The key message from their study, “Giving Customer Voice more Volume,” was summarized perfectly, “Customer experience is one of the most critical determinants of brand strength and business growth. Yet most organizations and senior marketers suffer from major blind spots and gaps in the way they interact, handle and respond to customer issues or problems,” says council executive director Donovan Neale-May.

The truth be told, it is far easier than companies believe it is to actually understand the customer experience their customers want.  At least 8 out of 10 companies I talk with make this process far more complicated than it should be.  And as such, either delay the process or make it so difficult that their customers choose not to participate or contribute since they know it won’t do any good.  Are you one of those organizations?  If so, my free advice is STOP making it so complicated and your customers will reward you for your simplicity.  Hope this helps.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

In this article, Tom said, “If you can’t get people to pay for what they love, we’re all out of business.” WOW – this was a great statement not just for Newsweek magazine but for the world of business.  Think about it.  If you don’t create a customer experience where your customer doesn’t “love dealing with you” how long, in this competitive climate called a recession are you going to last?  This is something i have espoused for years and years that is you don’t have a customer experience that customers love and they don’t absolutely love dealing with you, Trust and Loyalty are always going to an elusive goal. 

If you take anything away from Tom’s message it is this.  Get someone to honestly evaluate your current cusotmer experience from an objective perspective.  NO, ididn’t say do another lame survey.  I said understanding the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE and the PROMISES that go along with being able to deliver on this experience.  Get help in understanding the Promises your customers want from you and figure out how far off you are in being able to deliver on these promises and FIX IT or you run the risk of going the direction of the print media – extinction.

Understand what it takes for your customers to LOVE dealing with you and what PROMISES they want you to keep every day and you will have LOYAL customers that TRUST you and wouldn’t go anywhere else.  And in these difficult times, isn’t that what everyone wants?  Hope this helps…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

What we need is for the media to point out all the things that are RIGHT and GOOD for a change – where are those journalists and media people when you need them.  Well, I found one and I wanted to dedicate this post to him and his publications/media.  His name is JOE KENNEDY, publisher of EastsideBusiness.  I just read his column, “Words from the Publisher” and I was so pleased and excited I wanted to CONGRATULATE him and HONOR him for taking a stand and leadership in this area – WAY TO GO JOE!!

Allow me to quote some of what he says directly from this column.

Despite the type of news you may be getting from other media outlets, Eastside Business and Eastside Life newspapers are choosing to stay positive – it sure beats the alternative!  in fact after almost 4 years in print, I finally made my first company policy – we will not use the “E” or “R” words in our publications.  We will stay positive and want you to as well.

Joe, I can’t compliment you enough – this is AWESOME. Does this mean everything is fine and all the bad will go away – certainly not, nor is he saying it will.  But while we are sitting in all the muck, why not look up at the sunshine and the sky and enjoy the beauty around us – that is what I believe Joe is saying.  None of us will be better off for continuing to talk about the problems – only the solutions.  I, for one, will be the first one to walk behind Joe.  Attitude is everything and we have shown that as a nation we don’t let this kind of thinking and talking take us down.  So to ALL the other media sources out there – GET A LIFE AND GET THE MESSAGE – we don’t want to hear about it any longer.  Thanks Joe.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Let me give you a very simple answer.  It is NEVER too late to do planning.  It is ALWAYS better to start than to think you missed the window and wait.  So the rule to never forget – when in doubt, PLAN!!

I just read an article by Gladys Edmunds in USA Today about planning and it made me want to share it with you with one addition to what she is saying.  Her article, “Here’s a Mission for you – Make a Great Statement,” talks about the importance of having a crisp and clear Mission Statement.  She gives a couple of good examples and shares some experiences on companies that don’t even have one, whether it is a good one or not.  I completely agree – a Mission Statement is important for any organization.  

However, it is only one piece to the puzzle.  The Mission is simply your statement of what you are going to do over XXX years to help you achieve your Vision, guided by your Values.  In essence, it falls out of your Vision.  The key to a Mission statement is that it helps put some framework around your ability to create Strategic Goals and subsequently Actions to achieve these goals.  So is a Mission Statement important? Absolutely, but just as important as the other components of planning.

