LONG BEACH, Calif.–If you’re in the C-suite, you need to be spending your time somewhere else with some regularity—the call center, according to one person.
“Most CEOs never step foot in a contact center, but it’s the place where problems live,” said Blake Morgan, who consults on customer experience.
Morgan told NAFCU’s annual conference she has travelled the world researching the best customer service providers and has learned customer experience is “actually a very simple business strategy.”
“Customer experience is not a division at your company, it's not a discipline,” she said. “Customer experience is a decision but it's a decision that you have to make every single day.”
The Feelings Business
Morgan told credit union leaders the real business they are in is the “feelings business.”
“You are in the business of making people feel something,” said Morgan. “What is that feeling? We spend so much money to acquire customers, on marketing and advertising and promising ‘Bank with us and you'll be happy. We'll take care of you. But the truth is the best marketing it turns out is just treating customers incredibly beautifully. Then they tell their friend.
“So, if any of you are advertising during the Super Bowl, I ask you to stop it stop it. Take that budget from marketing and give it to your contact center. They are the most important people at your company. Do they have the tools they need to do their job, because the opportunity to touch a customer, to be in front of a customer, to talk to a customer is the best marketing opportunity any of us could ever dream of.”
Morgan predicted that in 2023 the economy will see a separation between great and mediocre CX teams. “Forrester predicts that one in five XC programs will disappear in 2023, and only one in 10 will be stronger than ever,” noted Morgan.
A Negative in the Data
While credit unions are awash in data, Morgan said it can actually be a negative. Urging CU leaders to “walk a mile in the customer’s shoes,” she said the downside to having so much data is that most organizations use quantitative data in the belief it provides the best insights instead of talking to customers/members directly, which is much more valuable.
Ask For Truth
The ability to hear bad news is a “superpower,” according to Morgan. Organizations should be excited about where they are not doing a good job and where they can fix it, she added.
Managers must be willing to call those upset customers/members to “listen” and get issues advised, Morgan stated. “You have to talk to your members in person, on the phone, but directly,” said Morgan.
Other Points Raised
Other points made by Morgan:
- Automation and Self Service Will Ease Staffing Shortages. “The big growth here will be in AI in chatbots, noted Morgan, noting chatbots are now at the point where they can at least solve most FAQs.
- Every Experience Matters During Inflation. “The customer wants you to care about them.
Morgan shared the six steps below for credit unions to follow in improving the member journey.