The fact that I am writing this blog post regrettably is a reflection of the fact that the very thing we instinctively have when we are brought in to the world, is continually being eroded away by the attitudes and behaviours of our modern society. When it comes to the world of customer experience, it would be fair to say that the consumer no longer knows who to trust. Let me ask you a few random questions:

• Do you trust your bank to treat you fairly?
• Do you trust your clothing retailer to sell you clothes that are made ethically?
• Do you trust your food retailer to sell you food that is exactly as it states on the packaging?
• Do you trust your mechanic to give you a fair price for repairing your car?
• Do you trust your newspaper to tell you the truth?
• Do you trust your online shopping to arrive at the time you expect?
• Do you trust your local council to do what is best?
• Do you trust your government to do what is right?
• Do you trust anyone who comes to your door in order to sell you something?
• Do you trust the companies you transact with to put you, the customer, first?

In times gone by, we may well have been able to answer ‘yes’ to many (if not all) of these questions. It is a sad fact that we may well now answer ‘no’ to the majority of them. The Oxford English Dictionary defines trust as:

“The firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something”

Are we able to apply this definition to the companies with which we have experiences? It is very difficult today to talk about business that we absolutely trust to do the right thing. Many are trying. One of the UK’s largest food retailers, Morrisons, is attempting to get its customers to trust it to sell good quality meat that comes from reliable British sources. Whilst we still feel the effects of the horsemeat scandal, their campaign may well help the consumer to get a little confidence back.

British banks have a lot more work to do in order to get the consumer to trust them again. Earlier this year, the leaders of one of our failed banks has offered to return his Knighthood in recognition of the banks ails. For so long the consumer has been taken for granted – it will take a very long time before we trust the financial services sector again.

Every industry is affected by trust. Just recently, four Japanese car makers have recalled 3.4 million cars over a defect in passenger airbags. The culture that created the most robust process methodologies the world has ever seen, are also now in the firing line.

Failing to deliver an experience that can be trusted can have far greater consequences today than in years gone by. The best example of this is the now world famous ‘United Breaks Guitars’ story, and Dave Carroll’s mission to expose that lack of care and respect United Airlines gave him as a customer. As of today, the video he posted on YouTube about his experience has been viewed almost 13 million times. The damage to United Airlines is probably immeasurable.

Whilst my words have focussed very much on the lack of trust, we should start to focus on how to earn it – and in a lot of cases, how to get it back. I believe that it is possible to create the ‘trust equation’ for organisations to align to.

 The equation looks at four things:

• Honesty
• Reliability
• Consistency
• Care

Let us have a quick look at these in turn.

Honesty – consumers just want organisations to be honest. Just tell me the truth. Do what you say you are going to do. Do not try and hide anything. Consumers also expect that organisations will not get things right 100% of the time – so just be honest with me when you get it wrong, and address the issue. How many businesses that you deal with are honest?

Reliability – we all want the businesses we deal with to be reliable. We want to know that things will work as they should. I wanted to buy a specific clothing item from a small independent retailer the afternoon before I was due to go on holiday. I arrived at the shop to find it closed. It was 4:15pm. On the door, in big letters it stated that the shop closed at 5:00pm every day. Reliable? Not only did the retailer miss out on that purchase, they will not be given the opportunity to get another.

Consistency – this is vital in delivering an experience that the consumer will trust. If you are able to deliver a consistent experience, your consumer will be far more likely to keep coming back. The bigger the brand, the harder this is to do. Premier Inn is a hotel brand that is starting to excel in the consistency arena. Every Premier Inn is the same – it looks, feels and behaves the same. By contrast, other hotel brands deliver inconsistent experiences, meaning that you do not always get what you expect.

Care – this is the final bit of the trust equation. If you are able to achieve the first three elements, you are in great shape. But it is possible to be honest, reliable and consistent without caring. As a consumer, I want to know that the company I deal with cares about me. They recognise the importance of me as a customer. If not, it is unlikely that I will build an emotional connection with that company. If that does not happen, the likelihood of me recalling my experiences is minimal. One could argue that Ryanair are a brand that sums this up. They are very honest in what they do. They are very reliable (the most in their industry) and consistent. But do they care?

I believe that Trust is the embodiment of customer experience. I believe that if organisations do not embrace Trust, and work hard to ensure that they deliver experiences that can be trusted; they will fail to be able to attract and keep the customers they exist to serve. Companies that we can trust will be the real winners as our fast changing world powers on.

