Increase revenue using feedback whitepaper

Instant feedback =
immediate advantage
Is your company ready for real-time feedback?
Authors: laudine Petit (Head of Marketing CEUR, QuestBack)
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Radu Immenroth (Group Product Director, QuestBack)

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Real-time Feedback Solutions

1. Welcome to now:
Increase revenues by up
to 30 % with real-time
feedback

B

ut how can organizations quickly
evaluate “real-time” feedback from
these multiple touchpoints in a
structured way? For which indus-

tries is real-time feedback most valuable?

W

And what must companies do to transform

act on them quickly? New communication

financial value of real-time feedback manage-

channels have produced a real flood of cus-

ment. In one case, that meant an increase in

tomer data, and considerably reduced the dis-

repeat purchases of 44 % for a brand owner,

tance between customers and companies in

and a simultaneous reduction in the number

terms of speed of reaction and content. Many

of customers switching to competitors. One

customers now use the opportunities the In-

QuestBack customer can also provide an

ternet provides to make their voices heard.

impressive illustration of how real-time feed-

And companies have the chance to use this

back management delivers ROI: The number

feedback, often called “real-time feedback” to

of customers generating annual revenue of

improve their customer relationships.

more than €6000 rather than €500 increased by

hat do your customers think

themselves from feedback recipients, to gen-

about your products and ser-

uine managers of real-time feedback? Pro-

vices? What do you know about

jects that, for example, achieve a significant

their opinions and how do you

improvement in customer loyalty, prove the

D

avid Edelman from Harvard Business
Manager brings the revolutionary
nature of these new channels into
sharp focus in his analysis, “The new

»

rules of marketing”.

30 %.

T

his white paper offers companies
the opportunity to systematically
assess their readiness for real-time
feedback in multiple dimensions,

and answers questions such as:

ven if the fundamentals of the
E
Customer Decision Journey don’t
seem that revolutionary, the impact
on marketing is profound. (…) Our
analysis of dozens of marketing
budgets shows that 70-90 % of the
money is spent on ads and retail
campaigns that relate to the
“consider” and “purchase” phases of
the sales process. However, influence
on the user is significantly stronger
in the “rating”, “enjoy, recommend
and loyalty” phases.« *1

A. What fundamental requirements must be
fulfilled?
B. Which processes must be established?

C. What does it mean for personnel and
IT infrastructures?
D. What are the methodological requirements
to be aware of?
Real-world examples from companies like Hilti,
SWISS, and the user experience consultants USECON, illustrate exactly where the
challenges and opportunities for companies
lie. After all, business success is to a large
extent dependent on successful customer
interactions.


3

2. What is real-time?
CHECKLIST

DIFFERENT KINDS OF
REAL-TIME?

A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Depending on company and customer requirements,

Who uses real-time feedback?

real-time feedback varies in terms of capture and
reaction times. It can mean for example, that feedback

The fact that a company receives a lot of feedback from

is captured at the point of usage or immediately

customers does not, on it’s own, automatically mean

afterwards, but that the evaluation comes later, if it’s

there is a need for real-time feedback. The question

not related to an urgent request. However, if the feed-

is rather, to what extent do feedback channels

back indicates that a customer request needs to be

have an effect on the success of the company?

resolved immediately, it’s clear that evaluation and

For example, feedback clearly has an effect if a

reaction needs to happen more quickly.

brand wants to differentiate on customer service, or
when customer loyalty and therefore the number of

Depending on the form, real-time feedback manage-

repeat buyers increases as a result. Here the quantity

ment should take in relation to; feedback capture,

of feedback or ‘Big Data’ factor comes into play. If

evaluation and reaction for a particular company, and

there are a large number of touchpoints i.e. interac-

it’s important that businesses align their methods,

tions between companies and customers, then it’s

processes and technologies accordingly. This is

likely that real-time feedback management will reveal

the only way that the respective requirements can

very valuable information. However, a single piece of

be mapped. The following checklist provides an

feedback can also have an enormous impact when

initial opportunity to assess the real-time feedback

in comes to a major customer. In both cases then, a

management requirements of your business.

