What we ARE going to do is EXPAND upon what we have been talking about over the past year by adding one of the HOTTEST and most TALKED ABOUT aspect of the market – SOCIAL MEDIA.  We have been working in this area for a while now and there is such a natural connection between Customer Loyalty, Customer Experience, Employee Retention and building a dominating competitive advantage we decided it was time to bring you, our readers, kicking and screaming into this world.  You might ask  yourself, “Why are we doing this now?” 

Simple, we have always tried to be on the leading edge in helping our customers and readers – give them tools that help them be “first to market” and leaders rather than simply following their competitors.  This is one of those areas where one of three things will happen.  The train has left the station and you get to choose whether you jump on it, watch it go by or get run over by it – your choice.  For our loyal readers and all the new ones, we want you to not only be on the train but driving the train in the direction you choose and not in the direction your competitors choose – make sense?

So what does all this mean to you?  It means we will now share with you our thinking, our experience and insights into what the latest thinking and developments are in this area.  Our goal is to help move you along both the “learning curve” and the “execution curve” so you can come on board at whatever pace you choose and become part of the social media revolution at the level you can absorb.  Regardless of what you choose to do, you will be more educated and knowledgeable and understand the benefits of moving more into this new direction.  Suffice it to say, it is here and it is going to be staying around for quite a while.

So stay tuned, hold on and fasten your seat belts – its going to be a fun and profitable ride for you and your organization.  As we begin to launch into this, please let me know what you think and where we can focus our education as we begin to bring you leading edge content.  You can either leave a comment on this blog or shoot me an e-mail at bmillet@ceinc.info.  Either way, I would love to hear from you.  Thanks.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

John states in the article that when times are tough and the economy is either weakening, is already weak or is headed downward, don’t try and cover it up with “things are going well” type comments to employees – be straight with them and be TRANSPARENT.  Everyone knows this is happening, so why are we making excuses that it isn’t or it isn’t as bad over here or over there – just be straight.  There is too much information easily obtainable today that would warrant this type of behavior.  Yet, many if not most organizations today continue to play this pathetic game of cat and mouse with employees.

OK, let’s turn the tables a bit on this same subject.  What about your CUSTOMERS?  Don’t you think they deserve the same treatment?  Absolutely YES!!  Why would an organization try to paint a different picture for their customers when they, in most likelihood, realize things are tough and as such you should be straight with them as well.  It is really pathetic when a company tells their customers “hey, things are going well for us” and then they lay off 20% of their employees – duh?  Customers aren’t stupid and when you treat them like they are, guess what happens – they DEFECT and buy from your competitors. 

The goal of any organization should be to be as transparent as possible to their customers and form greater partnering opportunities and situations where they share more information with their customers.  Customers realize you need to make a profit so why hide it – be up front with it.  Customers know you have to operate in certain ways to make their life as easy as possible, don’t hide that either.  And most certainly customers figure out when you are in trouble as a company or not – don’t hide that either.  Instead, adopt a philosophy of TRANSARENCY with both your customers and employees and you will benefit greatly.

Remember, Loyalty, whether it be employee loyalty or customer loyalty, is an end state.  It is built on a foundation of trust.  Trust is built on a foundation of making and keeping your promises and being transparent with your customers and employees.  Don’t think you can get to loyalty and skip trust – hasn’t ever worked and never will.  Spend the time, invest in your people and your customers and above all, be transperant and straight with both of them.  The rewards will far outweigh any additional costs or hardships you might endure. 

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

The first blog post actually led me to the second post.  The first post, “Dumb it up, People,” was posted on Marketing Profs website and was actually a commentary on the original blog post from Seth Godin’s Blog, titled, “Should you ignore the n00bs?”  Let’s start with the first post, Dumb it up, People.  They make an excellent point that says if you don’t make it overly simple, people will simply not get it and move on – in a nutshell.  Seems intuitively obvious, right?  However, in their experience and in ours, we see this is NOT THE CASE in most situations. I can point to countless organizations and websites that are NOT SIMPLE but rather so complex that only a few ever get what they are trying to say – that isn’t good. 

At the same time, we see the same situation happening internally to companies – their employees don’t even get it.  And you expect them to implement something they don’t get and communicate this to their customers?  What message do you think is actually getting communicated in this type of situation – not the right one that is for sure.  We strive to make sure that whatever message you have to communicate is simple and easy for everyone to get – the lowest common denominator.  One of our case studies, Financial Services, was a good example of this and can be found on our website.  This talks a bit about how everyone in the credit union needed to understand what was being offered and how it could be communicated – from the branch manager to the teller.  If everyone didn’t get it, the system broke down.  We fixed that and they achieved dramatic results – everyone is on board.  There are countless examples of this not working as well out there – probably in your own organization.

