tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70887289842527594692024-03-13T16:49:55.218-07:00Customer Experience ManagementDarinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-33626416721280242252014-03-25T20:02:00.002-07:002014-03-25T20:02:22.517-07:00Popular Science Magazine on Influence and PersuasionCheck out the interesting infographics from April's issue of Popular Science. click<a href="http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-trick-others-doing-your-bidding?dom=PSC&loc=poprail&lnk=8&con=how-to-trick-others-into-doing-your-bidding" target="_blank"> here</a><br />
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-trick-others-doing-your-bidding?dom=PSC&loc=poprail&lnk=8&con=how-to-trick-others-into-doing-your-biddingDarinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-81603297423943511052014-02-08T12:59:00.000-08:002014-02-08T12:59:30.227-08:00Purchasing Glasses Online updatehttp://cemexecutive.blogspot.com/2010/01/buying-glasses-online-customer.html is a summary from 2010 that talks about what one should expect when ordering glasses online. Prices have dropped since this post. I end up spending about $15 for my glasses and $20 for my wife's glasses (her prescription is super strong). This price includes shipping.<br />
<br />
The main challenge is how to measure pupillary distance (the distance between your pupils in millimeters). Most optometrists do not give this to you, which may force you to buy glasses from them. It is easy to do. See http://static.zennioptical.com/media/Zenni-Optical-PD-Ruler.pdf for a printable measuring device.<br />
<br />
Figuring out which frame will fit you best requires measuring your current glasses. Use a ruler with millimeters to measure the temple (the arm that goes from the front to behind your ear), the total width across the front, and measure the height and width of each lens. You can also measure the distance between the lenses if you are concerned about the space for your nose. Every online site shows these measurements for each frame. I find it most difficult to get a temple length that matches the total width. I think there must be a lot of people out there whose ears are very close to their eyes. See http://www.goggles4u.com/eyeglasses_size_guide for more info - and how to interpret the size information already printed on your current frames.<br />
<br />
You can get all of the same options (i.e. coatings, tint, and thin and light lenses) from every site, but some sites include things in the price of the lens, while others are a la carte, which can add to the price quickly. For example, I select from the free frames on Goggles4u, get the normal distance lens (1.57 CR39) for $6.94 (which includes UV and anti-scratch coatings unless you get bifocals), and add the anti-reflective coating for $4.99, for a total price of $11.8. At ZenniOptical I select frames for $6.95, the 1.57 lens are included ($0), UV coating and anti-scratch coating are included ($0), and anti-reflective coating is $4.95, for a total cost of $11.90. At EyeBuyDirect I select frames that are $6.95, the 1.5 lenses are free and include anti-scratch, but I want to be comparable so I must use 1.57 (1.5 are very thick; the higher the number the thinner the lens; going to 1.57 like the two glasses above adds $10), UV is $4.95, anti-glare (same as anti-reflective) is $6.95, for a total cost of $28.85. Shipping is about $6 per glasses from each site.<br />
<br />
I sign up for the emails from the following vendors and then buy glasses when they send me a sale notice. I typically buy when it is buy one get one free, free frames, or something similar. As long as I can get glasses for no more than $15-$20 (total price, must include shipping), I buy them during the sale. The following vendors typically get me my new glasses in 3 weeks and I have been able to quickly resolve any mistakes in the making of the glasses with each of them. There are several other vendors that have taken 5-6 weeks or have not resolved the mistakes that they made when making me glasses.<br />
<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/ - I have been using this company for my last several pairs because they have had the lowest prices (e.g. today they have a special for a complete pair for $9.90 - which includes shipping, but my wife's will be a bit more due to her strong prescription); it is easy to shop by the size, shape, and other frame features; more variety and selection than the others<br />
http://www.zennioptical.com/ - used to have the lowest prices and the largest selection, but the others have caught up (none of the discount frames fit either of us so we rarely use Zenni any longer); use Refine Your Search drop-down to search by size, etc. (You can only pick exact measurements, which means I only get 2 options once I pick 136mm x 136 mm.)<br />
http://www.eyebuydirect.com/ - often has good sales and has been fast, but is usually far more expensive; use Filter Results to get a range of sizes (I get 120 frames, but only 9 of those are $6.95, and of those, only 1 is my size)<br />
<br />
Here is another comparison of full-rim, black, geeky, plastic/acetate, bifocals that I recently shopped for online:<br />
<br />
EyeBuyDirect.com - There were no glasses that were even close to my size (or larger because smaller are very uncomfortable and will give you a headache by squeezing the sides of your face) so I just found a cheap pair of frames that matched my style demands.<br />
http://m.eyebuydirect.com/fashion-glasses-tillamook-black-p-11261.html for $14.95<br />
Frames $14.95<br />
Lined bifocal lenses $19.00<br />
1.57 lenses $10.00<br />
UV coating $4.95<br />
Anti-glare $6.95<br />
USPS 1st Class shipping $5.95<br />
TOTAL $61.80 via credit card or PayPal<br />
<br />
ZenniOptical.com - There were three frames that met my style requirements. Widths were from 137 to 140 and temples were 138 - all good fits.<br />
http://www.zennioptical.com/264321-plastic-full-rim-frame.html for $12.95 (not big enough for bifocals)<br />
http://www.zennioptical.com/232012-plastic-full-rim-frame.html for $15.95 (these are the ones I picked)<br />
http://www.zennioptical.com/246216-plastic-full-rim-frame.html for $19.95 (dark blue and black, but close enough)<br />
Frames $15.95<br />
1.5 lined bifocal lenses $17.00 (1.61 are $46.00)<br />
Anti-reflective coating $4.95 (free on single vision, but extra on bifocals)<br />
UV not available on bifocals<br />
Standard shipping $4.95<br />
TOTAL $42.85 via credit card or PayPal<br />
<br />