systematic and personalized approach to customer
care is very valuable.
This is proven by the experience of SWISS, part of

CASE STUDY

»

the Lufthansa Group:

y implementing an online questionnaire
B
using the QuestBack System, we can
continuously track all our important KPIs –
including the particularly significant
Arrival Experience«,
explains Samuel Rodenhausen, Market Research
Manager at SWISS, about the implementation of
their system. Through the rapid availability of survey
answers, SWISS can react to feedback immediately:
if the customer wants to be contacted, it can happen
quickly, impacting positively on customer loyalty.

4


Early detection or fire fighting – what
can real-time feedback achieve?

through the early stages of the buying decision
every time, but make repeat purchases on the
basis of their existing trust in the company.*3

What can companies do today with the flood of
data coming in? It’s possible to fundamentally
differentiate between two functions of real-time

Identify the trend, react rapidly

feedback management – alerts and reporting. The
alert function helps address customer problems or

Nevertheless, repeat purchases a consistently

needs as quickly as possible.

excellent buying experience. Used at a management
level, the reporting function can reveal interactions

If, after using the online shop, an existing customer

that may signify wider trends via dashboards (Diag. 2)

completes a questionnaire about usage problems,

Are complaints about delivery times increasing?

the right system can inform the relevant customer

Is there a delay in reaction from support at the

adviser about it immediately via email. A call the

moment? Where are there positive customer

next day shows the customer that he is being taken

experiences that can improve the situation? The

seriously and is valued. If the problem can then be

overview a dashboard provides can also trigger

solved, you have a customer that is happier and

another real-time alert in a second-step, and

more loyal than before the problem occurred.

activate the appropriate response: Are more
personnel required in support? Should customer

Taking a long-term view of customer value,

advisors intervene to apologize and compensate

customer satisfaction and the depth of a customer

customers for delivery delays? In this way,

relationship become central economic factors

real-time

feedback

management

becomes

a

(Diag. 1* ) that can be maintained and enhanced

management instrument for marketing, sales,

through feedback management.

or support as well as every other business area

2

involved in the customer experience.
According to a Harvard Business Review report,
increased customer loyalty has another effect that
can impact revenues: loyal customers don’t go

How much is a customer worth?
Industry

Timeframe

Customer value

Loyal café visitor

1 year

1400 €

Typical supermarket customer

10 years

50,000 €

Regular Pizzeria customer

Lifetime

8000 €

Loyal credit card customer

Lifetime

12000 €

Typical car buyer

Lifetime

150,000 €

Loyal luxury car owner

Lifetime

320,000 €

Diag. 1: According to Bernd Strauss, Wolfgang Seidel, “Complaint management – unhappy customers as a
profitable target group”, 4th edition, 2007, Hanser Publishers, page 27


B. PROCESS REQUIREMENTS

Tool or philosophy – What are the
prerequisites for successful real-time
feedback management?

Are your business processes already
customer-oriented?

For real-time feedback management to have an
impact, it must develop into something more valuable

Real-time feedback can’t be implemented “just

than a “tool”. The prerequisite for this is a clear com-

like that”. It is rather the logical consequence of

mitment from management to integrate feedback

making the entire organization customer focused.

into corporate strategy. This means that feedback

Only when all business units focus on ensuring

in all its dimensions needs to be incorporated: in the

that a customer has a positive experience at every

design of business processes, the implementation

touchpoint, can the corresponding automated and

of IT infrastructure, as well as in the development of

rule-based system processes be aligned to maximize

the organizational structure and personnel planning.

the impact of the customer-oriented strategy.