Recently Glasgow based Dunning Design hosted an introductory session on social media, highlighting the pros and cons of building a presence online. But what struck me more about the event was those who attended. Before the presentation began, I spoke to a former school teacher who had started her own business in Glasgow, and was interested in building a stronger customer base using both Facebook and Twitter. By her own admission, her experience of social media was basic, but she felt that these were the tools necessary to expand her business. And as the presentation developed, I began to realise that she was not alone. Many of those in the audience appeared to be in a similar position; small businesses hoping to learn more about this phenomenon. And more interestingly, keen to understand just how they could get people talking about their business.

So perhaps social media for small businesses isn’t about the global impact at all? Perhaps it’s about generating local word of mouth, building a presence locally that allows smaller businesses to expand. And if the aim is to eventually use social channels as a tool for customer service, then this is the best place to start.

But are platforms like Facebook and Twitter designed for such a task? Can they replicate what they do for global brands like Coca Cola and Nike (both of whom have Facebook pages with excess of 20 million “likes”) on a smaller scale?

Percepta LLC, in Melbourne Florida, recently renovated their facility with new paint, carpet and chairs.  In doing so, we had many chairs that were still in great shape that could be used in our community by organizations that help those in need.  We were pleased to have over 30 non-profit organizations come and receive chairs.  Organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Untied Way, Brevard County Schools, and many others were able to come and receive chairs free of charge.

Percepta LLC’s Melbourne location is very involved in their community. The site currently has another community event going on to feed the hungry in Brevard County.

NOTE: Florida Today covered the Chair Donation event; click HERE to view a video of the event or click HERE to see photos of the event.

The link between levels of employee engagement and the quality of service provided is well documented, with recent research by Bright Horizons highlighting that 89% of employees with high levels of well-being reported high job satisfaction and nearly two thirds of those employees reported consistently putting in extra effort at work. Further to this, it has been suggested that companies who effectively appreciate employee value enjoy a return on equity and assets more than triple that experienced by firms that don’t.

One organisation that seems to recognise this point, and use it to its advantage is John Lewis. John Lewis is a unique organisation in that it is owned by its employees – or partners – who have a say in how it is run and receive a share of the profits. Every year John Lewis releases a partner survey for all their employees. The most recent results highlighted that 82% of partners said they feel respected, with 81% reporting they feel well informed about what’s going on in the business.  Given that John Lewis employees stay with the company twice as long as they industry average, these figures are hardly surprising. This level of employee engagement has led to John Lewis being recognised in a number of customer satisfaction surveys and awards, for example, in 2012 it was voted Multichannel Retailer of the Year.

John Lewis has undoubtedly got their employee engagement right, and customers are benefitting from this. Other organisations must want the same positive experience for their own customers, so who will be the ‘John Lewis’ of 2013? What strategies will be adopted to replicate these successes and improve the customer experience?

So I ask the question – if you find yourself in HMV’s position, can you still operate as a customer centric business? Many would argue that no, your priorities change, and saving your brand is fundamental. And of course I agree with this. But shouldn’t saving your brand also mean holding onto your remaining customers in any way possible? 

Earlier this month, I wrote about customer loyalty in the face of brand scandal, but perhaps this is the tipping point. Should HMV have done more to reward their loyal customers, even as they were bringing in the administrators? And will this decision backfire should they survive?

While there may be light at the end of the tunnel for HMV this week, only time will tell if their customers will rejoin them on the high street.

Following their attempt to manipulate Libor rates earlier in the year, Barclays Bank were left with fewer customers than before the scandal, but not as few as many would have expected.  Regardless of whether customers leave in their hundreds or their millions, this must be taken seriously.  Perhaps “likelihood to stick by a brand” should be considered as important as “likelihood to recommend”.

So what is it exactly that makes a customer loyal to a brand when they encounter such problems?  Is it the feeling that misbehaving brands will learn their lesson?  Or does the difficulty in switching providers outweigh the dislike for a company’s conduct?
Either way, both Starbucks and Barclays must use 2013 as a platform to rebuild the trust of their customers.  After all, if they find themselves in hot water again, their customers might be less forgiving!