The second, and original post on Seth’s Blog talked about the same thing.  If the lowest common denominator doesn’t get your message or what you are saying, you won’t make the sale, people won’t be customers, employees will be unhappy and a host of other things.  However, there is one interesting message that I would emphasize in both these blogs.  That is, if you get down to a base level that is appropriate, and they still don’t get it, maybe you have the wrong audience OR you should give them a path to help educate them and help them understand it.  Both very astute pieces of advice.  You can’t create all the copy and other pieces for a handful of people but you can give them the tools to figure it out themselves at their own pace in their own language.  This is good advice.

So two points I would leave you with.  First, step back and assess whether or not your messages (customers and employees) are being understood by 90%+ of your audience.  If it is, congratulations, you are communicating effectively and change will happen much easier.  If not, go back to the drawing board and re-craft the message and the tools so that you can reach that number.  Second, if you have done Step One successfully, then look for ways to “train” the rest of the people so they can figure it out on their own as they move forward in the relationship.  Always give them a path to stay with you and learn.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

But really folks, think about your own lives and those of your businesses.  Isn’t it refreshing when something you are working on or involved in or managing is so simple everyone gets it right away?  Isn’t every one’s life easier (other than possibly the consultant that is trying to make it too complex) when something is simple?  I am reminded of this every day in the work we do and in my own personal life.  Think of Apple and the Ipod – can’t get any simpler than that – one button and a wheel does it all.  Every time, and I mean every time I either make something more complex than it should be or communicate my thoughts in a way that is too complex to understand, everyone loses – especially me. 

I built Customer Experiences Inc. using the mantra, “Simple Solutions – Powerful Results” and I try to live by that every day for the sake of my clients.  We do a lot of things, one of which is helping companies better understand the promises their customers want them to keep.  As part of that work we are constantly reminded by our clients customers how complex they have made the relationship.  They don’t fully understand what they are being promised and they aren’t really sure if they are delivering on these promises that they don’t fully understand – whew – that is is complex and confusing. 

Another example is when we look inside our clients own “house” to see what is happening internally.  Invariably, we see new solutions and programs being implemented (or I should say trying to be implemented) that have no chance in you know what of succeeding.  Why?  Because they are so complex that the majority of employees don’t even understand the program or their role in helping to make it happen.  It doesn’t work if only top management and the creator of the program gets it – it has to reach the “lowest common denominator” in the company.  If they don’t get it, it won’t work.  But when companies introduce programs that are so simple the lowest level employee “gets it” and understands their role in it – it is generally wildly successful. 

A great example of this, and I keep going back to this company, is Southwest Airlines.  Their missions statement is so simple everyone gets it and knows their role in it.  It is simply, “The Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Simple – everyone gets it and can do their best to make sure they are living by this rule.  We could all learn a bit more and be a bit more effective at everything we do if we constantly keep the word SIMPLE in front of us every step of the way – and when things start to spiral out of control, remember the Golden Rule and get back to something that is simply simple.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Let me start by saying I LOVE Southwest Airlines – not just as an airline but for who they are and what they stand for.  I am very passionate about customer experiences and I don’t understand why customers have to put up with bad ones.  One of my key missions is to help organizations figure out how to deliver them consistently and repeatedly and earn the customers TRUST and LOYALTY.  Because of this passion, Southwest Airlines is one of those rare companies that does this day in and day out and as such delivers consistent and repeated profitability to their shareholders – you just have to flat out respect that.

They don’t do it with smoke and mirrors either – they do it with plain old transparency and putting all their cards on the table for the customer.  Their Mission Statement is SIMPLE and one that everyone gets, its to ”Follow the Golden Rule — to treat people the way that you want to be treated, and pretty much everything will fall into place.”  Don’t you love it – simple and easy yet extremely powerful and executable.  This is the way every organization should function in my opinion – keep things simple so everyone, from the board room to the factory floor gets what you are about and what their job is in serving the customer.

