Get your Zappos Experience in time for Christmas!
Thank you for your patience with my less frequent blog posts. I have two bits of good news and then on to this weeks blog… 1) the first draft of my upcoming Starbucks book is done (working title The Starbucks Connection) freeing me up to return to blogging soon 2) a couple of bloggers have…
Connecting People to a Culture of Connection
In an interview recently, I was asked what is the biggest “small detail” business leaders overlook today. How would you answer that question? For what it’s worth, here’s my response: “I think many business leaders fail to teach their staff that true success hinges on emotionally engaging and not merely satisfying customers. Few leaders inspire their…
Shouldn’t You be Shadowing Your Customers? Whys, Whats and Hows for Success
Have you ever been shadowed? Have you ever shadowed? I am talking about customer shadowing of course and if you are not doing it, you might want to add it to your toolkit. Imagine not only asking your customers what they want or need from you but also getting permission to watch your customers as…
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…
Baking customer loyalty into your overall business strategy
While working on the manuscript for my new book about Starbucks, I’ve been revisiting what Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School framed as the “five forces analysis” of business strategy. While you probably know Porter’s five forces model, I think it is worth examining it from the perspective of building customer engagement and loyalty. …
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…
Can you “Gamify” your Customer Experience? Lessons from the Highway
Have you thought about “gamifying” your customer experience? Over the past number of months, I’ve been spending time with senior leaders on the Starbucks Digital Ventures team. Given the rise of popularity of mobile technology, Starbucks has “gamified” such things as Foursquare check-ins at Starbucks cafes. Designers have also developed a customer reward program interface…
Customer Experience – Understanding Emotional Economics
While working on the new book I am writing about Starbucks, to be released in 2013, I have been digging deeply into research on emotional economics. As you are aware economics is the branch of the social sciences that looks at the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Through much of the history…
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