Goggles4u.com -<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/elegant-90163-eyeglasses-by-goggles4u.html for $0.00 (for some reason all of the cheap ones have loud colored arms)<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/goggles4u-eyeglasses-3897-html.html for $4.95 (bright red arms are not my thing)<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/betty-86765-eyeglasses-by-goggles4u.html for $4.95 (not as thick as I wanted)<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/inspire-86498-eyeglasses-by-inspire.html for $4.95 (white arms are not what I wanted, but least worst of arm colors)<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/elegant-86310-eyeglasses-by-goggles4u.html for $4.95 (I chose this frame)<br />
Http ://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/prescription-eyeglasses-by-geek-7178-html.html for $89.00 (too wide for my taste)<br />
http://www.goggles4u.com/men-s-glasses/prescription-eyeglasses-by-geek-7179-html.html for $89.00 (tortoise shell is not my color)<br />
Frames $4.95<br />
1.56 lined bifocal lenses $25.00<br />
UV and scratch-free $4.95<br />
USPS $4.95<br />
TOTAL $39.85 via credit card or PayPal<br />
<br />
I purchased glasses from Goggles4U because the lenses are lighter, UV is available, and they were the least expensive.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-28999495638115663772011-03-05T08:22:00.000-08:002011-03-05T08:27:20.482-08:00Online Reputation ManagementThe company where I presently work tracks our online reputation using http://www.startpr.com but prior to that we used Google alerts and frequently checked the following websites, which I believe were referenced in a Forbes magazine article that one of our team members passed around.<br /><br />I am very curious - how does your company track your online reputation?<br /><br /><br />http://www.ripoffreport.com/ consumers can complain, view news videos about scams, and buy a book that teaches you how to get revenge<br /><br />http://www.consumeraffairs.com/ consumers can complain, but most of the complaints seem to be aggregated from other sites into "articles" about the companies<br /><br />http://www.planetfeedback.com/ consumers can complain or praise and reply to any note on the site, many comments seem to elicit active discussion<br /><br />http://www.complaintsboard.com/ consumers can complain and anyone can comment on each complaint, fairly active site<br /><br />http://www.my3cents.com/ consumers can complain and anyone can comment on each complaint<br /><br />http://www.iripoff.com/ consumers can complain and anyone can comment on each complaint<br /><br />http://www.complaints.com/ consumers can complain and anyone can comment on each complaint<br /><br />http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/ consumers can complain and companies can respond to complaints<br /><br />http://consumerist.com/ articles about questionable business practices and concerns that consumers can comment on<br /><br />http://www.consumeraction.gov/ US government site that teaches consumers how to complain<br /><br />http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/scamsdesc.htm US government site that posts the latest large-scale scams and fraud<br /><br />http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm US government site for complaining about companies regulated by the FCC<br /><br />http://www.bbb.org/ the Better Business Bureau is not the government, but they are the largest complaint registration organization in the USDarinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-88936522133617672132010-06-29T13:30:00.001-07:002010-06-29T13:30:56.832-07:00Pricing Strategy and Revenue Optimization Summit <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Darin Phillips will be speaking at the Pricing Strategy and Revenue Optimization Summit on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11:30 am. His presentation, "What About Market Segmentation? How Well Do You Know Your Customer?", will help revenue management leaders leverage the relationship between customer satisfaction and willingness to pay (WTP). If you are in the Miami, FL area that week and you have responsibility for your organization's pricing strategy, you can register for the summit at http://www.priceandrevenuesummit.com. Specifically, Darin will be teaching:</font> <ul> <li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">How to collect emotional customer reactions that are the foundations of customer loyalty</font> <li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">How to gain executive buy-in to the attitudinal data and the lessons for your organization</font> <li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">How to encourage ongoing attention to barriers to satisfaction that hinder your customers' willingness to pay</font></ul><font size=2 face="sans-serif">The summit will be held at the Hyatt Regency Miami. It will be produced by FinanceIQ, a division of IQPC. </font>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-26964766552988178032010-03-31T09:03:00.001-07:002010-03-31T09:03:09.886-07:00Emotional Incident Methodology: Theoretical Underpinnings <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Social psychologists who use inductive research techniques ask the respondents to tell them what they believe, how they feel, or what they did (e.g. to capture beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors) and then the psychologist clusters the responses into categories. Social psychologists that use deductive research techniques create lists of attributes from research and ask respondents to cluster those findings into categories. The inductive researcher creates the categories herself. The deductive researcher relies on the wisdom of crowds to create the categories. However, the inductive researcher relied on the wisdom of crowds to identify the original attributes to be clustered, whereas the deductive researcher relied on her own wisdom to identify and select what research to use. There are clear pros and cons to each research methodology.</font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Emotional Incident Methodology is a hybrid of both social psychology techniques. The original factors that are to be categorized are provided by the respondents. A separate group of people then cluster those responses. This is actually a fairly common event in social psychology research.</font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">In classical deductive research, the psychologist starts with a theory and a hypothesis. Observations are used to test the hypothesis. </font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">In classical inductive research, the psychologist starts with observations that lead her to a hypothesis. The hypothesis is then used to create a general theory.