Forrester has just released the latest version of an annual favorite: "How Companies Improved Their CXi Scores, 2013." As we do each year, we compiled a list of brands whose scores went up five or more points in our Customer Experience Index over the past year (in this case, between 2012 and 2013). We asked CX leaders from those brands if they'd be willing to tell us what they did to drive those improvements. Finally, we synthesized their answers into
Read more »
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Mothers may be fountains of wisdom, but in today's social world, Facebook and Twitter encourage many to rebel against the astute words of yesteryear. Though many bite their tongue in person, they rush to social media to vent their frustration, as offline interactions become online conversations. But, as Simon Palmer, chief technology officer at Empathica, highlights, negative feedback that can be used to uncover areas of weakness
Read more »
When it comes to providing the best service experience possible, the customer defines success. Though many companies approach service and support as just another metric to be maximized, those that emphasize quality over call times differentiate themselves from the competition and excel in customer satisfaction. For Cisco and Cigna, winners in the Customer Service Optimization category of the 2013 Gartner & 1to1 Media CRM Excellence Awards, superior service isn't simply a goal to be attained, but also a foundation on
Read more »
Today we announce the winners of the 2013 Gartner & 1to1 Media CRM Excellence Awards. I've been with 1to1 Media since the inception of the awards and have seen it evolve into what it has become today: An international program that recognizes customer experience leaders--companies that have taken chances and have overcome adversity to advance their customer-centric practices forward.
Read more »
Each year, the Gartner & 1to1 Media CRM Excellence Awards are given to end-user organizations that have implemented successful customer strategy and CRM initiatives. These awards spotlight excellence among organizations that take a customer-centric approach to improving their business performance and have proven results from doing so.
Read more »
As an avid personal investor I'm often appalled by cable shows that report on the markets as if they were non-stop sporting events. Seriously, how many people care how the NASDAQ or the Dow are doing on any given minute of any given day? But apparently there are enough day traders out there that noon reports from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange are as compelling as half-time reports during the NFL playoffs.
Read more »
No matter where you choose to sit on a train, there will be a time when each seat goes backward or forward. But, just because every car's situated in this fashion does not mean that the rail line's policies and practices should be, too. When it comes to Amtrak's ticketing procedures, some methods have taken off with great speed and determination, while others have stalled out at the station.
Read more »
Of the six disciplines in Forrester's customer experience maturity model, design is probably the least understood. It's is not taught in most business schools (although this is starting to change at institutions like Stanford and the University of Toronto). It's also not widely practiced in most companies outside of specialized groups that focus on digital touchpoints. And so it remains a mystery to most business people. That's a shame, because design is an incredibly valuable business tool -- and it's
Read more »
While social networks have been around since the now forgotten days of MySpace and Friendster, today's most popular sites continue to gain momentum as social media evolves. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest have grown into engagement platforms that allow consumers to interact with their friends, family, and favorite brands regularly. But, as these social interactions begin to blossom, companies have begun to value and utilize social tools as part of their customer care efforts.
Read more »
It disappoints me when customer experience professionals at B2B companies won't even consider CX practices from business-to-consumer companies. Sure, B2B firms can learn a lot from other B2B firms: Cisco has an amazing voice of the customer program, Boeing does great work conducting field studies of their customers, and Adobe has a notable CX governance practice. But unless B2B customer experience practitioners want to run the CX race with one foot in a bucket, they should also learn strategy from
Read more »
Perhaps I'm addicted to the chips and salsa. Or maybe it's the friendly service. Either way, Chili's Grill & Bar never fails to satisfy (in my opinion). But, for one young Utah girl and her family, Chili's went above and beyond to make sure their needs were met with the utmost compassion.
Read more »
A well-aligned strategy serves as the building blocks of a company's products and services, and eventual growth. But that doesn't just mean that a company's marketing messaging or customer service must be consistent across channels; it also means that an organization's marketing must align to the actual products and service it delivers.
Read more »
"Truly elegant design incorporates top-notch functionality into a simple, uncluttered form." -David Lewis I consider myself a design devotee. Not of high-end fashion, but the kind that lends itself to functional and seamless customer experiences. So much so that I'm not only in constant pursuit of flawless customer experiences, but I also take note of imperfect ones that stick out like a sore thumb.