Customer Service is Colleen’s passion.  She goes on to say that 85% of her job is “dealing with worker issues – what she called “pro-active customer service to our employees”.  She states that “the underlying idea that a happy and motivated workforce will essentially extend that goodwill to Southwest’s customers. When we have employees who have a problem, or have employees who see a passenger having a problem, we adopt them, and we really work hard to try to make something optimistic come out of whatever the situation is, to try to make people feel good whatever the dilemma is that they’re dealing with.” Simple and straightforward and everyone gets it.

The article and online interview are something in would encourage you to read and view – it is inspiring and emotionally uplifting to any business of any size.  Colleen isn’t a Harvard MBA, she is a down home, speak and act from the heart type of person that can instill Herb Keller’s passion from when he started Southwest to all their employees and customers.  Truly a case study any university should analyze.  Way to go Colleen and Southwest Airlines – keep up the great work!!  Sometimes Simple really is Better.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

 Another key we have talked about is how to make strategy “Executable.”  So often we come across organizations that say they have the strategy component figured out when, upon further investigation, they only have half of it figured out.  They created the strategy but didn’t really spend the time to figure out how they are going to execute it – consistently and in detail every day over the next several years.  To us, building the strategy is only the start.  If the strategy is not “Executable” and the plans aren’t put in place to accomplish this, why waste the time building it?  We have built strategies for a number of companies over the years and I have to admit, not all of them took it to the Executable state.  This is unfortunate.

However, in an effort to help you get there and to emphasize some key points that tie directly to our thinking about “Executable” strategy and the Customer, I found an excellent article I would encourage everyone to read.  The article is titled, “Linking Execution With Strategy in Support Functions,” by Robert Angel.  In a nutshell, he focuses on different support functions inside the organization and how they are not generally linked to the strategy and as such don’t focus on strategic initiatives that add value.  We see this all the time and when we developed our Customer Experience Mapping methodology, that was exactly the intent, linking strategy and the customer experience to all departments and their key business processes.  Robert stated early on, “More recently, strategy has regained some of its lustre in addressing these same questions by providing a point of reference in the midst of the twists and turns of rapid market change. Companies must foster innovation because cost cutting is no longer a competitive advantage – but differentiating customer experience is.”  Couldn’t have said it better myself.

He goes on to say, “Creating really good strategy is not a trivial task. Moreover, it can be all for nothing if the execution is flawed. ” He then offered a key quote by Peter Drucker, “creating and serving customers profitably is the central purpose of most organizations.”  WOW, this guy really has it figured out.  A couple of other key comments he made were, “When internal objectives outweigh customers’ objectives, innovation and competitive advantage are early casualties. Are the support functions being left behind on such measures? Customers should be at the heart of execution value for all parts of the organization.  For support groups, “customer” also refers to the organization’s customer-facing departments who are in effect their primary customers.”

I have only given you a snippet of what the article is about.  I would encourage you read the entire article and you will leave thinking differently about your strategy and why building and “Executable” one is so vital for your organization. I think Robert did a great job of pointing out the value of not “window dressing” the strategy of your organization but taking it through execution in ALL areas of the organization – support functions included. 

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Paul used some interesting language to describe some all too common issues in management, namely losing focus on what is important in both the short and long term.  Let me give you an excerpt from the article that will help you understand what he is saying.  “When a new business is launched, it’s on a mission to fill some need in the market. All businesses begin with this kind of external focus. Everyone on staff knows what’s important. But, sooner or later, problems begin to arise. New competition emerges, key suppliers start dropping the ball or customer preferences take an unexpected turn—and suddenly the numbers aren’t looking so good. In response to the potential threat, everyone’s attention turns inward. Gradually the well-being of the organization begins commanding more attention than the well-being of customers in the marketplace. A downward spiral has begun. Customers feel neglected and gradually begin to defect, which worsens the numbers, increases the severity of the threat and subsequently intensifies the distraction from the organization’s original mission.”

He is describing a situation that occurs in many organizations we see and talk with as well – losing sight of the original mission and being distracted, usually to the detriment of the customer.  People get distracted easily and if management isn’t there to keep the ship on course and continue steering it in the original and right direction, the employees will get caught up in the distractions and lose focus on what is important.  Granted, the competitive landscape is tougher than ever these days and companies have to be flexible and observant to notice these changes as they occur.  This doesn’t mean you forget about the environment and stay the course no matter what, but does mean that you have to continually evaluate outside information to make course corrections where necessary.  Too often companies continually abort their original, well thought out plans because they see others going in a different direction – not sound business management.

