In preparation for a customer experience strategy launch, I sat down with the senior leader sponsoring the initiative ad briefed him on the need to demonstrate commitment. He in return stood up at the beginning of the meeting and announced "we are going to do this. If you disagree consider yourself fired. Any questions so far?" This is an extreme case of change management attempt. But variations of it exists in every customer experience effort.

The success of any customer strategy is predicated on the organization's capacity for change. Many strategies have failed because the strategies' owners didn't understand their organizations' capacity and reluctance to consider all things new. There are numerous motivations for such reluctance, including stubbornness, short-sightedness, self-denial, fear and even pride. We'll consider these and other motivations in greater detail in a moment, but let's pause to consider that matter of pride—a very powerful human emotion. Proposed change can be perceived from two different perspectives:

• We've failed. We've not done our job, and now we have to get our act together.
• We've done well, but now we're going to take our successes to the next level.

The success of any customer strategy is predicated on the organization's capacity for change.

As you plan your trip to Morocco, there is one piece of advice that you will hear repeatedly: negotiate the prices. All past visitors and travel guides point out to the need to master your art of negotiation as no price is really fixed but rather a starting point.

As II was walking through the market of Marrakesh, I adhered religiously to this advice and did not let any merchant get away with full price or anything close to it. I commanded on average 405 to 50% discounts on the different items I purchased. My guard was high and I did not let anyone trick me into a tourist trap.

This was true until I reached the spices store. By the time I was out of the store I paid what I was asked and found out I purchased much more than I expected. “What just happened” I asked myself. I was puzzled by how I let my guard down. And then as I processed it in my mind I realized that it was a great lesson in customer experience.

What I experienced is a multi sensory, multi dimensional customer experience that focused on generosity. This is how it took place.
As I entered I was ushered into a comfortable seat and the show started.
First the merchant was explaining and educating me about the different spices. I learned something new and some myths were demystified.

One of the main casualties of the economic crisis is the customer new version of value. Bombarded by on going offers for 70% off sales by desperate companies who needed the cash, customers have reshaped their perception of value and what is a fair price. Even legendary customer experience companies such as Disney and Starbucks needed to take action. But unlike the traditional approach of lets drop prices, they took a creative and experiential approach to discounts.
Worth noting is what Disney did when they needed to lure customers into its theme parts while customers where cash straps. Instead of reducing the entrance fee they launched a new volunteering program. “Give A Day Get A Disney Day” is a program that invite people to volunteer at specific programs and receive a day of free entrance in exchange for volunteering. Disney placed TV commercials to promote the program and invited everyone to join. The cynics will argue that it is just a PR ploy and after all Disney gave away free tickets which are equivalent to discounts. But a deeper look into this program may paint a different picture.
By opting for “Give a Day Get A Disney Day” Disney achieved several critical goals. Read more »

Yesterday I posted a critical piece on the way Toyota is handling their customers trust building efforts. Toyota Experience-open letter to Toyota's president Today, the highly anticipated Tiger Woods press conference took place and there are lessons to be learned from his approach to rebuilding his brand and trust with his fans.

Below are three quotes I selected from his statement.

“I want to say to each of you, simply, and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.
I know people want to find out how I could be so selfish and so foolish. People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife, Elin, and to my children.”

Let me start by stating the obvious. I can’t imagine what you are going through right now and I do not envy your position. With the assistance of your PR team you launched a new ad campaign titled “Our Commitment to Our Customers” . This well crafted text (I am sure fully approved by legal) articulate everything you will be doing moving forward to correct the wrong and prevent it from happening again. Your ad campaign, however is making a serious mistake. All your customers acquired Toyota cars because they assumed that all that you were ALREADY committed to customers, reliability and safety. Your ads failed in the most critical area, explaining what happened!
One cannot attempt to re-establish trust based on the same exact promise that was broken. That is exactly what your ads attempt to do. Without full disclosure of what went wrong, customers will not believe this newly discovered commitment to customers. The truth might not be pretty but it is better than the hiding. Sure, legal claim that you can’t do it due to potential liability. Guess what the liability is already there. Second, your ultimate commitment is to the customer who purchased your cars. Legal advice is important but it cannot replace your commitment to customers. Read more »

Each time I stay at a Hampton Inn I remember a simple lesson; customer experience does not have to be luxurious.

