TRI*M THE CUSTOMER RETENTION SYSTEM

Transcription

1 Journal of Information, Control and Management Systems, Vol. 1, (2003) 39 TRI*M THE CUSTOMER RETENTION SYSTEM Radoslav Jankal University of Zilina, Faculty of Management science and Informatics, Department of management theories Abstract Good, strong customer retention, achieved and developed through employee commitment and identification with their own company, relationships with suppliers, financial service providers, shareholders and other such stakeholders, is a decisive factor for market success. The best customers are those, which you gain and retain, and not those, which first need to be found. One of the effective tools, enabling to achieve transformation of company on the customer oriented, is TRI*M system, applied in most known companies. With characteristic of the system, deals next part of the paper. 1. TRI*M One of the determining factors of success on the market is high satisfaction and loyalty (retention) of customers, achieved and maintained through the loyalty and motivation of employees, include their identification with company, relationships with sellers, suppliers and trading partners. TRI*M is the name of the customer retention system introduced to the market in the early 1990s by NFO Infratest in order to fill the next three aims: to improve the level and duration of retention of customers, to widen the client base through word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers, to increase the profitability of individual customer relationships. On the present is the main mission of TRI*M to fixate on the solving of these roles: help the company retain its various stakeholder groups, utilise the various stakeholder groups recommendations, and to concentrate all efforts on those quality elements, that influence the relationships with the stakeholders. TRI*M consists of three modules (three M): Measuring: You can only manage it, if you measure it.

2 40 TRI*M the customer retention system Managing: Measuring without subsequent managing ultimately has no effect. Management, that lacks a sound factual basis, is highly liable to error. Monitoring: Action and effect must be constantly monitored to ensure the longterm success of a business. As it so results from its substance, it is exploration tool enabling measuring, managing and monitoring the retention of customers, suppliers, business partners, satisfaction and motivation of employees. It provides complex and compendious results, which serve as important sources for decision of managers, tools enabling the process analyze oriented on identification of possible changes and actions directed to the increasing of retention. TRI*M is possible to realize as a single-shot research (repeat for example once a year) or as continual monitoring (for example with measuring realized every month and also). Priority of TRI*M system is, that inter alia, it is working with the TRI*M Index (TI) the single number (figure 1), which gives rating for customer retention within a company, with help of TI is possible to compare the results of TRI*M between various business sectors, branches, countries and similarly. Tracking developments across a period of time provides a business with information on the impact of corporate policies and shows if they need to be changed, or not. Increased TRI*M Index of Customer Retention Intensity Figure 1 TRI*M Index Following the rate of TI, which is in the range from 0 till 100, we know to specify, what customers has the company (figure 2). 74 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 The TRI*M index measures Client Retention over 75 77

3 Journal of Information, Control and Management Systems, Vol. 1, (2003) 41 Highly loyal customers Loyal customers (TI 70 till 100) Buyers (TI 40 till 70) Endangered customers Almost lost customers (TI less as 10) Figure 2 Types of customers upon TRI*M Index The TRI*M Grid (figure 3) the moment of truth - uses a single diagram to inform a company of what retains customers and where even better customer retention could be achieved. Evaluation of performance TRI*M Grid excellent above average average below average poor Maintain this level Develop your communication strategies Verbal h Hygie Motivato Build on your Remove dangerous weaknesses Communicate your strengths You are spending too much here turn this into hidden opportunities and new business lo / Potential Impact on Hidden Opportunities h Use hidden opportunities look for new opportunities 84 Figure 3. TRI*M Grid In particular, it illustrates which quality elements (figure 1) promote customer retention within a company - therefore highlighting the elements the company needs to concentrate on - as well as showing the areas, which require action.

4 42 TRI*M the customer retention system Easy of information founding about services and theirs conditions Reliability of information about services and theirs conditions Call does not mix with other calls Failed calls Few interrupted calls Connection purity of local calls Right and exact listed items on the bill Clearly intelligible bill with sufficient information Changes in use register on the bill immediately Without connection on different number as dialled Prices generally Direct communication of company with customers Quality of telephone line service Lifetime and technical quality of telephone set Line is sufficiently protected against abuse Connection purity of long-distance and international calls During dialling of local/long-distance number is not busy ton After dialling of local/long-distance number is not hearing that called number does not exist Easy of realization of local/long-distance calls at the first try Bill does not include data, you wish to have on Bill as entity - generally Provisioning of quality and entire information from customer centres Services providing through customer centres Provisioning of information through Internet Good image of company Figure 1 Example of quality elements within TRI*M for telecommunication companies The following examples illustrate the interpretation of the four fields of the TRI*M Grid. The Motivators are in the upper right hand quadrant. Here are the expectations, which have subjectively (evaluation through the respondents) as well as actually

