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There’s a simple reason most brands only produce bland, derivative work. It has nothing to do with money or talent — it’s that their people are forced to use a fraction of their brain power.
There are three approaches we can take to completing a task:
Skill-based performance is automatic, like typing.
Rule-based performance uses heuristics to solve more complex problems: if x happens do y.
Knowledge-based performance requires conscious attention to solve challenging problems.
That last one is our most powerful mode of cognition. It’s how we crack the case, innovate, and create our most elegant solutions. Unfortunately it’s also the most exhausting form of brain work we can do, and we’d rather avoid it.
Here’s the problem then. When we’re stacked across multiple projects; when our time in the office is filleted into vapor; when we’re crushed by utilization targets and death-march deadlines we literally can’t access this realm of performance.
So we default to the other modes: we do whatever worked last time, or copy whoever we think has solved the problem well. We take shortcuts. It’s not our fault — it’s human nature.
If brands genuinely want to innovate the solution is pretty obvious: give people more time to do less, which usually means starting projects sooner.
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To create a great customer experience we need to put employee happiness first.
To create a great customer experience we need to gather data at every interaction.
To create a great customer experience we need to deeply understand our customer’s lives.
To create a great customer experience we need a chief amazement officer.
To create a great customer experience we need a seamless omni-channel approach.
To create a great customer experience we need to personalize to an audience of one.
To create a great customer experience we need to enhance our VoC metrics.
Do you know what Alaska Airlines do?
They say “Thank you for being an MVP Mr. Watkinson.” And give me a free chocolate bar.
Seems to work pretty well.
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To prove returns, CX initiatives need to have a tangible impact on revenues or costs. Get started by considering which of these six opportunities will help the most.
Increasing share of wallet results in growth. The same is true with up / cross-selling or increasing purchase frequency. You might run a CX project that simplifies re-ordering for example, or remind customers when stocks are running low.
Increasing acquisition is usually the biggest growth opportunity for most businesses, so improving the CX around product choice, check out or account creation might help.
Reducing costs is another golden opportunity. There are loads of ways to do this — improving self-service experiences, reducing complaints or product returns, etc.
Price increases tend to have the biggest impact on profitability. If you provide a truly exceptional experience you can probably charge more, or consider introducing a premium level of service for a fee.
Finally, if you create interactions that are designed to be remarkable — beautiful unboxing experiences or unexpected delights — people will share them, raising awareness of your brand.
Remember this. Don’t set out to improve the customer experience. Set out to improve the business, then determine how CX improvements might help.
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I’d like to introduce you to the Watkinson three step miracle plan — an ingenious method that can help you achieve pretty much any goal in life. You'll feel like the child in this odd stock image - effortlessly soaring towards the light beneath the wings of an eagle.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1 - Find an expert
Step 2 - Ask them what to do
Step 3 - Do it
Despite the apparent simplicity of this process and its incredible success rate, I’ve noticed that most people prefer to do otherwise:
Find someone totally unqualified - ask them what to do - do it.
Find an expert - tell them what to do - do what you told them.
Find an expert - ask them what to do - do something else.
Every genuinely competent professional I've ever met has observed the same phenomenon, much to their frustration. I won’t pretend I understand why.
I will say this though. If you find an expert and demonstrate a willingness to pursue steps two and three, they'll think you’re the best thing since sliced bread, because you're allowing them to fulfill a bit of their potential.
As a token of gratitude they’ll go out of their way to make you their biggest success story. Everybody wins.
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The best thing to do with customer experience trends is ignore them.
By the time a trend is apparent you’re too late to profit from it (unless you started it), and following trends is - by very definition - not leading. Following these trends may shortcut the hard work of thinking, but it won’t differentiate you.
See these hot new things for what they are - generic ”me too” answers to a problem you probably don’t even have.
Do you need a chatbot? Probably not. Have you ever used one? They’re about as much help as a hole in a lifeboat.
Do you need an omni-channel, hyper-personalized customer journey? Not if you sell parking cones.
Understand this. Every CX trend is underpinned by the same universal psychological principles:
The desire to express our identity and individuality.
The drive to achieve our goals.
The preference for effortlessness.
Stress reduction.
Sensory pleasure.
Social pleasure (including status).
Feeling in control.
Emotional gratification.
Master the underlying principles and you’ll innovate. Do the hard work of applying them to your business you’ll run rings around your creatively bankrupt rivals.
Focus on the trends of the day instead and you’ll always be a step behind — a sheep that’s easy prey for the wolf.
#customerexperience
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One reason many people are miserable and frustrated in life is because they put too much focus on achieving their goals. They are desperate to cross the finish line or tick the box.
In reality though, the process of getting there is what really matters.
If you’re fixated on the achievement, every setback will test your willpower. If you’re focused on the process, every stumble is a chance to improve.
