“This is business. Leave the emotions at the door.” Sounds familiar? I share my own personal story which proved just how wrong this thinking is.
In 2008, Maersk Line was the largest container shipping company in the world. Due to globalization and outsourcing, the industry had seen extraordinary growth and opportunity for decades. However, the financial crisis of 2008 and overcapacity in the industry put Maersk Line into vicious price wars with competitors, resulting in losses and vastly lower margins. The company leadership decided to fight back by building a strategy around differentiation as a premium brand. In support of that strategy, I was asked to lead a global initiative called Customer Experience Innovation.
My first step was to build as diverse a team as I could, representing different cultures, functions, backgrounds, ages, experience, and skills. But once the team was formed, what next? I knew we needed help. I researched several consultancies. One stood out—Beyond Philosophy. They understood B2B; Customer Experience is what they do (vs. general management consultants). The CEO, Colin Shaw, was a clear thought leader in this space and the company had absolutely the best survey mechanism. The survey was called the Emotional Signature, and rather than just getting the usual satisfied/not satisfied, it was designed to uncover the subconscious needs Customers have. I have a master’s in statistics and appreciated the elegant and sound design.
Perhaps even more important than the statistics underneath was the simplicity with which the results were provided. It made it abundantly clear where we needed to focus and that became our foundation. Interestingly, the results were almost completely at odds with where most thought we should focus on to improve the customer experience. Rather than service quality, such as on-time delivery, correct invoices, and snazzy websites, the Customers needed us to help them resolve problems, show empathy, and be proactive in our communications. This was about emotions. So the saying, “This is business. Leave the emotions at the door” is erroneous and blind to science. As human beings, we experience the world through our senses. And the things that touch our senses drive emotions. Psychology and overwhelming business research show that focusing on emotions is a sound business strategy. The Emotional Signature was the best tool I had to prove this point to the C-suite and our colleagues.
Armed with our focus areas, we selected colleagues from around the world to be our ambassadors. Together, we set out to find ways to make our Customers feel trust, cared for, and happy. Many of the ideas were simple. Most did not cost a penny more. It was about how we did things, as much as what we did. I was absolutely amazed at many creative and innovative ideas from the teams.
The results far exceeded what we imagined could be done. Our Net Promoter Score (NPS) improved by 40 points in two and a half years. We were able to show a direct correlation between improved NPS and the increase in Customers’ volume. Perhaps the part I loved the most was the significant improvement in employee engagement. Gone were the days of 1-800-who-cares. Colleagues talked about “my Customers.” Trust, cared for, and happy spilled over in how people worked and treated each other.
If you are thinking of reading the book, my recommendation is YES! That initiative and Beyond Philosophy changed my life. I see the world through different, and I believe, wiser eyes. Do I believe others can do what we did? YES! I plan to with my current company Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Colin, Zhecho, and the Beyond Philosophy Tteam are already part of my Quality Customer Experience core team.
P. S. You may wonder why the word Customer is capitalized in aforementioned story. During our rollout at Maersk, a colleague shared with me that he decided to capitalize the C in Customers to (1) highlight their significance and (2) remember they are real people. I never forgot that and took that idea with me.
—Michél Patterson
North America VP
Digital Transformation and Innovation,
Customer Implementation, and Performance