TRANSFORMING
LIBRARIES &
COMMUNITIES WITH
INNOVATIVE
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Emily Clasper
MLIS, PMP

Want to change the world?

https://image.slidesharecdn.com/learning-ala-center-future-libraries-161012211001/95/learning-with-the-alas-center-for-the-future-of-libraries-7-638.jpg?cb=1476306634

New Business Models

McKinsey Framework
for Three Horizons of
Growth
Image Credit: Blake Morgan at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2015/01/19/moving-
from-transactional-to-meaningful-customer-relationships/#2c64b94e3261
Many companies begin with a
traditional division of resources:
 Horizon 1: 70%
 Horizon 2: 20%
 Horizon 3: 10%
More recently, transformational
companies are allocating more
resources towards the second
and third levels.

“Most companies don’t spend
enough time on transformative
growth because they aren’t good
at transformative and it’s scary
for them.
- Michael Docherty, Collective Disruption: How Corporations &
Startups Can Co-Create Transformative New Businesses

Experience Based Customer Service

“
We are at a point where
companies need to aggressively
innovate their customer
experience.
– Blake Morgan, Customer Experience Futurist

Transactional
Customer Service
 Based on units of work
 Transactions = Individual
events
 Little focus on context
 Performance benchmarking
 Creating successful
conversions
 Risk averse
 Task focus
 Short term view

Transformational
Customer Service
 Based on Meaningful
experiences
 Interactions interconnected
 Total experience considered
 Motivation from shared vision
and high standards
 Creating brand advocates
 Risk necessary but
calculated
 People focus
 Long term view

“
Simply being polite and
helpful is not enough.
– Dr. John R. Miller, Is the Customer Service
Experience You Create Typical or
Transformational?

What About Libraries?

Assessing
Transformational
Potential
1. A more personalized product or
service
2. A closed-loop process
3. Asset sharing
4. Usage-based pricing
5. A more collaborative ecosystem
6. An agile and adaptive
organization
Based on:
Kavadias, Stelios, et al. “The 6 Elements of Truly
Transformative Business Models.” Harvard Business
Review, Oct. 2016

Step 1:
Reexamining the library’s
strategic plan and
priorities
 From a WHY perspective
 What values are the elements
based on specifically
 How does each relate back to the
needs of specific segments of our
service population
 How do the elements of the
plan/priorities/directions relate to
furthering community aspirations
 How does this dictate the way we
approach customer servicehttp://www.varchannelmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/The-golden-circle-
e1391717108503.gif

Step 2:
Create mechanisms for
customers to define
needs and expectations
 For services
 For modes of delivery
 For communication channels
 For interactions
 From all segments of the
community
 From direct and indirect sources
 Asking the right questions

Step 3:
Build Collaborative teams
to find innovative
solutions to meeting
customer needs
 Cross disciplinary
 Interdepartmental
 Including different stakeholders
 Including customers
 Proactively identify outside
partners to work with
 Need to identify, refine, and define
goals as well as work to find
solutions

Step 4:
Streamline internal
processes to allow these
collaborative teams to
work
 Identify and remove internal
barriers to collaboration
 Unify communication channels as
much as possible

Step 5:
Integrate technology and
data
 From all channels and touchpoints
 To create richer customer profiles
 To define customer needs/wants
more fully
 To examine the customer
relationship over time
 Use to personalize experiences
 Address technical issues
 Address ethical issues
 Address organizational issues

What Does it Look Like?

Personalization
of Services
Elements of the customer
experience are tailored to the
individual as much as possible.
 Based on data
 Relationship builds over time
 Individual transactions help
inform the long term
relationship and total
experience

Technology
Integration
Experiences through many
channels:
 Text, chat, video, mobile,
kiosks
 Self service opportunities
 Interfaces that add value
 AI as an aid to those
assisting the customer

Omni-Channel
Communication
Consistent, two-way
communication through all
available channels
 Responses are quick and
helpful
 Adopt a consistent
tone/persona that is
developed and practiced
throughout the organization

Attention To
Experience At All
Touchpoints
Anything that is part of the
customer experience of the
library deserves attention
 Onsite/remote
 Service related or not

Convenience For
The Customer
Bottom line, the product
that customers perceive
as cool will have a big
advantage, but the
product that customers
find easy to use will keep
their attention.
–Pete Seer, Why Innovation must build
from Customer Experience

Proactive
Customer Service
Actively seek out opportunities to
solve customer problems before
they even notice there’s an issue.
 Anticipate needs
 Base this on data
 Avoid pitfalls of assumptions
 Offer solutions to problems
they didn’t know they had

Internal
Motivation
Cultivating a Culture of Customer
Service
 Values and objectives clearly
established & communicated
 Strong internal communication
 Cultivate a customer service
culture
 Support for developing skills
 Celebration of success

Thank You!
Emily Clasper
You can find me at @eclasper
or
http://eclasper.com

CREDITS
Special thanks to all the people
who made and released these
awesome resources for free:
▫ Presentation template by
SlidesCarnival
▫ Photographs by Unsplash
Additional images used with permission