</font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Pure practitioners of both research methodologies will criticize Emotional Incident Methodology. The deductive researchers will say that the results are invalid because the project began without a base theory or hypothesis. (This is the criticism often made about The Big Five personality attributes, but that is the only model that has any validity when trying to predict workplace performance.) The inductive researchers will say that the results are invalid because the project ended with a group of lay persons determining the final hypothesis and theory. They believe that only trained experts should be making the final determination. </font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">At the end of the day, there is a solid reason why people often say, "There are lies, damn lies, and then statistics." Research methodologies are all flawed when it comes to measuring the human condition - we are just too complex. Causality is impossible to <i>prove</i> because no research into human beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors can replicate the same results 100% of the time. We also live in a personal bubble of perception because we individually decide which facts are true or not. In fact, <i>if</i> we behave in a way that is inconsistent with our beliefs and attitudes, we simply create new beliefs to justify our attitude and behavior in that moment. And what researcher is completely free of her own biases? That would have to start with a complete and accurate understanding of self that no one has. That is why triangulation is used in Emotional Incident Methodology. Collectively, the group is less fallible than any one individual, even a trained expert. </font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">If enough objectivity permeates the results of Emotional Incident Methodology then you will see measurable results when you apply the lessons learned. My own findings at Royal Caribbean Cruises and Silver Hill Financial led to statistically significant results. But I cannot claim absolute causality because there were many other variables at play within the organizations, industries, and economy. Again, the complexity of the situation prevents the type of certainty that classic researchers demand. </font> <br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Emotional Incident Methodology is a post-positivism approach that rejects the relativist idea that we cannot reach agreement because our unique life filters and biology have resulted in us having different biases. It is a constructivist approach that relies on triangulation to gain objectivity across multiple fallible perspectives. After all, social psychology is the study of individuals within the context of a group and no two people in any group are exactly the same in every respect, not even identical twins. </font>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-17969367700875684082010-01-19T10:45:00.001-08:002010-01-19T10:45:40.680-08:00Buying Glasses Online - the customer experience <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">After picking over the frames available from our eye doctor, my wife and I decided that there must be a better way to get our prescriptions filled. I decided to do a little research and found a couple of websites where online eyeglass vendors were reviewed. Glassy Eyes was the first site that I found and it was loaded with helpful information from a guy who decided, as we did, that the mall eyeglass stores and optometrist offices were simply way too expensive for what you are getting. The author of that website seems to focus on the more conspiratorial issues around why prices are so high, but he also provides a thorough review of many of the leading Internet eyeglass vendors so it is worth a look (</font><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><u>http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/</u></font><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">). The other site, Eyeglass Retailers Reviews, seemed to be a bit more objective in their reviews of the Internet vendors. In fact, the "old site" that is archived at </font><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><u>http://www.eyeglassretailerreviews.com/</u></font><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> was the most helpful in making apples-to-apples comparisons amongst the main players. I did not see ads or coupons on Eyeglass Retailer Reviews and I appreciated the reader forums where many disgruntled customers were helping me understand the challenges I would face ordering online. Glassy Eyes reviewed far fewer retailers and every review includes a coupon code that reads something like "glassyeyes". That always raises a red flag for me. </font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Between my wife and I we had several eyeglass prescriptions that we could fill. We both had our regular eye checkup with an optometrist and associated prescriptions, but we also had special visits to ophthalmologists for further screening and received another prescription from there. Finally, I was given a separate prescription for reading glasses. With five prescriptions in hand, and a bit of online advice, we set out to find the best online retailer. Of course, these experiences are based solely on only one or two transactions with each vendor. Your actual experience may vary considerably (as you can read on the Eyeglass Retailer Reviews forums). </font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">First, we needed to know our papillary distance. That was not written on our prescriptions and the bricks and mortar eyeglass retailers are not willing to tell you what it is. They are becoming more concerned about the online stores and don't want to make it easy for you to defect. We found several techniques listed on the online retailer sites and tried all of them. The results were fairly consistent so we were comfortable that we were fine with the final numbers that we submitted. We know now to always ask for papillary distance to be included on our prescription. The optometrist did not object when we asked for that number this year. </font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">At a glance, here are the glasses we ended up ordering online:</font> <table border> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=center><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><b>Vendor</b></font></div> <td> <div align=center><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><b>Date ordered</b></font></div> <td> <div align=center><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><b>Date arrived</b></font></div> <td> <div align=center><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><b>Prescription</b></font></div> <td> <div align=center><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><b>Total Price</b></font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">(includes