Operational Transparency: How "Seeing Behind the Curtain" Wins Over Customers

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Hi there - Jen here :)

Have you ever eaten at a Subway?

Their servers, called Sandwich Artists, make your food to order right in front of you.

Step-by-step you tell the Artist what you want and how much of it you’d like, and they construct your perfect Subway sandwich.

“Showing their work” has proven to a be compelling business proposition for Subway.

They’re one of the largest (and at one time, the fastest growing) franchises in the world, with more than 37k stores in 100+ countries.

If you’ve ever eaten at a Subway, then you’ve experienced the power of Operational Transparency.

🧠 Today we’re talking about how the psychological principle of Operational Transparency can help you sell more, keep customers around longer, and improve your customer experience - all with things that are already happening inside of your business.

You’ll learn:

• What is Operational Transparency? 

• The Psychological Sales Power of Operational Transparency 

• 3 Real-World Examples of Operational Transparency in Action

• How you can use Operational Transparency to 2x your marketing effectiveness (plus industry-specific tips)

👉 But before we get started, a reminder that you’re invited to our Pro Membership Mastermind Workshop, "Practical Ways AI is Revolutionising Marketing" with Simone Blakers TOMORROW.

These Masterminds are usually only available to Pro Members, but I’ve opened up 10 8 Guest Passes so folks who aren’t Pro Members can join.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Simone will be discussing AI’s role in wide variety of marketing disciplines (see below), relevant tools you can use to do better work faster in these areas, as well as a discussion of ethical considerations and importance of transparency and disclosure.

Simone will be sharing her insights about the following specific marketing disciplines:

• Strategy, Research, Audience Insights

• Creative & Content Development

• Website Design & Development

• Media Ecosystem - Paid, Owned, Earned

There will be a 30 minute open discussion at the end of the session where you can get answers from Simone on your most pressing marketing AI questions.

If you can’t make this day/time, no worries!

I’ll share a recording with everyone who registers.

(But these recordings will NOT be available to buy after the deadline, so get your invite now)

👉 Learn more and get your Guest Pass here

What is Operational Transparency? 

Operational Transparency says when customers can see “behind the curtain” of your product or service, they'll value it more highly.

I’ve used this principle with clients like McDonald’s, AT&T, and Lloyds Bank (as well as many startups and smaller brands).

And it’s one of the most powerful principles I’ve seen in action…

Operational Transparency can take many forms:

• Making employees' work more visible, like watching Subway’s sandwich artists build our custom meals, or how Starbucks’ short coffee machines let you watch what the baristas are cooking up.

• Sharing how you source and construct your sustainable products, like Patagonia's Footprint Chronicles

• Sharing peoples' salaries, like social platform Buffer. They share all employees compensation on their website.

And Operational Transparency can have a huge impact on your business.

Even a simple factory tour can make customers:

• 85% more likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family 

• 32% more likely to buy the company's products after the tour

Here’s how Operational Transparency works (and how you can use it in your industry)…

The Psychological Sales Power of Operational Transparency

Brands that use Operational Transparency strategies can raise how much customers value products, and even make them happier.

In one study, researchers observed college cafeteria workers.

They found that when students could see people making their food, they rated the quality of their meal 22% higher.

Students were able to make a more personal connection, not just to the servers, but to the process of creating meals.

Even more interesting, when workers could see the students they were serving, output went up 19%.

Employees cared more when they could make a connection with the people who benefited from their work.

3 Real-World Examples of Operational Transparency in Action

Operational Transparency isn’t just for restaurants. Here are few ways other brands can use it, too.

1. BOS:311 - The City of Boston

To help citizens report road maintenance issues (like potholes), Boston built a website, and later an app, where residents can report issues and track the repair process.

The program was such a success that it’s now used for snow shoveling, overflowing trash cans, and even sign damage.

After tracking 20,000 Boston residents over two years, researchers found that using the app increased people's willingness to engage with their local government.

There was a 59.8% increase in public service requests across 37.7% more categories for those residents who used the app.

2. The 7-Minute Miracle: Tessi Cleaning Services

Tessei is a Japanese company that cleans bullet trains - but they were having a hard time finding new employees.

Cleaning work wasn’t respected because it was perceived to be dirty, dangerous, and difficult.

But in reality, it was a mind-blowing feat of efficiency, called the “7-Minute Miracle” because Tessei could clean an entire bullet train - nearly 1,000 seats - in less than 10 minutes.

Teruo Yabe, a company leader, thought if their cleaning process was easier to see, customers - and potential employees - might finally understand how skilled Tessi workers were.

So he changed the color of employee uniforms from a pale blue to a bright red.

Customers could now easily spot the 22-person Tessei team while they cleaned.

This visibility transformed the dynamic between cleaners and customers. What had been perceived as a low-skill job in the past was now awe-inspiring.

3. Transparent Pricing: Everlane

Everlane, an American clothing retailer, practices what they call "radical transparency."

On each product's page, they share the cost of materials, labor, transportation and more.

The brand also shares detailed information about the factories where its products are made, so the customer understands the process and reasoning behind Everlane's prices.

How you can use Operational Transparency to 2x your marketing effectiveness (plus industry-specific tips)

There are 3 key moments in which to provide transparency:

1. People: Can our customers see, speak to, or interact with our employees? Can customers watch the labor process? Is there a way to make our employee’s process center stage in the customer experience?

2. Process: Do people know where our products come from, and how they’re made? Can we provide any more information on how their product is being assembled while they wait, or before they’ve seen the item on the shelf? Can we provide pictures or other visual confirmation?

3. Post: When customers are waiting for a delivery, are we clear about where, when, and how this is being fulfilled? Is it clear to them what “late” looks like and are we communicating to them why a package might need to be delayed?

HOW you apply Operational Transparency can change depending on your industry: 

• Retail and eCommerce can benefit from price transparency: A 2020 study found that being transparent with the costs to produce and sell an item (like our Everlane example, above) increased product sales by 22%. 

• Financial Services can benefit from "trade-off transparency": A Harvard University research team partnered with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to observe how being up front with the pros and cons of affected applications for a specific credit card. They found that volunteering this information to customers resulted in 9.9% higher spending and 20.5% lower cancellation rates for these cards. [Source]

• Non-profits can benefit from voluntary disclosure of operations information: A 2018 study found that operational transparency is associated with higher donations in non-profits. And when a non-profit moved from being non-transparent to voluntarily transparent, donations increased 53.27%.

Until next time,
Jen