We’re in love with technology until it fails us.  New technologies like AI and CHATGPT combined with established ones like,  CRM,  IVR, WFM, CHAT, and TEXT among many others, help manage contact centers and create better customer experiences.  At least, that’s what we hope technology will do for us and our customers.  Too often, even the finest of technological advancements can fail and cause undo anxiety for our organizations and our customers.  Do you have the systems in place to monitor these failures?  Do you have the processes in place to quickly recover ..read more

Why is it that customer service isn’t improving? Several recent studies suggest it is actually getting worse, not better despite the declining effects of the pandemic, supply chain issues and the like. If you’re like me, you engage with an organization’s customer service department at least once or twice each month. Sometimes I’m calling to place an order, other times asking a question - and then of course, there are the times when I’m calling to resolve some type of issue or complaint. In my case, I engage with both B2C and B2B organizations and while some may argue there’s a difference betwe ..read more

Many years ago, I listened to a presentation at a conference about 3 simple, yet powerful values that can help organizations improve their customer experience.  While, unfortunately, I don’t remember the presenter’s name, I do remember the values he presented and the impact they had on how I changed my approach to experience design.  Over the years, I’ve applied my learnings from implementing these values to enhance and expand them to both customers and employees.  These powerful values, when executed effectively, can dramatically improve an organization’s reputation as efficien ..read more

Journey Mapping Surveying customers (VOC) Creating ROI’s Hiring CX “program” managers Engaging CX consultants Buying technology Attending CX conferences Listening to CX webinars and podcasts Reading the latest “how to do CX” book. Tracking NPS scores No, the headline of this article isn’t a misprint.  Yes, these 10 things are commonly considered the key elements of any customer experience improvement initiative.  Why am I suggesting you stop doing these things as a means to create better experiences for your customers?  My reasoning is that unless you align ..read more

Corporate Social Responsibility and Experience Management = Better Brands Are you incorporating the principles of corporate social responsibility into your experience management strategy?  Is it a part of your organization’s overall brand strategy?  If it is, great!  If not, it should be.  I teach a global operations strategy graduate course at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.  Each semester I set aside one of our sessions to discuss corporate social responsibility within organizations especially as they pursue globalization of their products ..read more

Seeking the voice of the customer is an admirable objective.  The voice of the customer is frequently identified as a requirement in establishing your customer experience strategy as well as improving processes, introducing new products, identifying the need for new services, and staying in tune with the ongoing changes in your marketplace. Without customer input, organizations can frequently make decisions that adversely affect their experience strategy as well as its overall profitability.  In today’s environment, surveys seem to be everywhere.  As consumers, there’s no questi ..read more

Despite what industry experts may profess, customer service isn’t getting any better. While customers expect immediate answers to their inquiries, efficient order processing and fast shipping, there’s no indication that fulfilling these expectations is improving customer service.  What research do I have to prove my point, you may ask?  None. But I do have my own experiences.  Despite emerging from the pandemic, service to customers appears to be generally stagnant.  For instance: 1.       You visited a website which still has a banner indicati ..read more

How customer service can help build relationships one customer at a time. Before the end of the year, I was looking through my library of past business books and came across an “oldie but goodie”, The One to One Future Building Relationships One Customer at a Time by Peppers and Rogers. Originally published in 1993, according to Amazon’s website, “The One to One Future revolutionized marketing when it was first published. Then considered a radical rethinking of marketing basics, this bestselling book has become today's bible for marketers. I was in ‘direct marketing’ at the time this book was ..read more

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“We have seen the enemy and he is us.” This statement came to mind as I talked with a colleague who was challenged with the lack of progress at convincing his organization to get on the customer experience bandwagon.  Interestingly, this statement was paraphrased by comic strip writer Walter Kelly from the original declaration of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during the war of 1812, “We have met the enemy and they are ours”. This phrase exemplifies the inter-departmental challenges of improving the customer experience.  How often have you thought something like this or worse yet, rea ..read more