A brief case study on how to define customer experience, both functionally and emotionally, for a public sector agency. The presentation ends with a simple, 1-page strategic plan to improve the customer experience.

1. 1
Improving Customer Experience:
An Enterprise-wide approach at the CTA
Ken G Kabira
KGKabira@TrueWorksBranding.com

2. Customer Value Equation
2
Experience
Value =
Price
Must continuously improve
Price will eventually go up
customer experience

3. Customer Experience Payoff
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• Customer experience correlates with loyal behavior:
 Willingness to buy more
 Reluctance to switch
 Likelihood to recommend
• Improving customer experience improves the bottom line
 At a large hotel chain, the revenue impact of 10 pt improvement was $311 million
Difference in percentage of customers who are loyal compared with industry average
Quartiles based on customer experience scores compared to average
Willingness to buy more Reluctance to switch Likelihood to recommend
Top Bottom Top Bottom Top Bottom
Quartile Quartile Quartile Quartile Quartile Quartile
+8.2% +8.4%
+6.7%
14.4 pt. 15.8 pt. 16.6 pt.
gap gap gap
-7.7% -7.6% -8.2%
Source: Forrester Research, 2009

4. Brand Story Guide
A tool to define customer experience
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 Dimensionalize both the functional and emotional aspects of customer experience
Brand Reward Brand Value Brand Personality
• The emotional benefit(s): How • What customers perceive to • How the brand comes across
Emotional brand makes its customers be the principles and ideals
Dimensions feel that guide the thoughts and
• The principal reason why the actions of the brand
brand is chosen or preferred
Brand Icon Brand Features Brand Benefit
• Proprietary symbols which • Relevant, tangible, and • The functional benefit the
should not be violated and verifiable characteristics organization provides through
Functional
which should be applied associated with the brand -- its Brand Features.
Dimensions described in ways that the
consistently in all settings
organization can say it is doing
a good or a better job of the
features
Foundation Mission
The fundamental reason why the organization exists

5. 5
Case Study
Chicago Transit Authority

6. CTA’s language for customer experience
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7. Customer importance v. satisfaction
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•The more important the feature, the less satisfied our customers are
Convenient location
Courteous and helpful Easy to use
Affordable for everyday use
Safe and clean
Comfortable ride
Fast and on-time
Source: 2006 Customer Experience Survey, 2001 Rider/Non-rider Survey

8. New vision
8
Behavior & Attitude Loyalty
To Become the favorite way for High
the people of Chicagoland to
Behavior Loyal True Loyal
get around
Frequency of ridership
“Transit Hostage” “Transit Lover”
26.0% 22.6%
By 2014:
• 1 out of 4 residents (25%) will be Competitor Loyal Attitude Loyal
Transit Lovers “Transit Averse” “Transit Supporter”
• Transit Lovers + Transit Supporters 27.9% 23.5%
will exceed 50% Low
• Less than 1 out of 4 residents (25%) Dislike Like
will be Transit Averse Attitude towards transit
Attitudinally Loyal
Source: Travel behavior and attitude survey, 2001
“Transit Supporters”
(23.5%)

9. Putting customer experience into tangible action
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People • Courteous and helpful
Product • Fast and on-time
Place • Safe and clean • Easy to use
• Comfortable ride • Convenient locations
Price • Affordable for everyday use
• Efficient cost and resource management
• Maximize revenue-generating assets
Promotion • Consistent and relevant delivery of CTA’s
brand

10. Making It Happen 2009
Become the favorite way for the people of Chicagoland to get around
What We Must Do How We Will Measure Customers Say
People: • Increase front-line customer courtesy
• Deepen employee engagement
•
•
Customer complaints and surveys “The CTA people are always
Courtesy audit score helpful and they treat me like
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•Courteous and helpful • Define “Right person is in the right job” • Employee commitment Score a person that matters to
• % of employees who feel they are in the them.”
right job
Product: •
•
Reduce big gaps and bunching on bus • % of big gaps and no. of service disruptions “CTA is always on time. I
•Fast and on-time
Upgrade signal system per 100,000 customers know I’ll get to my destination
• Reduce slow zones • No. of delays caused by signal defect as I expect.”
• Improve predictability of rail run times • % of slow zone mileage
• Customers per slow zone mile
• Run times and wait times
Place: •
•
Upgrade high ridership rail facilities •
•
No. of stations rated excellent experience “CTA stops are at convenient
•Safe and clean
Attract more concessions and build out TOD Concession vacancy rate places. Riding the CTA is
• Reduce deep clean interval • Cleanliness scores always pleasant and hassle
•Comfortable ride • Improve track conditions • Days between deep cleans
•Easy to use free. I know I’ll be safe
• Improve customer information feed forward: • TOD metric
•Convenient location because I can’t remember the
digital boards • Power and Way metric
• Improve simplicity of signage • No. of crimes reported on CTA properties last time it had an incident.”
• Launch next-generation fare media • No. of customer injuries and incidents of 3d
• Reduce crime on the system party property damage
• Reduce customer injuries and property damage
Price: • Bus and rail lean operations
• Reduce cost of support services
•
•
Cost per average service hour “CTA is great for everyday use
•Affordable for everyday use
Revenue per average service hour because it’s something I can
• Reduce cost of materials and supplies while • Return on assets afford and it’s good value for
•Efficient cost and resource maintaining existing service levels • Variance budget to actual
management the money.”
• Increase non-farebox revenue • Inventory turns
•Maximize revenue • Increase route revenue productivity • Overhead as % of total cost
generating assets • Increase return on funds invested • Return on financial investments
• Change funding formula • Total non-farebox revenue
• Increase state and federal funds • Revenue per rider
Promotion: •
•
Expand availability and reliability of Bus Tracker • Bus Tracker/AVAS Defect
• Customer satisfaction with website/Bus
“CTA is always open and
•Consistent and relevant
Improve web-based customer interaction honest. They let me know
• Deliver CTA information to mobile/cell devices Tracker what I need to know when I
delivery of CTA’s brand • Improve communication to LEP communities • No. of web hits need to know.”
• No. of Bus Tracker users
Mission: We deliver quality, affordable transit services that link people, jobs and communities.

11. As a result we want to be able to call ourselves:
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