David Edelman shares an article that explains why sometimes waiting for perfect marketing data can stop progress in creating a better customer experience. As I work with more CMO’s who are wading into broader responsibilities for driving company-wide customer experience programs, I am finding that many are slowing down because they feel they lack good enough customer data.  As one expands from looking at mostly marketing data to taking a broader look across all customer touchpoints, especially those in call…

It is an often unspoken agreement that, sometimes, the customer is wrong. Bernie Heine offers seven practical suggestions on how to deal with the situation.  Here is an interesting point to consider: The customer is not always right. Despite the age-old adage, you are undoubtedly aware that sometimes your customers are completely in the wrong. Knowing what to do if your customer is wrong is important. Whatever they are complaining about – your service, your product, or how you have…

Xavier Lederer explains how to grow your company by focusing on your customers.   You are not competing directly against your competitors, you are competing to be unique in the marketplace. What does your most valuable prospect look like? “Probably a lot like your existing valuable customers. The easiest and most profitable growth will be achieved by adding additional customers very much like your current most valuable customers,” explains Robert Bloom in his book “The Inside Advantage.” Clients you resonate with…

A Dark Sky experience led Kaihan Krippendorff to ruminate on how to disrupt your industry. It’s 6:30 a.m. at the Dark Sky RV resort in Utah. I’m sitting out by the gas firepit and everyone else is asleep. The sun is rising, but it’s not one of those sudden appearances that I often see in the Northeast. Instead, the sky is wide open above the vast horizon, and it begins to change colors over the short desert vegetation and red…

Amanda Setili shares a short post on the value of trust. Last weekend, Rob and I camped in a small family-owned campground 15 feet from Pamlico Sound on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. One night it stormed, hard. The wind was gusting to over 30 mph, and the rain was intense. It would have been easy to wonder if our tent would survive. But I didn’t wonder. We’d bought the tent from REI, the same company that had made the tent…

  Stephen Wunker shares a post that identifies how the pandemic has presented aggressive businesses with an opportunity, and why the key to success lies in customer service.  ‘Consumers don’t trust real estate agents,’ says Jimmy Mackin, whose business is selling software to…real estate agents. He continues, “There are minimal requirements to become a licensed real estate agent. The industry tends to attract the get-rich-quick crowd.” How could someone with such a dire assessment of an industry make his living…

  Jason George provides a riveting read on cost and value, cunning tactics, and strategies from behind the scenes of manufacturers and pricing models. Sleep tight The choice of a mattress is fraught with implications, given how much of life is spent asleep and the infrequency of their purchase, not to mention the high price tag. Manufacturers are keenly aware of this and do their best to stoke the wallet-opening concerns of customers, using florid language to highlight coil counts…