Customer Experience Mapping can be a powerful tool for improving customer service. This type of mapping does not replace good quantitative survey studies that measure citizen satisfaction levels or identify citizen needs and preferences, but it is better at bridging the chasm between “service is not great” and “how exactly should we fix it?” If an agency finds itself conducting lots of surveys but then observes it’s not able to quickly generate creative solutions, then Customer Experience Mapping might be the right next step. This methodology highlights the service interaction from the customer’s point of view—which is most often different from the internal process view—and it shines a light on specific service improvement opportunities. The technique involves three steps:
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Want to deliver more and better service at lower costs? Start with the customer!
Agency leaders responsible for customer service are caught in a vise of shrinking budgets and rising demand. Recognizing this, an April 27 Executive Order directed agencies to streamline and improve customer service, in part by deploying innovative technology.
To respond to these challenges, managers will have to fundamentally rethink service mix and service delivery. Certainly, that means applying technology. But to meet the dual demands of lower cost and improved service, it must be done judiciously. The key to leveraging technology lies in first understanding the market and then tailoring service to the varying needs and preferences of different customer groups.
Why Government Can Learn from Private Sector on Customer Loyalty
Taxpayers are not customers in the way that businesses in the private sector view people who buy their goods and services. In the private sector, organizations compete for customers, vie for market share, and develop products and services to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Businesses in most industries are financially rewarded for repeat customers and for sales per customer, and there is often a direct economic link between company profits and customer retention.