Service-Centric

“Leading the Starbucks Way” – How they are doing it right & why YOU should follow

Starbucks has become one of the most successful businesses in the world.  If you need proof – simply look to their record breaking earnings numbers released this week!  The brand’s success isn’t only because of their triple vanilla latte (although that certainly hasn’t hurt the cause.) In fact, there is much more to the success…

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Guilty as Charged – Seeking Consistency

While I have never considered myself a social media expert – I do know something about the importance of consistent experiences.  That said, on the social media front I would rather not get a report card.  I am certain that in the comments section of a social media grade report I would see words scrawled…

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Finding your Customer Experience Core!

Age actually can be a good thing! In my youth, I wanted to be “all things to all people” or at least “most things to most people.”   Slowly and sometimes painfully through my customer experience consulting career, I have aged (or as I like to call it – gained wisdom).  Particularly, as it relates…

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The Couponing Experience – Are you overlooking it?

Are you a coupon clipper?  How about your customers? What role do coupons play in customer experiences?  Do they lead to commoditization or are they a component of interactive engagement? Enough with the questions lets look at the data on couponing. According to NCH (Marketing Services), the number of coupons distributed by consumer product goods…

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The Human Experience – Lessons from the ICU bedside

My vantage point on customer service and customer experience have certainly grown in the past 5 years. Much of that growth comes in the form of empathy gained from encountering complex healthcare delivery. In the past series of days, for example, I have run the all too familiar gauntlet of being with a close family…

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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…

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Can you handle the truth about social media hype?

Do you remember Jack Nicholson’s character in the 1992 movie, A Few Good Men, Colonel Jessep, delivering that powerful line “You can’t handle the truth”? Well, I suspect for some of you today’s post will carry a similar challenge as it relates to a hidden truth about success and social media.  That truth is brought…

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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…

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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…

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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. …

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FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article