According to a prediction from Gartner, half the

Many companies have already taken the first step

Fortune 1000 companies will have developed a

in this direction. They are strengthening measures

“Voice of the customer” strategy by 2015, but only

to make the brand experience tangible for

10 % of them will actually have implemented it * .

customers at as many touchpoints as possible,

That leaves room for organizations to gain competi-

and fostering the dialog between customers and

tive advantage.

the company through digital media such as apps

4

and onsite touchpads.

Do you know your touchpoints?
The days when examining the point of sale was
all that was needed to get a picture of interaction
with customers are long gone. Nevertheless, many
companies aren’t aware of all their touchpoints,
from comments on Facebook, to conversations with
sales people, and interactions with middlemen such
as delivery services or sales partners. That’s why,
when starting out with real-time feedback management, all touchpoints must first be identified and the
most relevant selected. Relevance is a question of
definition which, in this case, is described by using
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
A simple example from the cosmetics industry
illustrates the innovation potential that is often left
untapped here. A McKinsey study found that more
than 60 % of face cream users only gather information about the product after they have already
bought it – a touchpoint that was completely overlooked until then*5, but which is obviously of central importance to satisfaction during the customer
journey, and therefore provides a good opportunity
to collect real-time feedback.
DIAG 2. Example of trends across different touchpoints at a
supermarket chain in the USECON dashboard.
(Customer Project QuestBack Central Europe)

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When is interaction and intervention
required?

Are the responsibilities defined?
Even with the highest level of automation, there

Information is worthless until it results in action.

must be people available that can make decisions

Effective feedback management must therefore

at any point along the real-time feedback loop. It’s

have a certain level of intelligence in order to

important that there is a a project manager outside

decide when intervention is necessary and when

of IT, that is accountable for the issue and ensures

not. Threshold levels need to be set for the touch-

that, for example, feedback content is delivered

point KPIs that trigger an action. This also helps

to the right place, whether that means marketing,

avoid overreaction. Ideally, real-time feedback

management or the relevant support person.

works like a personal conversation, in that subsequent questions and reactions should emerge
naturally during the course of the discussion.

What role does privacy play?

These must flow into the relevant processes that,
for example, determine escalation levels when a

A

customer needs to be contacted, highlight where

initially asks questions anonymously and must

real-time

feedback

management

system

existing customer history enhances the current

give the customer a choice over whether people

feedback, or ensure that the relevant employee

can be surveyed individually if required. This can

actually has access to this information. To en-

happen via a relevant question during the survey

sure that happens, the supporting processes and

process that allows the customer to agree to be

responsibilities must be clearly defined.

approached. It also means however, that from this
moment on an expectation exists. The customer
wants to be taken seriously, and that means he
expects an appropriate and immediate reaction.
The customer will only give up his privacy if he gets
an appropriate service in return.


C. IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CASE STUDY

Which channels are available?
While touchpoint tracking identifies the relevant

This is how USECON, a user experience

channels, the IT infrastructure must ensure that as

consultancy, with the help of the EFS panel (EFS

many channels as possible feed into a consistent,

= Enterprise Feedback Suite) from QuestBack

comprehensive view of feedback data. But the flow

developed an efficient survey platform that among

of feedback in the other direction is also critical: Can

other things, enables a repeat survey among panel

feedback be collected from everywhere, wherever it

participants. This can be used to survey users at

originates? Real-time feedback also has to account

different times and in different situations, whether

for the fact that respondents are on the move. That’s

that means the early development phases of a

why questionnaires must work as well on mobile

new product, or across the entire product cycle.

devices as they do on desktop computers.

