Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today?s Customer

Looking For Ways to Improve Sales and Customer Relationships?

Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today's Customer Touchpoint Management (CTM) Revolution by Taking the CTM Quiz

(San Rafael, CA) What could be more important than improving sales and your customer relationships? Today, there is a fast growing movement, a revolution, among organizations interested in improving their customer-centricity through a better understanding of customer interactions, or "touchpoints." Called "Customer Touchpoint Management" (CTM), the goal of this new movement is to improve customer experiences, and as a result, improve customer relationships. By improving customer relationships organizations improve market share, sales, and both customer and employee loyalty and advocacy.

But what exactly is a "touchpoint?" Touchpoints are all of the communication, human and physical interactions your customers experience during their relationship lifecycle with your organization. Whether an ad, Web site, sales person, store or office, Touchpoints are important because customers form perceptions of your organization and brand based on their cumulative touchpoint experiences.

Savvy organizations realize that customer relationships can no longer be considered exclusively the domains of sales and customer service. If the accuracy of invoices, or the professionalism of installers or cleanliness of your store or office is lacking, then the relationship can suffer no matter how well the salesperson or "owner" of the relationship performs. Savvy organizations know that they can best enhance relationships with customers by improving touchpoints across the entire enterprise.

In fact, improving your customer relationships can deliver powerful results to your organization. For example, through a comprehensive Customer Touchpoint Management (CTM) program developed to understand and improve key customer touchpoints, Avis gained market share in key travel markets and became a leader in customer loyalty and satisfaction as measured by Brand Keys and JD Powers.

So, where does your organization stand in the growing Customer Touchpoint Management movement? Take the following six-question CTM Revolution Quiz to find out if your firm is a CTM Observer, Follower, Leader or Visionary. If you want to see how your organization compares to others, take the quiz online at http://www.tpmetrics.com/tp_quiz.asp.

CTM Revolution Quiz (Circle your Yes/No answer)

Does your organization know?

1. All of its points of customer interaction (called touchpoints)? Yes No

2. Which touchpoints your customers highly value? Yes No

3. Your customers' views of the effectiveness of highly valued touchpoints? Yes No

4. Your customers' needs in each stage of their relationship with your company? Yes No

5. The most common sequence of touchpoints prospects encounter as they consider your offerings? Yes No

6. How your current customers classify themselves (for example: as dissatisfied, satisfied, loyal or advocate)? Yes No

Add up your "Yes" answers to find where your organization is positioned in the CTM revolution:

0: CTM Observer. While your firm may be doing well, there are opportunities for dramatic improvement in the customer-centricity of your organization. If your approach to better understanding and improving customer touchpoints has been to observe or monitor customer service trends in your industry, you may be finding it more and more difficult to compete. New clients and strong sales may be masking poor customer satisfaction and retention issues, which could lead to a serious problem down the road. You know that improving customer-centricity will help, but your organization may be having trouble getting its hands around just how to accomplish this ? you're not sure exactly where to start. Previous efforts to improve customer experiences have generated mixed results. As a consequence, staff are highly skeptical of new programs and their ability to truly effect change. A change of culture may be required to dramatically improve customer-centricity, and you probably need third party assistance to accomplish this.

1 - 2: CTM Follower. Your organization is making progress on improving customer experiences and is generating some positive feedback as a result. However, you are still following the Customer Touchpoint Management leadership of others. You appreciate that you are more customer-centric than some of your competitors, but worry that you have significant hurdles to overcome to catch up to the customer service leaders in your industry. You are proud of the improvements made to date and you want to continue the organization's positive momentum. You realize that you may need outside experts to help the firm get to the next level.

3 - 4: CTM Leader. A Customer Touchpoint Management revolution leader, your organization is benefiting from being ahead of the customer experience curve. You excel in comparison with the majority of your competitors. Your sales are increasing, and you have improved the retention of both customers and employees. Customers who advocate your offerings are helping to fill your sales pipeline and employees who advocate your company are helping to attract outstanding staff. You are committed to continuously improving touchpoint performance through a dynamic Customer Touchpoint Management plan, and have systems in place that enable your organization to surface and apply touchpoint best practices. Not satisfied, however, you continually look internally and externally for opportunities to improve customer touchpoints in order to improve your customer-centricity and to stay ahead of your competition.