Our top ten posts of 2012:

1. Who Owns Your Social Media Customer Service?
2. I’m Confused about Your Values
3. Customer Loyalty and Generation Y
4. In Brands We Trust
5. Meeting Customer Expectations: Opportunity or Threat?
6. Cold Calling: Just as it Says
7. NPS and Social Media: Let the Numbers do the Talking
8. Call Centre: What’s in a Name?
9. Localised Customer Support: Does it Matter?
10. Succeeding at Social Media Customer Service

For stars and celebrities it generally means the more fans / followers they have, the more income and popularity they receive. The more popularity they get, the greater the possibility of gaining extra income by endorsing others or their products. The concept of celebrities as brands is widely known, but the actual status of their fans is often neglected, especially once the artist can actually be called a star. Fans and followers are customers, who often have a strong emotional bond towards their subject of admiration. This generally indicates a high level of loyalty as well. Yet, the emotionality of this customer relationship may be the cause of its ruin if it is not cherished and respected. Does the same apply to fans and followers on social media? And what about the relationships created in either circumstance?

I recently read an article about a maid who was supposedly fired after asking a celebrity staying at the hotel she worked at for an autograph. Now, even though this might not have been the most professional approach for her to go autograph hunting while at work, I wonder whether this celebrity thought about the impact her actions may have on the loyalty of her customers, her fans. The mentioned celebrity now denies having had this maid fired, but what impact do you think even the possibility of this event will have on fans and followers?

Similarly, in the run up to the American Presidential election a very controversial comment was made on a company’s twitter account for all its followers and the general public to see. This tweet associated the death of President Obama’s grandmother and his first Presidential victory. Even though the company afterwards apologised stating that this was the mistake of one employee posting a private message on a company page, what impact do you think this incident had on the base of followers of this company and its reputation in the whole?

Being a fan, follower or subscriber of an individual or a brand therefore allows individuals the power to always know what is happening in the world of brands and celebrities. One can then either endorse or be critical of their doings. The consequence of this is crucial for the brand or person being followed. Through new technologies, anything celebrities or brands do can initiate a ripple effect on social media. This can either have a positive or negative effect on their social influence and a similar incremental influence on their fan or customer loyalty. This influence may not only tarnish their own reputation and loyalty, but also of everyone who endorsed their brand or has been endorsed by this celebrity. So how do you ensure this never happens to you? And how would you react if it did?

As someone who has worked in a customer facing retail environment, I can understand the need to live and breathe company values. The front line employee, after all, is often the first thing a customer sees as they walk into a store, and possibly the last thing they see before they leave. So you dress the part, and smile, and serve the customer to the best of your ability. You are, in essence, the brand. 

But when it’s harder to define who could be a potential customer, is it too much to ask employees to have this dedication to their brand values?  For me, the values should be there at all times. A “customer-centric” company should mean “customer-centric” employees, regardless the nature of customer interactions. 

But I’m not sure this sentiment is shared by everyone. After all, bad customer service experiences are often be attributed to employees rather than the brand itself (my colleague wrote about her own bad experiences in a previous blog). So does the blame lie with the employees themselves? Should they be trying harder to carry their employer’s values?  Or should the company be trying harder to instil their values on those they employ?

Last week electrical retailer Comet went into administration after weeks of financial trouble, with the future of its UK stores in jeopardy.  And an article in Talk Business earlier this month suggests that a failure to provide multi-channel shopping could have been contributed to their downfall.  The author argues that in order to survive this shift in shopping behaviour, a multi-channel approach which aligns both online and offline commerce is essential. 

It certainly paid dividends for John Lewis, a company well renowned for consistent high levels of service across its 30 UK department stores. Not only have they created a sustainable shopping environment offline, but have also added an online store to rival it.  And when products in store sell out, advisors can simply visit the website and order from there.  As a result, they were named Multi-Channel Retailer and Online Department Store of 2012 by the CCA. 

But what is the secret to their success? They key, perhaps, is what you sell and where you sell it. While the majority of John Lewis products are available to buy both in store and on their website, there are many items which still require to be held, touched or tried on in person.  As such, they continue to drive customers to their stores, despite the increase in online shopping (their department store sales have increased by 16% this quarter). 

So perhaps the lesson to be learned here is two-fold.  Yes, adapt to this change in consumer buying behaviour and create an online store which offers high quality products and excellent service. After all, with the continuing popularity of e-commerce, you can be sure that if your website doesn’t satisfy the needs of your customers, they will find another that does!  But perhaps more importantly, make sure that your website acts as an extension of your store, not an alternative.  In other words, give customers a reason to shop with you both online and offline. The question is, will our high street stores be able to do this in time? Or will they succumb to the same fate as Comet? Only time will tell.