OK, now here is where I extend the conversation.  Planning WITHOUT ACTION is a waste of time.  The best developed plan isn’t worth the paper it is written on if there isn’t a steady, consistent focus by top management (yes, the CEO and President) to make sure it gets implemented and action occurs.  I know, this sounds pretty basic.  But I have to tell you that in my 15 years of doing strategic planning for companies, I see a number of them never get implemented – how sad.  There is such great thinking and great ideas developed by some incredibly bright people that never see the light of day because they don’t move beyond the planning stage.

So my piece of advice for the new year is simple. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN – just make sure you IMPLEMENT the plan so you can celebrate all your hard work and efforts.  And remember, “celebrate the little things because they always add up to something great when you do.”

Happy New Year,

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

The question they have asked is “Where does content end and marketing begin?”  Interesting question for sure and I’m sure the answers will be all over the map.  Let me give you my opinion on the topic.

First, the question is already “leading” the reader by suggesting content comes first and marketing second – logical conclusion.  I think you can certainly argue both ways, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.  For example, if you already have some deep content and IP that is focused in a certain area, then for sure content must come first.  This would estblish your credibility based on the work you have already done.  Customer Experiences Inc. is in that situation.  We created our consulting methodology and wrote a book on the content about how to create “consistent” and “reliable” customer experiences that will build totally awesome experiences and build unsurpassed loyalty (slight commercial here).  The other option is if you don’t have the depth of content, marketing would come first so you can test out what the market responds to and then either build or acquire the content to support it.  Your choice, but to answer the question depends on where you are with content when you start – stronger or weaker.

Since we are in the “stronger” category and had the content to start, we would believe the marketing follows the content.  Now the question is “where does it begin after content?”  To me, it can’t begin soon enough once the content is determined – not created.  For example, once you have the concept and ideas worked out and you know the path you are going to follow, test and communicate, marketing should start.  This is the point where you start to get the audience “educated” that what you have is available.  Now, this only works if you can actually produce the content in a reasonable time frame.  If you market too early, the audience will be disappointed (and you will actually end up losing more than gaining) because the content takes to long to deliver.  But if the timeframe is within reason, you should start to educate and develop the mindset of the customer that the content is coming.

Once the content is available, the marketing continues to mature and evolve as the content is released to the market – becomes more detailed, specific, customized by market segment, etc.  This evolution of marketing is what helps bulld a stronger following and gets the customer more committed to your content because they see how it specifically fits their needs.

Finally, as the content is in full “production” you unleash all the marketing you can and allow others to see the depth and richness of the content, by segment and by area.  This is what helps “link” the company to the content and begin to build a “following” of readers.  It is at this stage where the content should be very specific to the segments and you should have been collecting feedback from these segments along the way so it is “tailored” to their specific needs. 

This Blog Feed is a very interesting project – can’t wait to see if it really works and how it works.  Stay tuned…  Thanks for reading.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Jamie starts off by saying that, “In today’s commodity-filled marketplace, oftentimes the only characteristic that differentiates one company from the next is customer service.”  Excellent point and one I completely agree with, other than the word “service” – it should be “experience.”  This was emphasized in the well known book (and the primer for what we believe in) titled, “The Experience Economy” by Pine and Gilmore.  In their book they claimed that in the new millennium (which is what we are in now), the primary thing that will distinguish companies from each other is the “experience” they provide their customers. I completely agree with this – and it is becoming more of a reality every day.

“If all you do is satisfy your customers, that’s not enough,” explains Randi Busse, president of Workforce Development Group Inc., an Amityville-based customer service coaching and training firm. “A satisfied customer is a former customer waiting to happen.”  I agree that satisfying your customers isn’t enough but not sure I quite understand her definition.  Let me offer you our definition, which I think is pretty clear to everyone.  We say, “A satisfied customer is one that is simply looking for the next best deal.”  Meaning, as long as you have the best deal around (price, delivery, terms, etc.) they will buy from you, but when a better deal comes along, they will defect and follow the “next best deal.”  The only way to prevent this from happening is to build LOYALTY with your customers.  Those are customers willing to “give you another chance” and stay with you.

