Post on 16-Apr-2017
2016 North American Mobile Water Treatment Customer Service Leadership Award
2016
BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH
© Frost & Sullivan 2016 2 “We Accelerate Growth”
Contents
Background and Company Performance................................................... 3
Industry Challenges ......................................................................... 3
Quality of Customer Service and Customer Impact .............................. 3
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 6
Significance of Customer Service Leadership ............................................ 7
Understanding Customer Service Leadership ............................................ 7
Key Benchmarking Criteria ............................................................... 8
Best Practice Award Analysis for Evoqua Water Technologies ..................... 8
Decision Support Scorecard .............................................................. 8
Quality of Customer Service .............................................................. 9
Customer Impact ............................................................................. 9
Decision Support Matrix ................................................................. 10
The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards 11
Research Methodology ................................................................... 11
Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ................................................................... 12
About Frost & Sullivan ......................................................................... 13
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Background and Company Performance
Industry Challenges
Municipal and industrial customers for mobile water treatment systems are
spread across North America. As a result, making these systems available
in a short time is a challenge. A hub-spoke model is one of the best
solutions to overcome these challenges in the mobile water treatment
systems industry. With respect to the mobile water treatment systems
market, empowering all employees and establishing a connection for high-
quality customer service is essential. Despite technological advancements
in terms of mobile system configuration and system efficiency, customer
service and responsiveness have still been ruling factors for vendors to
ensure there is efficient utilization of the mobile systems.
Quality of Customer Service and Customer Impact
Empowerment
Evoqua Water Technologies believes customer response is critical and is
measured in turnaround time and quality of service. The only way a
company can have expert customer service is by having a decision making
process that is both quick and effective. Evoqua Water Technologies
ensures it is highly responsive and reliable, provides high-quality solutions,
and adds value as a trusted partner. Being responsive and reliable is
important, and the company achieves this by empowering employees in its
eighty-five local branches. Evoqua Water Technologies is the largest branch
organization in North America and is within two hours of most customers in
the US. Decision making is decentralized, and each branch office can make
its own decisions in terms of defining solutions for the mobile water
treatment and as well the accompanying pricing structure.
This unique system of empowering branch office employees has helped the
company with time management and has increased its customer base.
Speed/Timeliness
Evoqua Water Technologies claims to have a faster turnaround time than
other competitors in the market. Because the company has more branches
than its competitors, employees have shorter distances to travel to solve
problems for the customers. The company offers support to more than
50,000 customer sites in the United States, with a high level of intimacy.
Some of its key customers include the chemical processing industry, food &
beverage, municipal water and wastewater, life/health sciences, refining,
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microelectronics, power, pharmaceuticals, and remediation. Each branch
has its own inventory of spare parts and consumables. Providing mobile
services is only one part of helping a plant get back online. If a plant is
offline, the mobile systems and service keeps production going and checks
for water quality problems.
Mobile water treatment has multiple systems types. One is the ion
exchange system for demineralization, which is a rapid response system
that is used to restore water service on the customer site. The ion
exchange system is dispatched from the service depot within two hours and
rapidly commissioned once it reaches the customer site, thereby affording a
quick start-up. Other treatment options generally need more time because
they require electricity, utilities and a certain level of site preparation
before operation. Evoqua Water Technologies’ mobile water treatment
systems are customized with the highest level of precision so that they are
ready to go online immediately after installation. The company is strong in
logistics and relies primarily on its own Class A drivers, and trucks to avoid
delays associated with contract drivers and trucks.
Frictionless Interaction
Evoqua Water Technologies focuses on strong customer interaction with the
employees who will be at the site to solve problems. The company relies
heavily on the fact that the technician solving the problems should be
communicating with the customer. In addition, the company has a non-
conformance performance process when service falls short of what was
promised. This reporting structure allows the employee’s manager to be
involved in evaluating the reason for failure. The manager is briefed on the
situation, and necessary steps are taken to rectify any problems. Evoqua
Water Technologies promotes a frictionless environment for interaction
between employees with a system that tenaciously discourages employees
from neglecting issues. The technician should definitely address the issue
and progress is constantly monitored by the respective managers to ensure
high quality service.
