Temkin Group Research – Stay Up To Date On Customer Experience

State of CX Metrics, 2011, November 2011 ($195)

Companies know that it’s important to use customer experience (CX) metrics and many are already getting value from those efforts. To understand what companies are doing in this area, we surveyed more than 200 large organizations. Companies use a wide range of different metrics with varied results. They track customer service, satisfaction, and phone experiences fairly well. On the other hand, they’re not very effective at measuring customers across the lifecycle, the emotional response of customers, or cross-channel interactions. When it comes to how they run their businesses, companies haven’t integrated CX metrics into their decision making or operational processes. In only 41% of firms, for instance, do execs look at CX metrics more frequently than once per quarter. Using Temkin Group’s four-question assessment, we found that only 10% of firms have good CX metrics programs, and they deliver better customer experience.

2011 Temkin Loyalty Ratings, April 2011 ($195)

Amazon.com, Kohl’s, and Costco took the top spots in the 2011 Temkin Loyalty Ratings. We asked 6,000 US consumers to rate their level of loyalty to companies across three components: purchasing additional products and services, reluctance to switch business away, and likelihood to recommend the company to friends and relatives. This data allowed us to rate 143 companies across 12 industries. Only 17% of those companies received a “strong” or “very strong” loyalty rating. The results show that retailers have the highest level of loyalty while TV service providers and health plans have the lowest.

Voice Of The Customer Programs Grow Up, April 2011 ($195)

Voice of the customer (VoC) programs are critical components of customer experience initiatives. And they should be; they work. Most companies report solid business results from these efforts. Temkin Group’s research shows, however, that most VoC programs are in the very early stages of maturity. To reach the next level of evolution, these programs must improve across what we call the Six Ds of closed-loop VoC programs: Detect, Disseminate, Diagnose, Discuss, Design, and Deploy. As large companies gain VoC maturity, they will increasingly require higher levels of automation found in Customer Insight and Action (CIA) platforms. To remain relevant in this changing environment, market research organizations will need to change how they operate.

2011 Temkin Experience Ratings, March 2011 (FREE)

Amazon.com, Kohl’s, Costco, Lowe’s, and Sam’s Club took the top five spots in the 2011 Temkin Experience Ratings. We asked 6,000 US consumers to rate their recent interactions with companies across three dimensions of their experience: functional, accessible, and emotional. This data allowed us to rate 143 companies across 12 industries. Only 16% of those companies received an “excellent” or “good” rating. The results show that retailers deliver the best experience while TV service providers and health plans deliver the worst.

How Consumers Give Feedback, March 2011 ($195)

Companies often discuss “word of mouth,” but how often and in what ways do consumers discuss their experiences? We surveyed 6,000 US consumers to find out. It turns out that the most common communication about good and bad experiences occurs between friends via email, phone, or in person. While few consumers share their experiences directly with the companies that pleased or displeased them, far fewer shared those experiences via social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and 3rd party ratings sites. Our analysis also uncovered differences by age, income, ethnicity, and educational levels. We analyzed the customer bases of more than 140 companies and discovered that Days Inn, E*Trade, and Apple were the most susceptible to negative feedback via Facebook. Days Inn, Courtyard By Marriott, and Hyatt are the most susceptible via Twitter.

Locating A Store On The Phone Is Not Always Easy, February 2011 ($195)

When traveling in an unfamiliar area, calling a store’s toll-free number can be a convenient way to locate the closest branch or store location. How user-friendly are these phone-based store locators? We used Temkin Group’s SLICE-B methodology to evaluate the experiences at five large banks (Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, USBank, and Wells Fargo) and five large retailers (Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart). Target was the only store to receive an “Excellent” overall rating, with 23 out of a possible 24 points. Citibank and Walgreens, on the other hand, scored in the “Poor” range. Stores lost points for offering voice-activated search without touch-tone support and for accepting only one criteria to search by, usually a zip code.

Online Experiences For Buying Gift Cards Need Work, January 2011 ($195)

Gift cards are a popular choice for consumers, especially around the holidays. Almost all major stores and restaurants sell them online. How user-friendly are those online purchasing processes? To answer this question, we used Temkin Group’s SLICE-B methodology to evaluate the experience of 12 large companies: three grocers (Kroger, Publix, and Safeway), three electronics retailers (Apple, Best Buy, and Radio Shack), three department stores (J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, and Macy’s), and three restaurant chains (Applebee’s, Chili’s, and Outback Steakhouse). Outback Steakhouse and Radio Shack were the only sites to receive an “excellent” rating. At the other end of the spectrum, Safeway, Chili’s, Kroger, and Best Buy were at the bottom with “mediocre” ratings. Many of the sites lacked key functionality such as free shipping, sending the cards at a later date, and sending multiple cards in a single order.

