Well, Yes and No!
Customer Experience is not just about listening to the customer. You must listen and act!
Many organizations miss the most important step to "listening to the customer" or "voice of the customer" process. They fail to act, and when that happens you will likely lose those customers forever.
Takeaway: Remember when you ask the customers what they want, be prepared to execute and deliver what they want.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Use YouTube to Motivate with Emotion
Searching YouTube for great customer experience videos, I came across this video.
It had nothing to do with customer experience, but it is great and very moving. What it did do was inspire me to checkout what was posted at www.youtube.com/nonprofits which is exactly what the creator intended.
This got me thinking about customer experience in relation to YouTube in general, and more importantly how to best use YouTube in the not-for-profit space to generate revenue which is an obvious but often unstated goal of those seeking to enhance customer experience.
Have you seen the JK Wedding Dance video? My guess is yes, but if not I posted it below. It came to mind for many reasons. First and foremost, I think it is simply great that this couple and their friends decided to do something different, fun, and creative on their big day. Second and certainly not least, they decided to raise funds for a great organization with their 15 seconds of fame. I wish I had thought of this for my own wedding, and I wish knew Jill and Kevin personally.
At last count the video had over 21,500,000 hits, and has raised over $15,000 for the Sheila Wellstone Institute. The Chronicle of Philanthropy picked up the story along with pretty much any and every entertainment news venue. You can read the article here: http://philanthropy.com/news/prospecting/index.php?id=9201.
Takeaway: We should learn from these videos to inspire, entertain, and step outside of the norm. We should be unique and deliver experience in a new and moving way, and when we do they will come and many will donate.
It had nothing to do with customer experience, but it is great and very moving. What it did do was inspire me to checkout what was posted at www.youtube.com/nonprofits which is exactly what the creator intended.
This got me thinking about customer experience in relation to YouTube in general, and more importantly how to best use YouTube in the not-for-profit space to generate revenue which is an obvious but often unstated goal of those seeking to enhance customer experience.
Have you seen the JK Wedding Dance video? My guess is yes, but if not I posted it below. It came to mind for many reasons. First and foremost, I think it is simply great that this couple and their friends decided to do something different, fun, and creative on their big day. Second and certainly not least, they decided to raise funds for a great organization with their 15 seconds of fame. I wish I had thought of this for my own wedding, and I wish knew Jill and Kevin personally.
At last count the video had over 21,500,000 hits, and has raised over $15,000 for the Sheila Wellstone Institute. The Chronicle of Philanthropy picked up the story along with pretty much any and every entertainment news venue. You can read the article here: http://philanthropy.com/news/prospecting/index.php?id=9201.
Takeaway: We should learn from these videos to inspire, entertain, and step outside of the norm. We should be unique and deliver experience in a new and moving way, and when we do they will come and many will donate.
Monday, August 17, 2009
A Bit of Chocolate
Like so many, I too love chocolate.
Each year we do a campaign with a Godiva chocolate offer. The first year we did that campaign we tested the offer in an effort to determine whether or not people were more motivated by chocolate or money. The offer was essentially the same dollar amount in both circumstances. The result: the Godiva chocolate offer elicited twice the interest as the cash. We were all very pleasantly surprised by this finding. It is nice to know that people are motivated by something other than money.
I had to tell you that story to tell you this one. Saturday I went to Batteries Plus to get a new battery backup for my alarm system. At the end of the purchase the sales lady lifted up a huge bowl of chocolate she had behind the counter and asked if me and my son would like a piece. I was so surprised (again the element of surprise is a huge factor), and delighted by this offering I had clearly not expected. Even better than the offering was the quality of the chocolate being offered...very nice touch.
Takeaway: Chocolate sells and the element of surprise continues to be a leading factor in developing a positive customer experience.
Each year we do a campaign with a Godiva chocolate offer. The first year we did that campaign we tested the offer in an effort to determine whether or not people were more motivated by chocolate or money. The offer was essentially the same dollar amount in both circumstances. The result: the Godiva chocolate offer elicited twice the interest as the cash. We were all very pleasantly surprised by this finding. It is nice to know that people are motivated by something other than money.