Hampton Inn delivers great value for the price they charge. And what I like the most is their 100% money back guarantee. They have taken this promise to a new level. Not only does the guarantee appear everywhere instead of being hidden in small fonts at the back of some forgotten documents, it is on the bill.

When you receive your bill on the morning of your departure, there is a colorful sticker on it reminding you that you have the right to pay the amount that represents your perceived value and not more. Not too many vendors go the extra mile to turn the payment touch point into a matter of choice for customers. Hampton Inn does it well and that is one of the reasons why a very small fraction of their customers ever need to take advantage of this guarantee.

www.Strativity.com

The New York Times published today a story about how customers of Google's Nexus One phone are treated when they have problems.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/technology/companies/13google.html?em
The story illustrates how companies fail to understand the complete customer Experience.

1. Cool Product Is Not Enough - Cool new Android phone is just the begining not the end. design the complete experience. Google stuck to their core product / software competence and forgot the complete customer experience (i.e. Genius Bar at Apple Stores)

2. The web is not the only channel - Google was so addicted to serving customers through web channels that they fail to notice that people live in the real world and need those channels too. Just because you sell it on the web does not mean that web based service will be acceptable. Just ask thousands of online retailers.

I recently discovered a new company dedicated to helping employees to get jobs . In this economy this is a noble approach and many people will welcome any help they can get. The company’s name is www.CareerExcuse.com. Their services? They will provide fake references for you. Their diverse set of services includes setting up fake companies and providing live receptionist to respond to your prospective employers calls. The company even maintains a list of bankrupt companies whom according to the company’s web site “Bankrupt companies make a great previous employer. We have created a management company with dozens of bankrupt companies that are ready to provide any inquirer your desired reference information.”
On a philosophical level, I am sure, like me, many of you would raise variety of questions about how low this world is sinking.
From a legal perspective, the web site owner claims in a recent interview to HR Magazine that he is covered legally with variety of disclaimers. He also committed not to provide references in the Health Care industry. How noble! A liar with a conscious. Read more »

Many of our clients routinely seek opportunities and methods to make their organizations more innovative. They believe that being more innovative will allow them to successfully differentiate themselves from competitors and attract more customers willing to pay premium prices for their products and services. To demonstrate the concept of innovation, I am frequently asked to highlight case studies of organizations that have applied innovative solutions to various aspects of their businesses. Invariably, I follow the beaten path of customer experience luminaries such as Ritz Carlton, Starbucks, Apple, Virgin and Zappos. The reception, however, to such stories is often cool. Executives often claim that these stories (which they asked me to provide) are not relevant because “this is not exactly our industry and we can’t innovate like Apple or Virgin”. While somewhat agreeing with their claims, I emphasize that specific examples are not meant to be emulated but rather serve to illustrate that innovation is possible even in industries or companies where it is thought to be a pipe dream. These stories are meant solely to inspire people, awaken their creative skills, and demonstrate that innovation, even in the most unlikely of places, is possible.

It is interesting to observe the method in which Time Warner Cable chose to engage its customers to address its dispute with Fox. They asked customers to vote on what should the response be "Roll Over" or "Get Tough" through a dedicated website.

http://rolloverorgettough.com/home

To date, Time Warner Cable reports 800,000 unique visitors with overwhelming support to "get tough". Cool way to engage custoemrs and harness the power of the crowd.

It is not clear if Time Warner Cable was planning to actually listen to their customers. What if the majority would have said "Roll Over". Would they follow the customers' advice? This bit of authenticity is missing for me. imagine if the site would clearly state "we will do whatever you say" Now that would have been a real customer engagement.

www.Strativity.com