customer experience
223 posts
Success Is…
Not surprisingly there’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about winning. It’s a subject that’s never far from our minds, especially if we’re leading or building a business. Conventional wisdom dictates that someone has to come out on top, and if we believe this is true we want it to be us…
The Five-Step Brand Story Framework
Most people say the hardest part of telling their brand story is knowing where to begin. That’s because we start in the wrong place, with the wrong question—at the ‘how to’. Instead of wondering what we should say, we need to start our storytelling by asking who the story is for, and then by asking…
Conversion Vs. Connection
The sales assistant took the time to explain the candle manufacturing process, brand values and founding story to the customer who was looking for a special gift for a friend. The customer, who had been buying this brand for more than ten years left delighted, with a beautifully wrapped $42 candle.
Creating A Sustainable Advantage
The two bookstores on Bourke Street have very different layouts, but they mostly stock similar titles. The three nearby cafes all serve eggs, porridge or toast for breakfast. Both convenience stores along the street stock the same brands of chocolate, snacks and emergency litres of milk. And the web
Acts Of Marketing
The tight-lipped cabin crew wearing crumpled uniforms pass out miniature bags of pretzels to the passengers—the only snack included in the ticket price of the five-hour flight. On the world’s largest airline everything that would make the journey more pleasant is extra. Profit margins trump empathy
The Purpose Of Design Features
In business, we use design to differentiate ourselves in a number of ways. Design features are primarily seen as a way to attract customers and to help them decide if our product is for them. In a digital world, design is one of the best tools we have to build trust with customers we many…
It’s Not B2B, It’s Personal
One of the most confusing distinctions we’ve created in the business world is that between the business to customer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) consumer. It’s argued that because these two groups of customers are working towards different outcomes—efficiency vs. entertainment, expertise vs.
The Most Underrated Sales Tactic In The World
The woman who was shopping for a travel wallet asked the assistant if there was anything available in the sale. “Not in store, but you could try our website. There could be something there,” she said. The customer explained that she was travelling tomorrow, and left the store disappointed and empty-
Surviving Peak Utility
When I was a child our family doctor operated a first come, first served, clinic without an appointment system. Some patients arrived three hours before the clinic was due to start to make sure they’d be seen first and a two-hour wait to see the doctor was not uncommon. “Evening folks.” Dr. Mac said
What’s Your Customer’s Value Story
You may have read some version of the recent Tech Crunch article by Tom Goodwin that began with this observation. “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And
Why Do They Come?
There was a twenty-minute wait for croissants at Lune long before the New York Times announced that the best croissants in the world might just be made in Melbourne. Now you can wait for thirty, but people still get up early and hang in there just to try one. Why would they take a tram…
Are Your Marketing Goals Aligned With Customer Objectives?
As marketers, we often skip the important step of assessing our marketing goals against customer objectives. As a consequence, we fall in love with our message and forget to question what it is the customer needs to know or wants to hear. It’s not hard to check if this is true of your company—simply
The 4 New Stages Of Customer Engagement
The commercial reality for any business is that sales keep the lights on. We’re still following rules that were proposed in the late 1800s by Elias St. Elmo Lewis in order to do that. “The mission of an advertisement is to sell goods. To do this, it must attract attention, of course; but attracting
A Question Of Tactics
When marketers had no choice but to pay thousands of dollars each year for print, TV or other forms of conventional advertising they had to discern which media to invest in and why. The good ones had a strategy. The rest dabbled. In a digital world though, it seems like every day there’s another opp
Marketing Inversion
When Amazon.com was still in its infancy, Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder and CEO had this to say; “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.” Shouting brought us Pop Tarts, Alka Seltzer…
It Matters
The sign had been hastily scrawled in blue biro. The letters gone over and over again to make them more visible to the passer-by. A short cut, that in the end didn’t give the benefit of a short cut at all. It matters that your investment in recruiting doesn’t stretch to buying a sharpie to…
The Way We Do Things Matters
My boys are lucky enough to have eaten pasta in Rome, croissants in Paris and hamburgers in New York. Yet, when the conversation turns to food memories, the one they treasure most is eating potatoes next to the Aga in a friend’s kitchen in Scotland. They remember the story of the potatoes freshly du
Why People Choose This And Not That
A lifetime ago, before adblockers and Netflix we sat through TV ads that suggested (often questionable) tangible benefits. Washing-up liquids gave us hands as soft as our face, and chocolate makers created treats we could eat between meals without ruining our appetite. These ads sold us a story abou
Are Your Business Goals And Actions Aligned?
He pushed the door. It was only when it didn’t give that he noticed the handwritten “back in ten minutes” sign. John was already twenty minutes into his lunch break. He just didn’t have time to hang around to buy the new picture book he’d promised he would read to his daughter tonight. He swore…
Your One And Only Shot
Dave volunteered to fill in for another gym instructor at the last minute. He arrived late for class and was greeted by a full house of enthusiastic morning gym goers, weights at their feet, water bottles at the ready. He hit his first obstacle within minutes. The gym didn’t supply the workout music
