In ExactTarget’s Customer Journey Lessons Learned: Your Guide to Building Lasting Relationships they share: Customers aren’t willing to give their loyalty to brands that don’t understand their tastes and preferences or personalize messages specifically to them. Don’t let data pass you by. Each time a customer interacts with your brand, it’s an opportunity to collect … Read more
Being Customer-Centric is no longer a “nice to have.” If you don’t start solving your customers’ future problems now – before they become their current problems – someone else will and you will become irrelevant. An organization doesn’t become customer-centric overnight. It is a cultural change that takes clear focus and commitment. To develop, determine … Read more
Gone are the days of 24 or 48 hour response times. Customers expect instant interactions, whether it is a relevant offer or an answer to a customer service query, and the ability for same-day delivery of items purchased through various channels. Companies like Amazon understand this and have established distribution centers near major metropolises just … Read more
According to Janelle Estes, we should design for the experience, not the channel. Users engage with organizations across many channels – the web, email, mobile devices, kiosks, online chat, storefronts or service centers, and more. “Users expect companies to provide a usable experience across all channels. Although you may think of various channels within your … Read more
According to the Retail Info System News’ Omnichannel Rediness October 8, 2013 report, the retailers that deliver the best omni-channel experience – like Apple, Nordstrom and Macy – “enable a seamless shopping experience across channels by integrating services, technologies and processes.” The report goes on to share: Survey respondents say they’re missing out on 6.5% … Read more
Jef Raskin is probably best known for starting the Macintosh project at Apple in the late 1970s. He was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to establish a Computer and Humanities center which used a graphic display rather than the teletypes. But what I love about Raskin is that he was in a graduate music … Read more
Art, music, writing or product design all follow the same creative process. If you are designing visual experiences, listening experiences, reading experience or technology experiences, the process is the same. In Glenn Reid blog, What it’s Really Like Working with Steve Jobs, he explains that: “Iteration. It’s the key to design, really. Just keep improving … Read more
We all want advocates. But advocates just don’t happen – you have to earn them. There needs to more then just consistency and trust for advocacy. To convert your loyal customers to raving fans you must consistently deliver a great experience – better than everyone else… First Time Customers Someone may try your product and/or … Read more
A few weeks ago, John White interviewed me for a white paper that he is doing on touch. I didn’t think I would have much to say – then he started asking questions… it appears that I do have an opinion on most everything. So when I was thinking of topics for this year’s Southern … Read more
I cannot over emphasize the importance of developing prototypes and reviewing them with your target audience when designing anything for people. As much as you may like to believe that you can think through ever scenario and really know what is in the minds of your customers, you can’t. And the more time you spend … Read more
The Temkin Group recently published The Five I’s of Employee Engagement. As recent research has shown us the direct correlation between employee engagement, customer loyalty and profitability, this report spells out the 25 best practices based on interviews with companies that lead in this area. Here are the results: Inform 1. Follow a thorough communication … Read more
Jason Fried, of 37 Signals, wrote this in his recent blog, Pruning: Making room for something new: “It’s so easy to create (because creating is fun), but it’s also easy to ignore (because ignoring doesn’t involve work). Over time, if you create too much and don’t clean it up, you can lose control over quality. Quality, … Read more