Deluged by Data, Give Me Information - By John Hendrie

Ping, zing, zowey, pow – we are inundated by data.  Certainly, as consumers, we are bombarded by this hailstorm throughout the day by all our instruments of communication.  It is like we are the subject of another fine computer game by Atari on a lonely quest for actualization of all that data, moving toward that trove of information riches all the while avoiding, dodging the data blasts and bolts.  Give me data that I can understand and act upon to move myself and my business forward.  We have come a long way from Comment Cards and word of mouth!  Make my data information.

Do you remember those Data Processing departments of old?  The poor DP/IT department head was crushed by all sorts of requests for reports. We would besiege the overextended programmers (even schmooz them) with our slicing and dicing requirements of that data. All departments had to submit their needs requests, be prioritized and wait, wait, wait for their reports. Now, we as individuals have access to almost everything, but we still seek information, for that data needs to be translated, interpreted into something we can actually use.  With just data, we have plenty of nothing (all the paints, but no picture)!

We try to reach out to our guests and customers; we want to hear their voice.  We want them to be our friend, so we share our story with them, many times successfully.  They respond by befriending us and passing along the good news.  Unfortunately, if they become irked, they move that displeasure along, as well.  Social Media can be tricky, for we really want to sell and creating a relationship takes so much time, and we do not always control that conversation.  But, if managed well, this course of action is fantastic.

We want to create some trust and loyalty.  We can choose to survey our customers, looking for their feedback and insight.  In this mode you must be careful, for you may receive a response you do not want.  Anything you send out you need to be ready to act upon, otherwise, your effort is dishonest and false.  Make the survey user-friendly.  You need to be very careful with how you design your questionnaire and do not make it too long.  And, to receive the best response, give the respondent some incentive to complete the survey.  We can reach them many ways.

No matter the effort, you still grapple with data and need someone to put your analytics in an understandable format which you and your colleagues can use.  That usage needs to be flexible, timely, and most importantly, actionable.  A company which can meet these needs will serve up your success and enhanced reputation.  Duck, here comes another data storm!

 

LRA Worldwide is a leading research and consulting company in the emerging discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM). We work with our clients to help them design and deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences in order to drive customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy, and company growth and profitability. We have built a range of quality assurance, mystery shopping, research, training and consulting solutions to help them do so.

Today, we are a growing company operating in more than 120 countries throughout the world, servicing our clients from offices and resources in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and helping clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the National Football League, Avis Budget Group, Madison Square Garden, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group deliver exceptional customer experiences. Every touch. Every time. For more information, visit us at www.LRAworldwide.com.


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