Customer Purchase Experience
Evoqua Water Technologies backs it customer service with guarantees on
both the quantity and quality of water with its well-trained team of
Technicians and Applications Engineers supported by a strong fleet of
mobile water treatment systems. The most important feature of the
customer purchase experience is safety. What makes the company
successful and unique is its focus on safety. The company operates safely
at customer’s site and while in transit to sites. Evoqua Water Technologies
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represents the customer when the equipment is handled and operated with
minimum hindrance both at process and personal level. The company has
rigorous safety protocols as part of its EH&S Program. It has adopted and
committed to an effective behavior-based process (Loss Prevention
System) to ensure a safe working environment. Because the company
deals with sites such as refineries and power plants, safety becomes one of
the most important prerequisites when installing mobile water treatment
systems. The company was awarded the2015 Gold Award for excellent
safety performance at Chevron Refinery in El Segundo, California, USA.
This award is presented on a yearly basis to Chevron’s partners who
provide incident-free, on-site service. Evoqua has been the recipient of this
site’s, highest safety award from Chevron for three consecutive years.
Customer Ownership Experience
Evoqua Water Technologies has established well-documented standard
operating procedures (SOP). These SOPs provide guidance to technicians
who undergo a training program where they are trained, tested, and
certified. The company has created customer groups for some of their
product lines, and any product updates are communicated to them. One of
the company’s key elements in the customer experience is the establishment
of a corporate account management program. For an effective delivery of
service, some of Evoqua’s key corporate customers are involved in the
corporate account management program. When these corporations buy the
equipment, the equipment is designed based on the customer’s needs and
standards. For example, Evoqua Water Technologies was recently awarded
a 5-year contract to provide mobile equipment to the US Navy. The
company’s mobile equipment is used for producing deionized feed water for
ships docking at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia (the largest naval station
worldwide).
Customer Service Experience
Evoqua Water Technologies has several programs to evaluate customer
service. One of these programs is called a net promoter score survey,
which seeks participation from all customer groups. The company selects
a percentage of customers to survey, which involves an escalation process.
If a customer reports any dissatisfaction, the response is automatically
escalated to the respective manager to reach out to the customer to
understand and solve the problem. If the customer records exceptional
service, that response is escalated to the manager as part of the company’s
recognition program. Technicians routinely evaluate the survey to ensure
the performance of the equipment and quality of service is not
compromised.
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Conclusion
Evoqua Water Technologies is a new brand name in the water treatment
market with a long history of experience in the mobile water treatment
industry. The company is one of the most recognized businesses that have
pioneered the mobile water treatment services with unique strategies and
exceptional products to provide high-quality customer service.
With its strong overall customer service, Evoqua Water Technologies has
earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2016 Customer Service Leadership award in the
North American mobile water treatment market.
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Significance of Customer Service Leadership
Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing
from your company, and then making the decision to return time and
again. The service experience is therefore a critical component of a
company’s efforts to retain customers over the long term. Through
successful retention, companies enhance their brand, increase demand for
their products, and differentiate themselves from the competition.
Understanding Customer Service Leadership
Customer Service Leadership is defined and measured by two macro-level
categories: quality of customer service and customer impact. These two
sides work together to make customers feel valued, and confident in their
products’ quality and long shelf life. This dual satisfaction translates into
repeat purchases and a high lifetime customer value.
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Key Benchmarking Criteria
For the Customer Service Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts
independently evaluated two key factors—Quality of Customer Service and
Customer Impact—according to the criteria identified below.
Quality of Customer Service
Criterion 1: Empowerment
Criterion 2: Leverage of Customer Feedback
Criterion 3: Speed/Timeliness
Criterion 4: Frictionless Interaction
Criterion 5: Technological Investment
Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience
Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience
Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience
Criterion 5: Brand Equity
Best Practice Award Analysis for Evoqua Water Technologies
Decision Support Scorecard
To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business
performance categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision
Support Scorecard. This tool allows our research and consulting teams to
objectively analyze performance, according to the key benchmarking
criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that basis.