shipping)</font></div> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Discount-Eyeglasses.net</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">01/26/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/14/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">19 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Normal Glasses</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: -1.00, -2.00 x 092</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: -0.75, -1.25 x 072</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$25.99</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">BestPriceGlasses.com</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">(aka Shultz Optical)</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">01/26/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/09/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">14 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Progressives</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 +2.25</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160 +2.25</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$52.40</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">SpecsOnTheNet.com</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/21/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/09/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">16 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Reading Glasses</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: -1.00, -2.00 x 092 +1.25</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: -0.75, -1.25 x 072 +1.25</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">£3.99</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Optical4Less.com</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/21/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/13/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">20 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Reading Glasses</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 +2.25</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160 +2.25</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$33.30</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">BestPriceGlasses.com</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">(aka Shultz Optical)</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/24/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/12/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">16 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Normal Glasses</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 </font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160 </font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$13.90</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">EyeBuyDirect.com</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">01/26/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/06/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">11 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Strong Prescription Glasses*</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$59.66</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Goggles4U.com</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">02/21/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/07/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">14 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Strong Prescription Glasses*</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$55.09</font> <tr valign=top> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">EyeBuyDirect.com </font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/01/09</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">03/12/09</font> <br> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">11 days</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Strong Prescription Sunglasses*</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003</font> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173</font> <td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">US$32.39</font></table> <br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">* My wife's prescription is very strong and many online retailers do not offer lenses with her prescription. Those that do charged extra for high index lenses. For example, I filled out the order form at SelectSpecs.com for my wife's glasses and they sent me an email asking if I wanted to continue with the order for an additional US$45.00 for 1.67 lenses. I was able to easily cancel the order via email. So even if the online form allows you to enter a strong prescription, you may be asked to spend more. That is why her glasses were much more expensive than mine.</font> Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-12950319903804018602009-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:002009-02-26T13:41:54.287-08:00What is Customer Experience Management?My job title is Director, Customer Experience. So what do I do? Better yet, what am I <span style="font-style: italic;">supposed</span> to do?<br /><br />My background includes organizational development and strategic human capital management (often called talent management, but not the kind that represents entertainers). In those roles I would approach this problem by completing a job analysis. I might use the Hay Methodology or I might use critical incident debrief or I might just Google for awhile to get things started. Of course, the path of least resistance is to search the Internet so that it where I started when I was hired.<br /><br />Now, I know that I was hired because Silver Hill Financial likes to capture strong talent when they find it on the street (and then figure out how they can add value) and they liked my work with customer-impacting processes, systems, and people while at PQS, Mundo Strategies, and Royal Caribbean. What I did not know about was this field called Customer Experience Management that they kept talking about. They had a few specific projects that were assigned to me right away. I filled the rest of my time with understanding the business and researching CEM.<br /><br />What I found was fairly interesting. Clearly, the field of Customer Experience Management is fractured or simply immature. So many vendors of so many disparate products and services were all claiming to be CEM experts and service providers (e.g. <a href="http://www.responsetek.com/customer-experience-management.asp">ResponseTek</a> has Google's current #1 ranking but only sells opt-in surveys and analysis). However, each of them had very narrow views of what CEM is. (Their definition of CEM just happened to be exactly aligned with what they were selling, but I am sure that must have just been coincidence.) I learned that:<br /><ol><li>CEM is really just another term for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - at least that is what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_experience_management">Wikipedia</a> would have me believe. </li><li>CEM is really NPS (net promoter score) according to <span class="bx-txt"><a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Aggreko+Puts+Its+Finger+on+the+Pulse+of+Customer+Experience+With...