Thinking Ahead.

The Age of AI & the Customer

[embed]https://youtu.be/Z-n676ZqfyA[/embed] Redesigning Process Improvement in the Age of AI & the Customer Long ago you could win in business if you had standardized processes and your competition did not . In essence, if you standardized your…

Social Media Influencer Strategy {Infographic}

Social Media Influencers and Your Customer Experience

Once upon a time, brands purchased advertisements which effectively influenced prospective buyers. In those days, consumers were at the mercy of advertising claims made across traditional outlets (e.g., network television, radio, newspapers, and…

Starbucks Stores Closing for Training | Infographic

Starbucks Store Closings for Training: Déjà vu and You

As I was writing my blog last week, the news was shifting quickly on the Starbucks debacle in Philadelphia. In fact, when I put the finishing touches on that post, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson had simply issued an apology and made a promise do a…

The Starbucks Experience Infographic | Challenges and Opportunities in Philadelphia

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The Starbucks Experience | Challenges and Opportunities in Philadelphia

As you might expect from someone who has worked with and written a couple of books about Starbucks ( The Starbucks Experience and Leading the Starbucks Way) , I have had my share of media asking me to opine on what happened in that Philadelphia…

Email Etiquette {Infographic}

Take Service Communication to the Next Level

What happened to service standards and communication etiquette? At the risk of sounding like my father (as he extolled the virtues of the good old days), I am mystified by the rapid deterioration of responsive communication and service urgency. I…

Transparency and Safety Should Be Built Into Your Value Proposition | Infographic

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Value Proposition & Customer-centricity | Explore & Commit

Unless you have gone well beyond the “delete Facebook” movement and literally given up the Internet altogether (which would mean I am writing this to myself), you’ve certainly had a front row seat to the Facebook vs. Apple verbal slugfest. Tim Cook…

The Future of Customer Experience Delivery | Infographic

The Future of Customer Experience Delivery

I lay no claim to my prognostic ability, but when it comes to the future of customer experience delivery, I’m willing to venture an educated guess. I predict future retail wars will involve online brands (whose value proposition will be an expansive…

Business Sustainability Infographic

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Business Sustainability - Convenience, Speed, and Choice

In my house, we called it “Torture Us” as a synonym for Toys “R” Us! The name was our way of capturing the experience we had when we joined throngs of shoppers at Christmas looking for that understocked “must have” toy. Of course, there were those…

What is CRM? | Infographic {Guest Post}

My, my, the world of sales has come a long way in just a few decades: From tablets of paper and loads of pens, most salespeople can now access online-based information gathering systems that tell them everything from a customer’s first contact with…

Starbucks is Greatness Personified, Excellence Diversified {Infographic}

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Starbucks: Greatness Personified/Excellence Diversified - What About You?

I met him while working with Starbucks around the time I wrote my first book about the company titled The Starbucks Experience. I’d venture to say that Starbucks might have been little more than one man’s vision if it wasn’t for his leadership…

Strategic Positioning Infographic | Is Your Customer Experience Agile Enough?

Strategic Positioning | Is Your Customer Experience Agile Enough?

I continue to be in awe of consultative think tanks like McKinsey and Company . Over my career, I’ve been blessed to work with McKinsey consultants who often do the heavy lifting to understand optimal strategic positioning for senior leadership…