Jun 15 2016 | Loyalty Today
We know that customers are more demanding and have higher expectations than ever. And since most corporations are working hard to better serve these smart customers, it’s no surprise that many are zeroing in on loyalty programs as a way to create stronger relationships, and change customer...Read More
Mar 23 2016 | Loyalty Today
Why marketing (and Sales, Operations and Support…) can have a hard time seeing the “big picture.”Managing the customer experience is often thought of as the domain of those parts of the business that deliver the experience. Those with the greatest intimacy or connection with...Read More
Mar 07 2016 | Loyalty Today
With much of the online conversation taking place around customer experience innovation, it almost feels like everyone is focused on customer experience as way to ‘make a dent in the universe’ as Steve Jobs so eloquently put it. Unsurprising, as Forrester Research Inc. reports that a ...Read More
Mar 02 2016 | Loyalty Today
Given the prevalence of “customer experience” as a desired competitive differentiator, business discipline and value driver, you’d think it would be easy to define – and that a common understanding of what it means would be immediately at hand. Think again.Today, customer...Read More
Feb 08 2016 | Loyalty Today
Every journey begins with a single step. When it comes to improving customer experience, the first step in your journey can be a simple one. Just ask yourself: “How can we make this experience better?
There’s little doubt that the broader discipline of customer experience...Read More
Jan 27 2016 | Loyalty Today
Are your people truly committed to customer experience? Or just following orders?As organizations prioritize customer experience, they recognize the need to drive a shift from, for example, sales or product focused to customer-focused throughout their company. What this means varies of course by...Read More
Jan 19 2016 | Loyalty Today
Anyone who serves customers recognizes that a key to getting closer to them is to improve the customer experience you offer them. And that doing so requires a true understanding of what customers want and need, what they do, and how they do it.In this day and age, gaining this understanding...Read More
Jan 03 2016 | Loyalty Today
It’s always interesting to hear predictions and trends for the coming year. For 2016, I’ve elected to share my views on the (fast approaching) future of customer experience through the lens of other experts as well.As usual, this list isn’t comprehensive. Given the speed and...Read More
Dec 16 2015 | Loyalty Today
What makes a great meeting experience well, great?I’d venture to guess this has been a problem since companies have existed. I know it’s been an issue for companies of scale for decades, and is a challenge virtually every company has faced at one time or another. And that is the...Read More
Dec 07 2015 | Loyalty Today
How would you answer if every company you dealt with asked you this question: “Which is more important to you? Customer experience, or your privacy?” If you’re a Millennial, you may not recognize the implied tradeoff. According to a recent Gallup poll, “44% of...Read More
Dec 03 2015 | Loyalty Today
It’s a given that customer expectations have never been greater. Increasing recognition of this reality is a major driver of the increasing importance of customer experience in the boardroom. A hard right turn for many organizations, the mantra of “customer centricity” has...Read More
Dec 01 2015 | Loyalty Today
I recently watched a pretty remarkable video (which you can watch here on Al Jazeera) about Otis Johnson, a 69-year-old man released from prison in August 2014. Having served 44 years behind bars for attempted murder, his view of the technology-driven world we live in today is at turns...Read More
Nov 13 2015 | Loyalty Today
As you’re likely aware, the discipline of customer experience requires that organizations look at what it’s like to do business with themselves from “the outside in.” In other words, to walk in their customers’ shoes to understand from the customer perspective what...Read More
Oct 29 2015 | Loyalty Today
This is a short tale of two recent service experiences with wildly differing results. So you know, my goal isn’t to bash Comcast – it’s just that they continue to provide text book examples of what NOT to do if you’re trying to improve the service experience for your...Read More
Oct 23 2015 | Loyalty Today
Meet Sasha “New MBA” Cruz.She’s 26 years old, a recent graduate from a top MBA program and about to move across the country for a new position in her high-tech company. And while Sasha’s situation – and her wants, needs and expectations – are real, Sasha isn...Read More
Oct 02 2015 | Loyalty Today
As widely recognized as the importance of a better customer experience is, there’s less conversation around the cost of delivering that experience.There are two sides to this conversation. First, recognition that understanding your customers at a granular level is key to serving them, and...Read More