5 Journal of Information, Control and Management Systems, Vol. 1, (2003) 43 (TRI*M analysis) a high significance for the retention to the bank. Expectations, which are situated in this quadrant, must attract the attention of the respective bank since a strong connection to customer retention exists and the respondents are conscious of the significance of the respective aspects. Discretion during consultation is indicated in the shape of a black triangle in the example shown. The placement within the TRI*M Grid shows that this concerns a motivator to which the customers verbally as well as actually assign especially high significance. However, the black triangle also indicates that the customers are less satisfied with this expectation than with other service dimensions. This negative evaluation is to be regarded as a very crucial signal. In the lower right hand quadrant are the items that are designated as Hidden Opportunities. These criteria have a high actual but low verbal significance. Although the customers allocate the individual expectations only a low personal relevance, they do, in reality, have strong influence on customer retention. If especially positive evaluations about one s own institution occur here, this should be used as a chance and one ought to communicate the fulfillment of these quality elements strongly to the customer. But if there are weaknesses, the deficits must be eliminated as soon as possible. In the upper left quadrant are the Hygienics or duty factors situated. These are service dimensions, which are obligatory, that is, are valid as standards of the respective branch. Although customers regard hygiene factors as very important, there is only a weak link with the attachment of the customer to the bank. The respective expectations are therefore to be regarded as not critical as long as branch standards are fulfilled. However, if these standards fall short, there will eventually be a decline in the customer retention of the customers. Solidity is a typical obligatory expectation for a bank. The fulfillment of this expectation will, as long as the customer has no doubt about it, not be credited with special importance. An enhancement of security promises is therefore for the customer no reason to

6 44 TRI*M the customer retention system display especially great satisfaction. In the example shown, the degree of satisfaction with the existing bank regarding this point is already very high. Investing in this service element would therefore be less efficient. The quadrant below left, the Question Marks, comprises all expectations, which verbally as well as actually posses little effect on customer retention. Service elements that are situated in this quadrant indicate service saving opportunities which will not act to the detriment of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, in this quadrant there are expectations that do not as yet have high significance but which could gain in relevance. Through the continuous monitoring of these service elements this development can be discovered in the early stages. Only a few years ago online-banking was a typical example for a quality element that was positioned in the question mark quadrant. Today, doing without this service would have consequences for customer retention. The TRI*M Actiogram (figure 4) uses customer assessments to help you to develop measures that change business processes. actiogram Quality factors Business process Quality factor responsible (monitoring) Process responsible Change Agent Figure 4. TRI*M Actiogram

7 Journal of Information, Control and Management Systems, Vol. 1, (2003) 45 TRI*M Strengths and Weaknesses Profile Own Performance C04 C01 D02 C07 C06 C10 Target positioning D03 Strength Negative Neutral Positive Performance compared to competition Figure 5. TRI*M Strengths and Weaknesses Profile The TRI*M Strengths and Weaknesses Profile (figure 5) provides a comparison with the competition - be that a comparison with the toughest or the best of all competitors. It also shows in the overview of the competition the ideal position to be in (international benchmarking). 2. CONCLUSION Key output of TRI*M is then: identification of customer retention level of company and competitors, and that for entity, also for single segments too, extensive benchmarking - comparison with relevant companies in Europe, comparison with companies on domestic market, portfolio of customers customer segmentation in light of their satisfaction and loyalty, identification of factors, which are important for customers (e.g. providing information, quality of product or service, level of customer care...), specification of their real relevance, i.e. impact on total retention level, also specification of their sense in light of communication with customers too,

8 46 TRI*M the customer retention system identification of threats, opportunities, strong and weak sides, and it in comparison with competition too, and in the final result the analyse of development and valuation of achievement of actions oriented on rising of satisfaction and loyalty. REFERENCES [1] Herrmann, A., Jasny, R., Vetter, I.: TRI*M Messung der Kundenbindung im Dienste des Stakeholdermanagements, Frankfurt am Main 1999 [2] JANKAL, R.: Analýza súčasného stavu riadenia kvality v podmienkach vybranej organizácie. Diplomová práca, Žilina 2002 [3] Referee: doc. Ing. Martin Vaculík, PhD.