Kim Proctor

Customers That Click

Kim has a passion for improving the customer experience and loves the online space. Having spent most of her career on the web, Kim is a consultant that knows how to grow web traffic, leverage social media and grow deeper customer relationships. She has consulted for a wide range of companies from small business to the Fortune 500. For more info, see www.CustomersThatClick.com.

The little things do matter

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Posted on 2012-05-21

Imagine sitting captive on a plane for 5 hours knowing your cell phone battery is low. That means you will need to recharge as soon as you arrive. But you can’t spend the time to sit in the airport waiting for it to charge (once you finally find a power outlet). What can you do? Fly Virgin America; they have power outlets at every seat!

This story about someone with a low cellphone battery? That was me last week. I’m so glad I flew with Virgin America. In fact I fell back in love with them. It had been a while since I had flown with them even though I have always liked them. FYI, the airlines I like to fly are: JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin. I’m an advocate for these companies. They each have small features that make them different and offer me a great experience as a customer.

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Help your customers “just in time”

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Posted on 2012-05-17
Want to get customers on your side? Then help them in the nick of time just when they need you the most. In today’s fast world, everyone is constantly on the go and they rely on their mobile devices to provide quick information and fast answers. Are you ready for when your customer uses their phone to find out the information they need from you?

In a recent report, Pew Internet Research quantified some of those top reasons we turn to mobile phones for “just in time” information/ help.

Pew found that in the last 30 days, 86% of smartphone owners have used their phones in one of the following ways:
- 41% coordinated a meeting / get-together.
- 35% solved an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered.
- 30% decided whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant.
- 23% looked up a score of a sporting event.
- 20% looked for updates on traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere...
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Customers demand mobile – now!

0 comments 553 reads

Posted on 2012-04-24

What device are you using when you are standing in line? How about when you just landed in Boston on the airport runway? Obviously, your cell phone. And what are you doing on that phone? Using apps, visiting mobile optimized websites (the others aren’t worth surfing from a phone), sending text messages… you know, the usual stuff.

You know you aren’t alone, just look around you anywhere you go. People are focused on their phones. The latest research shows there are more smart phones in use than other types of cell phones (46% of adults in the US according to Pew Interest Research).

...

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Don’t lose brand control in social media

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Posted on 2012-02-21

Companies are afraid of losing ‘control’ of their brand message. There are two parts to their fear. One, customers have the freedom to say whatever they want; and, two, that is only that message in the marketplace.

You can see that in part two you as a person responsible for the brand message or customer communications (yes you!) can jump in and be a part of shaping what’s presented in social media.

We already know that #1 is happening. Putting your head in the sand won’t stop it. Don’t let your fear of what customers are saying stifle your willingness to work on part #2. This is where you can become the hero of your customers and business value – offering helpful messages and bringing balance to what is being presented. Plus, you can gain ideas that can help shape your business direction and focus.

The best way to overcome this fear is to engage with customers in a dialogue via social media. Leaving negative comments alone doesn’t make them better, but...

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What customer’s value, more than a coupon

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Posted on 2012-02-06

Everyone knows about the proliferation of the latest “deal” emails and offers (a.k.a. Groupon, Living Social, Google Offers, and the like). However, marketing is more than just offering a discount. Marketing that relies only on price cuts becomes a battle over the lowest price but that doesn’t help company grow or build long-term customer relationships. (There will always be a competitor with a lower price who can steal away your price-driven customers.)

Instead, what is needed is an evolution of marketing to focus on listening to customers, engaging in dialogue with them, and being responsive. Those are key elements to earning customer loyalty. Think about...

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Just like mom said: Keep your promises

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Posted on 2012-02-01

When a company makes a promise to its customers (via its website, via marketing, via policies or contracts) AND fulfills it – it builds trust. Makes sense right? You make a promise and the customer hopes you will live up to it. When you do fulfill your promises, it satisfies the customers and it may even make them more loyal.

Here are 2 examples of companies living up to promises. See what you can glean from these leaders:

1) JetBlue- Do you remember the JetBlue Customer Bill of Rights? They created The Bill Customer Bill of Rights a few years ago after the big snafu that left customers stranded on runways during a snow storm.

Good news: JetBlue are serious about adhering to their Bill of Rights. I experienced that first hand during a flight from Boston to LA. Before the flight departed, we were informed...

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The “voice” that must be heeded

0 comments 743 reads

Posted on 2011-12-26

I’ve taken a fair number of surveys in my life but despite taking time to offer my opinions about how a company is performing, only about 1% of those companies has ever shared how that information was used.

Here’s how you can stand out from the competition and get your customers attention: Listen to them and respond to their feedback!

Perhaps you heard about “voice of the customer” programs. But what happens to that voice once it’s been heard or captured? That’s what matters.

Don’t waste your time or your customers’ time if you can’t act based on survey results. That imperative should drive every survey question you write. Each question must lead to actionable results because if it doesn’t, you should be hesitant to pose that question to a customer.

How do you listen/act and create a WOW customer experience? Consider these two points:

• Create a follow up plan: What kind of follow-up plan do you have with customers after they take the survey? How...

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Connect the voice of the customer to the right folks

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Posted on 2011-12-12

Here’s a great idea I heard from some top notch CX (Customer Experience) professionals while at the inaugural CXPA (Customer Experience Professional Association). Read on below and steal this idea for your company!

Create an ambassador program. One way to find these ambassadors is to have employees nominate peers to be an ambassador – of what? YOUR customers!

Here are some general elements of one customer ambassador program I learned about:

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What an accounting firm can teach you about CX metrics

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Posted on 2011-11-22
Recently I heard Aimee Lucas of Crowe Horwath (public accountants: http://www.crowehorwath.com/) speak about the right kinds of metrics and measures they use to measure their operations and the customer experience (including voice of the customer).

I really liked their 3 prong approach to measurement:
1. Metrics about the company (examples: employee retention, operational metrics, etc)
2. Metrics about the employees (example: how many are mentioned in client surveys for providing “above and beyond” service; and metrics/feedback from employee opinion surveys)
3. Metrics...
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BFF: Customer Experience & Consistency

0 comments 944 reads

Posted on 2011-10-25

One of the key principles in customer experience management is consistency. Without consistency, some customers may get a great experience and others will get something mediocre. I consider customer experience and consistency to be “BFF” or best friends forever. They are joined, never to part.

Here’s a personal experience to illustrate. I called AT&T to get help with some additional features / services I needed while I was traveling recently. They explained it all, I selected the right options and they even set the expiry date for these temporary features. Nice. At another time, I needed to call AT&T to check my phone warranty (my cellphone battery wasn’t holding its charge). They took care of the issue quickly and sent out a replacement battery. Wow, I actually felt like they appreciated my many years of patronage (since I was just past warranty expire date). I even said to one of the reps, “I can’t believe I can get such great treatment at AT&T.”

The...

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