Too Big to See : Part One

Our Tapyness research team is constantly segmenting business categories and verticals for deep study to better understand customer attitudes toward them that are often not openly visible to common methods of capturing this information.

However, despite the wide range of technology available to capture customer sentiments, enterprises usually don't discover that their customer service is deficient until significant damage has been done to their reputations.

These businesses are not sufficiently enlightened by outdated long-form surveys. The decline of this methodology is well documented. It frustrates most people to be bombarded with multipage surveys that do not provide the opportunity to express their views on their experience. In addition, legacy retail businesses may be slow to realize that these methods are ineffective, and therefore they may not realize they need to change.

Homeostasis is a powerful force! It is foundational in nature, and it keeps us alive. But it also must evolve to enable survival.

Homeostasis is an appropriate term to apply to large enterprise corporations. Sandy Munro of Munro Engineering tells a powerful story about the impact of the slow adoption of needed change in the automotive industry. He was an engineer for two of the major auto companies years before he started his own research firm. Today, he mostly focuses on the emerging electric vehicle segment.

Munro Engineering acquires a vehicle from the manufacturer at its own expense to avoid any conflict of interest. They disassemble that vehicle to the last bolt and screw. Then they analyze the current manufacturing process to identify inefficiencies in both quality and production. Subsequently, they sell the reports with their recommendations back to the manufacturer. Often, they can identify millions of dollars in savings potential that the company can greatly benefit from, thereby improving profitability and customer satisfaction.

Here is where his story becomes fascinating. He reports that he has seen it take as long as five years for the major US auto companies to implement the improvements Munro recommends if, in fact, they do so at all. In contrast, he has witnessed that Tesla implements the Munro recommendations at what he calls “the speed of thought”. The recommended improvements often appear as quickly as 90 days in some reported cases.

It's probably inevitable that Tesla will eventually be a slow, deep-layered monster in the manufacturing sector because great growth and success will always produce that outcome. But they are not encumbered in that way yet, and it gives them a great advantage compared to Ford and GM. And the automobile manufacturing vertical is typical of any other example of large American company.

What about what we refer to as big box chains that dot the entire country today? They include companies such as Loews and Home Depot in the home improvement vertical. Best Buy, Kroger’s, Walmart, and Costco also are among the largest enterprises. There are far too many to list here in the next tier down such as Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s, Barnes and Noble, and Ace Hardware. All these enterprises have an important and worrisome trait in common. Despite believing they know everything about their customers, they don't, and just as importantly, they don't have the right information.

The headquarters of these companies must be located somewhere in the country, so policies and procedures are controlled mostly from afar. As a result, they create an organizational and decision-making hierarchy that is inefficient by nature, despite their belief otherwise. They can survive this way of operating because they dominate if not outright monopolize their segment which creates a high-velocity revenue flywheel that flares off ten figure and greater revenues.

A feeling of invincibility is fostered among the C-suite of a company. They become confident that every idea and operating decision needs to flow from the top down. Consequently, the store manager is a puppet being managed by the corporate marionettes. One store manager related, jokingly (or not), that he had to consult corporate for instructions about which side of the toilet paper sheet he should use.

Many store-level details should be visible to these large enterprises, but their operating method blinds them to this information. The lines of communication are analogous to tin cans connected with strings from a distance. And store managers can become very wary of risking their position by making uninvited suggestions that have to defy gravity to be considered.

Think about it - it is the store manager who is best placed to capture and understand customer satisfaction. They are the best source to inform upper management about challenges being seen. Furthermore, the store manager should be empowered to use the most effective technology and resources available to accomplish that task. That way, corrections and adjustments can be made promptly to avoid negative publicity.

For capturing customer experience data, what might be the most effective method, supported by the best technology? Ideally, it would be one that can capture anonymous input in context, in real-time, and report it instantly to management.

If customers can express their dissatisfaction at the moment of contact, they will be less inclined to broadcast their displeasure on social media platforms. Additionally, it can ensure that new customers won't have the same negative experience.