The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance
evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below.
RATINGS GUIDELINES
The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Quality of Customer
Service and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10
benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided
beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this
weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small
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changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant
change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.
The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to
protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer
to the other key players as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.
DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE LEADERSHIP
AWARD
Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)
Customer Service Leadership
Quality of Customer
Service
Customer
Impact Average Rating
Evoqua Water Technologies 9.5 9.5 9.5
Competitor 2 8.0 7.0 7.5
Competitor 3 6.5 6.5 6.5
Quality of Customer Service
Criterion 1: Empowerment
Requirement: Service providers are encouraged to take independent,
informed, and creative approaches to issue resolution
Criterion 2: Leverage of Customer Feedback
Requirement: Customer opinions are continually solicited and monitored,
leading to direct changes to product features or the service model
Criterion 3: Speed/Timeliness
Requirement: Issues are resolved within a timeframe satisfactory to the
customer and the provider
Criterion 4: Frictionless Interaction
Requirement: Service providers deftly avoid customer conflict by
maintaining a friendly, professional demeanor at all times
Criterion 5: Technological Investment
Requirement: Investment in best-in-class technologies that enhance
customer knowledge, accelerates issue resolution, and/or improves the
customer experience
Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price,
compared to similar offerings in the market
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Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience
Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution
that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints
Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience
Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or
service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product
or service
Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience
Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high
quality
Criterion 5: Brand Equity
Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high
brand loyalty
Decision Support Matrix
Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support
Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown
below, enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough
and which ones are not yet operating at best-in-class levels.
DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE LEADERSHIP AWARD
High
Low
Low High
Customer Impact
Quality of Customer Service
Evoqua Water Technologies
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
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The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best
Practices Awards
Research Methodology
Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree
research methodology represents
the analytical rigor of our research
process. It offers a 360-degree-
view of industry challenges, trends,
and issues by integrating all 7 of
Frost & Sullivan's research
methodologies. Too often,
companies make important growth
decisions based on a narrow
understanding of their environment,
leading to errors of both omission
and commission. Successful growth
strategies are founded on a
thorough understanding of market,
technical, economic, financial,
customer, best practices, and
demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the
360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for
benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at
best-in-class levels.
360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING
ORDER IN THE CHAOS
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Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,
Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award
candidates and assess their fit with select best practice criteria. The
reputation and integrity of the Awards are based on close adherence to this
process.
STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT
1 Monitor, target, and screen
Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe
• Conduct in-depth industry research
• Identify emerging sectors • Scan multiple geographies
Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria
2 Perform 360-degree research
Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline
• Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners
• Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria
• Rank all candidates
Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another
3
Invite thought leadership in best practices
Perform in-depth examination of all candidates
• Confirm best-practice criteria • Examine eligibility of all candidates
• Identify any information gaps
Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates
4
Initiate research director review
Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles
• Brainstorm ranking options • Invite multiple perspectives on candidates’ performance
• Update candidate profiles
Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper
5
Assemble panel of industry experts
Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders
• Share findings • Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility
• Prioritize candidates
Refined list of prioritized award candidates
6
Conduct global industry review
Build consensus on award candidates’ eligibility
• Hold global team meeting to review all candidates
• Pressure-test fit with criteria • Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates
Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide
7 Perform quality check
Develop official award consideration materials
• Perform final performance benchmarking activities
• Write nominations • Perform quality review
High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes
8
Reconnect with panel of industry experts
Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient
• Review analysis with panel • Build consensus • Select winner
Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria
9 Communicate recognition
Inform award recipient of award recognition
• Present award to the CEO • Inspire the organization for continued success
• Celebrate the recipient’s performance
Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand
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STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT
10 Take strategic action
Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers
• Coordinate media outreach • Design a marketing plan • Assess award’s role in future strategic planning
Widespread awareness of recipient’s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees
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