Enhancing Customer Service through Market Research and Segmentation February 27, 2013 Paula Edwards Director Customer Care, GO Transit

GO Transit - Background A division of Metrolinx 1967 first service launched 64 million passengers moved in 2012 260,000 passengers/weekday 80% Rail; 20% Bus Connects 16 municipal transit systems 78 stations / terminals 66,000 + parking spaces

Turning Point for Customer Service 88% train on-time performance in 2008/09 Negative public and customer perception Focus on operations and safety often compromised customer service Lack of customer engagement Led to a 3 year Customer Service Strategy that was approved in 2009

Research in 2008 Customer Satisfaction Survey – 1st in 5 years Origin/Destination bi-annual surveys Reactive action based on customer complaints – no trending

Embedding the Customer into our Culture Customer Service Training Roadmap Research Road Map Mystery Shopping Usage and Attitude Study Customer Experience Mapping Retail Strategy Customer Segmentation Customer Satisfaction Executive Workshops Ideas @ Work Customer Online Advisory Panel Customer Comment Dashboard Established the Research and Business Solutions team Passenger Charter Focus Groups Customer Satisfaction Program Excellence + We Excel Delivering Strategic Services 2013 We Anticipate Moving Beyond Expectations 2012 We Care II Reinforcing our Commitment 2011 Tiered approach was needed to get the organization ready to listen to the voice of the customer. Paired the research initiatives with our Customer service training roadmap to build a comprehensive view of the customer that is shared with the organization. 2010 We Care I Serving our Customers 2009 Foundations

Let GO Know Launched in April-2011 as a foundational tool to elevate research Over 6,700 panellists Average response rate of 41% 70% respond within 24 hrs. Utilized for: - Concept testing for new products - Insights for new programs and initiatives - Feedback on existing products/services Research now completed at 1/10th of the cost of traditional surveys

How We’re Listening Closing the feedback loop with customers Website links survey results with action GO News Annual progress reports Public facing scorecard

Evolving Research to Insights Customer Insights Customer Satisfaction Origin / Destination Surveys Let GO Know Customer Comments Ideas At Work Focus Groups Performance Analytics

GO’s Customer Segmentation

GO’s Segmentation Approach Striving to be more than just a transportation provider We learned from Retail; Every Passenger is the Same Everyone is Completely Different Natural Grouping of Preferences To believe in segmentation is to believe that people are neither completely and utterly different from one another or that each and every person is the same. Segmentation is about modeling the consumer space with the goal to provide clarity for business direction. The role of research in this study is to bring order to a rather chaotic world for the marketer – to see the patterns, to see the groupings/segments of riders that share common behaviors, choices and feelings. Segmentation can help reduce the noise and bring focus. Designed to create an actionable segmentation of GO riders in order to improve service and communications.

GO’s Customer Categories GO’s Segments are based on: Demographics and Psychographics Media habits, Hobbies and Interests Satisfaction with and Attitudes towards GO Transit Activities on the GO Reasons for Riding and Frequency of Riding on GO Transit Travel patterns Demographics: Refers to selected population characteristics as used in government, marketing or opinion research, or the demographic profiles used in such research; characteristics such as age, race, or gender. E.g.: •Age: children, teens, young, middle, senior •Gender: male, female, third gender (India/Hindu among others) •Education: high school, technical, college, post graduate •Income: poor, low, middle, upper, wealthy •Marital status: single, married, divorced, significant other •Ethnicity and/or race: White, Black, Aboriginal, Latino, European •Family life cycle: newlyweds, married 10+ years, with or without children Psychographics: Refers to variables of attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. •Lifestyle: adventurous, affluent, frugal, intellectual, trendy. E.g.: •Political: Conservative, Democrat, Independent, Liberal, Republican •Religion and/or belief system: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim •Social class: lower, middle, upper, blue-collar, white-collar •Opinion: easily led or opinionated, helpful, negative, positive •Activities & Interests: books, fitness, hobbies, shopping, sports •Attitudes & Values: environmentalist, security conscious, vegetarian

GO’s Customer Segmentation GO settled on 7 distinct passenger personas: • “The Happy Rider” • “The Working Rider” • “The Rider that Wants to be Left Alone” • “The Angry Rider” • “The Social Rider” • “The ‘Hip’ Rider” • “The Student Rider” “The Happy Rider”

GO’s Customer Segmentation “The Working Rider” “The Rider that Wants to be Left Alone”

GO’s Customer Segmentation “The Angry Rider” “The Social Rider”

GO’s Customer Segmentation “The ‘Hip’ Rider” “The Student Rider”

In Practice – GO’s Quiet Zone Segmentation Research Found How we used the Research Celebrated among six segments An opportunity to delight “The Angry Rider” and the “Rider who wants to be left alone” Pay attention to “The Social Rider” Would you use the quiet car? The Rider that wants to be left alone 84% The Student Rider 81% The Angry Rider The Happy Rider 78% The “Hip” Rider 77% The Working Rider 76% The Social Rider 51%

Using Segmentation moving forward Incorporating Segmentation into all research Marketing Plan Courtesy Campaign Brand Design Refresh Social Media Communications Strategy Next multi-year Customer Service Strategy Executive workshops where segmentation will be applied to individual stations and bus routes Segmentation is embedded in all research conducted with GO customers Roadshows and information sessions for various departments and divisions so it can be incorporated into daily work/decision-making Develop a full- ledged action plan that can be shared in the organization and identify the ‘low hanging’ fruit Develop training modules and carry out front-line training as part of the “Excellence in Service - 5-year Training Roadmap”

How we’re doing:

What We’ve Learned It’s a journey – not a quick win Have a Plan. “Without a destination, any road will do"  It doesn’t need to cost a lot Recognize the diversity/similarities in your customers needs Engage executives early and take action Close the feedback loop with your customers I – A strong Market research program is not an easy fix, but takes dedication and commitment II – The Plan guides you and keeps you accountable III – You do not need huge consulting costs, a lot of this can be done in house. Also on line panels cut surveying costs substantially. IV – Your market is not made up of all one type of customer nor is it completely fragmented…segments can be found! V – Executive buy in is critical to ensuring they are asking about the customer and ensure you take action on the findings VI - Closing the feedback loop with customers Website links survey results with action GO News Annual progress reports Public facing scorecard

Thank You! GO, Union Pearson Express and PRESTO are divisions of Metrolinx, an Agency of the Government of Ontario