Customer Experience Accelerates In 2011, January 2011 ($195)

To understand what’s on the plate for customer experience in 2011, we surveyed more than 170 large organizations about their 2010 activities and 2011 plans. Most respondents are satisfied with their customer experience roles and have a strong outlook for improvements at their company. More than eight out of 10 respondents think that customer experience will be more important in 2011 than it was in 2010. Social media, the Web, and customer-centric culture are set to receive the most increased attention this year. We also examined the anatomy of successful customer experience programs and found that they plan more and use customer feedback and insight more effectively than other firms.

2010 Temkin Group Research Reports

Eight Customer Experience Megatrends, May 2010 and updated December 2010 (FREE)

Customer experience management is still in its early stages of evolution. As people, processes, and technologies evolve, they will alter the way that companies deal with customers. This paper identifies eight of those trends that will reshape customer experience management over the next three to five years. It also provides specific observations about hw these multi-year trends will play out in 2011.

Online Store Locators Miss A Key Part Of The Experience, December 2010 ($195)

Just about every bank and retailer provides a store or branch locator on its site. But how user-friendly are the experiences? Mostly mediocre. Temkin Group evaluated 10 large retailers and banks using its SLICE-B experience review methodology. Wells Fargo ended with the only “excellent” rating and Target was alone at the bottom with a “poor” rating. All of the sites struggle to support user’s goals after they find the nearby stores.

The State Of Voice Of The Customer (VoC) Programs, October 2010 ($195)

This report looks at the make-up of 119 VoC programs at large companies across geographic regions, feedback channels, executive involvement, effectiveness of different activities, obstacles to success, and plans for 2011. We also examine results from the Temkin Group’s VoC Program Maturity Assessment that was completed by 105 of these firms. It turns out that only 1% of the firms reached our highest maturity level, “Transformers.” To understand how VoC programs differ by size of an organization, we compared survey responses between large and small companies. The number of companies planning to increase spending dwarfs those that are planning to cut back, so 2011 should be an active year for VoC programs.

Assessing The Maturity of Voice Of The Customer Programs, October 2010 (FREE)

Voice of the customer (VoC) programs are becoming a common element of customer experience programs. But how effective are they? To address this question, Temkin Group developed an assessment tool to identify the level of maturity of VoC programs. In a recent Temkin Group study, almost 200 companies completed this assessment. The findings: two-thirds of programs are in the earliest stages of development, while only 5% have reached the highest maturity level. Temkin Group recommends that companies take the self-test and discuss the results with their management teams.

Profiling Customer Experience Leaders, September 2010 ($195)

Using the Temkin Group (TG) customer experience competency model, we found that only 3% of large North American firms were what we call “Customer-Centric Organizations.” We used the TG competency model to break respondents into two groups, 60 leaders and 80 laggards, and examined the differences in their responses across various dimensions. Some of the areas with striking gaps between the two groups: focus on creating a customer-centric culture, priority for cost-cutting, ability to delight customers across all channels, success with Net Promoter Scores, use of text analytics, and obstacles they run into., September 2010 ($195)

The Evolution Of Voice Of The Customer Programs, September 2010 ($195)

Voice of the customer (VoC) programs are often key components of customer experience efforts and most companies report positive results from these efforts. To thrive, these programs need closed-loop processes in four areas: Listen, Interpret, Respond, and Monitor. As VoC programs evolve, they often outgrow manual processes and existing market research programs. Companies should consider deploying what Temkin Group calls Customer Insight and Action (CIA) platforms that automate the collection, analysis, and workflow associated with closed-loop VoC programs across multiple channels. To aid in that effort, Temkin Group has assembled information on 11 vendors that provide CIA platforms.

The Current State Of Customer Experience, June 2010 ($195)

Using the Temkin Group customer experience competency model, we found that only 3% of firms were “Customer-Centric Organizations” while 33% of firms were “Customer-Oblivious Organizations.” While companies rated highest in the area of Purposeful Leadership, only 16% received “very good” ratings in that competency area. This data highlights that companies are still in very early stages of customer experience maturity. We expect the results to improve over time; as 65% of respondents want to be customer experience leaders within three years.

The Four Customer Experience Core Competencies, June 2010 (FREE)

Organizations that want to become customer experience leaders need to master four customer experience competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. Gauge how close your company is to being a Customer-Centric Organization using Temkin Group’s competency model to identify strengths and weaknesses.