When Customer Confusion Leads to Churn
You can have the best, most feature-rich product out there, but if your customers do not know how to use it, they will churn.
I remember it well. We had just implemented a massive infrastructure change in my organization years ago, and we were excited to see how it would help us build out convenience across multiple departments. We rallied, issued training to the power users, and advertised with key stakeholders, and it looked like we had a winner on our hands! And so, we went live.
Then, things started running into trouble. Departments didn’t conform to the processes we put in place, and tried to circumvent them because they didn’t follow their previous processes. Our team would follow the processes as outlined, yet requests would go missing. Incidents would get submitted, but not resolved. The brilliance of our new infrastructure design was showing cracks. Sure, we had great tools, but we struggled with the results. We needed a change. Or, better yet, proper training.
This same scenario has played out for several IT Management platforms I’ve worked on, and each one had similar results: turn it on and hope that folks will just learn to use it. Well, it doesn’t work that way, and more often than not, the contract would not get renewed, and we would go through the same process with another product in 3 years.
The thing is, this could have easily been resolved if we received proper training as part of our Change Management process, which would have resolved our churn, and that of many other clients. Let’s explore how that would work.
Tools are Replaceable, and always misused
Until we finally understood the right process and workflow through a platform, that platform was, essentially, just a bunch of tools we could use on the job. Tools, folks can understand and use, even if they use them incorrectly. I admit it, I’ve used a crescent wrench as a hammer before, when I couldn’t find my hammer. Did it work? Sure. Was it good for the wrench? Nope. I left nicks in the metal. Still, I used the tool that was handy for the job I wanted to complete.
This same principle happens when you use your fancy platform as “tools.” Need to track IT requests? Incident tickets are tools to do that. Need to track changes to your infrastructure? Change tickets will do that just fine. Don’t quite know how Change Management works, but you need to track a Change request? It’s tempting to use an Incident if that’s what you know. Sure, you don’t have the same workflows, but at least you are tracking it, right?
Eventually, you realize that your methods of doing things aren’t working, and the tools don’t seem to live up to their promises. Where is the automation? Where are the approvals? How does it relate to devices in the CMDB? So, you start asking yourself, why did we invest in this costly platform if it’s not doing what it promised to do? So, you start looking for other solutions.
The Data
In this hypothetical example, I’m using a vague IT Management platform. You could replace this with any platform and any similar scenarios: I’ve seen this play out with several digital platforms in the past. If it’s not used properly, it feels “broken,” and you look for a replacement. It’s a costly migration, lots of money spent, and yet the same problem will exist.
The thing is, all this could be properly avoided if your user base were properly trained. Training would give them the knowledge of how to use the platform, when it should be used, and why it works the way it does. This means training on the platform and the new processes to as many people as you can. How do I know this works? Because I’ve been on the opposite end of it: I’ve received the necessary training, I’ve delivered the necessary training, and I’ve planned the necessary training when implementing. So let’s go through the data.
01
End-User Skills Gap
When evaluating the problem areas in the platform, we often came to the same common issues: End users were attempting to circumvent the new processes that the platform provided for what they used to do (email requests, no follow-up, no reviewing of the platform, and often ignoring the platform). Users were struggling to get their requests and incidents addressed because they were reaching out to their “guy” in the department instead of going through the process.
The Solution
We needed to better understand how customer workflows at the end-user level operated. We met with customers, ran surveys, and analyzed the user data available to see what worked and what didn’t. More often than not, the end users would use non-traditional methods to circumvent the new processes established by the platform because it’s “what they always did.”
This was a clear indicator that end-users needed to be trained on the expected process they would take, and the benefits of the platform as it came to them as part of the Change Management process to the new platform. This would easily be resolved by creating platform-specific, micro-training videos that walked end-users through how to submit their incidents, monitor progress, request updates, and educate them on the current processes.
The Results
The results were dramatic. End-users were more comfortable with the new incident process, which triggered proper requests to go through with monitoring and automations in place. Incidents were automatically assigned to appropriate departments, and responses were swift as SLA counters and triggers would kick in.
02
Power-Users and Broken Processes
The next common issue that came up was broken processes that were being built into the platform by power users. The platform was designed for specific functions with pre-defined automations triggered as specific stages or assignments were made. The Power Users, on the other hand, knew what their current processes were and built them into the new platform. Did it work? Well, as well as previous processes worked. Was it faster? How could it be? Power users were using the same broken processes that would take just as much time as in their previous environment. No benefit was being seen.
The Solution
It was clear that power users needed to understand how the platform was designed, where the automations kicked in, what processes were built in for their benefit, and how to customize the process for optimization.
We started with the research: looking at what customers were doing and how they were approaching their problems. Surveys revealed that customers were performing much the same steps within the process, with a lot of additional overhead that could be weeded out. We then refined processes, workflows, and the platform UI to better support their goals as power users while highlighting the value the platform brought to the table.
Now, we needed to communicate the new process and results: This required multi-day power user bootcamp-style training, walking them through the platform, helping them understand how the platform was designed, and where the automations triggered. We worked through the process steps, where customizations could and should be made, where the default process shone, and how it would apply in their own environment. The goal was to help them reimagine their broken processes by following one that was already optimized by the platform.
The Results
The classroom results were dramatic. Several power users were blown away by the strength of the process that was built in, and understood where their existing processes were broken. As we worked through each lab, they would stop, take notes, and often ask questions on how they could make this same process work in their own platform. The change was dramatic: They saw the platform as a platform, not a set of tools that they should use. The change in perception made a huge difference, and the adoption of the baseline automations accelerated amongst multiple customers.
Understanding the Solution
This was a mock evaluation loosely based on similar case studies I’ve completed in the past. The process is pretty much the same for each one:
- Identify the business outcome you want to achieve
- Measure your baseline of success
- Identify the gaps
- Change those gaps into outcomes: How do you know your steps you are taking are successful?
- Deliver the Training and measure the outcomes
This might seem simple at first, but there’s a lot of work that goes into each stage, which is why an L&D leader, like a Fractional Chief Learning Officer, is so valuable. If you have current issues and would like to talk strategy, let’s chat!
