Androids with Heart…

One is glad to be of service.

 — Robin Williams in “Bicentennial Man”

Have you ever watched your customer relationship management (CRM) software “serve” people? In the1999 science-fiction movie “Bicentennial Man”, Robin Williams stars as Andrew, an android who, through his interactions with his human owners and the world around him, endeavors to become human. In his role as a computerized servant, Andrew struggles to understand the idiosyncrasies of his biological masters though sometimes humorous but always touching interactions. Andrew’s mission in life, characterized by his signature catch phrase (“One is glad to be of service.”) begins as a core program built into his subroutines. But as Andrew gradually acquires emotions, his realizations about the importance of heart-felt service to others (first towards his close friends, and eventually to all of humanity) become the driving message of the movie, and the very purpose of Andrew’s existence.

It would not be a stretch for me to say that in my world (the world of customer service and CRM technology), the most mature automation is best known (and valued) for the way it enables organizations to provide deeper service orientation and its users more meaningful time with customers. Mature CRM technology and practice is characterized by the way it opens new opportunities for people to deliver heart-felt service to customers. By definition, any technology intended to engage and maintain a relationship between people (business or personal) has at its foundation a very tangible human element. You already know that, for your company to enjoy long-term prosperity, it must be willing to consistently re-examine and improve on basic factors in human interaction; factors that some may even regard as obvious. If you feel you have a handle on your customer acquisition and retention practices, are investing seriously in CRM technology, but still aren’t feeling the love from customers, it may be because the behaviors that seem obvious amongst marketing, sales, and support teams may not be carrying through to the technologies that support them.

Extensive studies by Texas A&M University show consistent traits leading to customer perception of service quality. In their research, they surveyed over nine hundred customers of diverse service businesses such as retail banking, securities brokerage, product repair and maintenance, bank credit cards, and long-distance telephone companies. The studies show the most important ingredients for providing the kind of service that keeps customers coming back.

They are:

Reliability, Credibility, Attractiveness, Responsiveness, and Empathy

Although I have written in the past about how these ingredients apply to human interactions, I want to dedicate some time to how companies can incorporate these elements into their customer (patient, client, partner, constituent…) relationship technology initiatives.

More to come...