Sep 22 2015 | Loyalty Today
Don’t (just) listen to us on this; listen to your customers.As customer experience experts, we look at our client organizations from the outside in, through the eyes of their customers. As a result, we hear what customers across industries – B2C and B2B, retail, banking, technology...Read More
Sep 05 2015 | Loyalty Today
The dark is not a comfortable place for a customer to be.It’s been a stressful week. We’re selling a vacation house on one lake, in hopes of buying one on another lake. A perfect situation, you’d think – an all-cash buyer, contingencies lifted but one, and with one week...Read More
Aug 26 2015 | Loyalty Today
Every company is a software company.Customer experience is a well-recognized pivot point that more and more organizations rely on as a competitive differentiator and enabler of growth. Not at all surprisingly, the experience customers have as they transact and interact with a business has become...Read More
Aug 13 2015 | Loyalty Today
Mind the gap.A customer experience “gap” occurs when the experience a customer has doesn’t align with the experience they expected to have. We call the space between expectations and reality an “experience gap.” Gaps can be bad – sadly, many are – and...Read More
Jul 31 2015 | Loyalty Today
The role of emotions will become clearer as brands recognize the importance of how customers “feel” about customer experience.We humans are not nearly as rational as we’d like to believe. In fact, behavioral economists – folks like Dan Ariely of “Predictably...Read More
Jul 22 2015 | Loyalty Today
No pain, no gain.We’ve all heard this gem. Typically linked to the concept of working out ‘till it hurts before you get any benefit, there is some truth to this.At least I hope so – the fact that I’m going through physical therapy at the moment for a frozen shoulder (who...Read More
Jul 08 2015 | Loyalty Today
What do your customers want to know? What products, services or experiences will entrance them? What services might our competitors bring to our industry – and can we get there first? Where are the best opportunities for innovation?In my experience, the best way to answer these questions...Read More
Jul 02 2015 | Loyalty Today
Mobile-led, digitally-driven disruption creates massive opportunity to raise the bar on customer experience – and service.We’re all aware of the increasing influence of digitally-driven disruption on our lives – changing the ways we and our retail and business customers find...Read More
Jun 23 2015 | Loyalty Today
Oh, the irony – I love it when material for a speech just lands in my lap.I was at NextBank USA in New York this week, delivering a Thursday morning keynote on removing friction from customer experience. To get there from San Francisco, I flew Virgin America into Newark. As usual, the...Read More
Jun 17 2015 | Loyalty Today
If delight doesn’t lead to loyalty, what does?I recently came across some research by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) that has driven passionate discussions around the topic of “customer delight” and how it relates to customer loyalty and experience improvement. Namely, as...Read More
Jun 09 2015 | Loyalty Today
Earning customer trust is a business imperativeIt’s pretty much settled science that consistently great customer experiences drive greater customer loyalty. It’s why customer experience leaders across a wide range of industries enjoy a double-digit “loyalty advantage” over...Read More
Jun 15 2016
We know that customers are more demanding and have higher expectations than ever. And since most corporations are working hard to better serve these smart customers, it’s no surprise that many are zeroing in on loyalty programs as a way to create stronger relationships, and change customer...Read More
Mar 23 2016
Why marketing (and Sales, Operations and Support…) can have a hard time seeing the “big picture.”Managing the customer experience is often thought of as the domain of those parts of the business that deliver the experience. Those with the greatest intimacy or connection with...Read More
Mar 07 2016
With much of the online conversation taking place around customer experience innovation, it almost feels like everyone is focused on customer experience as way to ‘make a dent in the universe’ as Steve Jobs so eloquently put it. Unsurprising, as Forrester Research Inc. reports that a ...Read More
Mar 02 2016
Given the prevalence of “customer experience” as a desired competitive differentiator, business discipline and value driver, you’d think it would be easy to define – and that a common understanding of what it means would be immediately at hand. Think again.Today, customer...Read More
Feb 08 2016
Every journey begins with a single step. When it comes to improving customer experience, the first step in your journey can be a simple one. Just ask yourself: “How can we make this experience better?