5 - 6: CTM Visionary. Your organization is the inspiration for the touchpoint revolution both within and outside of your industry. You have established benchmarks and best practices for developing and implementing a comprehensive Customer Touchpoint Management plan. You have developed a system of two-way communication that encourages ongoing and honest feedback from both customers and employees. Based on customer and staff input, you have established touchpoint standards and manage to those standards. Your customers consistently experience excellence in every touchpoint they encounter. Outstanding talent is clamoring to work for you and your competitors covet your employees. You are able to charge a premium for your products or services, and your corporate leaders are invited to speak about the customer-centricity of your organization. Happy to share your CTM story, you know that your success is based on an ingrained culture of relentlessly looking for better ways of understanding, improving and measuring your customer touchpoints in order to strengthen your position as a customer service leader, and to further distance yourself from your competitors.

We are in the early stages of the Customer Touchpoint Management revolution. If you find your organization positioned as a CTM Observer or Follower, it is not too late to learn from the Leaders and Visionaries and to apply the concepts of Customer Touchpoint Management to improving relationships with your customers. The benefits are powerful, creating happier customers, employees and owners.

About The Author

Hank Brigman is author of the upcoming book "Touchpoint Power!," and President and CEO of Touchpoint Metrics (www.tpmetric.com), the research consultancy that pioneered Touchpoint Mapping?. Based on their proprietary methodology, Touchpoint Metrics delivers data, insights and recommendations that serve as a foundation for Customer Touchpoint Management efforts. Hank can be reached directly at 415.258.8524 or via email at: hbrigman@tpmetrics.com.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Becoming A Solution To Your Customers Problems

Those of us in home based and small businesses are... Read More

At the Carwash; The Customer really is always Right

You have no doubt heard the saying that the customer... Read More

Minimize The Pain of Check Recovery

$350 million in bad checks are written each and every... Read More

Provide Exceptional Value - Grow Your Business

The primary objective of a business is to get and... Read More

Listen to Suggestions

If you are up to your ears in a stressful... Read More

Finding Out Why a Potential Customer is Calling On You

Our challenge as the business owner/sales person answering the telephone,... Read More

Customers - What They Really Want - 6 Secrets of Customer Service

What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly... Read More

The Art of Giving Great Service

Sales is tough to get right, and depends on retaining... Read More

Customer Loyalty

Loyal customers are the foundation of almost every business. Going... Read More

What Every Employee Should Know About Putting Positive Phrases Into Customer Service

If you were a customer on the telephone with a... Read More

Moments That Matter

Many years ago, I was a first year apprentice assigned... Read More

Quality vs. Quantity

There is a battle in Call Centers. The teams are... Read More

Customer Service: Why Bears Make Bad Customers

Every business owner should have a picture of his or... Read More

How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends

Those of us doing business over the internet have to... Read More

Customer Service and Marketing that Works

Go into many businesses today and try and get service,... Read More

4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company

Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of... Read More

Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time

How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack... Read More

Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work

Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of... Read More

Dont Forget your Existing Clients

Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the... Read More

Modern Call Center Solutions - Keeping in Touch is the Key

Call center solutions solve a range of age-old problems. As... Read More

Your Career Plan--Think Like A CEO

You've been going 6-to-late; exhausted by running the supersonic treadmill... Read More

Why Passenger Surveys are a Transport Operators Best Friend

Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not... Read More

How to Provide Instant Customer Service

Customer service is an essential component of any business. Clearly,... Read More

What You Need to Know About CRM

1. It's all about the customer. Some companies focus too... Read More

Hook Me Up With A Human

Oh, what has happened to the carbon-based organizational interface? Many... Read More

What?s in a Name?

Different people call their Customers by different names. If they... Read More

Doesnt Anybody Work Here? Nametags Impact Employee Communication

Walmart was the first business to require all its employees... Read More

Leverage Customer Capital First

If you're still dreaming about raising outside capital for your... Read More

Sorry, No Customer Service After 4:00 P.M.

A few months ago, I wrote about ingenious styles of... Read More

The Dissatisfied Customer

We, as small business people, naturally dislike complaints from our... Read More

You MUST Sweat the Small Stuff

It's The Little Things That Make or Break a Small... Read More

Customer Service, the Internets Primary Neglected Business Concern

Customer service is everything to a business. Just look at... Read More

Learning from Your Employees and Customers Complaints

Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a... Read More