Is the Toast Burnt? Speak up! LexisNexis is Listening!
By Michael Saint-Onge
One of my favorite jokes is about a mother and a father whose infant son never made a sound. As the child grew, he didn’t speak. They took him to specialist after specialist, all of whom confirmed that there was nothing physically wrong with the child. One day, when the boy was 15, as his mother made his breakfast, the boy turned to her and said, “The toast is burnt.”
The mother and father looked at each other with gaping mouths, and then asked the boy, “Why haven’t you said a word up until now?”
“Well,” the boy answered, shrugging, “Up until now, everything was pretty good!”
That joke makes me laugh. I think it is human nature to keep quiet about what is working well, and to speak up only when something isn’t working quite right. The real trick, however, is voicing your concerns and suggestions and getting them heard by the appropriate people.
The good news? LexisNexis is making it easier to do just that!
Last year, the LexisNexis Presidents and CEOs Mike Walsh (legal markets) and Kurt Sanford (corporate markets) instituted an ambitious program called “The Voice of the Customer.” The goal: to capture and consolidate customer comments, gathered from more than 1,500 sales representatives, other LexisNexis employees and thousands of daily Customer Support interactions.
This feedback is compiled into a monthly report by Customer Support and sent to Sales and Marketing management for review. The report identifies top issues and trends, and targets any suggestions for appropriate action within the company.
This means your comments and suggestions are getting attention from the very individuals within the company who can act on them.
Librarians have several additional ways to make their concerns known: The LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group—the first librarian-centric group created by a major legal publisher—is a great conduit for your suggestions. In fact, it is one of the most important aspects of my job as a LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultant. My fellow LRCs and I take this responsibility seriously. As you know, librarians are some of the most discriminating users of lexis.com®, so their suggestions are usually “spot on.” It is particularly gratifying to see our products improve as a direct result of input gathered from librarians.
Another way that librarians offer input is through the LexisNexis Librarian Advisory Board. This group of librarians, chosen from medium to large law firms across the country, has a unique perspective. They are often the first to see new products and services, and their feedback helps shape the final product. LexisNexis has found their input to be very valuable.
Lastly, there is a feedback button within lexis.com—up in the upper right-hand corner. Have you noticed it? This button links you to a feedback form that offers a convenient way for you to suggest product enhancements for the LexisNexis services at lexis.com. Product enhancements include Web site design suggestions, requests for new or improved features and functions, browser compatibility concerns, and other input on how we can make the product better. These suggestions go directly to the product developers. (Please note that this button is for product enhancements only. If you have other issues, such as data errors or account questions, Customer Support is still the best place to contact.)
Of course it isn’t possible to implement every suggestion that comes from customers. As a business, we have to weigh each suggestion against its feasibility, and prioritize accordingly, but your comments and suggestions are noticed, and ultimately the products we offer are stronger for it. So the next time the proverbial “toast is burnt,” let us know. We’re listening!
And Don’t Forget the AALL Forum …
Many top LexisNexis product experts plus marketing management, LexisNexis Information Professional Update editorial staff—and the entire team of LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultants—make attending the AALL Annual Meeting a top priority so they can talk to you. Please take advantage of this opportunity and visit with us during the Opening Event, on the Exhibition floor, or any convenient opportunity during the meeting.
