Thinking Ahead.

When The Customer Is Wrong - Should The Business Be Right?

In 1909 Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge's department store, is credited with saying, “The customer is always right”. Through the years, a number of my colleagues and I have emphasized that the customer is not always right but they…

{Guest Infographic} Portrait of a Mobile Consumer

Infographic originally published to VoucherCloud.com & design by Maureen Sanford. Infographic originally published to VoucherCloud.com & design by Maureen Sanford.

{Infographic} The ABCs of PCT & Its Critical Role in Outstanding Customer Experiences

The ABCs of PCT and Its Critical Role in Outstanding Customer Experiences

Long ago I received my Ph.D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis in dynamic, interactive human systems like married couples, families, and businesses. Along that educational journey, I was exposed to many theorists and various models of human…

{Infographic} All Business is Personal - Consistency with a Twist

All Business is Personal - Consistency with a Twist

Dating back to my early work with Starbucks, (reflected in my first book about the global coffee leader titled - The Starbucks Experience ), I have been asserting that ALL BUSINESS IS PERSONAL. I often note that the next customer might be your 50 th…

How to Benefit from the Voice of Your Employees {Guest Post}

Take a moment to think about your business. Think about the day-to-day tasks and the work that gets done. Consider who it is that is doing most of this work, investing their time and energy into bettering your company. In nearly every case, the…

{Infographic} It's Viral, It's Video Storytelling - Live Visuals Rule

It’s Viral, It’s Video Storytelling – Live Visuals Rule

For a period in human history, all we had were spoken words. Later we learned to communicate through written symbols and today it seems the most preferred communication medium is words shared through video. Great customer experience brands are not…

{Infographic} The Future of Customer Service: Artificial Intelligence vs Human Intelligence

The Future of Customer Service: Human Intelligence (HI) or Artificial Intelligence (AI)

I have been slow to accept that, from a service perspective, humans will ever be replaced by computers. I’ve suggested that customers will resist “robots” and I’ve based my thinking in part on the “uncanny valley” hypothesis which postulates that…

{Infographic} Are You Up for the Human/Tech Challenge?

Are You Up for the Human/Tech Challenge?

I’m convinced that the new customer experience leadership challenge will be ... (drum roll please) ... integrating human and technology based service. I refer to this opportunity as the human/tech challenge . That challenge involves leveraging…

{Infographic} Lessons for How to Swim in a Blue Ocean from the Girls Auto Clinic

Lessons for How to Swim in a Blue Ocean from the Girls Auto Clinic

Often entrepreneurs reach out to me to discuss “customer-centricity” and the likely viability of their innovative products or services. To give you a sense of some of the key filters I use to evaluate the probable success of various ideas presented…

{Infographic} Is Business a Game? Customer Experience Lessons from Gaming

Is Business a Game? Customer Experience Lessons from Gaming

Over the years, as a customer experience consultant, I’ve increasingly become a student of “game theory” and of the “gaming industry.” I sense I am not the only one. For example, Thomas J. Watson the founder of IBM is quoted as once saying that…

{Infographic} Fine-tuning Your Service Expectations and Your Consistent Delivery of Service Behaviors

Fine-tuning Your Service Expectations and Your Consistent Delivery of Service Behaviors

We’ve all had it happen. As customers, we've encountered a service provider who unfortunately chose to attend to something of interest to them instead of attending to our needs. As a result of their self-preoccupation, we were left to feel like we…

Customer Experience Excellence – The Science and the Craft {Infographic}