For its part, QuestBack customer SWISS is
using its newly deployed feedback system to allow
customers to provide feedback on every element

How fast is your customer journey?

of the service they receive. This enables teething
problems to be localized immediately when new

The more touchpoints that interaction with your

products are introduced. Time-related consid-

customers involves, the more relevant incidents

erations are therefore always oriented towards a

accumulate. The right system must be able to define

system’s real-world use cases.

the level of detail that measured via feedback
monitoring. For example, QuestBack currently delivers
half-hourly reporting on the relevant KPIs according

Which visualizations are required?

to need. But it’s important to differentiate between
the speed of feedback provision and the reaction

It makes sense that a relevant visualization of

to it. Does someone have to be contacted imme-

target KPIs and drill down dimensions is defined for

diately in order to ensure customer satisfaction?

management reports. That’s how dashboards

This is known as a “transactional survey”. Or is

earn their name and simplify the navigation of a

it sufficient to ask a customer twice a year about

company’s KPI landscape. (See DIAG. 3)

his satisfaction within the context of a regular
“relational survey”.
Other time-critical aspects can also play a role
however. It’s especially important
during the test and development
phases of products, to measure
the user experience and make
improvements in order to avoid
costly development mistakes.

DIAG: 3, Example of a QuestBack dashboard
for an NPS evaluation

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Is integration into existing systems like
SAP possible?
The full potential of real-time feedback can only

is there a danger that a major customer will switch?

be realized in combination with other systems.

Was a regular or very good customer affected by

(DIAG.4.). The combination of customer feedback

a system crash? Who is least affected by delivery

and operational data enables prioritization: Where

bottlenecks?

Data Export
E-Mail Alerts

Engagement / Action

Survey

Dashbord Reporting

Automatic Invitation
Checks

Customer CRM

Participiant Import
Case Data
Segmentation
Questback
Exchange Server

Customer
Contacts

Touchpoints

Customer Workflow

DIAG. 4: QuestBack workflow for implementation of real-time feedback management

Questback Workflow


Is the deployed system
intelligent enough?
There are numerous systems available to evaluate

priorities and escalation levels. The longer the

data. The main differences lie in their scalability

company journey, the more significant these

and controllability. The system you select needs a

properties are. (DIAG. 5).

memory and appropriate rules for exceptions,

DIAG.5 Sample customer journey from SWISS airlines

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D. Methodology
requirements

The combination of all touchpoints is the basis
of the customer experience. Through analysis of
the interaction at each touchpoint, it’s possible to

Which is the right survey concept?

define what influence each has on the customer
experience or, even better, on revenue. QuestBack

During the planning of a real-time feedback

can currently measure and evaluate around

management system, it’s especially important that

50 touchpoints. A study from McKinsey revealed

all parameters are aligned with one another. The

that a differentiated experience at touchpoints

KPIs identified through touchpoint tracking must

is especially important. It showed that to a large

be fed into a survey concept that is actually used.

extent, the influence of different touchpoints is

Otherwise the result is false results and ineffective

dependent on whether a customer is still in the

interaction and control maneuvers.

consideration phase, or already in an evaluation or
buying decision phase. In the consideration phase,
he is mainly influenced by consumer-led marketing

Which are the relevant KPIs?

such as test reviews or recommendations, and
rarely by interaction with sales people. *5

Within the context of so-called touchpoint tracking,
the requirements for an effective real-time feedback management system need to be established.

How do you get reliable results?

Touchpoint tracking takes place along the entire
customer journey, in other words the path that a

When it comes to alerts, it’s about asking the

customer takes with a company, including the first

right questions and helping customers at the right

contact via an Internet ad, through to visiting the

moment (see survey concept). For reporting, tried

website and the purchase of a product, all the way

and trusted market research criteria are more impor-

up to a call to a support hotline, and participation

tant. For segmentation and validation in particular,

in an annual customer survey via a smartphone.

the results must be selective and reliable. That’s
because the conclusions and resulting decisions
made on information extracted from the dashboard
can have a direct effect on revenue. Reliability is
therefore critical at this level of evaluation.

PoS
iPhone
app

Event

iPad
app

Twitter

Brand

Youtube

Android
app

Facebook

Campaign
Website

Hotline
Mailing

DIAG 6: Every touchpoint has a different effect on the
customer experience.


