ES2002

The Human Touch

In today's competitive market, the key differentiator for many comparable products is the level of human touch received, according to new research by John McKean, Executive Director, Centre for Information Based Competition. Results shows that a customer's decision to buy is largely based on the quality of interactions and a smaller amount on the product or service attributes.

Customer defection will continue until businesses invest sufficient company resources in to effectively providing this "human touch". Technology is part of the enabler of the 'Human Touch', but the challenge is for call centre, sales and marketing people to be empowered to use the right technology to humanise, not dehumanise the customer experience. Keri Allan recently caught up with John McKean, to see what they had to say about the ‘Human Touch’.

When it comes to the 'Human Touch' how many companies are getting it wrong, and how are they getting it wrong?

John McKean - Most companies have a long way to go to create a consistent human touch across their entire business. At the same time, every business has exceptional individuals who intuitively practice the human touch every day. Unfortunately, the human touch practiced at individual levels is typically random and inconsistent. This random "human touch" does not create a strong enough impression of "humanness" in the eyes of the customer. Most companies go wrong by designing their customer interfaces (sales, service, call centre, Web) for the company's convenience, control, and autonomy and not the customer's. By doing this, the company is negatively impacting the very buying emotions that it should positively influence in order to facilitate a purchase by the customer for their company versus a competitor.

What research did you do for the book, and what in particular did you discover?

John McKean - The research was a combination of independently funded corporate studies combined with CIBC's primary research with leading human touch practitioners around the world. What was so enlightening was that the essence or DNA of every exceptional business performance, beyond competitive product quality and operational effectiveness, was the simple three common customer-buying needs of acknowledgment, respect, and trust.

So what exactly is it that customers want?

John McKean -Customers want to be satisfied as a consumer, i.e. the best product at the best price for them. Because satisfying this product and price requirement is simply a competitive necessity for companies today, the true opportunity for differentiation predominantly lies in satisfying the customer as a human being, i.e. acknowledging them while showing respect and building trust.

How can this knowledge help companies, what benefits could they see from taking this onboard?

John McKean - The fact that the importance of how a company treats its customers as people relative to the importance of product or price has been quantified will raise awareness. This awareness will prompt changes in business priorities and ultimately resource allocation. The benefits are obvious - if 70% of a customer's decision to choose your company versus your competitors is how human they are treated, then shifting investments in the treatment of customers as people will yield direct revenue and profit results.

What impact can technology have on the 'Human Touch'?

John McKean - Unless a company has less than 10 customers, technology is absolutely essential for creating the human touch on a consistent, company-wide scale. 50% of technology implemented today actually dehumanises customers because of basic architecture, design, and implementation criteria.