What we believe is the stronger way to assess new information is to go direct to the source – YOUR CUSTOMERS!  Develop a program that allows you to get the “right” information at the “right” time to make the “right” decisions about making any changes.  Your original course and mission was (or should have been) well thought out with lots of input from trusted advisors, your management team, employees and customers.  To change off this course, the new input has to be very good and and valid or you should stick with your original design.  If you are linked to your customers in a way that gives you “real time” information on a “regular” basis, you don’t have to worry, you have input from the one group that “writes you checks” all the time – and to us, that’s pretty good information.

One final excerpt from Paul’s article that will drive home my point about distractions and staying focused.  “Threats and distractions are fundamental leadership issues. And leaders who get everyone involved in the mechanics of deflecting or resolving threats are making a critical mistake. This simply intensifies the internal focus and the anxiety, giving everyone official permission to forget about customers “until this crisis blows over.”  The reality of organizational life is that threats and crises never blow over. Once employees begin thinking of their main responsibility as “putting out fires,” they may never go back to seeing their overarching mission as “filling customer needs.”  Not, that is, unless the leadership keeps reminding them about it. That’s the real cure for collective amnesia: constantly place everything that happens within its larger context, so that the ultimate mission is never forgotten.“

I really appreciated the “new language” from Paul around “Amnesia” and think this is an appropriate way to categorize much of what we see today as well.  Thanks Paul for helping all of us think about an old issue in a different way that brings back its importance and value to the organization and the customer. 

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

What do I mean when I say she “got it right?”  Simple, she focused on the CUSTOMER.  I have attended hundreds of speeches by leaders from all over the world, in business, sports, politics, not-for profit – you name it and I have probably attended a speech on it.  My goal is to always take away at least one thing that I personally believe to be accurate and to use that to better myself, my relationships or my business endeavors.

Carly was more than generous last Thursday morning, she shared many things that I could take away and share with others.  But there were several things she talked about that I felt compelled to share with our readers that I thought were “spot on” with what I believe.  You can disagree if you like and if you do, please comment on the blog.

First, she talked about the fact that the “individual is now becoming ‘in charge’ during this century.”  Couldn’t agree more – we see this every day in our interactions with companies and their customers.  Second, she said “Individuals demand a level of transparency and if you don’t embrace this you will lose.”  Again, right on target Carly.  Customers in particular (and employees as well) are tired of surprises and as such want transparency in the people and organizations they deal with.  The Internet has changed the game and where information is available at your fingertips, why try to hide something – it just makes people skeptical and not trust you or your organization.  So “get transparent” and you will open the doors to many happy relationships and create Loyalty among those.

Third, she said, “The Customer is ALWAYS in charge.”  We have been focused on the customer in great detail for the past 15 years and believe me, that couldn’t be truer.  If you aren’t focusing on the one constituent that writes you checks then who are you focusing on.  Fourth, she talked a great deal about change and how hard it is for people and organizations to change – believe me, we see it every day as well. But she did make a great comment about change and the level of the individual in the organization.  She said, “Only leaders can drive positive change.  Managers accept the world as is and manage in that world whereas leaders change the world around them and show people how to adopt a different direction. A leaders job is to unlock people’s potential.”  Great insights and again, spot on Carly. 

Whether you like Carly or disagree with everything about her, she has great insights and wisdom from being in the board room at at the helm of one of the biggest organizations in the world.  She certainly inspired me and showed me some simpler ways of thinking about issues and people – which I look for every day.  I just wanted to thank her for “staying in the game” and sharing her insights and for Seattle Pacific University for taking the chance on a certainly controversial speaker – both should be commended. 

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

I just recently released an article, “Marry Your Customer – Creating Trusted, Loyal Relationships,” on our website, www.customerexperiencesinc.com, to share some thinking I have had for quite a while.  It also supports what I have been seeing in various client situations and since it is so “simple yet powerful,” I wanted to share my thinking and some additional insights in this area.

What I absolutely find amazing and appalling in organizations is how leadership tells their people to act one way toward their customer that goes against all the principles of building trusted relationships – all for the almighty dollar.  This is just plain wrong!  The organizations we see that have the greatest success, create linkage between what the leadership stands for and the employees and this is then demonstrated to their customers through their actions.

Let me give you an example.  When employees go to work, they bring with them their own set of “ethics” or what I call “Employee Character.”  Included in this Employee Character is an underlying component of wanting to build trusted relationships with co-workers, leadership, customers, suppliers, partners, etc.  And they know how to do it.  They understand how important it is to a successful personal relationship to make and keep your Promises - they do it every day when building their own relationships outside of work.  So now, they enter the workplace and one of the first things that happens is they are asked (directly or indirectly) to make Promises that they know they can’t keep – at least not consistently. 

