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Experience is vital, but you need to measure it
26 May 2009
by Peter Martin
'Best-in-class' companies are either maintaining or increasing their expenditure on experience management
Understanding the art of experience management, and understanding its impact for customers and your "bottom-line". Getting customers in may be one thing, but making sure they return may be something else, as t keynote speaker at Peach Network's 'Consumers in Recession' event, Mike Amos, demonstrated.
Amos is head of Empathica, the international specialists in measuring and managing customer loyalty. Even in recession, and perhaps particularly in a downturn, customers expect a great experience for their money when they go out.
Managing experience, or 'delivering on the promise', is paramount - but so too is being able to measure and understand its impact on customers.
'Best-in-class' companies are either maintaining or increasing their expenditure on experience management this year against last, says Amos, citing research that demonstrates that a 5% lift in overall satisfaction equates to a 1% increase in sales and that 'fully satisfied' customers buy 32% more.
In other words give them a good time and they are more likely to come back - and a 'good time' revolves mainly around great service. The important thing is to measure it, and that's what Amos' business can help operators do.
Getting customer feedback and then relaying that to your teams is central to the process. His simple equation is that an improved focus on guest experience drives higher performance ratings and, most importantly, sales across a group.
The other factor in this is continuing to communicate with customers to prompt return business and to convert more to become loyal customers with a high lifetime value.
Contact Mike Amos, Empathica: mamos@empathica.com;
Website: www.empathica.com
