Immediate Customer Feedback via Task Management

As retailers implement and expand their use of task execution and compliance software solutions, such as Logile’s EC5™, they naturally begin to ask themselves an important question: how can we minimize manual intervention while delivering relevant tasks to the right people in a timely fashion?

In a recent blog post, we discussed how web services can be used to automatically generate tasks and messages through integration with other systems, such as those handling online ordering, customer calls and product recalls. Today we’ll get even closer to the customer, and see how direct customer feedback can be utilized to generate tasks that drive achievement of corporate objectives.

The value of customer feedback is widely recognized, as it provides a window into the reasons for customer satisfaction and customer retention. But customer feedback can be expensive to collect, and it usually takes time—the delay associated with addressing an unsatisfied customer’s concern can make it more difficult to retain the customer. So how can technology be used to address these challenges?

One answer is through the combination of smart phones and a technology called quick response codes, or “QR codes.” QR codes are advanced barcodes that, when scanned or photographed, can send a user to a particular URL. A task execution and compliance software solution can be used to link the QR code to a custom task creation page.

That’s where smart phones come in. Customers can easily scan or take pictures of these QR codes using their personal mobile devices. Doing so takes them to the appropriate task creation screen, where they submit their feedback and a few other details, and thereby generate a new task.

Distinct QR codes can be posted in different locations throughout the store to capture customer feedback associated with any number of conditions:

• Restroom maintenance issue
• Out-of-stock product
• Long wait time
• Employee recognition

In each of these cases, the feedback submitted by the customer through the QR code will automatically generate a relevant task for the appropriate recipient, whether in a store department (like front end, maintenance or grocery) or at the region/corporate level.

Such a solution thus offers the opportunity for real-time feedback collection from customers, and immediate generation of tasks that help ensure a timely response. Customer feedback therefore becomes both easier to collect and react to, leading to higher customer satisfaction.