The final piece I wanted to comment on was a statement made my Martha Rogers of Peppers & Rogers Group out of Connecticut.  Martha said, “Random acts of kindness are not nearly enough.”  We agree – but it should be taken a little further.  We coined a phrase in our book over 6 years ago that has stuck with many people over the years.  We said, “To create a Totally Awesome Customer Experience, you must eliminate the Random Acts of Excellence and Chaos in the relationship.”  Simply put, if you can’t create a “consistent” and “repeatable” customer experience, customers get confused and defect.  Customers want consistency and when they don’t get it they leave.

So in almost all cases of Jamie’s article, it was spot on – just didn’t quite take it far enough in my humble opinion.  My recommendation to our readers – take it all the way, don’t stop part way in developing your Totally Awesome Customer Experiences – develop “consistency,” move beyond “satisfied” to Loyal and eliminate “random acts.”  Hope this helps…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

First, Step One – Decide you will invest in your customers.  When the economy is down, NOW is the time to invest in your customers.  I just read a report that gave some interesting numbers.  For example, a 20% increase in loyalty can yield up to 70% increase in profitability.  Cut it in half, cut it in a quarter or some fraction, it still generates higher profitability – that is the key message.

Step Two, understand your customers true loyalty triggers and drivers.  Take the time, invest in your customers and find out EXACTLY what it is that they want from you in these difficult times.  This is the time when most companies simply cut prices and feel this is being “customer-centric” – WRONG.  All this tells your customers is that you were over priced before and now you are trying to be more realistic.  What they really want is better service and more focus on their needs in their difficult times – that is the bond they want.  Trust me, they are waiting to tell you but you have to know WHAT TO ASK to get the right information.

Step Three – TELL THEM what you are going to do different.  The key is to make sure they know what you are doing BEFORE you do it.  Don’t just surprise them and test it out, tell them what you are going to do so they know what to expect.  They will be excited to see what happens and how you are going to deliver on these promises and services.  Don’t be afraid to tell them what you are capable of doing – just don’t tell them something you can’t deliver on. That will backfire and be worse than doing nothing.

Step Four – DELIVER, DELIVER, DELIVER.  Do what ever you have to do to deliver on these loyalty triggers and promises you make to your customer and what you are telling them you are going to do.  If you really want to do the best job, link to your business processes (this is what we talk about in our book, “Creating and Delivering Totally Awesome Custome Experiences“) so you can deliver “consistent” and “repeatable” awesome customer experiences to delight your customers.

Step Five – TELL THEM AGAIN what you are delivering and then ask them how you are doing – measure what you just told them and delivered to them.  Think about it – you now have three touchpoints with the customer – you told them twice and you delivered once.  What other program do you have that allows you to touch your customer with information they want to give you and get from you anyway – none that I have found.

I hope this helps a bit more and gives you a bit of additional insight.  The key to remember is make a concerted and active decision that you are going to focus on your customer more than ever in these difficult times – and don’t do it with price.  Do it with what they really want and what will last far longer than a quick price cut – delivering the experience they want and that will differentiate you and give you a competitive advantage.  Best of luck…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

I left a comment on their site that basically said, good idea, but not something that will build loyalty longer term.  Why?  Simple.  This, as many other articles and ideas out there focus on what to do immediately and uniquely to change the customer experience so your customer will go, “Wow, this is pretty interesting maybe I will be loyal to them now.”  I hate to say it but that just isn’t how it works with customer experiences and loyalty.

What builds Loyalty is TRUST.  And Trust can only be “earned” by “consistent” repetition of events.  We use the word “Promises” as one way to describe these events.  If someone understands the “Promises” a customer (or employee or shareholder or supplier or partner – you get the point) wants you to make, and you have a way to consistently keep that promise, your constituent will begin to build up trust with you.  Without consistency you have no trust.  And without trust you have no loyalty.

So, when someone starts talking about having a new way to deliver a customer experience that sets them apart, it is important to remember that it is the “basics” that create loyalty.  Customers, based on our experience and research, have shown the one PARAMOUNT component they would like is to have a “consistent” and “predictable” experinece that can be repeated over and over again – customers DON’T like SURPRISES. 