Read more »
There's no question that executive support can make or break a voice of the customer program. With an executive (or several) on board, VoC teams can get the funding and tools that they need to succeed. And VoC leaders from Forrester's 2012 Voice of the Customer Awards almost unanimously gave others the advice to build executive support.
Read more »
Over the past seven years, Forrester has observed the trend of companies putting in place a senior executive responsible for leading customer experience efforts across a business unit or an entire company. Whether firms call them a chief customer officer (CCO) or give them some other label, they are sitting at the highest levels of their companies and exist in both B2C and B2B companies as diverse as GM, UnitedHealth, Fidelity, Level 3 Communications, and Eli Lilly.
Read more »
When consumers choose to do business with any given company, they do not just invest their hard earned dollars, but their trust, as well. Every time customers share their credit card information or personal identification numbers, they enter into an unspoken agreement--the consumer promises to complete the transaction, possibly coming back in the future, while the company promises to protect this sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
Read more »
Last month I was in Europe with a group of customer experience professionals from various divisions of the same large company. Although their expertise was at varying levels, no one was clueless and everyone seemed highly motivated. About halfway through the all-day session, one of the attendees asked me a question that I'm going to paraphrase here.
Read more »
To quote Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, "'Trust is the new black." But in these days where making the bond between brands and their customers is essential to economic prosperity, it seems like some companies are still donning yesterday's trends of relying on deceptive practices by not proactively reaching out to customers to help them make informed decisions.
Read more »
Customers are kind, mean, and everything in between. But, every now and then, customer service representatives encounter customers that are off the charts. These requests leave service professionals scratching their heads as they conjure up ways to satisfy the consumer despite their confusion. Yet, while these interactions may be strange at the time, they typically make for entertaining stories after the fact.
Read more »
Allow us to paint a vision of the future for you: After interactions with your favorite companies, no one asks you how you liked those interactions. Your email inbox contains no requests for a few minutes of your time. No one asks you to wait on the phone line to answer a few questions. The word "survey" has vanished from your vocabulary.
Read more »
Months ago, an old friend from college recommended I visit the nail salon she frequented during her time at school. My mother and I were in search of cleanliness and reliability, so we both turned to Facebook for trusted recommendations. Since then, we've become regular customers, visiting every now and then to indulge in the traditional manicure/pedicure. While my mother enjoys the chance to escape reality, I've come to depend on the flawless appearance to deter me from my nervous
Read more »
Delta proved last week that it must have learned a thing or two from United Airlines' lack of response in 2008 to now famed passenger David Carroll when a flight crew broke his guitar after tossing it, prompting him to record "United Breaks Guitars." The song launched him into an Internet sensation and made him the poster boy for the power of social media when customers are wronged.
Read more »
The way that firms can deliver value to clients has massively changed. Firms can interact with customers in the context of using products (e.g. think Rosetta Stone and language coaches). In fact, customers interacting with each other within the product may deliver more value than the product itself. Companies can harness the data exhaust of product usage and turn it into powerfully useful information to help customers succeed at their goals (e.g. think Nike+ and fitness).
Read more »
When one pregnant woman and her family decided to have dinner at their local Red Robin, they simply thought they were heading out for a nice meal--perhaps one of their last before welcoming their new baby. But, after joking with the staff about her impending delivery, Amie Sivon and her husband, Jason, discovered an unexpected surprise. Their check indicated that Sivon's entire meal, totaling $11.50, had been deducted from the bill, accompanied by one simple message: "MOM 2 BEE GOOD
Read more »
It's that time of year again, when predictions, trends, and resolutions articles come out of the woodwork to help guide our expectations for the coming year. At 1to1 Media, we've included a few of our own around the customer experience.
Read more »
Over the past two years, consumer technology adoption and market forces have catapulted the field of customer experience into strategic stature. In 2012, this shift manifested itself privately through sweeping organizational changes at companies in nearly every industry -- and shined publicly through professional organizations, the media, and even in the courts.
