Authenticity beats Trendy!
First a personal note… Please accept my apologies for not blogging more regularly. Every waking hour (that is not dedicated to consulting, speaking, or family) is being and will be spent writing my newest book about Starbucks. I hope the smoke will clear to blog more regularly in early 2013. On to a quick blog…
The Basics for Delivering Customer Value
How often do you say “no” to a lucrative business opportunity? I have come to believe that excellence requires a willingness to pass on those opportunities where you are likely to be mediocre, or where those new opportunities will take your focus away from where your attention is needed to maintain or achieve excellence. That…
Gummy Worms and Customer Experience Excellence!
July 15th was National Gummy Worm day and while that might not be the type of information you would expect from this blog, it turns out to have significance in our office. Specifically, National Gummy Worm day served as an opportunity to “surprise and delight” many of our clients and business partners. Additionally, it allowed…
Do you want return calls from sales prospects? Focus on the personal!
I’ve long championed a simple truth “all business is personal.” That’s why I believe customer experience is as much about relationship building as it is about product and transactional excellence. A recent study conducted by Reachable powerfully demonstrates the criticality of relationship building when it comes to gaining access to make sales. Here’s the big payoff…
A swing and a miss – wait it’s a home run?
Would you believe me if I told you that a company which experienced a data breach affecting twenty-four million customers was later determined to be one of America’s most highly rated on-line retailers? Well consider yourself told! The story is that of Zappos -the albeit unconventional but world class customer experience provider profiled in my…
Should You Ask for Complaints? Yes, No, Maybe?
During a consulting visit with one of my clients, a senior level leader stated “we don’t hear much negative from our customers.” He then asked an interestingly odd question, “should we be asking for complaints?” Like most questions of this nature, there are no easy answers! However, here were just a few of the highlights…