Research from Jones School Finds Importance of Direct Customer Connection

New research from faculty at the Rice University – Jones Graduate School of Business looks at how companies can redefine customer service and achieve success through a stronger understanding of their customers.

Two Jones School faculty members—Tony Gorry, the Friedkin Professor Emeritus of Management and Bob Westbrook, the William Alexander Kirkland Professor of Business—have recently released research that seeks to better understand how companies can improve in listening and empathizing with their customers. With the expansion of information technology, Gorry and Westbrook argue, executives should be able to find new ways to connect with customers and inspire a new source of intellectual capital for the company.

Technology has already significantly impacted the customer experience when it comes to companies like FedEx, which in recent years has allowed customers to process and track packages online. Many other companies have found ways to utilize information technology for easily connecting customers with help service representatives through online chat, or by streamlining the process of online shopping. Technology can be a double-edged sword when it comes to business, however, the professors argue, allowing employees to distance themselves from customers.

Gorry and Westbrook recommend a number of steps that managers can take in order to avoid these negative aspects of technology. The first step, they say, is to reaffirm a commitment to an empathetic involvement with customers. Following this, companies must try to understand how current procedures and systems effect customers, and (step three) utilize social media to connect with customers and allow employees to hear their stories directly.

Many companies that are succeeding in these steps are finding ways to gather and be inspired by customer stories, whether through social media or in-person community events.

According to Gorry and Westbrook, most companies already understand how much can be learned from employee experience and input, but often undervalue how significant an understanding of the customer experience is for moving a business forward and finding real success.

regions: Houston

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