-a0149202105">Fred Reichheld</a>'s fans.<br /></span></li><li><span class="bx-txt">You can get a <a href="http://www.cemcertification.com/index.html">certification</a> in CEM, which results in <a href="http://www.1to1media.com/weblog/2009/01/customer_experience_management.html">a lot of ideas</a>.<br /></span></li><li>CEM is "the process of strategically managing a customer's entire experience with a product or a company" according to brand guru <a href="http://www.meetschmitt.com/default.htm">Bernd Schmitt</a>.</li><li>CEM "represents the discipline, methodology and/or process used to comprehensively manage a customer's cross-channel exposure, interaction and transaction with a company, product, brand or service" according to prolific blogger <a href="http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/duncan3.asp">Leigh Duncan</a>.</li><li>CEM "combines research insights and experience design expertise to measure and enhance each of these "moments of truth," based on what is most important to the customer"according to <a href="http://www.lraworldwide.com/about_whatiscem.html">LRA Worldwide</a>, which seems to have the most complete view of the work that needs to be done.</li></ol>The deeper I dug, the more I turned up. If you are in the customer service department then your vendors are telling you that they have Customer Experience Management solutions. If you are in marketing then your vendors say the same thing. If you are in product or store design, the same. Call center, the same. Sales, the same. IT, the same (especially if you are in charge of the company's Internet or <a href="http://www.tealeaf.com/news/press_releases/2008/1118.asp">mobile phone</a> site). HR, the same...<br /><br />HR, you ask? Well, yes, HR is the department that makes sure you hire, train, and reward people that deliver exceptional "moments of truth". If you don't believe me, just ask the HRIS software vendors!<br /><br />However, I also found vendors that are starting to use research to point out that competitors are not being accurate in their claims of Customer Experience Management excellence. For example, the call monitoring companies that claim to provide the best CEM solutions started attacking the CRM software vendors by pointing out Gartner research showed that 55% of CRM implementations actually drive customers away. (See my favorite CRM demo <a href="http://www.aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf">here</a>.) Vendors of alternative survey questions have <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/reevaluating-the-net-promoter-score-290614.html">attacked NPS</a>. Customer service solution providers have been attacked because the teams they serve are often called after a service failure, which is reactive instead of proactive. In fact, if you look for articles that debunk Customer Experience Management or attempt to expose the myths, you can spend several hours reading online.<br /><br />I am left with my original question. What is Customer Experience Management? It seems that the answer is short, but very broad. Customer Experience Management is the active management of all aspects of a company that have any impact on the customer at all. Suddenly, we realize that decisions made by executives that lead to lower employee morale have an adverse impact on our customer's experiences. When we inadvertently put incorrect information on our website or a press release then we have hurt the experience. When we actively monitor references to our company in the press and online we are engaged in CEM. When we ensure that new hires who may contact or be contacted by our customers have the right "price of admission" competencies we are managing the customer experience. When we record and score calls made by our contact center we are actively managing the experience. When we streamline a process that reduces cycle time by 3.4% we have improved our customer's experience. When we switch to recycled plastic containers because research indicates that our most profitable customers are "green" then we are using great customer experience management. The list goes on and on. CEM requires a passion for the customer's experience by the company's executives and everyone else. It has to be ingrained in the culture and a part of every decision. That is what Customer Experience Management is.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-36179171251745913252009-02-25T09:55:00.000-08:002009-02-25T11:26:58.912-08:00Did Customer Experience Management Die With The Economy?I was doing a little research ahead of my conference session at <a href="https://www.worldrg.com/showConference.cfm?confCode=MW09001&field=dayone">The Customer Experience and Engagement Event</a> in Orlando this April. As I was looking for prime examples of exceptional customer experience I noticed that many of the companies that excelled at managing the experience (defined as driving not just loyalty, but advocacy) have been having serious troubles. One of the most notable is Starbucks, which exploded with stores after 1987 and is now falling apart at the seams. Starbucks survived the dot com bubble burst and a few of the other bumps along the way, but now it is in serious trouble despite <a href="http://sev.prnewswire.com/magazines/20090219/NY7312319022009-1.html">continuing to deliver a superior experience</a>.<br /><br />Is the price of the exceptional experience no longer worth the cost? Consumer confidence is way down, unemployment is way up, and the stock market is in full of big, ugly, burly bears. However, capital is now in short supply and that may be just as important as the human side of the equation. With over 50% of all loans being made by investors (did you think banks were loaning the amount of money that was growing out economy over the past 20 years?), and those investors on the sidelines or wiped out, people simply don't have the money in their bank accounts right now. Most people are not cashing in their 401K's right now, but they look at their statement and realize that they have lost upwards of 60% of their retirement funds. This deadly combination of real and perceived losses and future risk is hitting the experience economy companies where it really hurts, the wallet.<br /><br />What businesses are doing well right now? Discount retailers, fast food, trash collection, and mortuaries. As long as people keep having babies, the last two will always be growth industries, but the first two are signals that people are cutting way back on expenses. New terms have entered our lexicon to express our desire to avoid major expenses (e.g. staycation). We are fixing our old cars instead of buying new ones. I have even heard of people buying books instead of going to the movies (gasp)!<br /><br />Meanwhile, the companies that prided themselves on having the most addicted customers in their industries have been badly hurt by the cost associated with producing such a fabulous experience. Just look at this year's nominees for Fast Company's Customer Experience Awards (yes, these are the <a href="http://www.foreseeresults.com/survey/Clients/FastCo/companyList.html">nominees for the October 2009 issue</a>):<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/02/09/daily58.html">USAA</a> is consolidating locations, which will result in fewer jobs as employees refuse to move<br /></li><li><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUKBNG41568320090219">Build-A-Bear</a> is cutting costs and eliminating Friends 2B</li><li><a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article5717425.ece">Virgin Atlantic</a> is eliminating 7% of its workforce despite also leading all airlines with a score of 90.8 in the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29371634/">MMHI</a>)</li><li>One of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/17/15427/9900/hotels/Hold_The_Phone_W_Scottsdale_NOT_Closing_at_End_of_2009">W Hotels</a>' properties is in foreclosure (but is not expected to close)</li><li>At least <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2009/02/24/firearms-make-cabelas-day.aspx">Cabela's</a> is having a banner year (due to gun sales, which you can interpret any way that you want); <a href="http://www.dfnionline.com/article/Americas-expansion-on-the-cards-for-Kiehls-1858045.html">Kiehl's</a> is expanding in the Americas; and <a href="http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=29401">Zappos</a> is still selling shoes like hotcakes after busting a $billion last year<br /></li></ul>To be fair, companies must look for every available opportunity to become more efficient as consumer consumption drops precipitously. Business Week prefaced its entire section in last week's <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/09_09/B4121customer_service.htm">Customer Service Champs</a> with the heading "When Service Means Survival". Then they open with an <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_09/b4121026559235.htm?chan=magazine+channel_in+depth">example</a> of how Hertz is killing its reputation with loyal customers after a ~4,000-person layoff. The question that companies need to be asking themselves is, "How do we survive this downturn without losing our advocates?" The answer to that question will help drive decisions that will lead to long-term viability, not just cuts that appease the Board of Directors.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-47090162991103471462009-02-19T07:48:00.000-08:002009-02-19T12:45:06.699-08:00The Importance of Your Online ReputationMany moons ago I heard a <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89576384">piece on NPR</a> about online eyeglass vendors. I have been wearing glasses since college and have always disliked the process of buying new glasses every time my prescription gets updated. First, I don't appreciate the pressure put on my by the optometrist to buy those glasses immediately from his/her retail store. This pressure comes in the form of withholding the written prescription until after I browse their selection. Second, I don't like the fact that the frames that actually look good on my face are ten to thirty times more expensive than the ugly ones, yet they use less plastic and metal in construction. According to <a href="http://www.optiboard.com/forums/showthread.php?p=238834">Daniel Pinkwater</a>, I finally have an option if I can only get my optometrist to give me both the written prescription and a number known as pupillary distance (the distance between the pupils of my eyes).<br /><br />I did a great deal of homework because I had just filled my latest prescription and was about nine months away from visiting the eye doctor again. The Internet is full of <a href="http://3mew.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/eyeglasses-a-response-to-stephanie-an-optometrist/">debates</a> and articles that are <a href="http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/buy-cheap-eyeglasses-online-327957.php">for</a> and <a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/buysmart/eyeglasses.htm">against</a> buying prescription eyeglasses online, as well as articles that are just <a href="http://www.visionmonday.com/ViewContent/tabid/211/content_id/8865/Default.aspx">informative</a> about the online retailers and how they are <a href="http://www.nyreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&FeatureID=638">leveraging the Internet</a>. I found that there were <a href="http://www.eyeglassretailerreviews.com/">nine very popular companies</a> and perhaps 25 smaller players, many of them overseas. Given that the big nine have had a great number of customers, they also had a large number of very vocal detractors. Some chose to confront the dissatisfied customers head-on by <a href="http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15618">responding to the complaints</a> wherever they were listed, while others simply <a href="http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/2009/01/bye-bye-big-z.html">ignored them</a>. What did this tell me, as a potential customer, about what I should expect from these online vendors?<br /><br />The big nine are rated and reviewed all over the Internet. Some examples that I found useful include:<br /><a href="http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cust_reviews__mid--31162.html">39DollarGlasses</a><br /><a href="http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cust_reviews__mid--143709.html">EyeBuyDirect</a><br /><a href="http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2007/03/buy-your-glasses-online-for-28-at-eyeglassdirect.html">EyeglassDirect</a><br /><a href="http://rampantoctopus.blogspot.com/2008/10/adventures-in-cheap-prescription.html">GlassesShop</a><br /><a href="http://www.epinions.com/pr-Online_Stores_Services-GlobalEyeglasses_com">GlobalEyeglasses</a><br /><a href="http://www.savings-center.com/store-info/Goggles4U">Goggles4U</a><br /><a href="http://www.xpbargains.com/xpricer.php/store_reviews__store--Optical4less.htm">Optical4Less</a><br /><a href="http://www.trustpilot.com/review/selectspecs.com">SelectSpecs</a><br /><a href="http://www.resellerratings.com/seller10413-p2-s1-d1.html">ZenniOptical</a><br /><br />There are also comments about or by some of the other vendors:<br /><a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/ordering-progressive-eyeglasses-online-780048.html">BestPriceGlasses</a><br /><a href="http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/2007/03/got-another-pair.html">Discount-Eyeglasses</a><br /><br />In the end, I chose to test three online vendors with inexpensive orders. I purchased glasses for my wife from <a href="http://www.eyebuydirect.com/">EyeBuyDirect.com</a> because she found a frame that she loved and they could make her prescription (her prescription is outside of many vendors' ranges). I purchased glasses for myself from <a href="http://discount-eyeglasses.net/">Discount-Eyeglasses.net</a> because they were the least inexpensive total package ($26 included shipping) and from <a href="http://www.bestpriceglasses.com/">BestPriceGlasses.com</a> because they had the cheapest progressive lenses ($52.40 included shipping). Look for the actual transaction experiences and my opinion of the products in future blog entries.