What do we know about what’s changing in the way customers think, feel, and behave? The pandemic seems to have accelerated some trends that were already obvious, and introduced a few curveballs of its own.

In this episode Greg and Stephen discuss the evidence from consumer surveys, national measures of satisfaction and consumer sentiment, and data about actual customer behaviour.

Some of the things referenced are TLF Research’s Index of Consumer Sentiment, the Institute of Customer Service’s UKCSI, and this article on Google search trends.

We were really pleased to catch up with Cat Lewis, Head of Internal Comms & Employee Engagement at Reward Gateway, to find out more about the “work modes” model for hybrid working that she described in this Customer Insight magazine article.

This conversation really helped to put their model into context, and opens up a much wider context for thinking about culture, management, and the best ways to use office space.

At the beginning of 2021 we launched a new online course taking participants step by step through the always-popular topic of Customer Journey Mapping.

In this episode Greg quizzes Stephen about what the course covers, what learners can expect, and why we created the course.

If you’re interested, you can find out more at https://www.tlfresearch.com/online-customer-journey-mapping-course/ The next start date is 27th September 2021.

The foundation of a loyalty strategy is that customer satisfaction pays, in the long term, but can we prove it? It can be difficult to come up with an overall number (like “5% more satisfaction equates to £1,000,000 more profit”), but what’s often easier is to isolate specific mechanisms by which satisfaction contributes to increased revenue (e.g. through higher retention and recommendation) or decreased costs (e.g. by reducing avoidable contact).

In this episode Greg and Stephen discuss a recent article that shows another mechanism by which satisfaction benefits the bottom line: it reduces the cost of capital for organisations.

They take that as a jumping-off point to talk about proving the business case, and why a loyalty strategy is better for everyone.

Here’s the Igloo Energy article that Stephen mentioned.

It’d be pretty hypocritical if we didn’t survey our own clients, wouldn’t it? Every year we conduct our own survey to help make sure we understand our clients and are able to meet their needs, even (or especially) when events like the global pandemic change so much.

Greg and Stephen discuss the timing of the survey, what we learned (including how lockdown had affected their customer experience programmes and the future challenges they anticipated), and why it helps us empathise with our clients.

In the latest edition of Customer Insight, our feature article is based on an interview that Stephen conducted with Tina Hobart and James Maguire from Mitie.

In it they discuss the combination of customer research and account management, driven by top level commitment to the customer, that has led to a rapid improvement in Mitie’s overall NPS.

Greg and Stephen talk about the lessons we can all draw from Mitie’s story, and mostly avoid getting drawn into a discussion about the questionable benefits of tender processes.

What is trust, can you measure it, and do you need to in order to understand your customer relationships properly?

In this episode Greg and Stephen talk about the webinar “Measuring Trust” (which is running again in July: https://www.tlfresearch.com/measuring-trust/ ), and why trust is crucial to predicting how customers will react when things go wrong.

Greg interviews Stephen about his new book Your Customer Survey: Using Research To Build A Distinctive Customer Experience.

Who’s it for, what’s it about, and what makes it different to all the other customer experience books that are out there?

If you’re interested you can buy the paperback from TLF Research and there is also a Kindle version.

Greg quizzes Stephen about his recent webinar on “The New Customer Experience Landscape 2021”. What have we seen in 2020 which is going to lead to lasting change?

Stephen argues that qualitative research is more vital now than it’s ever been, and that the three big themes for 2021 are Culture, Sustainability, and Empathy.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch a recording.

Greg and Stephen talk about turning research insight into action to improve the customer experience, based on Greg’s recent webinar.

Action is hard not because it’s unclear what needs to happen, but because of the power of the status quo. The decisions you make before and during your survey can be more important than what you do with it afterwards.