If you know what your culture is about, it’s much easier to know who you need to reach. Take Red Wing Shoes. The boot maker has a Wall of Honor where recipients’ boots are “enshrined” on a literal wall, their stories shared for the future. (Red Wing says the wall is “part monument, part museum, all respect.”) This particular honoree …
Your call center: customer experience ground zero
Call centers. In our day and age, they are objects of scorn. Customers needing help find that a soulless corporation hides behind the automatons answering the phones. Customers not wanting to be bothered get unwanted sales pitches at unwanted times. Who needs call centers! That’s the narrative, right? So yesterday I got a pleasant surprise at one of my clients. …
The dealer’s temptation as the EV market grows
Automotive friends: McKinsey & Company have just published an assessment of the US auto market’s readiness to sell and service electric vehicles. (They are probably right that the transition is inevitable and will happen faster than most of us realize. But: It didn’t take much for 2020’s EV sales to surge over the previous year. There were more offerings, and …
Podcast 76: What does your brand promise?
The name of your organization–even your name–can raise or lower the value of anything connected to it. How do know if it’s valuable? And how do you increase that value? We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Listen here … subscribe on Spotify or Apple … or view below.
Podcast 75: Anticipating desires: lessons from a Mexican resort
Well, somebody told Mark this story … Mike swears it wasn’t him. … But once upon a time in Mexico, a resort put on a customer experience master class for a family with young kids. (There’s a topless woman, but don’t let that throw you–we put it here to get attention.) We would love your questions and comments for …
Customer fits: What is the employee responsible for?
I, like you, have witnessed bad customer behavior during the pandemic. Just this week, I heard a 10-minute phone call where a customer threatened to bring a gun to my client’s establishment and perhaps some gang members. I, like you, have found myself saying, “I’m just going to control what I can control.” We can’t control rogue customers throwing fits. …
What customer loyalty looks like
Businesses and individuals, how will you know when you have won over your customers? When they are truly loyal? It’s not when they buy from you. It’s not even necessarily when they return to you. It’s when they advocate for you. Swedish band fans Years ago I used the file-sharing service Napster. We felt like we were riding the wave …
Revolutionary change for CX success
By now, most of us agree that CX, customer experience, is the differential for most businesses. If you sell a commodity product or service, it’s how you stand out, attract a tribe, etc. We agree on paper, at least. Execution of CX is a whole other matter. This article from BCG (Boston Consulting Group) is striking in its breadth: “CEOs …
The one skill you must have to sell
I had just closed a car dealer on working with me for a second year. In the work I do, there are no salaries or benefits. You work gig to gig, retainer to retainer. Every gig was a big deal for my wife and me–nothing, including income, is guaranteed. (Actually, nothing is guaranteed even for the salaried. We all work …
Meme watch: We’re getting rough on retail employees (again)
Over the last few months, society has changed, yet again, its expectations on retail customer service. I base that statement on three things: Conversations with clients Observations while I’m shopping Recent memes. Memes only tell us how people who are online and are willing to post and express themselves feel about life. (Never get tricked into thinking that online opinions …