Fine is a CX 4-Letter F-Bomb
Blog | January 30, 2024
By Danielle Chinitz
In the world of client experience, the word “fine” is anything but that. Customers today are not merely looking for “fine” experiences; they crave exceptional ones. The era of settling for the bare minimum is long gone. They want to feel special and will focus on services and products that offer that.
This is true for B2B service as well.
We kicked off our OpinionRoute CX initiative in January 2023 with this very point. When customers say everything is “fine,” we treat it is as a polite dismissal. It completely lacks emotional expectation.
Client apathy is a short trip to a client exit.
Continuous improvement is critical to keeping customers and employees engaged and satisfied.
Customers who say everything is “fine” may be holding back valuable input because it may be tough to hear. They might want to refrain from taking the time to explain their concerns or may fear being perceived as difficult. It’s important that businesses encourage honest feedback through quarterly reviews or Client Satisfaction surveys. These can be gold mines for discovering areas for improvement and innovation.
So what’s the upside?
Insights from client feedback can offer the keys to cultivating exceptional experiences. When properly built, your investment can create true brand advocates. Delighted customers become promoters, sharing their favorable experiences with colleagues and online communities.
CX Examples in Survey Research Partnerships
Here are some scenarios that may resonate with you. Are you on the receiving end of a great experience?
Scenario 1: Making a Feasibility Request of a Sample Vendor
Researcher Bid Summary: Highly involved, international project with some complex quotas for a new prospect.
- Fine Supplier Response: (five minutes later) – We are entirely feasible, and CPI will be $XX.
- Great Partner: How exciting! We would love to help you grow your portfolio. How does today at 1 pm look for you? Immediately after the call, follow up with a summary of what was discussed and provide costs and feasibility, with assumptions, caveats, and any links to desk research supporting the research initiative. Are there any additional materials I can provide to support you?
Scenario 2: In-field concern
Researcher communicates: I am worried about our survey’s lack of 18–24-year-old males. Please let me know what you can do to get this group back on track.
- Fine Supplier: I will send more invites now.
- Great Partner: (Beats the client to the punch!) Alert the client proactively that the 18-24-year-old quota group is under-represented, and adjustments have been made to correct the sample balance across age and gender demographics. “Don’t worry; we are still on pace to close fully and on time!”
Scenario 3: Tracker sample consistency
Researcher communicates: We are ready to launch wave three of our tracker. Please aim to have the same proportion of completes across suppliers and similar field period.
- Fine Supplier: Sorry, a different team member ran the last wave, and I cannot see their project. Can you please confirm the days in field and how you would like the sample to fall out across partners? Are you deduping? Also, are there any partner exclusions?
- Great Partner: Excellent, I am ready when you are. We fielded the last wave across ten days, so I will aim to have the same pacing. For consistency, I will spread the completes ~33% each across our three partners. I already have this set up to dedupe completes from waves one and two, as discussed when this first sold. I plan to be out of the office next week; all my notes are in the system, so there will be a smooth transition while I am away for a few days.
Pursuing excellence is an ongoing journey that requires active engagement, continuous improvement, and a genuine commitment to exceeding customer expectations.
It takes time, consistent effort, and total team commitment, but businesses can survive and thrive in today’s competitive landscape by avoiding the four-letter F-bomb of “Fine”.