LONG BEACH, Calif.–Credit unions here were offered 10 steps to follow and practice to improve the member (and employee) experience.
Speaking to NAFCU’s annual conference here, Shep Hyken, an author and consultant on the customer and member experience, said the opportunity to be had for credit unions in offering a great, consistent member experience can be seen in the data.
He pointed to surveys showing:
- 83% of consumers are willing to switch companies/brands because of a bad customer service experience. “Most won’t say goodbye, they will just disappear”
- 78% will go out of their way to do business with a company that provides better service
- 52% will pay more if they know they will receive good service. “Price becomes irrelevant.”
Hyken then offered a 10-point list of strategies for boosting the member experience.
One: How to be Amazing
“Member amazement is not what most people think. It’s just being better than average all the time. The thing about expectations is if I call you, I expect you to call me back. But did you meet my expectations? How long did it take? What you want to stay away from is asking ‘How did you like the experience in our credit union?’ They will say ‘fine.’ Fine is typically not fine. Fine is the F bomb of customer experience. If fine were an acronym, it would be for Fake smile, Insincere feedback, Never coming bank and Emotionless. ‘Fine’ is satisfactory. People want something better than just OK. When you do that you move into the zone of amazement.”
As an example of incremental satisfaction improvements, Hyken shared how the Ritz Carlton always uses the guest’s name. “It’s impossible every day to create over the top experiences,” he said. “But it is possible to create these instances where you are just a tiny bit better than average.”
Two: Manage the Moment
Hyken shared one company’s definition of the “moment of truth” from Jan Carlzon, formerly of Scandinavian Airlines: “Anytime a customer comes into contact with a business they have an opportunity form an impression.”
“The internal customer is just as important as managing the member,” said Hyken. “What they do sometimes is just as important as what does touch the member. If one person does not manage an experience right, they have failed that customer.”
Every moment of truth, even if it’s a moment of misery, is an “opportunity to create a moment of magic,” Hyken said. “Member amazement comes from consistent and predictable above-average experiences.”
Three: Create a Member-Focused Culture
To create a member-focused culture, Hyken recommended:
- Define the vision
- Communicate the vision. “This stays permanent and you communicate it again and again and again”
- Train to the vision. “Everybody gets trained, not just the people on the front line.”
- Be the role model. “We should treat our employees even better than we want our members treated”
- Defend the culture
- Celebrate it. “When it works, let people know”
Four: Create a Membership Experience
What does creating a membership experience mean? It’s different than a customer experience, said Hyken, as it implies some inclusivity. It’s the reason American Express uses “membership” for its cardholders.
Five: Communication: Ask the Extra Question
“When you have a moment of misery that is the result of a breakdown in communication, that is the most difficult (of all),” said Hyken. “All that often has to happen is to ask the extra question. Sometimes it’s more than one question.”
Six: No Moments of Misery. (It’s a goal, not reality.)
To manage those moments, Hyken advised:
- Acknowledge
- Apologize
- Fix it
- Own it (even if it’s not your fault)
- Act with urgency
Seven: Act Like an Owner
Eight: Knowledge
“You want two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the product and knowledge of the member. That’s what leads to wallet share. Our goal is to make sure our members are using us for everything they need.”
Nine: The C Suite Needs to Leave the C Suite
“This is about getting out and spending some time on the front line,” said Hyken, sharing the story of when Bill Gates was at Microsoft and spent time taking calls in the call center. “It’s so important we know just what our members are saying, but also what are employees are going through. Even members of the board should spend some time observing and listening to what’s going on.”
Ten: Consistency
“This is an important one. If we don’t give a consistent experience, it doesn’t matter because people won’t trust what the experience is going to be,” said Hyken. “There are going to be moments of misery, but they should be isolated events. We want a consistent, scaled process. We don’t need personalities to be identical, but we do need the identical effort in taking care of the member.”
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