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3. Customer case study HILTI
– the exception is the rule

T

he following project analysis demonstrates

Prerequisites

an example from HILTI, that demonstrates
what the actual implementation of a

• Customer focus: As a premium provider, customer

real-time feedback management system

service and feedback is particularly important.

looks like, what the requirements were, and how the

As a result, Hilti has been measuring customer

three dimensions of process, IT and methodology

satisfaction since 1994, making the company a

each played a role in the success of the project.

200,000 daily touchpoints –
customer satisfaction has the
highest priority at HILTI

»

pioneer within the construction industry.

he data on overall customer satisfaction
T
and loyalty are a benchmark of success for
us. They also influence the compensation of
many employees, right up to management
level,«

explains Steffen Müller, Head of Corporate Market
research at HILTI AG.

HILTI AG provides leading technology products,

• Goal setting and touchpoint inventory: In

systems and services to the construction industry.

addition to regular telephone surveys on satisfaction

Because two-thirds of its 22,000 strong workforce

and loyalty, Hilti wanted to collect feedback

are in sales and technology roles and have direct

directly after each of the 200,000 daily contacts

contact with customers, there are around 200,000

with the company, such as a meeting with an

touchpoints per day. Customer satisfaction is

account manager, a sales conversation in a Hilti

therefore extremely important for HILTI.

center, an online order, a complaint to the hotline,
or the repair of a drill by an engineer. To measure
customer satisfaction at the “moment of truth”,
i.e. directly after an individual transaction, Hilti
decided in 2010 to extend the telephone survey
with an online survey.


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The technical implementation
• Technical solution: The online questionnaire
based on the enterprise feedback suite (EFS)
from QuestBack is connected through a direct
interface to Hilti’s SAP system. This makes the
buying history of each customer available for
analysis. The software is web-based, and can be
used within any standard browser. Completion
of the questionnaire is easy from a wide range of
digital devices.

The methodology
• Survey triggers and process: Hilti uses the
online questionnaire in 15 market organizations

DIAG. 7: RTF workflow process at Hilti

with more than 80% share of sales. Each customer
who has had some contact with an account
manager, a Hilti Center, an online order, the
hotline or a repair service is invited to participate via email. The online survey takes just two
minutes to complete, and is focused on the
current customer situation (DIAG.8). This ensures
valid data about a real customer case is produced.

How satisfied are you with the recent visit from your Account Manager
Please give a rating using a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 means »very dissatisfied« and 10 means »very satisfied«

Flexibility for local questions

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very
1 - Very
10 dissatisfied
satisfied

Overall

Use of your time

Understands what you need

Open item

Quality of advice given

Continue

DIAG. 8: Example of a real-time feedback questionnaire

Don‘t
know


Resulting processes
• Alerts and reporting: If a customer complains
in the online survey, the relevant team contacts

»

him within two working days to solve the problem.

Most customers are impressed with a

call within 2 days of taking part in the

online survey«,

says Steffen Müller. Through the evaluation of the
online survey, Hilti can strengthen relationships
between the customer and the company. The
evolution of customer satisfaction is illustrated
by weekly cockpit charts for every interaction
point.
• Overall benefit of the system: The values
for overall customer satisfaction and loyalty
have increased significantly since the introduction of real-time feedback in comparison with
the company’s closest competitors. In addition, a great deal of insight about process improvements has been generated, and Hilti has
received feedback from more than 18,000
customers, representing a significantly better
response rate of up to 20 %.

DIAG. 9: Real-time feedback influences the fundamental structure and quality control of the organization.

