EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
How do business to business companies ensure their customer service is meeting their clients ’ expectations and maximising the commercial opportunities available to them ? already available to them on feedback forms , in complaints data and in unsolicited verbal and email comments . By bringing all these feedback sources together , businesses can create a shared view of current client experiences .
WHEN LOOKING TO FIND OUT HOW CLIENTS THINK , BUSINESSES OFTEN OVERLOOK INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY AVAILABLE TO THEM .
Traditionally , firms start by hiring consultants to conduct research to learn about their clients ’
which they present to boards .
needs and also to find out what those clients think about the services they provide .
Consultants will typically interview clients and send out surveys , before writing up their findings in PowerPoint reports ,
This process can take several weeks , or months , by which time , much of the information is already out of date , and the next opportunity to collect feedback will be the following year , when the process is repeated .
This is not a good way to inform service improvements . In the modern , digital world , senior decision-makers need to know immediately when they should be reviewing existing products and services , recruiting new talent and altering pricing strategies .
That is why at MyCustomerLens we set out to deliver a more effective and responsive approach to customer feedback , by developing an ‘ always listening ’ software platform that uses Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) to aggregate and measure client insights .
Applying AI to these unstructured text comments then provides several benefits . It can instantly discover what clients are talking about , where they are in the customer journey and the sentiment behind their comments – positive , negative and neutral .
Text analysis can also compare feedback against a range of brand values , such as responsiveness , innovation and approachability , to discover why customers feel their service experiences are good or bad .
When your feedback loop is ‘ always on ’ and constantly looking for new and recurring trends , the absence of a given theme can also be an important signal . For example , if your brand is positioned around responsiveness but your customers never comment on it , it could be a sign your service isn ’ t as distinctive as you would like .
The process and culture of continuously gathering , analysing and reporting on b2b feedback is called active client listening . When done well it gives businesses a competitive advantage by enabling them to discover and respond to client needs faster than their competitors . When your firm makes the switch from passive to active client listening , you will be well placed to deliver service improvements that positively impact your customers and your bottom line .
When looking to find out how clients think , businesses often overlook information that is
PAUL ROBERTS , CEO , MYCUSTOMERLENS
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