If crossing the finish line is your only source of pleasure, you’ll have a few euphoric moments in life, but that’s it. If you love the process, every day will be fun whether you’re succeeding or not.
Writing, speaking, client work - even when it’s hell it’s heaven because I love the process. If I just wanted to finish the book, get to the last slide or cash the check, I’d find the daily struggles unbearable.
More important still - the process is the only bit you get to keep for yourself.
When you create something - a book, a product, even a business - you lose control as soon as it's launched. It belongs to the reader, user or customer. The process is always yours though - so make sure you enjoy it.
Best of all though, in my experience at least, when you love the process, achieving the goal takes care of itself.
Have a great weekend. 👋
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If you work in customer experience, you probably think learning more about customer experience will make you better at your job. It won’t.
In reality, any brand’s customer experience is emergent — the result of many people’s work spread across different departments and disciplines. This means improving it has more to do with your ability to coordinate, cajole, convince, charm and coerce than your technical skills.
If you want to have more impact here’s what you need to do: learn about anything to do with business other than CX, so you can understand other people's perspectives.
Do you know your firm’s cost structure? Could you explain working capital to a martian? Learn the language of finance and doors will open.
Can you quote Al Ries, Byron Sharp and Geoffrey Moore? How much Christensen, Porter or Jim Collins have you read? A basic knowledge of marketing and strategy will go a long way.
To help you, here's the last 400 or so books I read on this stuff. Pick one that interests you and get to work. There’s also a top 10 business books list which is a good starting point. If you've read any of these I'd love to hear your thoughts on them! 🤓
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If you’re giving a presentation — whether you’re pitching a client, reporting to your CEO, or headlining an industry conference — here are two simple tests you can use to make sure you’re ready:
First - open your presentation on the first slide and say out loud what is on the next one. Then move to slide two and repeat, until you go all the way through your deck. Repeat this process until you know exactly what’s on the next slide throughout the presentation.
Knowing what’s coming next at any point in time will boost your confidence, especially if you’re terrified of public speaking, and will allow you to recover gracefully if something goes wrong up there.
Second - when you feel ready, rehearse the full presentation three times (ideally in close succession to build stamina). Your three completion times should be within a minute of each other and within your time allowance on the day (preferably 2-5 minutes shorter incase the program is running late). If they aren’t, keep rehearsing until you’ve nailed it.
Good luck!
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🚨If you work in CX please stop what you’re doing and read this - it could save your career.
I originally put this slide in the Leader’s Guide to CX presentation as a bit of light relief. Turns out it’s not that funny though because it’s pretty much the truth.
I’ve recently presented to CFO’s of some of America’s top companies in Boston, New York and California and when this slide appears many of them sit up, laugh awkwardly or look a bit nauseous, then say something like:
“We’re in year two.”
“We’re on our second exec.”
“I need to put you in touch with our CMO.”
The message from the top is clear: focus on execution from day one. Fix stuff that’s broken ASAP. Even if it’s something small. Find ten things that piss customers off and just get them fixed.
This will show customers you’re serious. When they notice, the business will start to pay attention and stay engaged. The flywheel will start to move.
Then, once you’ve built up some goodwill, ask for bigger budgets for more ambitious projects. Build your capabilities and processes over time as you need them.
As Mark Zuckerberg famously didn’t say: “Move fast and fix things.” Anything else will end in tears.
The Leader’s Guide to Customer Experience
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Ask your kid to “Reduce the canine nutrition deficit” they’ll probably stare at you blankly. Ask them to “Feed the dog” and they might do it.
What’s the difference? One uses abstract nouns and verbs - reduce, nutrition, deficit. The other uses concrete ones - feed and dog.
Abstract language sounds vague and wishy washy - the semantic equivalent of a limp wristed handshake. Concrete language is not only easier to understand, it radiates confidence and inspires action.
Unfortunately abstract nouns and verbs are everywhere in the workplace — it’s the biggest conspiracy in business. Someone starts prattling on about “Enabling data driven innovations” or “Leveraging the disruptive technologies behind digital transformation” and we nod along knowingly, when really we haven’t got the foggiest idea what's going on.
Then, when it’s our turn to speak, we feel compelled to regurgitate some gobbledegook of our own, while secretly loathing the whole situation.
Here’s the great news though - you can leave an indelible impression by breaking the cycle. Replace abstract nouns and verbs with concrete language and you’ll notice an immediate difference.
People will understand you. They’ll do what you want. They’ll worship you like a God(dess). Who knows, they might even reciprocate.
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According to this article which appeared in my feed today, customer experience trumps: expensive marketing initiatives, Super-Bowl sized ad campaigns, rebranding efforts and sales efforts.
Except: wouldn’t that really depend on our strengths and weaknesses? If we already have a great CX but aren’t growing might advertising more be a good idea?
Doesn’t it also depend on our competitive environment and category dynamics? On our market positioning and target customer base?
