The Hindu Business Line : Demanding? Who, me?

A few years ago Mike Clasper, the then President of Procter and Gamble, had made this prediction. "I would label the consumer of 2025 in three ways: more demanding, wiser and more worried" My question to you is simple. Aren't you more demanding as a consumer today than you were five years ago? If my wife is to be believed, I am not only more demanding but more of a pain!

Yes, even as we struggle to create products that deliver "more," are "new" and on occasion even "improved," we are being confronted with a customer whose mission statement seems to be the word "more." How do we cope with this new animal who is suddenly discovering the power of his wallet and is not afraid of exercising his rights which incidentally seems absolutely unreasonable to the marketer? What must we do? How do we understand, appreciate, and most importantly deliver to this customer? Here is an attempt at looking at the whole thing from the consumer's point of view for at the end of the day, however difficult they may be, without customers none of us can be in business.

Empathy? What it is?

Some time ago Britannia had an interesting commercial for the launch of a new variant of its successful 50-50 range of biscuits. The variant was called Pepper Chakkar and Cyrus Bharucha went around from pillar to post asking "what it is" thereby highlighting the intriguing taste of the new product that was being launched. At times, I am reminded of this commercial by our marketers. Because they seem singularly clueless about customers and their expectations.

An HBR classic that I read 25 years ago and surprisingly remember even today is entitled (I think or is the right word `hope') "what makes a good salesman." The author, God bless him, said the two qualities that make salesmen good are "empathy" and "ego drive" (or a motivation to succeed). Empathy is extremely critical for people to succeed in sales and marketing. And yet how many of us possess this elusive quality or even realise the need for it? And what is in our way?

I think it starts with the mind. As Edward De Bono suggests we wear different hats. The obvious one is as a consumer. As a consumer, I am extremely demanding. If the doorman at the five-star hotel does not spring to open my car door when I enter, I classify the service as poor. If a service provider does not answer the phone in the third ring, I classify her as lazy. If the shopkeeper makes an error in my bill, I am quick to describe him as a "thief." If the call centre person's voice is not as sweet as a nightingale I brand her `M. R. Radha' (whose guttural voice needs no introduction to anyone who has watched Tamil movies).

But what happens when I wear my official hat? My standards drop alarmingly and instantly. The phone at office goes to voice mail after 16 rings (But we are busy). Mails are not responded to within 24 hours (A problem with the mail server). Why do they always call on Friday evening? Why are our customers so difficult? Haven't you heard this "difficult customer" description? Are you leading the way or following your boss in customer bashing? Why do we have different sets of expectations as customers and service providers? If this does not apply to you then I salute you.

Small things make me happy

Very often we are willing to offer discourses on customer service and that even more abused word "customer delight," but fail to understand that customer service is in the details. In the boring, often annoying, attention to detail. As a public relations company we often discover that we get fantastic coverage for our client but still have an irritated client on our hands because we did not send the coverage on time. And we are so often so much on the defensive that we miss opportunities to delight.

Let me give you a couple of examples of small things that floored me, both by Kingfisher Airlines which (at least in my mind) is running pretty close to Jet Airways, a wonderful and established service provider. Kingfisher Airlines was the first to have attendants who picked up your baggage even as you were getting down from your car. Today, other airlines have followed suit and Jet Airways is thinking of providing cab services to its customers. A few days ago at 5.40 a.m. as I was standing groggily in a long queue, waiting my turn, I was quickly and happily awakened by the sight and action of a Kingfisher attendant who came to me, switched on his Blackberry, printed out my boarding card and handed it to me with a smile.

What is your reaction to this? Oh, we are not in the airline business. But all of us are in the business of attracting and retaining customers. Otherwise, we would not remain in business.

Having asked you your reaction to those two situations let me also give you my reaction - as a consumer. My expectations have just gone up. Nor is this expectation restricted only to airline travel. Today I expect the Corporation Bank clerk to smile at me on Saturday morning when I go for my passbook. She is harassed, harried and scowling. And I think there is an important learning for us. Customers will make comparisons even unreasonably across categories. And the sooner we realise this, the better. Benchmarks are being created by other categories. So let's keep our eyes and ears open to new opportunities to serve.

New "moments of truth"

Jan Carlzon immortalised the `moments of truth' in airline travel. These five moments of truth

Making a reservation

Getting tickets

Boarding

Flying

Retrieving baggage

are known to all of us. Let me throw your line back at you "after all you don't run an airline." No, we don't, but can we understand and analyse the "moments of truth" in our respective industries? The moments of truth that make or break relationships. Is it the pitch proposal that we send? The manner of handling price negotiations? The timely delivery or delay in handing over the project? The final invoice? Each industry has its own critical characteristics with its own unique set of customers and their expectations. Let's talk less about Jet Airways and Kingfisher and talk about our own businesses. We might unearth a few nasty surprises.

Lifetime value and all that jazz

Another customer service concept doing the rounds is that of "lifetime value." Yes, we want customers to be with us for life. Many young men and women in this country open their bank accounts and get their first credit cards in their early twenties. We catch them young but do we hold on to them? The banks and card companies treat them so poorly that the moment they become `high net worth individuals' they switch loyalties and banks. What is your own loyalty programme to hold on to your customers for life?

Demands of customer service

Yes, my demands will continue to increase. Fuelled by my own greed (!) and what I see around me.

I want you to empathise with me.

I want you to recognise me as an individual.

I want you to do small things that will make me hugely happy.

I want you to know the `moments of truth.'

I want you to recognise my lifetime value.

And the good news is that I could be a high net worth customer. The bad news is that I want more. And I want it now!

(Ramanujam Sridhar is CEO of Brand-comm.)

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