Read more »
The New Year has arrived, and companies across industries are creating their own resolutions for 2013. But for these improvements to take root, customers have to be willing to better themselves alongside their favorite brands. Many satisfying experiences hinge upon customer-to-customer interactions, yet companies rarely look to alter customer etiquette in their attempt to boost satisfaction. Customers consistently expect more from their most trusted brands, yet they often neglect to give in return.
Read more »
Every Christmas, my mother complains because she has no idea what to get me. I haven't asked for a dollhouse in years, but I have yet to move into an apartment of my own, leaving her in gift-giving limbo because I don't quite fit into anything but the gift card demographic (and gift cards just aren't personal enough). She begs me to give her hints or ideas, but nothing comes to mind. Instead of clamoring for every must-have gadget and
Read more »
As 2012 draws to a close, I have a few wishes for 2013 to ensure that we all have better customer experiences.
Read more »
In the absence of a chief customer officer (CCO)--or even real buy-in from executives for expending time and resources on improving the customer experience--many customer experience leaders struggle to ignite the kind of culture change that re-focuses how executives and employees do things. I came across a Harvard Business Review article by Debra Meyerson called "Radical Change, The Quiet Way," from October 2001, which offered sage advice that applies to any customer experience leader.
Read more »
Santa sees you when you're sleeping, and he knows when you're awake, but the average Christmas song neglects to highlight this jolly old man's keen business sense. Just take a moment to evaluate St. Nick's behavior in Miracle on 34th Street and you will discover that under his white beard lies the face of an experienced customer service professional.
Read more »
We can expect it every year around this time: Video clips featured in the news of busy delivery men hoisting holiday packages over customers' fences or whipping them into theiryards, breaking the contents within.The news anchors, horrified at what they're witnessing, then discuss options to remedy this behavior.
Read more »
By now, most people have seen photos of the Michigan man who got a Mitt Romney tattoo emblazoned on his face. While the man reported last week that he now plans to remove the big red and blue "R", the decision to get inked with his nominee and presidential hopeful was fanatical.
Read more »
The right customer interactions, implemented the right way, don't just happen. Instead, they must be actively designed. This requires learning -- and then sticking to -- the steps in a human-centered design process. But this approach is not for the faint of heart.
Read more »
Now that the housing market has begun to thaw, marketing opportunities are heating up. Because the average consumer spends an average of $6,000 to $7,000 during the moving process, marketers must take advantage of this prime opportunity to acquire and retain customers as they embark upon this transition. But, while the last few years saw houses sitting for months at a time, the average home now sells within 30 to 45 days, meaning marketers have a much smaller window of
Read more »
Like Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Cyber Monday has become an annual "holiday" for consumers who seek online sales in an effort to avoid crowded stores and to find better deals. Research from BIGinsight for the National Retail Federation estimates an even bigger turnout today compared to last year, with an estimated 129.2 million Americans shopping online, compared to 122.8 million this time last year.
Read more »
Crunched for time, short on cash flow, and often understaffed, small business owners in the past have largely ignored social media channels as a way to market their business and engage customers. In fact, in August of last year, eMarketer polled 304 small business decision-makers, and 64 percent of them said social media was either unnecessary or something about which they didn't have an opinion.
Read more »
When expecting the worst, companies must prepare their best. Though we may have no control over the weather, technology allows us to predict when storms are headed our way, and preparation helps companies maintain service standards when customers need them the most. Here, Paul Logan, president and chief executive officer of Contact Solutions, speaks with 1to1 Media to provide tips on how contact centers can brace for impact and weather the storm successfully:
Read more »
Though natural disasters can leave the population feeling powerless, weak in our inability to control the elements, we continue to sustain our resolve, standing together stronger than ever. While Hurricane Sandy devastated millions of Americans on the east coast, ravaging communities up and down the seaboard, we have weathered the storm hand-in-hand, leveraging our ability to communicate as the prime tool for preventing harm and aiding victims promptly and proactively.
Read more »
As Hurricane Sandy barrels down from Maryland to Maine today, threatening 50 million people and leaving widespread damage in its massive wake, another less obvious threat looms: how to ensure that your customer service team remains available and functional in the face of disaster.
