In The News

By Brendan B. Read, Senior Contributing Editor, TMCNet

Jim Davies, a research director with Gartner points out that EFM is enabling real-time and event driven responses, thereby permitting much more accurate and actionable data. EFM solutions are improving through supporting more channels, better analytics, and robust technology stacks. The surveys are more personalized and customized.

The days of customers freely volunteering their time to respond to traditional surveying techniques is over. Consumers have grown increasingly busy and impatient -- yet remain incredibly valuable resources. That being so, the management and distribution of customer feedback throughout the enterprise is crucial -- at least according to enterprise feedback management (EFM) vendor Confirmit, which promises to close the feedback loop with Horizons, its new multichannel platform for feedback and market-research applications.

By Bob Thompson, CustomerThink Corp.

Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) technology is a proven way to "listen" to the voice of customers with surveys, and manage the distribution so that feedback generates action. While the vast majority of companies conduct surveys, most don't do enough with the data collected.

Enterprise feedback management firm Confirmit has released a new version of its platform for customer and employee feedback programmes. The software is designed to help firms better understand their customers, and therefore create better experiences.

-www.mycustomer.com, January 26, 2009

Poor service has a direct impact on new and repeat sales, and has a knock on effect on customer advocacy. So what can be done to improve customer experience in the long term if it is to become the key differentiator?

Many companies track key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the successes and failures within the business – including customer satisfaction and churn rates – but the data produced only tells you what has happened. It says nothing about the underlying drivers of these trends.