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4. Conclusion and Outlook

R

eal-time feedback management requires

and process perspective. The feedback loop is

a sophisticated and highly integrated

becoming increasingly closed, as every touchpoint

technical solution. However, the technical

can be covered within a survey, improvements are

concept and implementation are just two

made following every survey, interactions following

of the building blocks for the entire concept. Only

those improvements can themselves be evaluated,

when all the requirements in terms of processes,

and so on. This opens the way to the evolution of a

infrastructure, data and methodologies are fulfilled, is

feedback economy that treats customer orientation

it time to consider the technical integration. The effort

as the foundation of the business model. Studies show

of fulfilling these requirements will be rewarded with

that most companies have recognized the need for

a measureable return on investment. Implementing

action in this area. In a survey from DMA and neolane,

a real-time feedback management system lays the

77% of the companies asked named personalization

foundations for a rapid, technology-driven enhance-

in real-time, i.e. the individual and feedback-related

ment of the business, and the opportunities to use

alignment of offers and content, as the most important

feedback management as a strategic tool will only

challenge facing their organizations. *6. The exciting

grow in the future. It can be safely assumed that

question is, to what extent these companies will ad-

within the next few years, new channels and new

dress this challenge, and develop and implement an

global touchpoints will evolve that also need to be

appropriate feedback strategy.

integrated into the feedback system from a technical


15

5. Real-time
feedback management
The essentials at a
glance

All implementation scenarios have one thing in
common: To collect, analyze and react to customer
feedback as quickly as possible. Initial experiences
with real-time feedback show that fast reactions can

A

significantly affect customer loyalty, which in turn

journey usually indicates that the

customer satisfaction and more repeat purchases.

organization has already taken the first step

This required a comprehensive integration with

along this path by orienting the entire structure

existing IT systems like SAP, through which feedback

of the company towards customers.

data is further enhanced and systematically utilized.

In order for real-time feedback to have maximum

Because of the wide-ranging impact of real-time

impact, the company must identify and analyze

feedback, its implementation is a key management

the relevant touchpoints, and the challenges and

task and requires appropriate personnel and organi-

opportunities in interactions with customers. This

zational structures. As soon as these structures are

analysis can be used as the starting point for the col-

in place, future channels can be easily integrated into

lection and evaluation of customer feedback, and

the IT and process landscape and monetized.

company’s willingness to drive a

has a direct impact on revenues. With its 200,000

measureable dialog with customers

touchpoints, Hilti has impressively demonstrated how

along the entire length of the customer

a flood of data can be transformed into increased

defining appropriate reactions to it. These preliminary
tasks determine how a company must organize
its processes, methodologies and IT landscape.
Particularly important here, is whether a customer
uses customer feedback to identify trends, or as
the basis for long-term management decisions.

*1 SOURCE: “Communication. The new rules of marketing“, DAVID C. EDELMANN, HARVARD BUSNIESS MANAGER, 2. AUGUST 2011
*2 SOURCE: BERND STAUSS, WOLFGANG SEIDEL, „Complaint management unhappy customers as profitable target group- “ , 4. Edition
2007, HANSER Publishers, S. 27
*3 SOURCE: “BRANDING IN THE DIGITAL AGE” FROM DAVID C. EDELMANN, QUOTED FROM THE HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
*4 SOURCE: “RESEARCH ROUNDUP FOR VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER”, JIM DAVIES, GARTNER RESEARCH, 4. FEBRUARY 2013
*5 SOURCE: “THE CONSUMER DECISION JOURNEY”, MCKINSEY QUARTERLY 2009 NR. 3
*6 SOURCE: “REAL-TIME MARKETING INSIGHTS STUDY“, NEOLANE AND DMA, JULY 2013

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Company Profile

www.questback.com

questback is a global leader in enterprise feedback management, market research solutions,
social crm, customer experience management, and hr management.
the company‘s software solutions enable organizations to gain actionable insights and build
stronger relationships with customers and employees. founded in 2000, questback is headquartered in oslo, norway and privately held with 17 offices worldwide. more than 4,000 global
customers rely on questback – including volvo, ernst young, coca-cola and general mills.

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