Crack the Customer Code

Did you know that by 2016 eighty-nine percent of companies will compete mainly by the customer experience they provide? How are you preparing for this? Your survey data and customer journey map only tell part of the story.

Get your whole organization started on the right foot with a CXI® Touchpoint Inventory Workshop. 360Connext uses a trademarked method that’s designed to transcend silos and tell the whole story from the customer’s perspective. These workshops are proven to help companies across many industries align their priorities, strengthen a customer-centric culture, and make improvements where they are needed the most.

2016 is right around the corner! Visit 360connext.com to get started today!

Adam and Jeannie talk about Goodsnitch, a new company that allows businesses to gather honest customer feedback on a private basis.

Would customers rather contact you directly than “light you up” on Yelp or other public channels? Goodsnitch could make the difference for customers seeking real solutions instead of retribution, and for business owners who want a fair chance to make things right.

Discussion begins at 01:45

Jennifer discusses how she implemented her Voice of the Customer expertise in the new Voice of the Gamer program at Activision. Is the approach to customer experience different in the video game industry?

Jennifer stresses the importance and benefits of handling customer issues in-channel as opposed to the traditional model of sending the customer to another channel, like a web page or phone number, or even another company, to solve an issue.

Jennifer also explains new ways to request customer feedback, and how rewording survey questions can make a huge difference when generating Customer Effort Scores.

Discussion begins at 07:13

Have you heard of Franklin Barbecue in Austin? They are so popular that customers flock in from all over the country and have to wait in long lines to get their food.

Desmond, a middle school student, has the answer for these long lines. You won’t believe what this young genius has done to help fill the customer experience gap for this popular take-out restaurant.

Desmond’s venture has inspired Adam and Jeannie to discuss the “add-on” customer experience. Can third parties that step in to improve upon the experiences we provide give us clues about our next innovations?

Discussion begins at 24:28

Guest Speaker / People

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Confident, in control, successful... Is this how you feel when you work with customers? If you answered "no" you're not alone. Customer service can be incredibly difficult. Adam’s new book, Be Your Customer's Hero: Real World Tips and Techniques for the Service Front Lines is here to help. Be Your Customer's Hero is designed to help you and your teams gain the mindset and skills needed to create hero class customer experiences. Go to beyourcustomershero.com to get your copy today.

Jeannie and Adam discuss how Keurig’s customers react to a recent innovation designed to force the use of proprietary supplies.

Customers have spoken up, and Keurig has listened! But is it too late? How will they address customers who can no longer use the product their own way?

Discussion begins at 01:23

Ramon explains the fundamental principles of connecting with customers, and how his mother’s marketing finesse, coupled with what he learned from delivering pizza, helped prime him to become the globally recognized marketing consultant he is today.

Ramon flashes back to the 90’s and how he helped Domino’s leverage the power of connecting with customers digitally before most of us even knew that was “a thing.” (Can you remember when ICQ was the way to stay connected online?)

To create loyalty, as Ramon explains, it’s important to get customers to know you, to like you, and to trust you. Whatever industry you’re in, take a page from Ramon’s book and find ways to use whatever tools you have at hand to create strong impressions and lasting connections.

Discussion begins at 05:10

It’s no secret that Disney is legendary for creating magical customer experiences, but did you know they actually have a customer experience institute?

Adam explains how Disney worked with the US Coast Guard just to get one minor, but nonetheless delightful detail, just right for Disney Cruise Line travelers.

Both of our hosts agree, it’s just one of the countless ways Disney pays scrupulous attention to the little things that touch our hearts and live on in the memories guests will share for years.

(Plus, Jeannie gets some trivia points for knowing her Disney characters!)

Discussion begins at 17:51

Guest Speaker / People

Ramon Deleon is a global keynote speaker who started with Domino's pizza in Chicago as a delivery driver in 1986. 27 years later, Ramon ended his tenure with the brand as the marketing mind of a six-store Domino's Pizza franchise in Chicago. His career has given him the opportunity to work in Mexico as a Business Development consultant for Domino's Pizza, and speak all over the world. He's been using social media for his business since before the word existed, and is now known as a Word of Mouth Supergenius, Social Strategist, and Customer Evangelist. More about Ramon | LinkedIn | LinkedIn | Twitter | Tumblr | YouTube | Instagram

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please support our fantastic sponsor, Touchpoint Dashboard!

Are you mapping your customer journeys but struggling with how to derive value from your maps? Touchpoint Dashboardis a powerful web-based journey mapping platform that makes visualizing, collaborating, and sharing maps so easy to do. Touchpoint Dashboard was purpose built to ensure that your journey maps meet your goals and become the catalyst for change that they were meant to be. Sign up for a free 15-day trial to see how Touchpoint Dashboard can help you understand - and transform - your customer experience.

