New year, fresh perspectives

2018-11-04T00:50:02+00:00

Happy New Year! A new year brings the opportunity for a fresh start and big ideas. Unfortunately, most of us struggle to maintain the momentum past the first fortnight. We take on too much, and when the ‘busy-ness’ of the year takes hold, the opportunity for positive change is lost. For many businesses, improving customer experience is a high priority, but it can seem hard to start once the year cranks up. In 2016, Forrester reported that over 70% of businesses named ‘improving the customer experience’ as their top priority. If improving customer experience is on your list for 2018, [...]

New year, fresh perspectives2018-11-04T00:50:02+00:00

The Accidental Customer

2014-04-28T00:21:52+00:00

Many customer experiences involve regular or repeat customers. Once you know the drill, it's ‘all good’. But what about first time or occasional customers - the accidental tourists? Are you rolling out the welcome mat, or are you keeping new customers locked out because you make it too hard for first timers? When it comes to public transport I am 100% a train guy. I know where they start and finish, which one to get, and that it will generally be on time. Lately though I've needed to move between locations in and around the city in a hurry, and [...]

The Accidental Customer2014-04-28T00:21:52+00:00

The Pitfalls of Generic Customer Service

2018-11-04T00:55:57+00:00

When designing a customer service experience we’re often seeking to ensure consistency, reducing the risk that someone will leave dissatisfied.  This strategy can be sound, however when ‘generic’ turns into ‘automatic’, and we ignore the nuances of each individual interaction we run the risk of dis-engaging our customers… or in this case at Apple, embarrassing them! I'm a fairly new convert to Apple and am delighted by the intuitive attention to detail that their products offer. Whoever would have thought that my phone would be so smart as to take photographs, record messages, enable me to ‘face time’ my friends [...]

The Pitfalls of Generic Customer Service2018-11-04T00:55:57+00:00

No Parking? No stress.

2014-04-28T01:54:12+00:00

It can be easy to focus on the poorly designed experiences, but every so often something comes along that makes you realise that companies just might be using customer insights to develop innovative new products and services.  Take ‘Secure-a-Park’ for example. One of the great benefits of being a Consultant is that I get to work with many different clients.  This also means that some days I’m racing in between the City and suburbs to get to meetings – bringing the challenge of city parking in to the equation.   Depending on the time available I might try and find a [...]

No Parking? No stress.2014-04-28T01:54:12+00:00

Feedback: You get what you ask for!

2014-04-28T01:55:39+00:00

Feedback.  Nuggets of Gold.  Customers often provide it, but not many companies choose to hear it, even less actively seek it.  Seeking feedback is one of the most simple things you can do to improve your customer-focus, so it’s exciting to see a company encouraging customers to have their say.  Or is it? Sitting in a car service department last week, I saw the sign on the right asking for feedback.  Can you spot the issue? Having completed a few surveys from this company, I’ve learned that ‘Completely Satisfied’ is the terminology reserved for a top rating.  When I bought [...]

Feedback: You get what you ask for!2014-04-28T01:55:39+00:00

Keep your shirt on!

2014-04-28T01:58:37+00:00

Not all customer needs are created equal. Some are 'nice to have', while others are really 'showstoppers' that can make all the difference between brand loyalty and a customer looking for a new provider. Do you know what matters most to your customers? Do your products and services meet that need? If not, how are you gathering the customer insights that will make the difference? When it comes to business shirts there is one need I have that seems to be particularly hard to find. I prefer cotton as I inherited my father's sensitive skin, and it breathes better in [...]

Keep your shirt on!2014-04-28T01:58:37+00:00

The ‘Peak End’ Rule

2014-04-28T02:02:26+00:00

The ‘peak end’ rule applies to customer experiences where the process may be drawn out over a few hours, days, weeks or even months, and looking back we tend to only remember two aspects of the experience. The emotional peak, when the experience was at its the most frustrating or enjoyable, and the end, how did it eventually turn out. Once such instance occurred just last week when my wife and I were lucky enough to attend a concert, which doesn’t happen too often these days. The opportunity to see Paul Kelly and Neil Finn playing together rolling out more [...]

The ‘Peak End’ Rule2014-04-28T02:02:26+00:00

Fear of Feedback

2013-12-02T11:34:53+00:00

“When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.” ― Randy Pausch Customer feedback is like little nuggets of gold for your business. Customers who take the time to give you feedback care. By telling you, they’re helping you to do more of the things they like, and how to improve the things they don’t like. They’re giving you tips on where to focus your effort. Sitting with a friend yesterday, we were discussing how tough their industry is at the moment, and their need to refocus their efforts. They mentioned they were [...]

Fear of Feedback2013-12-02T11:34:53+00:00
© Copyright    |   3rdView Consulting   |   All Rights Reserved
linkedin