Customer Experience University - Winning Loyalty & Engagement One Customer at a Time

Listening and Leading Customer Experience in Uncertain Times

I’m in the throes of difficult planning sessions with clients as they seek to communicate with and ready themselves to care for their team members and customers in a time of heightened uncertainty associated with the coronavirus. For some clients, these conversations revolve around possible disruptions in a supply chain; for others, it takes the form of remote sales strategies or enabling team members to work from home.
Maybe I am unusually lucky, but in contrast to political leaders who can get bogged down in blaming their opposition for problems, the people with whom I work are spending all of their time looking for solutions on behalf of their team members and customers. I thought I would share some of these strengths in the hope that they will be of benefit to you.

Isn’t It Time for Ecosystem Mapping? | The Changing World of Customer Experience

I’m convinced the pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus happened upon an enduring truth when he said, “you can’t step into the same river twice.” I heard that quote when I was a freshman in college and it was the same year I’d read the classic book by M. Scott Peck titled The Road Less Traveled. In this book, Peck suggested above all else people fear change.
That made me wonder if we also fear that things won’t change. In other words, we get bored when things become stagnant and become overwhelmed when change exceeds our ability to cope.
For me, the world of human experience elevation is a perfect mix of dynamic change.

Are Customers Getting Smarter than Business Leaders? Hard Truths About Customer Experience!

I’m a fan of both business leaders and customers. However, of the two groups, it seems that customers are winning when it comes to embracing change.
While customer expectations are increasing at a lightning pace, the fundamentals of customer experience delivery have remained relatively constant across the past decade.
Smart customers realize that they have the power to choose brands that care about them and exceed their expectations.
Less smart leaders believe that customers make decisions predominantly based on the benefits, attributes, quality, and price of their products.

The Art and Heart of Successful Human Experience Training | A Path Infrequently Traveled

Quite frequently, my team and I are asked to develop customized frontline and leadership training materials in support of an enhanced team member or customer experience. Having reviewed a lot of generic service training materials available in the market today, I find myself cringing when the curriculum proceeds down any number of over-traveled paths like these...

Being Surprisingly Kind | Starting a Movement for Customer Experience and Beyond

We believe kindness is a choice that is demonstrated through action. Rather than practicing “random acts of kindness” we believe kindness must be intentional. We also believe that it is not enough to be kind only when it’s expected. We want to surprise others with kindness!
Finally, we believe stories of surprising kindness serve to inspire others, so we hope you will share stories of leaders, managers, team members, colleagues, friends, family, acquaintances, and even strangers who have been surprisingly kind.

Everything Matters When It Comes to First Impressions | Mastering Your Customer’s Arrival Experience

Given limited resources, I spend a lot of time helping my clients look for ways to deliver excellence at the highest value moments across the journey of their core customer segments.
While each customer group will differ on the moments-that-matter most to them, certain customer interaction points play a fairly universal role when it comes to customer engagement or customer churn.

Leveraging Trends to Drive Business Success through Customer Experience

Let’s look at some data reported by Adobe and Econsultancy in a report titled Experience Index 2020 Digital Trends. That study reflects the input of more than 13,000 marketers, IT professionals, and creatives from across the globe.
Let’s take a look at a couple of these findings and what they can mean for your business.
 

2020 and Beyond | How to Deliver Memorable Customer Experiences in a World Without Walls

You probably know I’m a fan of customer experience research conducted by PwC. For example, in my recent book The Airbnb Way – 5 Leadership Lessons for Igniting Growth through Loyalty, Community, and Belonging, PwC kindly gave me permission to use their global research on consumer expectations for human care and technology deployment.
Today, I’ll share some of PwC’s findings from their 2020 Retail Marketplacestudy, which has broad implications beyond the retail sector. In that research, PwC identifies a number of key drivers affecting customer expectations today...

Looking Back, Letting Go, and Moving Forward

I am increasingly convinced that the proliferation of choice (for consumers and business leaders) makes prioritization one of the most important elements of personal and business success.
Many of us will begin 2020 with a long list of new strategic priorities. We’ll identify six, seven, or more new projects to add to business objectives that carried over from 2019. All these new initiatives may be relevant to future success, but few will likely garner widespread buy-in and effective execution.
From my vantage point, the art of business success is to identify key business objectives and execute against them flawlessly. All too often, companies drift in what I call shiny ball syndrome...

Imagine it is 2025 – How’s Your Customer Experience?

What will customers expect and encounter when they interact with you and your business in 2025?
I know that the question is asking about a distant horizon line, but it wasn’t long ago that 2020 seemed like it was forever far away.