Jeannie and Adam discuss how the desire to measure things sometimes leads to action. But what if it doesn’t?

Are we obsessed with big data, dashboards and quarterly reports? It’s important to track things, but why?

Discussion begins at 1:20.

Raj discusses how eBay went from being too metric-centric to becoming a truly customer-centric organization. Do you know if your organization is too metric-centric? Listen to this insightful interview to find out.

Raj highlights how producing a series of dashboard with trending metrics really doesn’t necessarily drive results. Are your metrics driving change?

Plus, hear about the strangest thing Raj has heard of being posted on eBay!

Discussion begins at 6:55.

Instead of starting with what the hotel experience has always been, Virgin redesigned the room experience from the ground up.

Jeannie is impressed with the small touches especially for women business travelers. So many great small moments!

Discussion begins at 21:54.

Guest Speaker / People

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please support our fantastic sponsor, Touchpoint Dashboard!

Are you mapping your customer journeys but struggling with how to derive value from your maps? Touchpoint Dashboard is a powerful web-based journey mapping platform that makes visualizing, collaborating, and sharing maps so easy to do. Touchpoint Dashboard was purpose built to ensure that your journey maps meet your goals and become the catalyst for change that they were meant to be. Sign up for a free 15-day trial to see how Touchpoint Dashboard can help you understand - and transform - your customer experience.

Jeannie and Adam discuss the challenges of going global! Target Canada is a recent example of an unexpected failure. What went wrong?

Jeannie and Adam discuss some of the issues with going big and crossing borders.

Discussion begins at 1:29.

Erin shares how John Deere, a multi-generational brand in the United States, gets to know new local markets all over the world. Hear about how the color green is not always welcome, how they partner with their dealer partnership to make meaningful connections, and lessons learned over the last two decades of introducing this iconic brand around the world.

Erin’s honest and candid conversation is a must-listen for anyone challenged with going global in today’s marketplace.

Discussion begins at 6:39.

While Wal-Mart is the case study, this is really a warning cry for any organization that doesn’t pay attention when customer satisfaction rates are dropping!

Wal-Mart’s customer satisfaction rates are the lowest they’ve been since 2007, plus their sales growth has stalled.

Hear how Jeannie & Adam see this as a warning to companies of all kinds.

Discussion begins at 20:42.

Guest Speaker / People

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to our sponsor, Touchpoint Dashboard!

Is customer experience more important than brands for long-term success?

A study about what’s more important, customer relationships or brands, reveals customer relationships became more important in the last decade.

Jeannie & Adam discuss how customers have new tools to evaluate the customer relationship, so it’s not just about buying the brand they know.

This conversation brings in all sorts of questions. What do you think? Are brands as important as they used to be? Or do customer relationships trump all?

Discussion begins at 1:30.

Jeannie & Adam talk to Luis Serpa, who Jeannie describes as “brilliant and crazy” when it comes to user experience. (Jeannie & Luis worked together for a number of years!)

Hear how Luis had to address an over-engineered environment and simplify both how and why to develop better experiences for users.

This is a must-listen for anyone interacting with the digital experience of customers!

Discussion begins at 5:21.

The Temkin Group ranked Internet Service Providers (let’s just say cable industries) as dead last in their last report on customer service.

Why does the cable industry struggle so much with customer experience? It’s complicated, and Adam and Jeannie have lots of thoughts...

Discussion begins at 23:36.

Sponsor: Touchpoint Dashboard

Are you mapping your customer journeys but struggling with how to derive value from your maps? Touchpoint Dashboard is a powerful web-based journey mapping platform that makes visualizing, collaborating, and sharing maps so easy to do. Touchpoint Dashboard was purpose built to ensure that your journey maps meet your goals and become the catalyst for change that they were meant to be. Sign up for a free 15-day trial to see how Touchpoint Dashboard can help you understand – and transform – your customer experience.

Guest Speaker / People

How to Sponsor

www.crackthecustomercode.com/sponsor  

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Determining how to make things easier and more convenient is all about understanding your customer’s real goals. And what about the impact on society if everything becomes TOO convenient?

Convenience is about offering choices. But what about business decisions that may have a negative impact on a small group of customers?

Discussion begins at 1:20.

Diane Magers has more than 20 years of building and growing CX focus.  Diane’s demonstrated leadership abilities helps organizations design and execute strategies to drive customer obsession with targeted business results.  Currently with   AT&T’s Office of the Customer, she is building and executing programs to drive change in their culture, systematically embed CX, and strategically drive CX innovation.  

Diane shares some of the unique challenges of balancing the pressures of finance and customer-centric mindsets at a global and massive organization like AT&T.

Listen in to hear how Diane and her team are shifting minds and hearts. It’s sure to inspire anyone who feels their executives don’t “get it.”

Discussion begins at 8:58.