Notice one thing that all these CX puff pieces have in common: impressive statistics and not a single real-world example. Why? Because there aren’t any businesses that succeed on CX alone.
Advertising is not the tax you pay for being unremarkable - it is essential to raise awareness of your products and services in a competitive, noisy environment.
If you work in CX here is my most sincere, heart-felt advice: stop the hard sell and stop looking down on other disciplines - it makes you look arrogant and clueless.
Instead, take an interest in adjacent roles. Expand your horizons. Learn about marketing and strategy. Most of all, stop “trumping” and start figuring out how you can integrate your work with others. It’s the only way you’ll change anything.
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The SEC are now charging VW with fraud over the Dieselgate scandal.
This is the perfect case study of the kind of disastrous outcomes we see when people make decisions without treating their business as an interconnected whole.
When you see the VW scandal laid out on the grid, you realize just how risky it is signing off projects without considering their broader impacts.
Fortunately the free project success checklist tool on our site allows you to do exactly that using the grid.
#strategy #dieselgate #volkswagen
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The secret to producing proposals, posts, publications or papers that pull people in, punch home your points, persuade most powerfully and are pleasant to peruse is extremely simple:
Treat structuring and writing your document as two separate tasks.
Use the potent SCQA format to set up your introduction:
Situation - “Many people use NPS.”
Complication - “People are concerned it isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.”
Question - “What are the strengths and weaknesses of NPS?”
Answer - “Here are the key points about NPS you need to know.”
Then when it comes to the answer section - the bulk of your document - write all the points you want to make on individual post it notes and group them logically into pyramids of related ideas, exactly as I’ve done in the photo which shows the outline of our NPS report.
E.g.:
NPS does not measure loyalty
- Reason 1
- Reason 2
- Reason 3
Add a simple conclusion and you’re done. This structural task may seem like a lot of upfront work but it actually saves a tremendous amount of time and the results are always better.
Check out Barbara Minto’s book The Pyramid Principle if you have a particular penchant for penning polished, powerful prose. Happy writing!
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You didn’t think we’d just criticize from the sidelines without offering any solutions did you? Behold! The Leader’s Guide to Customer Experience.
Written in direct response to the questions and concerns of senior executives and leaders at some of the world’s top companies, it explains:
When CX improvements can help your business succeed and when they can’t.
It shows how to structure projects that deliver real-world results, and how to measure their impact.
It explains how to create improvements that customers really notice, and who should be responsible.
In short, it consolidates the lessons we’ve learned from years in the trenches into a brief, digestible guide for senior decision-makers.
Better yet, with no teasers, paywalls, registration, or other bullshit it’s totally free to download, today — our gift to the industry we love.
Smash that like button! 👊
#customerexperience #strategy #cx
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What this article says to any sane CMO is: these CX guys have no idea what marketing is. They don’t understand the role of advertising, and they don’t know the first thing about brand building.
First, customer experience - which is concerned with increasing value for the customer - IS a marketing activity.
Second - customers are not “defining brands” - they are just less tolerant of gaps between the brand promise and the brand reality they experience. It is still up to an organization to define what their market positioning and brand values will be, they just need to make sure they deliver on them. You can quote me on this — Forrester did in their paper on it.
Third - businesses need to advertise extensively, just to remind current customers they still exist, let alone to attract new ones. Most brands are sustained by infrequent buyers who can easily forget they exist.
One brand I know saw sales decline as CSAT went up. Why? They cut ad spend and customers simply forgot to shop there. If you think CX improvements will mean you no longer need to do "old paradigm" marketing you’re in for a rude awakening.
#customerexperience #bullshit
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The wait is over. The gloves are off. The report is live! Huge thanks to the 400+ people who requested an advanced copy. We’ve been stunned by the response and are grateful to those who have been generous enough to share their feedback.
Please share your thoughts on the report in the comments below so we can get a dialogue going. Only good things can happen if we share our expertise and experience.
#customerexperience #NPS
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This is why CX programs usually don’t deliver returns - because they assume that better retention is the solution without stopping to ask what the problem is.
What if the customers we’re retaining aren’t profitable?
"Let’s focus on retention."
What if simplifying product choice would increase conversion 40%?
"Let’s start with retention."
What if making our offerings more convenient could increase share of wallet by 50%?
"More retention please."
What if improving the self service experience lowered cost to serve by 70%?
"Retention should be the heart of our strategy."
What if improving our CX allowed us to increase prices enough to double our contribution margin?
"We should focus on retention."
What if lowering adoption barriers would dramatically increase customer acquisition?
"Retention is the answer."
People - take your retention goggles off! There’s a world of opportunity out there to drive growth and profitability for your businesses and you’re MISSING IT. AARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH! 🤯🤣
Please just read The Grid and you’ll spot these opportunities from a mile away!
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