Read more »
I'm about to start a gut renovation of my kitchen, which, of course, is an incredibly stressful -- not to mention expensive - project. For cabinets, we got a recommendation for a designer at a local cabinet store. We met with her, got some great ideas, and went home to wait for the quote.
Read more »
For smaller companies, superior service often becomes their ticket to success. For Fidelity Communications, a high-speed Internet, phone, and cable TV provider based in Missouri, transforming their contact center became the way to satisfy customers and engage call center agents across multiple states, thereby cutting costs, decreasing hold time, and building loyal relationships in an industry overshadowed by big business.
Read more »
Henry Kissinger said, "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been." This year's 1to1 Customer Champions are doing just that. Their enthusiasm to improve the customer experience, and their willingness to try new tactics for organizational adoption, underscores why they were chosen as exemplary leaders who drive their companies' customer experience forward.
Read more »
Over the past several months, I've been leading a number of Customer Experience Ecosystem workshops, in which a cross-functional group of employees spend the first part of the day empathizing with customers and walking in their shoes while "mapping the customer journey."
Read more »
When consumers encounter poor mobile phone service, most tend to shake their device in hope of regaining reception. But, when consumers receive poor customer service, shaking a live agent is simply out of the question (and physically impossible, too). With expectations high, customers look for service that solves their problem in a timely, efficient fashion. No matter the channel--email, social, phone, or Web--customer service has become the key driver behind customer satisfaction at all stages of the consumer lifecycle.
Read more »
Last week I got a question via email from one of Forrester's clients, who asked: "How do you explain the success of companies that consistently provide a poor experience but perform well financially?"
Read more »
Many companies strive to provide great customer service. However, few companies deliver the kind of customer service that makes an emotional connection with customers - the kind of connection that fosters loyalty and willingness if not an eagerness among customers to recommend a company to a friend.
Read more »
Bridging silos and bringing together data that's hosted in different repositories is a priority for many organizations which want better visibility into their customer data, allowing them to gain better insights on which to base business decisions.
Read more »
From supermarket checkout to supply chain tracking, the barcode is a universal tool that has impacted businesses in so many ways. Yesterday, the barcode turned 60 yet its versatility today ranges from accessing patient data to enabling electronic boarding passes, and is found on everything from marketing communications for delivery of relevant messaging to product packaging to capture warranty information. The range of use shows how far it has come from its humble beginnings on packs of Wrigley's gum in
Read more »
This summer I vacationed in Redwoods National Park on the northern coast of California. Each day, my husband and I enjoyed peaceful hikes among the awe-inspiring trees that towered several hundred feet above us. But one thing caught me off guard: Far more often than I had anticipated, we encountered redwoods ripped from their roots, sprawled horizontally across the forest floor. Most had taken several other trees down with them. At first, I lamented the fate of each of these
Read more »
In today's online-heavy world, one-to-one interactions between customers and the brands they do business with are becoming less frequent. This is one of the reasons why organizations need to make sure to not only satisfy customers during these dealings, but exceed their expectations.
Read more »
Human beings and various other species within the animal kingdom qualify as social beings because we intermingle with other members of our kind. But, as technology continues to advance, we're beginning to see how the different devices in our lives interact with one another as well. However, as the electronic world begins to merge, customer service providers are finding it harder than ever to supply sufficient, reliable support.
Read more »
In recognition of Customer Service Week, 1to1 Media's Tom Hoffman speaks with Frank Paterno, Vice President of Marketing at Intelliverse, about different ways that companies can take advantage of cloud-based contact center services. This includes best practices for making it easy for customers to use self-service tools.
Read more »
"Businesses absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large." This quote from Henry Ford rings true this week as the 24th annual Customer Service Week kicks off today.
Read more »
Change is good. But when it comes to making a change to a recognized element within an organization, business leaders need a sound strategy that ensures consistency. According to Eric Courville, director of marketing at North Plains Systems, changing a company logo isn't something that should be taken lightly. "It's the essence of what the company is," he says.
Read more »
-thumb-300x125.jpg)