Jeannie rants about why the department store experience needs to catch up. They’ve lost their luster and sales are declining even as retail numbers are increasing.

Nordstrom is leading the pack because of their personalized service, but the others need to realize it’s not shopping of yesteryear, it’s a new experience today!

Then Adam has the nerve to disagree with her!

Discussion begins at 21:17.

Sponsor:

The Customer Experience Investigation™ team at 360Connext is offering free, monthly webinars on all sorts of topics around customer experience. Topics include social customer care, micromapping the customer journey, and how to walk in your customer’s shoes. Join us by signing up at www.cxwebinar.com.

How to Sponsor

www.crackthecustomercode.com/sponsor  

Guest Speaker / People

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to our sponsor, the Customer Experience Professionals Association! Please find more details about the CXPA for individual or corporate members.

Before sharing the insights gathered from the customer experience leaders at the CXPA Insight Exchange, Jeannie challenged Adam with the same questions.

Will we have a better understanding of omnichannel? Will we figure out the right way to incentivize the right behavior? These are some of the questions Adam and Jeannie discuss.

Discussion begins at 1:25.

While at the Customer Experience Professionals Association Insight Exchange, Jeannie asked several business leaders about their thoughts for the future of customer experience and the ways we’re still not getting it.

Listen in for some unique perspectives from several leaders, including:

·      Lesley Lykins, Director of Member Engagement with the CXPA

“It’s hard. I think it’s challenging. It takes passionate people. Not everyone is going to have that passion when they come into a company.” “Everybody knows it’s the right thing to do.”

·      Mohamed Latib, CCO at PeriscopeIQ

“Start building a fabric with all the different threads…”

·      Parrish Arturi, Senior Vice President for Integrated Service, Fidelity Investments

“There’s a difference between aspiration and making it happen…”

·      Tabitha Dunn, Vice President of Customer Experience, Concur, an SAP Company

“It’s all about change, change, and more change!”

·      Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner & Customer Experience Transformist, The Temkin Group

“The future is bright!”

·      Barbie Fink, Principal Customer Experience Transformation Leader

“What is it customers are going to need next?”

“Humans are completely complex!”

·      Jennifer Maldonado, Senior Business Analyst, Activision

“You can never overcommunicate.”

·      Michelle Morris-Freet, Associate Director of Client Experience, Crowe Howath

“I see a big boom in tying client feedback with business intelligence.”

·      Kim Proctor, Customer Experience Consultant

“We are still living in a very old business model.”

Discussion begins at 5:11.

Thank you to all of the pros who shared these valuable insights with me at the CXPA Insight Exchange!

Sponsor: CXPA

The Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) is a global non-profit organization positioned to guide and enhance the growing field of customer experience management. CXPA brings together like-minded professionals focused on advancing the practice of customer experience management and creating career growth by establishing customer experience management as a recognized and admired professional discipline.

Individuals, their companies and other organizations are welcome to join and participate.

Sponsor: Be Your Customer’s Hero

Adam’s new book, Be Your Customer’s Hero, Real-World Tips and Techniques for the Service Frontlines, is available now! This is a one-stop training guide for anyone who works with customers.

How to Sponsor

www.crackthecustomercode.com/sponsor  

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to our sponsor, the Customer Experience Professionals Association! Please find more details about the CXPA for individual or corporate members.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeannie and Adam discuss whether or not customer experience will become as fragmented and specialized as marketing and other developed industries like accounting and law.

Adam argues that increased specialization is the natural progression in any developing industry.

Jeannie warns against having too broad a job description and describes how specialization has benefited her.

Discussion begins at 1:40.

Jeannie and Ann discuss how they first met at South by Southwest, in pedi-cabs.

Ann tells us that she wrote Everybody Writes to empower people who feel they are not good writers and to provide a call to arms to create better content.

Ann discusses how she focuses on the substance of writing over the mechanics and that one of her pet peeves is people and organizations that just push out content.

Ann says that the era of the marketing generalist is done, and marketing will become more specialized. She also notes that many companies still see content and social as bolted on instead of as a central component of marketing.

Ann points out that tone of voice can help organizations define who they are and help them better communicate with their customers.

Interview begins at 6:35.

#1 Cochran Automotive is making waves by shifting to a more customer-centric approach to selling cars. They realized that their customers were not the types who wanted to haggle but the types who preferred a better experience.

Jeannie says that most of #1 Cochran Automotive’s numbers have gone up, and Adam tells a story about a bad car buying experience.

Discussion begins at 24:35.

Sponsor:

Be Your Customer’s Hero– Adam’s new book, Be Your Customer’s Hero, Real-World Tips and Techniques for the Service Frontlines, is available now! This is a one-stop training guide for anyone who works with customers.

How to Sponsor

www.crackthecustomercode.com/sponsor  

Guest Speaker / People

Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices