This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud DEV @ BluMango contributed a whooping 34 entries.
Organisations waste time, money and effort if their approach to creating differentiated experiences is based on the very undifferentiated “Let’s walk a mile in our customers’ shoes”. Inspiration for better and more valuable experiences comes from those who experience things differently. When teams set out to map customer journeys there’s often a familiar reminder […]
To have any credibility when talking with others about how “customer experience” can improve a business, it’s an obvious understatement to say that leading by example – understanding their issues and what they value – is imperative. And so hosting an event on the subject, quite rightly, sets the bar of expectations very high. That’s […]
On my first day of my first proper job in the UK they called me “New York”. Not because I was energetic, intriguing or that I never slept but because, when it took me a while to understand what was apparently an hilarious corporate joke, I was – in their words – “five hours behind”. And many […]
We have Customer Service; it’s what companies do to or for their customers. We have Customer Experience; you could say it’s what it’s really like to be on the receiving end of the service. Done the right way though, understanding all that gives us powerful information. Yet there is also a risk that our focus […]
(This was first posted as a guest blog for Custerian) If an organisation has customers, by definition it also has a customer experience whether it realises that or not. May as well make it the right one, then. To fix the problem, much faith is put in mapping customer journeys. Done properly they are powerful […]
The philosophy behind customer experience has been around since cavemen first traded a club for a spear. It was simple then, as it is now. If you didn’t like who you were buying from or you felt they were getting more out of it than you, you’d probably get your own back by inventing the […]
In an age of big data and a seemingly endless capacity to produce and absorb information, one could be forgiven for believing that the end of the TLA, the three-letter acronym, is nigh. It should be, particularly for the subject of this piece, but for different reasons. Popping up everywhere in emails and presentations, these […]
The sage advice “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” needs no introduction but it clearly infers that one party is more needy than the other. It’s a sentiment that’s always been true in a commercial context since the earliest days of trading. In today’s world though, while the business side is becoming increasingly reliant, the experience they […]
FBOs and charter airlines are in a strong position to capitalise on the belt-tightening consequences of recent economic conditions. That’s providing they are able to articulate their value in a meaningful way. Value, to paraphrase, is in the eye of the beholder. Understanding what that means in reality and then being organised to do something […]
Everyone seems agreed that, like the complaints department, in theory the real aim of an in-house customer experience team should be to do itself out of a role. I say that because if every decision made by an organisation strikes the right balance between what its customers value and what drives the corporate value, then […]
This article, written by Jerry Angrave, first appeared in the BlueSky blog for Terrapinn ahead of the World Low Cost Airline Congress held in September 2013 There’s no doubt that airlines are having a tough time at the moment for reasons that are well documented. And, in common with many other industries, it’s also fair […]
Any time, any place anywhere – it’s the right one. Who knew that the now decades-old yet iconic Martini ad campaign was forming the basis of what is now tagged as the Omni-channel experience. The concept is exercising many brains right now. We know that in an ideal world we need to give an easy, […]
Over 23 million variations on a theme. At least, that’s how many links you’ve access to if you put “Definition of customer experience” into Google. There are only 3 million more links to “Definition of humanity”. So it’s not surprising that to engage the corporate leadership team or those of a sceptical, short-term disposition in […]
The world is full of great ideas the size of a planet but unfortunately, that’s how most of them stay – just ideas. For some time now though the Circular Economy has been proving itself as an exception to the rule. This inspirational initiative is changing the future of the way manufacturers make and service companies sell. […]
Far too often we see that organisations have a heavy, sometimes over-reliance on metric-based surveys. In a way it’s understandable; partly it’s about feeding the target-driven performance culture and partly it’s to have as much information as we can at our fingertips because that, in theory, makes strategic decision-making more robust. So it was intriguing to […]
The Post Office announced today that it is to launch a current account into the UK market, supplied by Bank of Ireland. It will therefore go some way to allaying the Office of Fair Trading’s fears that because 75% of the market is sewn up by just four banks – Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC – the restricted […]
It’s an inconvenient truth that in promoting the use of email as a contact method, it is surprisingly easy to leave the wrong message. I’m not talking about the content here, there’s plenty of focus on that. The issue is about the realities of the customer experience when there has been a lack of thought given to the […]
The process of gathering the right, usable customer feedback needs to be treated every bit as much as any other key touchpoint in the Customer Experience journey. At a time where barely a day goes by without our customers being asked to give comments about at least one brand or another, it’s more important than […]
More often than not the Customer Experience spotlight lands directly on the person who is buying, the patient who is being treated or the customer who is complaining. It means that the experience is designed around that person, the feedback requests reach out to that person and changes are made based on what that person […]
You can see it in job titles, department names and in strategic planning sessions; the terms Customer Experience and Customer Service are used liberally and are freely interchangeable. Not surprising then, why I’m often asked “What’s the difference? Same thing isn’t it? Does it matter?”. There’s a big difference. And, if the future strength of the business is […]
The Children and Families Bill: will it be enough of the right help, or just ‘help’ ? If you were the CEO of an organisation whose latest customer research showed that 62% do not get the help they need, 60% describe their interactions as “a battle” and 40% said their needs are not understood, I’d […]
Which has the bigger impact on the bottom-line: ticking the boxes for slick customer service or having customers feel and behave as you intended? There’s nothing new in saying Customer Service isn’t the same as Customer Experience but I’m often asked if it matters that much. It should matter, very much. Fortunately (or rather, unfortunately) there’s no shortage […]
Low headline prices. It’s a familiar scenario in many industries, forced on companies trying to prise open the gap between revenue and costs by generating greater volume and more loyalty than their competitive peers. At the same time, there is a relentless pursuit of bringing innovative products, differentiated propositions and “Wow!” moments to market. But looking at the reasons […]
We’ve all seen “Customer Service” and “Customer Experience” labels freely interchangeable in role descriptions, job titles and team functions. They are seen as one and the same thing. Does it matter? After all, it’s about “putting the customer at the heart of everything we do” (whatever that means in practice). I’d argue it matters a lot; they […]
The good news is, there’s not much we can’t measure these days, whether it’s the mood of the nation or how fast the Universe is expanding. And so when it comes to measuring Customer and Client experiences we’ve never had it so good. So much information, right at our fingertips. But the bad news is that it […]
Ok, where do we start? There’s no doubt that done properly, customer journey mapping provides rich insights into what it’s really like to have a customer or client experience and what we should do to make it better. In the right hands, it’s an effective tool that’s being used more and more. Personally, I’ve lost count of […]
The headline says “United Drops Early Boarding For Families”. I’m happy to be corrected but, as Vivian, Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman said: “Big mistake. BIG. HUGE! I have to go…”. Who wins as a result of this change? United say it’s to reduce the number of boarding phases. In theory that should cut […]
Funny things, relationships. For most organisations, that “relationship” has the same attributes, strengths and challenges as our own personal liaisons. There is of course a mutual benefit, but put a customer’s hat on and while the basic requirements of trust, respect, empathy and support are still there, the relationship becomes more of a convenient association. Customer Experience Management […]
The first rule of Customer Experience? Understand what it’s really like to be a customer. Really understand. Not just “What is your score for customer satisfaction?” but more along the lines of “How did what we do make you feel and how will that affect what you do next time?” or “What will you say about […]
Another episode this week from the soap-opera that could go by the title of “Customer Service – Yes; Customer Experience – umm….”. Think of the time and effort that companies invest in workshops, ‘ideation’ sessions and away-days to see how they can improve customer service. “We want to build great Customer Experiences!” is the rallying […]
If ever there was a statistic to make us sit up and take notice, for me this is that stat: “96% of customers who are unhappy don’t complain“. 96%! Frightening. And it gets worse. “Of those, 90% will just walk away and not come back”. When businesses set out to build a branded, differentiated customer […]
Epic voyages start with a small step, so they say. Not, as some believe, a giant leap for glory. They also say that the best things in life are free and that from little acorns grow majestic oak trees. Such maxims are true not only for life’s challenges but they apply just as much when it comes […]
Some people are in the wrong job. If you get into conversation with an airline pilot, you might ask such searching questions as: “What’s it like to be entrusted with hundreds of lives but remain anonymous?”, “Who was your worst passenger?” and “Do windscreen wipers work at 600mph?”. One question you won’t ask, and I’m fairly […]
There’s a sign on the door of my local pharmacist that catches my eye every time I go past. It reads: “In here, customers come first”. And why wouldn’t it? The manager or head office has given the store a boost with a simple 5-word promise. It deliberately raises the expectation of a great customer experience and […]
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