For most employees, this doesn’t work.  They are at odds with this and whether they recognize it outwardly or not, they are violating their own character to act this way.  This conflict between the employer and the organization is one of the greatest frustrations in employees and one of the key reasons for employee defection – or leaving the organization.  But when there is great alignment between “Leadership Character” and “Employee Character” and the Promises they are asked to keep are actually supported by leadership – great things happen.  The organization has become both “customer-focused” and “employee-focused” instead of “operationally focused.”  This is a huge distinction and one that separates the best organizations from all the others.

So I won’t steal the thunder of the article and allow you to read how all this comes together but let me leave you with one parting thought.  Promises Made = Promises Kept is one of the most basic concepts an organization can embrace and one that has some of the most profound impacts on short and long-term profitability, Loyalty and ongoing sustainability.  It is just interesting so few understand it or have implemented it today.

Take a minute and let me know what you think?  Are you seeing the same thing in your organization?  Does this make sense to you or not?  Do you think this is off base and isn’t the way it works and you have other ideas?  Do you agree and would like to see your organization operate like this?  Any and all comments are welcome – as we continue to explore this area and write about it, we would love to incorporate others experiences and thoughts.  Thanks.

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

“What is the difference between a “Commitment” and a “Promise” in your mind?”

Being the good consultant, I turned the question back on them, with a subtle difference: ”Well, what comes into your mind when you hear both the words Commitment and Promises?”  I thought their answer was spot on and something that really made me sit back and think.  One of the group said,

“I view a commitment as something I said I would do but if I had to break it, I would feel bad but not terrible and I would figure out a way to make it up to them. However, if I made someone a Promise to someone and broke that Promise, I feel my “character” would be tarnished a bit.”

This is very telling and compelling to me.  First of all, I completely agree.  A Promise has both more “emotion” associated with it and it speaks to someone’s “character” all in the same sentence.  So I did a bit of unofficial research on this and asked some more people what they thought.  You guessed it, they all agreed: breaking a Promise is a character issue and breaking a commitment is a business or social issue – one of which is far more acceptable and understandable than the other.

This leads me to some interesting articles by a very well known and successful educator and author, Donald Sull.  He has written numerous articles on commitment and the organization.  Promise-Based Management: The Essence of Execution is one of his more recent articles.  I whole-heartedly support what he is saying about how commitment is necessary in the organization and how without it you basically get people doing what they want as individuals and not for the good of the company, the customer, their fellow employees or themselves – I couldn’t agree more.  However…

Let me challenge this thinking a bit – I don’t think Mr. Sull quite went far enough.  I believe that making and keeping Promises strikes at the very core of human nature.  Promises – we are programmed to understand them, and (usually) raised to believe in and do the right thing.  Numerous studies have been done psychologically that say the majority of people want to do “the right thing” and “do what is right.”  It is the exception that looks to take advantage of others and situations.  This says to me that people have “character” and this is first and foremost what they want to demonstrate. 

So, if this is the case, why would we not want to capitalize and leverage what people (employees, management, executives, etc.) truly “want to do” that speaks to their higher character – to make and keep their PROMISES.  How many articles have you read recently where it was clear that management and/or employees didn’t keep their Promises and did something “wrong” that hurt the company and its employees?  They abound.  This is because people are being asked, or told, to go against their human nature and act in ways inconsistent with what they truly believe in.  This friction creates confusion, dissention, and even rebellion.  Employees, like customers, want to have a consistent, positive experience that supports their character – that is just human nature.

So, why should anyone put up with an organization that asks employees to go against our character and beliefs by forcing them to make Promises they can’t keep, and somehow look the other way?  Why do we tolerate Organizations that don’t live up to their Promises?  Like Donald Sull discusses in many of his articles, commitment is something that is really needed in organizations today to make them function well. 

Why not take it to an even higher level?  Since people generally have good character and want to work with companies that do, what if we could move beyond simple commitments to Promises?  What if we could build “Character Organizations” instead?  We believe this is easier than people think and the rewards are significant.  We, at Customer Experiences Inc. exist to help organizations be Promise-Driven because we believe character should count and should be used to its fullest strength at work as well as at home.

Blaine Millet, President

Customer Experiences Inc.