Much thinking about customer service has focused on ‘moments of truth’, the particular interactions with high emotional content that provide the opportunity to delight the customer and intensify loyalty.

Much thinking about customer service has focused on ‘moments of truth’, the particular interactions with high emotional content that provide the opportunity to delight the customer and intensify loyalty.

This idea is a useful reminder that an investment in making everyday transactions slightly slicker may be less valuable than delivering a positive outcome on the few occasions that are really important and memorable - for example, coming to the customer’s aid when they find themselves with a problem.

However, the complexity of cross-channel customer behaviour is introducing a new challenge and businesses capable of managing the end-to-end customer journey and ensuring the overall experience is successful are pulling away from those who are still focusing on individual moments.

Our recent research with 12,000 shoppers in the UK showed that of customers undertaking pre-purchase research, two-thirds used a mix of online and offline channels. When it came to the purchase itself and the steps of selection, payment and fulfilment, only 55% completed that entire journey in store, while 25% used online channels only and the remaining 20% used a mix of cross-channel behaviour (such as showrooming or click-and-collect).

Amazon, Argos and John Lewis each score top for service in individual elements of the transaction and for specific modes of channel usage. But when it comes to end-to-end journeys, none of them holds the complete cross-channel lead.

Retail standards and mystery shop metrics tend to be applied to measurable performance at stages of the journey, focusing on things such as waiting times and delivery on promise. But our research shows that it is possible to be ‘good’ on all these components and still ‘ho-hum’ on the experience of the overall journey.

Customers notice if their journey is clunky, if they have to reidentify themselves, if they are not treated and rewarded as a single customer, or if they have to do the work of joining together disconnected processes and systems. To fix this, businesses must track and design overall journeys, tighten up the channel hand-offs, and change their metrics to be journey-focused rather than moment-focused.

Along each journey, businesses must decide where to invest their people, training and technology. There will be some areas that just need to be maintained at competitive parity, and others where service leadership is sought.

The choice between these is a strategic decision, based on what contributes to and is consistent with overall brand positioning. For example, the brand strategy may dictate a distinct service position comprising a choice between speed, ease, personalisation and emotion.

Above all else, this thinking requires a culture that engages the business around the customer journey and cuts across functions.

Harmonisation of incentives is critical, as is the understanding at each touchpoint that it has to link across the organisation to create a journey of truth.

  • Michael Jary partner, OC&C Strategy Consultants