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-74405535756046094032009-01-23T13:41:00.000-08:002009-01-23T14:07:28.509-08:00Measuring the Customer Experience: Word on the StreetIn this brief series I will cover some of the metrics that have qualitatively and quantitatively been used by companies where I have worked. Let's start with the most basic one that many companies have used for many years, but never formally quantified.<br /><br />Many companies have someone in the marketing department or have hired a service to provide the executives with daily or weekly clippings. Today many executives simply have a Google Alert set up with the name of their company and competitors. The goal of this activity was to get a sense of how often the company or its competitors were showing up in print. The executives rarely read these clippings, but evaluated the clippings based on heft (weight or volume). If the company was in the news then at least the name was in front of people.<br /><br />The second generation of this exercise became more of an evaluation of the reason that the name was in the news. Some companies simply looked at whether the news was generally positive or negative. If Marketing was dinged for an abundance of negative articles then it was common for them to put a positive spin on almost every clipping. Some companies went so far as to create a scorecard that showed how many positive vs. neutral vs. negative hits belonged to the company and each competitor. However, in the end this really did not result in any action beyond a phone call or email to the head of Marketing.<br /><br />Special services (news and mention aggregators like <a href="http://startpr.com/">http://startpr.com</a>) appeared on the scene a couple of years ago and started to provide even more detailed analytics. They take the process beyond passive receipt of Google Alerts and allow your company to start tracking every conversation that people all over the social web are having about your company. At Silver Hill Financial we became progressive enough to actually reach out to the people having these conversations and addressing service failures head-on. Our Customer Experience Management Team partnered with a couple of people from our PR Team to identify and act on the negative comments and threads. We also found it possible to track down blogs and postings that were using our company name to attract traffic, but who were not actually discussing our company or products. (Almost always those sites were filled with pay-per-click links to adult websites.) We were able to attract positive comments about our service recovery on nearly 70% of the pages where we had been drug through the mud and we were able to get every single bogus blog taken down that had our name posted somewhere in the text.<br /><br />I am fortunate enough to be in a progressive company that wants to actively manage our online reputation. Whereas I had once been the recipient of the clippings (photocopies of articles about motor oil companies) that were never actioned or discussed, I am now able to leverage a very modern and robust metric that is actionable.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-51475164087260200292009-01-15T06:21:00.000-08:002009-01-15T10:21:18.040-08:00The Least Worst Candidate<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >Full Disclosure: I have led strategic human capital management teams as a consultant and executive for 14 years...</span><br /><br />The greatest threat to your company's customer experience is the least worst candidate during new employee selection. This is especially true in companies that are quick to hire and slow to fire.<br /><br />Do you have an immediate opening that you simply must fill as soon as possible? Is it also a strategically critical role for your organization? Chances are, companies that find themselves in this situation also rely on very traditional HR practices and will put an ad on the popular job boards as well as the local newspaper. Hundreds of candidates will flood the desk of the person who is responsible for posting jobs. He or she will sift through them looking for key words on the resumes. Then a select few will be forwarded to the hiring manager for consideration. The final pool will be called and invited to interviews the following week. Then the candidate with the best interview will be chosen by the hiring manager and will start in two weeks. Sound familiar?<br /><br />The new hire is given office supplies, gets a company email and intranet access after a few days, and spends much of the first week shadowing or meeting with other key employees. Then it is off to the races. The first few problems are attributed to the employee's newness and the training team is called upon to provide some solutions. However, the problems continue so it is clearly the ineffective trainers who are at fault now. None of the customer complaints have moved up the chain of command so the hiring manager is still comfortable that things can be turned around once the new hire gets some more experience. However, the new hire is now learning how to prevent angry customers from reporting their dissatisfaction instead of trying to mitigate or solve the customer's concerns. While the new hire is supposed to "deliver the wow", instead he or she is "delivering the ou(ch)". The new hire is starting to find ways to circumvent the company's policies and procedures, work the system to maximize personal income, and stay one step ahead of any reports or awareness of service failures. When the boss finally catches on to some of the games, instead of managing performance (which would involve uncomfortable conversations, possibly conflict, and annoying paperwork and HR involvement), the hiring manager simply reassigns the most upset accounts to another employee. After all, this new hire was the best of the entire crop of hundreds of applicants, right? Now that he or she has all of this experience and training the boss needs to find a way to make this work, a place where this new hire fits.