Managing Customer Expectations Tim Warren Vice President for Technology Services San Juan College Farmington, NM October 31, 2010

Introduction Discuss the strategies used to align technology with the core business of the institution. Managing customer expectations requires IT to create and maintain credibility by: listening to the needs of the customer and planning accordingly explaining our services in their terms and not in the terms of the technology department communication, communication, communication and execution.

Agenda Customers Expectations Customer Service Paradox Customer Satisfaction Equation Customer Perceived Value (CPV) Steps to Improve Understand Customer Understand Expectations Attitude Planning Delivery Communication Summary

What defines a customer?

A customer is… Someone who seeks out or pays for goods or services Someone who uses or receives goods or services Someone who is a stakeholder or has a business relationship with an organization A purchaser, organization, or consumer after the sale Someone who receives valuable information and assistance

What are customer expectations?

An expectation is… A belief centered on the future, which may or may not be realistic A confident belief or strong hope that a particular event will happen A standard of conduct or performance expected by or of somebody

Customer expectations are… A promised cluster of benefits Customer comparison of perceived vs. expected benefits Evaluation of benefits vs. costs Bundle of benefits – economics, functional, and psychological

Expectations… Grow, shrink, and change shape and direction

The Customer Service Paradox The difference between what customers WANT And what they have learned they are going to RECEIVE

The Customer Service Paradox Customer expectations are formed from customer experiences What customers want is usually different than what they expect Providing customer service has become more challenging

The Customer Satisfaction Equation Your Performance Customer Satisfaction = _____________ Customer Expectations

Customer Perceived Value Demonstrate maximization of value Verify bundle of benefits Out perform perceived alternatives Excellent service maximizes the customer’s perceived value. Small service touches like minimizing help desk call holding times and rapid response to close work tickets. Managers who answer their phones and treat customer problems seriously (no matter how simple or complex) . Customers verify service benefits when they receive prompt and knowledgeable assistance from empathetic service providers on a consistent basis. To outperform customer perceived alternatives to service – look to past buying experiences, competitors offerings, industry standards and marketing information. i.e. Volvo gives the expectation of safety as its main benefit yet costs, financing and smooth ride are alternatives to the consumers perceived value.

Customers remix

Lets look at Customers from a different viewpoint.

The most important person in any business Not dependent on us rather we are dependent on them Is not an interruption of our work Is part of our business Deserves the most courteous attention we can give them

Five determinants of service quality Reliability – proving service as promised, dependability in handling customers’ service problems, performing services right the first time, providing services at the promised time, maintaining error-free records Responsiveness – Keeping customer informed as to when services will be performed, prompt service to customers, willingness to help customers, readiness to respond to customers’ requests Assurance – Employees who instill confidence in customers, making customers feel safe in their transactions, employees who have the knowledge to answer customer questions Empathy – Giving customers individual attention, employees who deal with customers in a caring fashion, having the customer’s best interests as heart, employees who understand the needs of the customers, convenient business hours Tangibles – modern equipment, visually appealing facilities, employees who have a neat, professional appearance, visually appealing materials associated with the service Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management (12 ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. (p.414)

Reliability – providing services as promised Responsiveness – prompt and helpful Assurance – knowledgeable & trustworthy Empathy – individual attention & caring Tangibles – modern equipment, professional looking employees Reliability – proving service as promised, dependability in handling customers’ service problems, performing services right the first time, providing services at the promised time, maintaining error-free records Responsiveness – Keeping customer informed as to when services will be performed, prompt service to customers, willingness to help customers, readiness to respond to customers’ requests Assurance – Employees who instill confidence in customers, making customers feel safe in their transactions, employees who have the knowledge to answer customer questions Empathy – Giving customers individual attention, employees who deal with customers in a caring fashion, having the customer’s best interests as heart, employees who understand the needs of the customers, convenient business hours Tangibles – modern equipment, visually appealing facilities, employees who have a neat, professional appearance, visually appealing materials associated with the service Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management (12 ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. (p.414)

Always strive to… Avoid the gap between customer expectations and perceptions Say “I don’t know” but I will find out right now

Steps to improve

Understand Customer Expectations Surveys, surveys, surveys Focus groups MBWA Listen

Manage Customer Expectations Don’t wait for complaints to come to you Anticipate needs and set realistic expectations through customer education and communications Watch for changes Educate your customers on what they can expect

Attitude IT people consider themselves technologists instead of service providers Keep commitments Tim’s Rule of Clumping

Planning Anticipate your customer’s next move Understand your business and your industry Through planning you can meet your customer expectations and become strategically valuable to your business

Communicate The customer needs to know about your progress on their problems, what you will deliver, and what you need from them and when you expect to deliver Don’t confuse customer contact with communication Customers tend to define their needs in terms of what they don’t like instead of what they like

Not Affected Services: Summary: Network Services will be performing updates and system maintenance on all servers this Friday, December 4, 2009, from 5:30PM to 12:00 midnight, we will be updating all servers except those listed in the “Not Affected Services” section of this email. We will attempt to minimize downtime in the areas as much as possible. In most cases, servers will only be unavailable for five to ten minutes each. Your Actions: None Not Affected Services: Help: If you have any questions regarding this, please call the Help Desk at 566-3266. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your patience. An example of an OTS Alert notifying users of actions that are happening or going to happen. Red indicates an alert.

The email server was rebooted and services have been restored. Summary: The email server was rebooted and services have been restored. Your Actions: Please let the Help Desk know if you are still experiencing email difficulty. Affected Services: Some email services for users. Help: If you have any questions regarding this, please call the Help Desk at 566-3266. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your patience. Thank You, Help Desk Office of Technology Services An example of an OTS Update message. These messages give users information on incidents. Blue is non-critical.

Deliver You have to deliver results when promised And attend to the process Because excelling in the technical element alone will not improve expectations

Learn How to Say No Who can really say No! When you have to say no…. Call the customer and explain why Be open and honest Be professional and considerate of customers Enhances their view of your organization…even when they are disappointed by the outcome

Above all… Never make a promise to a customer unless you know you can deliver on it

In summary Understand your customer Attitude is everything so you can manage their expectations Attitude is everything Let’s not forget planning and delivery Communicate, communicate, communicate Know how and when to say no Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

Questions?

Vice President for Technology Services Thank You. Tim Warren Vice President for Technology Services San Juan College warrent@sanjuancollege.edu http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/documents/ots/STEMTEch2010.ppt