There’s little doubt that the broader discipline of customer experience...Read More
Jan 27 2016
Are your people truly committed to customer experience? Or just following orders?As organizations prioritize customer experience, they recognize the need to drive a shift from, for example, sales or product focused to customer-focused throughout their company. What this means varies of course by...Read More
Jan 19 2016
Anyone who serves customers recognizes that a key to getting closer to them is to improve the customer experience you offer them. And that doing so requires a true understanding of what customers want and need, what they do, and how they do it.In this day and age, gaining this understanding...Read More
Jan 03 2016
It’s always interesting to hear predictions and trends for the coming year. For 2016, I’ve elected to share my views on the (fast approaching) future of customer experience through the lens of other experts as well.As usual, this list isn’t comprehensive. Given the speed and...Read More
Dec 16 2015
What makes a great meeting experience well, great?I’d venture to guess this has been a problem since companies have existed. I know it’s been an issue for companies of scale for decades, and is a challenge virtually every company has faced at one time or another. And that is the...Read More
Dec 07 2015
How would you answer if every company you dealt with asked you this question: “Which is more important to you? Customer experience, or your privacy?” If you’re a Millennial, you may not recognize the implied tradeoff. According to a recent Gallup poll, “44% of...Read More
Dec 03 2015
It’s a given that customer expectations have never been greater. Increasing recognition of this reality is a major driver of the increasing importance of customer experience in the boardroom. A hard right turn for many organizations, the mantra of “customer centricity” has...Read More
Dec 01 2015
I recently watched a pretty remarkable video (which you can watch here on Al Jazeera) about Otis Johnson, a 69-year-old man released from prison in August 2014. Having served 44 years behind bars for attempted murder, his view of the technology-driven world we live in today is at turns...Read More
Nov 13 2015
As you’re likely aware, the discipline of customer experience requires that organizations look at what it’s like to do business with themselves from “the outside in.” In other words, to walk in their customers’ shoes to understand from the customer perspective what...Read More
Oct 29 2015
This is a short tale of two recent service experiences with wildly differing results. So you know, my goal isn’t to bash Comcast – it’s just that they continue to provide text book examples of what NOT to do if you’re trying to improve the service experience for your...Read More
Oct 23 2015
Meet Sasha “New MBA” Cruz.She’s 26 years old, a recent graduate from a top MBA program and about to move across the country for a new position in her high-tech company. And while Sasha’s situation – and her wants, needs and expectations – are real, Sasha isn...Read More
Oct 02 2015
As widely recognized as the importance of a better customer experience is, there’s less conversation around the cost of delivering that experience.There are two sides to this conversation. First, recognition that understanding your customers at a granular level is key to serving them, and...Read More
Sep 22 2015
Don’t (just) listen to us on this; listen to your customers.As customer experience experts, we look at our client organizations from the outside in, through the eyes of their customers. As a result, we hear what customers across industries – B2C and B2B, retail, banking, technology...Read More
Sep 05 2015
The dark is not a comfortable place for a customer to be.It’s been a stressful week. We’re selling a vacation house on one lake, in hopes of buying one on another lake. A perfect situation, you’d think – an all-cash buyer, contingencies lifted but one, and with one week...Read More
Aug 26 2015
Every company is a software company.Customer experience is a well-recognized pivot point that more and more organizations rely on as a competitive differentiator and enabler of growth. Not at all surprisingly, the experience customers have as they transact and interact with a business has become...Read More
Aug 13 2015
Mind the gap.A customer experience “gap” occurs when the experience a customer has doesn’t align with the experience they expected to have. We call the space between expectations and reality an “experience gap.” Gaps can be bad – sadly, many are – and...Read More
Jul 31 2015
The role of emotions will become clearer as brands recognize the importance of how customers “feel” about customer experience.We humans are not nearly as rational as we’d like to believe. In fact, behavioral economists – folks like Dan Ariely of “Predictably...Read More
Jul 22 2015
No pain, no gain.We’ve all heard this gem. Typically linked to the concept of working out ‘till it hurts before you get any benefit, there is some truth to this.At least I hope so – the fact that I’m going through physical therapy at the moment for a frozen shoulder (who...Read More
Jul 08 2015
What do your customers want to know? What products, services or experiences will entrance them? What services might our competitors bring to our industry – and can we get there first? Where are the best opportunities for innovation?In my experience, the best way to answer these questions...Read More
Jul 02 2015
Mobile-led, digitally-driven disruption creates massive opportunity to raise the bar on customer experience – and service.We’re all aware of the increasing influence of digitally-driven disruption on our lives – changing the ways we and our retail and business customers find...Read More
Jun 23 2015
Oh, the irony – I love it when material for a speech just lands in my lap.I was at NextBank USA in New York this week, delivering a Thursday morning keynote on removing friction from customer experience. To get there from San Francisco, I flew Virgin America into Newark. As usual, the...Read More
Jun 17 2015
If delight doesn’t lead to loyalty, what does?I recently came across some research by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) that has driven passionate discussions around the topic of “customer delight” and how it relates to customer loyalty and experience improvement. Namely, as...Read More
Jun 09 2015
Earning customer trust is a business imperativeIt’s pretty much settled science that consistently great customer experiences drive greater customer loyalty. It’s why customer experience leaders across a wide range of industries enjoy a double-digit “loyalty advantage” over...Read More