Keeping 30 million customers happy is a tall order. But Borders Group, Inc. has taken on that challenge—with information to back it up.
In an effort to increase customer satisfaction in more than 460 superstores in the U.S., Borders has for two years been conducting customer satisfaction surveys.
“In the past, the best way we had to measure customer service was through Mystery Shoppers,” says Charlie Moore, director, sales, service and support Borders Group. “But that method proved ineffective at capturing actionable data.”
To do it, the firm turned to Service Management Group (SMG).
Using an automated voice response phone system, SMG began collecting customer feedback for Borders through 45,000 customer surveys quarterly. Invitations to participate in the 22-question survey were printed on random store receipts, along with a toll-free number for the participant to call.
“We ask specifically about overall satisfaction with the shopping experience,” says Moore. “There are questions about store loyalty as well as about staff interaction and customer shopping habits.”
Participants who complete the five-minute survey are prompted to redeem their receipt for a 15% discount on their next purchase. Of those who redeem the coupon, about 60 percent spend more than the average customer’s total ticket.
Customers can also leave voice comments through SMG’s Voice of the Customer service.
“The biggest benefit of the voice comments isn’t so much to get a gauge on what the customer is telling us so we can make a change, but to provide motivation to the staff,” says Moore. “Oftentimes, managers play the comments over the speaker phone at staff meetings if someone has performed exceptionally well and is recognized by name.”
The surveys give Moore a clearer picture of what drives Borders’ customer satisfaction. “We’ve learned that what is most important to our customers is our ability to connect with the customer and meet their needs, the selection of merchandise offered and the ability to efficiently complete their shopping experience,” he says.
Moore receives weekly and quarterly reporting on what he terms, “the value of customer engagement” at the store level. From that he has learned that when staff offer assistance to a customer, that person is 20% more satisfied than someone who is not offered assistance. Other satisfaction drivers included in the survey include employees’ product knowledge and availability as well as selection of items. All of these satisfaction points increase when a customer is engaged.
SMG’s web-based reporting system allows corporate staff and store managers access to real-time data. It can be provided on a national basis or a break down by region, district and individual stores. The reports provide 30-, 60- and 90-day trends of key customer satisfaction drivers at individual stores. Also, the reports can break down overall customer satisfaction levels by each day of the week.
“Each part of the report drills down one step further to give us an almost laser-like ability to focus on improving overall customer satisfaction,” Moore says.
Implementing what he has learned from the surveys, Moore now refers to a process called the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI). “The CSI has been integrated within our key measurement systems and tied directly to the performance of the store through financial incentives,” he says. “CSI provides not only the customer satisfaction feedback, but can be linked to other operational areas within the store, like sales and aspects of profit.”
An internal marketing program educates managers and staff to the survey results and their importance. The program provides assistance with how to use the customer survey data to improve their store. Also, staff training on ways to engage and connect with customers to make their shopping experience rewarding and relevant in meeting their needs is also provided, says Moore.
Through customer insights, the retailer has also made physical changes in the stores. Product displays by check-out counters were removed, thus allowing customers to see available staffed registers. This, says Moore, improved customers’ perception of wait time.
“We knew checkout speed was important, but didn’t fully understand its true level of significance to customers until we started hearing directly from shoppers about it. We realized that if we addressed it strongly we were going to see a natural rise in overall satisfaction. And that’s what happened,” he said.
Every quarter, each Borders store receives a Service Improvement Advisor Report(tm). These reports detail two key areas of customer satisfaction and two areas which need improvement. Also included are potential causes and solutions for each. Moore draws many of the solutions from ideas generated at workshops he has held with Borders general managers nationwide.
“We sell product along with other booksellers, Wal-Mart, Target and other companies. But we know the way in which we differentiate ourselves is by the breadth of our product and the service we offer,” said Moore.
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