In the CRM course I give in the Istanbul Bilgi University MBA program, when the topic is Loyalty programs, I assign homework to prepare a loyalty program suitable for the sector they are interested in.

“Why are you loyal to your hairdresser? Why do you always go for the same when there are dozens of cheaper or more skillful hairdressers (barbers). He/she does not delay payment. She/he does not say, “If you cut your hair twice, your favorite trim is free.” Don’t design a loyalty program without thinking about the reason why you always go to the same barber. ” I say.

In the lesson, various groups are formed right at the beginning of the year. Each group handles an industry or company and examines all CRM (customer definition, data warehouse, process design, segmentation, campaign management, etc.) issues according to that company or industry. If we find time, groups present their suggestions in class. Thus, everyone in the class gets an idea of ​​CRM applications in many industries.

This time, while giving the loyalty homework, “No discount, installment or payment postponement proposal will be made. Apart from these, you will develop a loyalty program” I said. I also reminded some examples that I liked and published in Turkish. Although I told that “When the customer comes to bribe, he/she leaves you when someone gives the better. You will not gain loyalty, you buy a visit.“… unfortunately it didn’t matter much.  They did not write discounts, installments and deferral of payment, but they could not find a solution other than making proposals based on bribery such as “points, gifts equal to% of turnover, additional services to the high purchaser“.

I tried to explain in class that they put the customer in the place of a donkey when they said “to offer carrots”..  Everyone focuses on making more favors to their customers to whom they sell a lot.

Then they cannot get rid of the “points, discounts, favors, gifts” cycle. They hardly ever think of…

• enabling infrequent customers to come more frequently,
• encouraging low-purchasing customers to buy more,
• directing them to cross-selling and enabling the customer to try a product / service that has not yet been purchased,
• providing information or content that the customer needs,

… thus increasing the lifetime value of the customer .

I am not blaming MBA participants. I see that many people who have been in business for years do not have different suggestions.

However, if you put yourself in the shoes of a customer… If you think about why you frequently go to that cafeteria, find the reason for buying your white goods from that shop, question why you prefer that dietician, examine the reason why you go that hotel not someone else, if you only understand the reason for trusting that mechanic … maybe you will have more consistent suggestions to increase loyalty of customers.

My CRM students are informing me about their “customer experience”. They share with me interesting topics they encounter.

They explain their real life experiences and they ask me the questions (as I ask in homeworks and exams) “What exactly is the mistake made here?”

Here is one of them. Uğur Öncü says:

I have been working with xxx Bank for many years and I have a Platinum card. In the past years, the bank increased my card limits regularly. For the last two years, I have been called by the automatic telephone system and my request for limit increase is asked by the robot, and if I press the confirmation button, the increase occurs. So far, everything is normal, it makes my life easier and I make the decision.

This year, I felt the need to increase the card limit due to a large purchase.

• • First of all I wanted to do it from internet banking (there is no such option, but I can do anything but limit increase)
  • Then I called the Call Center via VIP Line, they said “they could not accept a limit increase request on the phone”, I was directed to an intercity fax with requests such as payroll (this is stupid, my salary is paid via this the bank) and a request letter. They said “we will respond to your request within one week”.
  • There was no sound for a week, I called the VIP Line again. “We called you, haven’t got mail?” etc. they said. Anyway, my application was rejected because there was no increase in my income. The letter of rejection was also sent in the mail (I have been making regular payments for 10+ years, I keep money in the bank all the time, I have a salary account in the bank, I have automatic payment orders, I have insurance, etc.) I found the situation odd and even thought of changing the bank for that moment
  • A few days has passed and the robot called me “ if you want to increase the limit, press number 2”. First I thought it was a joke, then I thought there were errors in their systems etc. and I pressed number 2.
  • Strange but true, in one day the credit card limit had doubled (well above the amount I had requested).
  • I called the bank again on the pretext of saying “No letter of rejection has been received”. My main goal was to find out if they were aware of the situation (They were not aware of anything, they said “We will re-forward it, let’s re-mail it” etc.) I said “Don’t bother, my limit has already increased”, frankly they didn’t understand it either.

😉

Now, my exam question: “What exactly is the mistake made here?” Should we question the decision of leaving certain processes to smart systems? Or those who set up these systems should be questioned? Or those who do not integrate them with the customer’s 360^o single view, etc. etc.?

Note: It is not necessary to display the “offer made by robot outbound call and its result” on the screen. After making the decision of “limit increase can be made” in any way (no matter what analysis result you make), when you transmit this to the Call Center, you move it to the screens “the limit can be increased up to this point”. (May not even be real-time. Near-real-time transfer also may be applicable).

After the limit increase request is entered on the Call Center [or the branch] screen (preferably by clicks), the information “can be increased up to this limit” appears. If the customer responds positively to call center agent, limit will be approved by one click.

It is valid even in cases like Uğur Öncü’s case. That is, “it is not difficult to integrate a Call Center CRM screen to robot’s outbound-call for a limit increase proposal… as long as the system analysis team knows what they are analyzing. ”

Do not build the walls to yourselves with risk, algorithm, integration, etc… It shouldn’t be difficult to ensure that this [limit increase] information is accessible from every customer touchpoint. Let’s aim this.

🙂