Connecting Net Promoter to the World with CustomerGauge 3.0 API

No IT system is an island. Most enterprise systems have ways of getting data in and out – some easier than others. But at CustomerGauge, we are proud of our track record in integrating with all sorts of diverse systems from mainframes to PC servers.

We have interfaced with Salesforce.com, SAP.CRM, Siebel, DigitalRiver, Magento to name a few.

Part of our ability to do this is our publicly documented and available API (Application Programming Interface) system. For those that wouldn’t know an API from your BMI, an API is an “application program interface” – it allows CustomerGauge to automatically send and retrieve data to and from any external system. And we’re proud to announce new upgrades to our set of APIs for CustomerGauge 3.0.

The updates extend the previous API system (2.0)  to simply and quickly get data in and out of nearly any external system.

For the new 3.0 API, we use well known interfaces, and several standard ‘methods’. The APIs are REST-based. You can use them with XML or JSON input/output. Files can be “POSTed” to the API for improved security.

We now follow a “CRUD” scheme – you can Create, Retrieve, Update and Delete records as needed. You can read all about the differences and new capabilities on the CustomerGauge Support Site.

• Full List of APIs
• Migration Plan

99 Problems (But Data Ain’t One): How CustomerGauge makes it simple to input data, and an API update

To paraphrase Mr Jay-Z: “I have encountered nearly 100 difficulties, but loading my data into CustomerGauge cannot be counted among them”. We can help you get your data in shape to measure Net Promoter.

We offer multiple ways you can format the data – starting from a simple spreadsheet to a complex XML feed.

We can take in the data in a variety of ways – from emailing it to us (fine for a small project), loading directly into CustomerGauge, or a full integration using our API.

Details are here, now conveniently in our support section.

API v1.1.7 – now with Workflow

We just updated our API documentation to include methods of extending our firefighting workflow system. This makes our workflow tool very powerful – it allows you to pull out the status of workflow (open/closed/in-progress, plus all the notes and date information), and also to remotely update the workflow.

So if you are using an external issue tracking system like Remedy or RightNow; or CRM system like Salesforce you can do a very neat tie-up with CustomerGauge.

An example might be a transaction-triggered survey in CustomerGauge, then using Remedy to solve the customer issue. All the analytics and reporting are in CustomerGauge, problem is solved in Remedy. Alternatively CustomerGauge can serve as the Net Promoter measurement tool for your helpdesk.

This API can bring Net Promoter measurement into all of your forward facing customer systems – API 1.7.1 details here.

Case Study: Melitta: How the inventor of the coffee filter is delivering a high-caffeine shot of Net Promoter excellence

Melitta is the 100 year old Minden, Germany based manufacturer of branded products. Founded by housewife Melitta Bentz, inventor of the paper coffee filter, its main activities are production and marketing in the fields of coffee, food storage and preparation, and domestic cleaning. Probably its most well-known product is its fully automated coffee machines. However, the company has a number of brands in its portfolio that enjoy leading positions across many international markets. And they are totally committed to excellent customer service.

This case study describes how their Net Promoter project was implemented for their customer relationships and customer service systems together with CustomerGauge partner in Germany J/S/W Consulting.

Highlight of the system is the automated link from the call center to the CustomerGauge system via the API (CustomerGauge Application Programming Interface). Within moments a survey is sent out to the customer, resulting in a 60% response rate.

The system has already started to make an impact. Prior to the rollout, Melitta was confident that customers had a strong emotional bond with the brand and products. But the survey result surpassed all expectations, with initial scores above NPS +50 to back up the very high response rate.

Commented Consumer Service Coordinator Christoph Sundermeier: “It’s relatively easy to nurture relationships with customers to the point where they are satisfied with your service, but it’s another thing entirely to nurture relationships to the point where customers become active promoters, so we are exceptionally pleased with the initial results.”

As coffee lovers, we are delighted to have a client with excellent customer service, and great coffee machines too. By the way, our Client Operations Manager is an absolute coffee connoisseur – and she highly recommends their machines. Praise indeed!

CustomerGauge first with full API support for Net Promoter

CustomerGauge is now available with a full range of API (Application Programming Interface) methods to connect to enterprise systems, so now it’s simple to connect to ERP, CRM, BI and e-commerce systems and measure Net Promoter® Score. It is the first fully automated Net Promoter Score platform with an enterprise level API.

Using the API, CustomerGauge clients have already been able to integrate service-request systems, IVRs and other enterprise systems to contact customers and measure NPS in real-time, feeding results directly back into corporate systems.

One client uses the API to send customer details to CustomerGauge as soon as an agent hangs up the phone, and within two minutes the same customer receives an email survey to gather a score and a comment. The results of this activity have pushed response above 50%.

