective and begins when a customer makes an appointment for a visit or enters a shop, bank, hospital or a public sector service center. CFM stresses the importance of planning and monitoring the customer s entire visit, also capturing data and information at each point of contact with a member of staff or self- service point. Furthermore it can link all the service points together, helping managers understand the dynamics of the customer s visit and, ultimately, their experience. In short, CFM can link the vast amount of customer information in CRM databases to the real-time activities targeting and influencing the customers present in the service provider s premises, as shown here: Page 3

5 The benefits of CFM CFM can increase sales and productivity by up to 30% and decrease costs by up to a similar amount simply by ensuring your customers are at the right place and the right time to be served by the most appropriate person. CFM improves the customer experience while at the same time improves sales and productivity with up to 30%. Perhaps more importantly, though, it can significantly improve customer and staff satisfaction rates, leading to increased loyalty and retention. The exact benefits in this respect are difficult to quantify but there is evident value in the empowerment of customers, reduction of perceived waiting times and the creation of a more relaxed working environment, with knock-on effects in terms of reduced security requirements (thanks to fewer stressed customers). Finally, a further advantage of CFM is that it can incorporate data capture mechanisms that can provide additional insights into customer preferences and behavior, helping guide business improvements and competitiveness in the midand long-term. This data can be used as part of Big Data analysis and the creation of smart business applications to support the real-time decision making process. Page 4

6 The process The CFM methodology developed by Qmatic has been implemented in more than 60,000 instances across more than 100 countries, and currently handles around and estimated 1.8 billion customer interactions a year. Initially it involves mapping your current customer journey and defining an optimal one, taking into consideration how the process affects your business, customers and staff, and the direct and indirect impact it has on your key performance indicators. If your target process is different from your current process, you need to define and implement a system that helps you achieve your target process. These two steps may be sufficient for some companies to achieve their objectives and targets. However, the real power of CFM becomes apparent if the new system not only supports the target CFM process but also gathers and stores data on the flow of customers. Properly used, this data can be analyzed to generate insights about your operations and customers. Developing the internal processes and routines to capture this potential is the third and final step of the CFM methodology: Page 5

7 CFM in action To illustrate the benefits of a strategic approach to CFM, consider the case of a large insurance provider in Asia Pacific. The company is a provider of insurance products, including car and home insurance and customers visit branches each day to renew their policies, update their details, take out new insurance or pay for services. The system provided by Qmatic has helped reduce waiting times thereby improving the customer experience. Also by using the data from the system it is possible to monitor customer waiting times, transaction times and to measure individual productivity levels against set KPI s Another example is a large multi-national retailer selling fashion clothing, accessories and home de cor, with large department stores in Europe and the US. The company addressed the checkout area and implemented a solution based on the result of a CFM analysis. The results? Customers preferred the new solution since the new system ranked fairer. The improved customer flow reduced staffing needs by 15%, and there was less shrinkage from customers picking checkout counters where they knew staff who gave non-approved discounts. The last example is from a large hospital in Australia where a self-service check-in solution was implemented. A patient satisfaction survey conducted by KMPG confirmed that 72% of patients perceived that they did not have to wait at all for their service while 98% perceived that they waited less than 15 minutes. Another survey from KPMG survey of staff also suggests that staff perceived the computerised systems as a major strength in the model of care provided. The automated self-service system system reduced the number of reception counters required from four to three, as well as reducing the waiting areas required by approximately 25%, reducing the building cost by an estimated $800,000. Page 6

8 Customer Experience and CFM WELCOME TO THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER Customers want to do business with companies in more ways than before social, digital, direct, in-store, mobile, and call center. An often forgotten touch point is the transition from the virtual to the physical world. Qmatic bridge that gap by integrating the virtual and physical world to create seamless customer journeys. By allowing customers to book online, to utilize their smart devices to manage their place in the queue, to self-check-in, to receive personalized service based on preferences and profile and to provide their views in real-time we make sure that both our clients and their customers and patients make the most of every meeting. Siloed channels and systems create customer frustration. Customer Experience Management will change the way your business operates at the sharp end where the customers are. Consisting of a range of systems built with modern software and hardware designed to work together, they provide vast opportunities to integrate to other systems like CRM, Point of Sale, Business Analytics, Digital Signage, Hospital Information Systems and Mobile apps supporting the objective of making the most of every meeting. CEM + CFM Customer Experience Management (CEM) is a strategy that focuses on the operations and processes of a business around the needs of the individual customer. It focuses on the experience part of the customer. CEM links together strategies, departments, business models and information technology to design, manage and optimize the end-to-end customer experience. CFM is the methodology Qmatic invented to maximize moments of engagement opportunities in the customer journey with a focus on the in branch experience and the integration of the branch with the online world. Page 7

9 Conclusion We live in an era where customers call the shots and success will be based on how well companies can rise to meet their demands and expectations. Customers have many choices today. So it is critical to make their experiences as simple, consistent, and relevant as possible as they move throughout the customer journey. By delivering exceptional customer experiences, companies can acquire new customers, retain more customers, and improve efficiency. Compared to many other process-led business improvements, CFM is a relatively low-cost measure with clear and tangible benefits. But perhaps its most important benefit is the impact it has on something which is invaluable, yet largely intangible: your customers experience of your brand. CFM as methodology fits within Customer Experience Management (CEM) category where it helps to maximize the face-to-face opportunities and bridge the gap between the virtual and physical world. Page 8

10 About Qmatic There is only one boss - the customer. And he can fire everyone from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. Sam Walton, 1977 Qmatic s vision is to realize the full potential of every meeting. We help our clients engage and interact with their customers from the very first touch point. We gather information around the customer journey and help create brand value from improved customer experiences. By creating a seamless customer journey from online channels through to face-to-face meetings, we increase customer experiences and strengthen our clients brands. Qmatic holds a market leading positions in the public sector, financial services, retail, and healthcare applications and it is estimated that more than a quarter of the world s population pass through a Qmatic system every year. Qmatic has a truly global footprint and operates in over 120 countries through own subsidiaries and partner network. The Qmatic Group has a turnover of EUR 60 million and employs some 300 people. The company s main owners are Altor Fund II GP Limited and ICG. Qmatic Group Neongatan 8 SE Mo lndal Sweden Want to talk to us? Find your local representative here: Phone: +46 (0) Mail: [email protected] Web: Disclaimer This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Qmatic is a registered trademark of Q-Matic AB. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Page 9