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…
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…
Guest Blog – “What You Think Versus What You Know”
In addition to my regular blog post later in the week, here is a bonus guest blog from Heidi Hanna. Heidi and I have worked together for a shared client and I trust her expertise in human performance will offer a refreshing spark: particularly, as you strive for creative customer experience solutions? Enough of me…
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. …
How to respond to “Pinteresting” times in Customer Engagement
“May you live in interesting times,” is often referred to as the Chinese curse and it aptly applies to the challenge of creating relevant customer experiences online today. Let’s take the moving target of social media websites as our example. The disruptive nature of technology and the proliferation of online offerings have played havoc in…
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…
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