How do client groups attempt

And managers often assume that the more satisfied customers are, the more loyal they will be. But, like others before us most notably Fred Reichheld , we find little relationship between satisfaction and loyalty.

The picture gets bleaker still. Although customer service can do little to increase loyalty, it can and typically does do a great deal to undermine it. Customers are four times more likely to leave a service interaction disloyal than loyal.

Another way to think about the sources of customer loyalty is to imagine two pies—one containing things that drive loyalty and the other containing things that drive disloyalty. The loyalty pie consists largely of slices such as product quality and brand; the slice for service is quite small. But service accounts for most of the disloyalty pie. We buy from a company because it delivers quality products, great value, or a compelling brand.

We leave one, more often than not, because it fails to deliver on customer service. Armed with this understanding, we can fundamentally change the emphasis of customer service interactions. Framing the service challenge in terms of making it easy for the customer can be highly illuminating, even liberating, especially for companies that have been struggling to delight.

Simply: Remove obstacles. We identified several recurring complaints about service interactions, including three that focus specifically on customer effort. Customers resent having to contact the company repeatedly or be transferred to get an issue resolved, having to repeat information, and having to switch from one service channel to another for instance, needing to call after trying unsuccessfully to solve a problem through the website.

Well over half the customers we surveyed reported encountering difficulties of this sort. Companies can reduce these types of effort and measure the effects with a new metric, the Customer Effort Score CES , which assigns ratings from 1 to 5, with 5 representing very high effort.

Not surprisingly, CSAT was a poor predictor. NPS proved better and has been shown to be a powerful gauge at the company level. CES outperformed both in customer service interactions. Many of the companies we work with use CES to intervene with customers at risk of defecting. We found the predictive power of CES to be strong indeed. We believe that the superior performance of CES in the service environment derives from two factors: its ability to capture customer impressions at the transactional level as opposed to NPS, which captures more-holistic impressions of a company and its ability to capture negative experiences as well as positive ones.

During our study, we saw many companies that had successfully implemented low-customer-effort approaches to service. Following are five of the tactics they used—tactics that every company should adopt.

By far the biggest cause of excessive customer effort is the need to call back. They need to realize that customers gauge the effort they expend not just in terms of how an individual call is handled but also according to how the company manages evolving service events, such as taking out a mortgage or setting up cable service, that typically require several calls. Tracking repeat calls within a specified period we recommend seven to 14 days is not only easier than measuring FCR but also casts a wider net, capturing the implicit, or nonobvious, reasons customers call back, such as related downstream issues or an emotional disconnect with a rep.

A word of caution: Tracking repeat calls instead of using FCR inevitably makes performance appear worse. However, we believe that it is a far better way to spot and eliminate sources of undue customer effort and that it can help companies boost loyalty in ways FCR cannot.

Bell Canada met this challenge by mining its customer interaction data to understand the relationships among various customer issues. An article published in the American Psychological Association's Monitor on Psychology suggests that group therapy also meets efficacy standards established by the Society of Clinical Psychology Division 12 of the APA for the following conditions:. If you or someone you love is thinking about group therapy, there are several things you should consider. Especially if you struggle with social anxiety or phobias, sharing in a group might not be right for you.

In addition, some types of group therapy involve exercises like role-playing and intense personal discussion, which can be overwhelming for people who are extremely private or uncomfortable around strangers. Just like you might need to "shop" to find the right therapist, you may also need to try a few groups before you find the one that fits you best.

Think a little about what you want and need, and consider what might be most comfortable or the best match for you. There are limitations to group therapy and not all people are good candidates. If you or someone you love is in crisis or having suicidal thoughts, individual therapy is a better choice than group therapy. In general, group settings are best for individuals who are not currently in crisis. If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at for support and assistance from a trained counselor.

If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. If you feel that you or someone you love might benefit from group therapy, consider the following steps:. Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Group interventions. Indian J Psychiatry. The efficacy of group psychotherapy for depression: A meta-analysis and review of the empirical research.

Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. Group exposure therapy treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in female veterans. Military Medicine.

Group treatment for substance use disorder in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. Kanas N. Group therapy for patients with chronic trauma—related stress disorders. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. Yalom ID. Inpatient Group Psychotherapy. Basic Books; Thimm JC, Antonsen L. Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy for depression in routine practice. BMC Psychiatry. Published Oct Knowing this can help you overcome any fears about participating.

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Health Topics. Health Tools. Emotional Health. By Beth W. Reviewed: November 25, Medically Reviewed.