Complexity Creep will Ruin Your Business. Yes, bold statement. Read on. What if your company only had one product? One feature in a product? What would life in that world be like? Then, as an excercise, slowly add one feature and one product at a time, and see how that world changes, which processes are […]
These articles highlight strategies in Customer Experience Management: from examples of current leading practices in customer experience to everyday stories of how customer experience can help organizations gain a competitive advantage, greater customer retention, and growth.
Unarticulated Customer Needs
I’d venture to say that most products and services are bloated with features that customers most likely don’t care for; I’ve been part of product development teams where the focus is on features, with an implicit goal to stuffing as many features as possible — in consumer packaged goods and in software. This is the […]
The Interface is the Product
User Interfaces and — any product Interface — is very difficult to build. How do you design eating utensils for people with arthritic hands? Answering that question is not easy — the physiology of arthritic hands is complex; designing objects that hands with arthritis can grasp, hold, and use is a difficult problem. That’s just […]
Start with the Customer, and Work Backwards
This article is about the Amazon Product Development Process: Start with the Customer, and Work Backwards. Amazon is a company that is absolutely customer obsessed — from the top-down. It’s been able to build a culture with the customer at the center, because its processes, technology, and the general worldview of its employees are centered […]
Comment on Qwest Customer Service
My internet connection broke this weekend. I called Qwest customer service and was connected to a customer service representative in the Philippines. He was very nice, cordial, and really wanted to help. But, a few things were broken in the communication: It is fine to source offshore services to places like the Philippines, India, and […]
Targus – Excellent Customer Service
I bought a Targus TR601 15 Elite Notebook Backpack about 1 year ago. Right before Christmas, the zipper on it broke. I called Targus customer service and had a very good customer experience. The Customer Service Representative did several things that were right: Make it Personal The Customer Service Representative called me by name and […]
Service Defects at Los Hermanos Restaurant
I ordered some take-out the other day from a local, but popular, Mexican Restaurant called Los Hermanos Mexican Restaurant. Their food is decent, but their service is a mess. I called-in an order of two meals and some chips. The lady who took my order was nice and she said I could come and pick […]
Why People Visit Amazon.com
During the Christmas season (internally known as “peak season” at Amazon), it helps to review briefly why people visit Amazon.com. Based on qualitative and quantitative research, below are the reasons for why people visit Amazon.com: Specific Purchase * Come to Amazon.com with specific title/model in mind. * Very focused on mission; have already made product […]
Your Customers Don’t Feel The Average
Most organizations collect and report on metrics that are not descriptive of their processes. Some of you may have noticed that most metrics that are reported are the “average” or the “median”. Most people do not understand elementary statistics and their application to business. Here is the truth of the matter: Your customers do not […]
Bad Breath and Good Design
Can we learn the design thinking process from bad breath? Yes, we can. I love good design — creative and design excellence is a strong personal interest of mine. I love when things are easy to understand, aesthetically pleasing, and cognitively ordered. I am especially impressed with good industrial design, demonstrated by Apple and the […]