We have found that the only true way to actually build a “consistent” and “repeatable” experience is to link the desired experience to the processes of the organization.  Without this linkage you can’t have everyone on the same page delivering the same experience.  When the experience isn’t connected to the processes, you run the risk of getting “happy Harry” or “sad Sally” instead of what they want, which is “mediocre Mike.”  Customers would rather have a mediocre experience that is consistent than an exceptional experience once in a while and not know what they are getting.

So when you read all the articles, blogs, comments, etc. out there that talk about the “latest and greatest” way to WOW your customers – don’t listen.  Go back to what you know is what the customer really wants – CONSISTENCY and REPETITIVE experiences they can count on each and every day and not guess which experience they are going to get.  Don’t give in – resist the temptation to continually confuse your customer – that will only lead to defection, not LOYALTY. 

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

As most of my readers know, I believe “Social Media” is here and just beginning to make its impact on businesses.  I didn’t say “Social Networking,” I said “Social Media.”  There is a difference.  I won’t go into the differences today but save that for another blog entry.  Suffice it so say, Social Media is in its infancy and something if you aren’t paying attention to you should.

With that as a backdrop, Fast Company Magazine recently released its “Top Ten Worst Social Networking Sites” for all of us to enjoy.  I encourage you to watch all of them and see what Americans (and others) are spending their time doing at nights and weekends.  This is amazing – and these were just their Top Ten.  There are thousands of these kind of sites out there – just be careful you don’t “step in” one of them – you might have to clean your keyboard.   Enjoy…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

The answer is pretty simple in my opinion – they simply forgot what business they were in and who they were.  They aren’t a coffee shop, they aren’t a retailer, they aren’t a supplier – they are “AN EXPERIENCE” that people pay 3 – 5 times as much to enjoy.  However, when the experience goes away or changes for the worse, competition is looming in the wings (i.e. McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts and others) to snap up your “satisfied” customers – not your “loyal” customers.  I have always had a saying, “A satisfied customer is one that is simply looking for the next best deal to come along.”  This means that as long as you have the “best deal” then they stay with you but as soon as someone offers them something a little better or different, they defect – because they aren’t “LOYAL” they are merely satisfied.  I hate it when companies say they have all these “satisfied customers” – all I hear is that they have all these “customers waiting to defect” when something changes or something new comes along.

Back to Starbucks.  If you frequent many of these establishments, you realize that it was originally all about the experience.  It was the way they treated you, the ambiance, the environment, the Batista’s, the way you felt when you went in there.  What it has morphed into is a coffee house – a place to go get a cup of coffee.  What happened to the customer – when did they lose sight of the one person that pays them for what they do?  Not sure when, but it has happened.  Not all locations are like this but more and more of them seem to be moving this direction.  I read an interesting article in Inc. Magazine, “How Hard Could It Be?” by Joel Spolsky.  He started by saying, “Starbucks’ meticulous policy manual shows employees how to optimize profits.  Too bad it undercuts basic customer service.”  He is spot on – read the article.

To me this is sad.  Not because I love coffee but because I am disappointed when I see companies that start out focusing on the customer somehow get to the point where they feel they are “too good” or “above” having to worry about them any longer.  I don’t know of many examples in history where this doesn’t come back to bite them in the you know where and they have to spend all this money and fire all these people because they lost sight of what they were really all about and the customer.  It is very disappointing to see this happen over and over and especially to an icon like Starbucks. 

I want Starbucks to succeed and be a star in the business world.  I hope they get this and figure it out sooner than later.  I can’t tell you how many people, knowing I spend a lot of time working with companies on strategy, customer experiences and customer loyalty, come up and say, ”why can’t you help them understand what they seem to have forgotten – the customer experience is what we are paying for, we can get “coffee” anywhere.”  If it ends up being a “convenience issue” where people see Starbucks as being all over so they will go there because they are convenient, this would be devastating.  How many drive through windows does McDonald’s have in the country – they would kill Starbucks if it came down to that issue.  No, I think Starbucks needs to rethink this and make a major statement in the market that they once again care about their customers. 

I hope they get it sooner than later.  Let me know what you think – are you a Starbucks fan or not?  Do you think they have lost sight of what they were all about in your area or are they doing great in your opinion?  It would be interesting to hear what you have to say about this since they are everywhere.  Thanks in advance for any comments…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.