<br /><br />But what if you could avoid hiring the least worst candidate altogether? What if you already had a strong pool of external candidates waiting for openings in your organization? What if you already had a pool of internal candidates that were proven performers, high potentials, a great fit for the skills you need, and ready for the challenge? World-class leaders in talent management don't worry about sudden or unexpected losses. They already have a plan in place to back-fill every critical technical and leadership role in their organization. You will also find that these organizations have the happiest and most loyal customers.<br /><br />First, and foremost, every employee should be recruiting for your company all the time. Your company should have a strategy in place that clearly states that your existing employees should be looking for like-minded individuals (passionate, brand-champion, hard-working, loyal, top performers). And that when they meet those potential candidates, that your employees have a great elevator pitch about the fabulous work environment and opportunities that exist at your company. The marketing of your employer brand is the most critical part of your attraction strategy. It is not always enough to have a lot of people wanting to work for your company, they need to be the best people and the right people. Ask your HR team about your company's sourcing and attracting strategies. If they don't drive a constant buzz on the street and hits on your jobboard, then you need to help HR fix this shortcoming.<br /><br />Second, you should know the competencies that drive best practices that lead to meeting and exceeding your company and team's strategic objectives. HR should help you build a selection strategy that includes a process by which candidates for a position are screened multiple times, narrowing the choices down to the internal and external candidates that are the best fit and ready for the challenge. The typical tools that are used in world-class selection processes include an initial phone screen by HR that asks about a candidate's knowledge about the company, team, and position; a validated simulation that is scored by a trained incumbent; a competency-based behavioral interview by the hiring manager; and a written or online assessment of aptitude that is based on work behaviors. The "price of admission" competencies that you are using in this screening process should include knowledge, skills, experience, aptitude, physical and mental abilities, and personal traits that are difficult to teach (almost innate) or commodities (so many people have them that they are not taught by your company).<br /><br />Third, your company should never be caught off guard. HR should have guided senior and mid-level leaders through a workforce planning exercise that resulted in a clear picture of the company's bench strength for all key positions. Evidence of effective workforce planning efforts would include career path maps or ladders, individual development plans that focus employees on the competencies required for their next role, and succession plans or maps for senior leadership positions. This is not the 1950's, no one should expect employees to devote their entire career to one company. In fact, that would not be healthy (no fresh ideas or diversity of thought and opinion). Turnover should be expected (and for some it should be encouraged) and planned for. Companies should clearly know how deep they are at each critical role and who the most likely successors are. When a position becomes available, the best candidates should be encouraged to apply (along with other interested internal and external applicants).<br /><br />Don't get caught hurting your customers through bad hiring decisions. The techniques and best practices that lead to the right person with the right competencies doing the right work the right way at the right time have been researched and found to be applicable to companies of all sizes. You can rescue your customers from the least worst candidate.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-922541343846298562008-07-15T06:37:00.000-07:002009-01-14T10:03:42.438-08:00Psychology is the 6th PWhen Fast Company magazine first came on the scene in the 1990's it was lauded for its progressive view of the business world, including its insistence that we were entering the age of experience (leaving the information age). This year in an interview with Kevin Roberts, the worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, they returned to that topic by highlighting his concept of "love marks". Kevin said, "A love-mark is the emotional connection you have with a product and it is that emotional connection that allows companies to conquer the world".<br /><br />Since my undergraduate days in the mid-1980's at the University of Texas at Austin, it has been so clear to me that the same forces and relationships driving psychology were driving brand success. So why do we keep straying from the obvious? Why isn't one of Marketing's 5 P's "psychology"?<br /><br />Only when someone with some serious common sense comes along every few years, like Lou Carbone (http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1153), do people have a blinding flash of the obvious. People are hard-wired in some respects, have the influences of their family, friends, and community on top of that, and have life experiences that they interpret. Those factors create a series of filters through which people view their lives. These filters manifest themselves outwardly as behaviors. Thus, genes and experiences lead to attitudes, which are manifested as behaviors. Real brand experience work (not just call center monitoring software or user interface engineering alone) identifies the impact that every customer touchpoint has in this cycle. The cycle is significantly shortened, and you must compensate for unknown genetic and life experience filters, but Lou is spot-on in recognizing that the most important factor is understanding how your company makes your customers feel about themselves.Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088728984252759469.post-79669358429286950922008-07-15T06:35:00.001-07:002008-07-15T06:37:09.121-07:00Customer Experience Management Blog WarehouseMy Customer Experience Management blog died with my website when I got into a tiff with my webhosting company. I am trying to dig up all of the old posts and warehouse them here for anyone who was leveraging these ideas and advice to either sell the value of CEM to their organizational leaders or actually practicing CEM in their organization.<br /><br />Be well,<br /><br />Darin PhillipsDarinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01181776882572878819noreply@blogger.com0