Another client is using the API to push customer issues directly into Salesforce.com in order to “Close the loop” with the wider organisation.

And another client is using multiple platforms to survey, including graphically based iPad systems, all based on communicating results to CustomerGauge with our secure API.

These CustomerGauge platform integrations are simple and quick to implement, and mean that NPS can be easily rolled out across organisations by connecting with diverse IT platforms.

Developers can start directly with our documentation. To understand more about how CustomerGauge can be integrated with other systems, contact us.

CustomerGauge Out: XML Comment and Net Promoter Score API

This is v1.0 of our standard CustomerGauge XML comments and Net Promoter® Score API (Application Programming Interface). We have made it as simple to use as possible for widest possible use. See also our other feed documentation on our support page.

Using the XML API

You could use this to:

• display comments on intranet or external sites
• update internal systems and dashboards
• update CRM systems with score and comment using customer number as lookup

Available Fields

We provide in the feed as standard:

• Net Promoter Score (0 – 10)
• Customer Comment
• Translated Comment
• Customer Reference Number
• Various segments (country, store, channel)
• Date of comment/Score
• Product SKU (if available)
• Useful plain-english description of feed source if re-used in other places
• Date of feed
• Link to comment detail page in CustomerGauge

Security

It is available in secure mode (default) or open (no security). We are able to simply configure it depending on frequency of update and security needs.

Standard feed is secured with User Name and Password, using CURL in PHP or similar.

URL example: http://www.c1-gauge.com/sites/RSS/xxxFeedSecure.xml

Username: myfeed

password: mypass

Using the API – PHP example

Example using PHP:

<? PHP

$ch = curl_init();
$user = ‘Acme’;
$password = ‘Acme1FeedExample’;
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, “http://www.c1-gauge.com/sites/RSS/AcmeFeedSecure2.xml”);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERPWD, “$user:$password”);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_ANY);
$output = curl_exec($ch);
$info = curl_getinfo($ch);

curl_close($ch);

echo $output;

?>

Once configured, you can test it using a testing page:

Testing page: https://www.cg-express.com/test/CurlPassword.php

API Format:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″ ?>

<channel>
<title>CustomerGauge Comment API</title>
<description>CustomerGauge API</description>
<link>https://www.c1-gauge.com</link>

<item>

<title>10</title>
<link>https://www.c1-gauge.com/sites/categorising.php?RAND=145XXXXXXX/link>
<description>The whole experience buying was easy &amp; stress free.  My headphones arrived swiftly &amp; are comfortable to use.   I am a great fan of Acme as I am still using the iron I was given as a wedding present in 1971.  It has been in use daily &amp; despite needing a couple of new flexes over the years has never once let me down.  Well done Acme!</description>
<translatedComment></translatedComment>
<country>UK</country>
<channel>Public</channel>
<store>Acme Online Shop</store>
<commentDate>2010-08-06 </commentDate>
<pubDate>2010-07-20 17:27:13</pubDate>
<category>AcmeSHS390/10;</category>
<source>Testimony for customer ID 145XXXXXXX from Acme Online Shop, powered by CustomerGauge</source>
<guid>https://www.c1-gauge.com/sites/categorising.php?RAND=145XXXXXXX</guid>

</item>

…etc

Please contact us for details on help with setting it up and configuring.

CustomerGauge In: B2C Data Import Formats (XML, XLS, TXT)

How to format data for import into CustomerGauge b2c

You can format data in several ways for CustomerGauge. For the b2c application, it is expected that there will be an automatic upload each day or week.

Methods:

• FTP (you automate sending of file to our Secure FTP site) - preferred
• Email (we supply a special email address for you to send the file to)
• Manual import (from within the CustomerGauge application you can upload a file)
• API – one transaction at a time (used for checkout or similar) or multiple record upload (coming soon)

Available formats:

• XML – preferred (DOWNLOAD example CustomerGaugeImportTemplateJune2010xml.txt) – updated 22 June 2010 with multiple ITEMs per RECORD
• CSV or TXT (see XLS download)
• XLS (DOWNLOAD CustomerGaugeImportTemplate22Mar2010.xls)
• within API (coming soon)

Typically the data file used is from an e-commerce system. Records are sometimes formatted as multiple lines per sales order (if more than one item per line). We can adjust the import template to account for that. CustomerGauge “de-duplicates” data, so you need not worry about sending a file twice.

Fields

We can accept just a few fields if available. Mandatory fields are:

• Email
• SKU
• order_value
• date_of_order

However, most clients send a very rich feed. If you can supply, we can accept around different 20 segment fields (and report on them).

Pre-Built Connectors

We already have pre-built connectors for many systems including SAP, DigitalRiver, Magento etc. Please enquire on how we can help you.