I had to tell you that story to tell you this one. Saturday I went to Batteries Plus to get a new battery backup for my alarm system. At the end of the purchase the sales lady lifted up a huge bowl of chocolate she had behind the counter and asked if me and my son would like a piece. I was so surprised (again the element of surprise is a huge factor), and delighted by this offering I had clearly not expected. Even better than the offering was the quality of the chocolate being offered...very nice touch.
Takeaway: Chocolate sells and the element of surprise continues to be a leading factor in developing a positive customer experience.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Customer Experience for Free
Funny thing- yesterday I was privy to a presentation on improving customer experience with little to no investment from the company. I literally laughed out loud.
Gone are the days when customer experience was about how customer support chatted with customers or how you answered the telephone at your organization.
Now, I am not saying that those things are not important...they are, but I am saying that you cannot move the needle on customer experience without making a considerable invest in time, resources, and yes-money.
Takeaway: Unless your organization is willing to invest in customer experience you are better off looking for another avenue for organizational success.
Gone are the days when customer experience was about how customer support chatted with customers or how you answered the telephone at your organization.
Now, I am not saying that those things are not important...they are, but I am saying that you cannot move the needle on customer experience without making a considerable invest in time, resources, and yes-money.
Takeaway: Unless your organization is willing to invest in customer experience you are better off looking for another avenue for organizational success.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
People can't help talking about customer experience
People cannot help sharing customer experience stories.
Yesterday was the official start of my blog. As soon as I posted it a dear friend and amazing lead generation marketing executive, Lara Brown, came to me with a customer experience story.
She was at a restaurant and accidentally spilled her drink. She reached for her napkin and as she blotted the spilled drink she noticed that the back of the napkin had a poem printed on it.
Talk about delivering the unexpected...who would have thought the back of the napkin would have had a poem printed on it? She shared that story with me, and many others.
Takeaway: Deliver the unexpected. People share and will continue to share the unexpected, so think about your organization...how can you deliver the unexpected? Yes, it may come at an extra cost or time investment, but the goodwill and word of mouth advertising your receive will far out weigh the costs.
Yesterday was the official start of my blog. As soon as I posted it a dear friend and amazing lead generation marketing executive, Lara Brown, came to me with a customer experience story.
She was at a restaurant and accidentally spilled her drink. She reached for her napkin and as she blotted the spilled drink she noticed that the back of the napkin had a poem printed on it.
Talk about delivering the unexpected...who would have thought the back of the napkin would have had a poem printed on it? She shared that story with me, and many others.
Takeaway: Deliver the unexpected. People share and will continue to share the unexpected, so think about your organization...how can you deliver the unexpected? Yes, it may come at an extra cost or time investment, but the goodwill and word of mouth advertising your receive will far out weigh the costs.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Time to Start a Blog
Today I learned that I was selected to speak at the 2010 AFP International Conference on Fundraising, April 11-14, in Baltimore, Maryland. YAHOO!
I truly enjoy speaking and sharing knowledge especially when it is with the Nonprofit Community, so I decided that if I am going to continue to pursue these opportunities I should fall on the sword of communicating via blog along with the many other forms of social media I begrudgingly update every day.
What am I planning to share? Well a little bit of everything, but I am going to focus on customer experience because that is what I do best. I plan to share ideas for improving experience, enhancing experience, and overall creating good experience. Sounds simple:that's because it is.
I truly enjoy speaking and sharing knowledge especially when it is with the Nonprofit Community, so I decided that if I am going to continue to pursue these opportunities I should fall on the sword of communicating via blog along with the many other forms of social media I begrudgingly update every day.
What am I planning to share? Well a little bit of everything, but I am going to focus on customer experience because that is what I do best. I plan to share ideas for improving experience, enhancing experience, and overall creating good experience. Sounds simple:that's because it is.
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