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Your brand is not what you think it is! It is what your customers think it is; its brand image, personality and its value to them. I was lecturing at Miami University a couple of weeks ago on brand image and personality. These are two vital elements of branding. They need to be clear and consistently represented in all your communications. If you’re having issues with your own brand in either of these areas, then you’ll find the following article both interesting and valuable.
I knew the unexpected was possible, as a researcher and a realist. But I also knew the odds were in my favor, as someone who relies heavily on statistics and trusts data over anecdotes. “Your second comes earlier,” everyone said. “It’ll be fine. I really want to get this training under my belt before taking.
When you call in to speak with the customer service team of a cable company to cancel your contract, you might expect some hiccups, but overall would expect it to be relatively easy. Perhaps the customer support agent might try to plead with you to not cancel your contract, but ultimately they should respect your request. But not for former Engadget editor-in-chief Ryan Block.
Before I start this post, I must first make a couple of sincere apologies. As a result of travelling a great deal, I often write about my experiences of doing so. Some of the best and worst experiences I have ever had have been whilst travelling. I acknowledge how lucky I am to go to the places I do and want to apologise to those who tire of reading about my highs and lows around the world.
Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.
In a previous post, I described how today’s management techniques reflect outdated assumptions of technology-enabled practices, human behavior, and the meaning of success. That’s why organizations must shift to what I’m calling Modernize Leadership. I’m writing individual posts for each of the eight key changes required to modernize leadership.
Growth in market research spending has been modest for the past few years, according to ESOMAR’s annual Global Market Research (GMR) report. “Revenues being generated a year ago have broadly been maintained,” ESOMAR reported in its 2015 edition, saying the industry’s market growth is 0.1 percent. That statistic from ESOMAR might suggest that the demand for market research is waning, but that can’t be further from the truth.
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Growth in market research spending has been modest for the past few years, according to ESOMAR’s annual Global Market Research (GMR) report. “Revenues being generated a year ago have broadly been maintained,” ESOMAR reported in its 2015 edition, saying the industry’s market growth is 0.1 percent. That statistic from ESOMAR might suggest that the demand for market research is waning, but that can’t be further from the truth.
Your brand is not what you think it is! It is what your customers think it is; its brand image, personality and its value to them. I was lecturing at Miami University a couple of weeks ago on brand image and personality. These are two vital elements of branding. They need to be clear and [.]. The post What Every Marketer Needs to Know about Brand Image, Equity, Personality & Archetypes appeared first on C3Centricity.
Telecom Dream Becomes Nightmare But Has Happy Ending Recently, I needed to have a hard-wired internet line installed at my house to be better able to work remotely. We already had service with this Internet Service Provider (ISP) but my wife had been involved with the original installation of the service. This time around, it. View Article.
When we built the first Kayako, we wanted to create a customer service tool that had the customer at its heart. Something that would help us speak the customer’s language, tick their boxes, and voila — ticket closed. Happy customers, happy support team, right? But times have changed. Customers expect 24/7 availability and an uninterrupted conversation, even as they switch between their favorite channels—from Twitter to email, from email back to your Help Center—without thinking twice or w
While many companies like to combine stellar customer service with a subtle up-sell to grow their sales, there’s a fine line between an up-sell and a turn-off. Here’s a great example of what not to do. I had 10 minutes to squeeze in a quick call. The post Tactics that Kill Customer Relationships appeared first on Who's Your Gladys?
In 2025, contact centers aren’t just changing—they’re being rebuilt by AI. This no-fluff, executive-ready guide shows you how to capitalize on the transformation. Inside: proven ROI calculators, workforce optimization tactics, deflection strategies, and a 90-day AI deployment plan. Built for CIOs, COOs, CX leaders, and contact center strategists, it goes beyond buzzwords into play-by-play implementation.
Customer satisfaction is a crucial metric. Knowing how your customers feel about your product, services, and support team is critical to understanding how to grow as a company. Customer satisfaction surveys can help you yield useful data that otherwise could be hard to quantify. Yet knowing what to ask, and then creating a survey from scratch, can be a daunting task.
I have written and spoken many times over the last few months about the current state of customer feedback mechanisms. Whilst a number of new, innovative ways of capturing customer feedback do exist, the majority of organisations around the world continue to seek customer opinion through traditional survey techniques. It is indisputable that listening to the perceptions of your customer is vital for any aspiring customer centric company – yet are companies really set up to actually listen?
I had lunch last week with one of my ex-colleagues. We decided to try a new restaurant close to where she works. It’s only been open a month, and it shows. This hospitality outlet certainly has a lot to learn about customer centricity! I was able to share our “adventure” with the proprietor when his manager (naively?) asked us if we had enjoyed our lunch.
This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. A touch of independence mixed with patience, possessing a definite superiority complex and territorial. These are some characteristics associated with the common house cat. But what if we in the customer service industry held these same traits dear to our heart? My cat is not responsible for anyone other than herself.
What does customer service excellence look like in 2024? According to our report with insights from CX expert Shep Hyken, customer expectations are at an all-time high, and there’s a bigger shift toward self-service and leveraging AI capabilities.
Our research shows that emotion has a significant impact on customer loyalty, yet is almost entirely ignored. To help companies recognize and tap into the power of customer emotion, we started the “Intensify Emotion” campaign. As part of this campaign, we’ve created the Intensify Emotion Provider Showcase as an opportunity to highlight some of the vendors who […].
“Gotta catch ‘em all” is the challenge Nintendo customers have in the new augmented reality gaming experience, Pokémon GO. Everywhere you look there are hubs of gamers with phones in front of their faces, collecting Pokémon. Pokémon GO is not only changing the way that customers interact with Nintendo as a company, but the way.
One week ago, we launched the new Kayako. And what a week it was – from overwhelming site traffic on Day 1 to being featured on Product Hunt on Day 2, it’s been a rollercoaster for our entire team. Needless to say, we are really grateful for the positive response, and thrilled to see how many customers both new and existing identify with Kayako’s mission.
Over the last few years, I have contacted a number of CEOs of organisations I have personally interacted with. Although I do not intentionally seek out experiences that fail to meet my expectations, on the occasion where I have an experience that really ‘irks’ me in some way, I feel that it is necessary to let the person ultimately accountable for Customer Experience understand my pain (metaphorically speaking of course!).
Speaker: Aja Bradley Kemp, Founder & Chief Experience Officer at Conversate Collective
In a world where every brand is vying for attention, how do you make your events stand out? ✨ From creative swag strategies to immersive brand experiences, the key lies in fostering real connections that inspire action and leave a lasting impression. Whether you're planning a large-scale conference or an exclusive executive gathering, this session will explore how to elevate event engagement, strengthen brand perception, and maximize ROI.
One of the best ways to a deeper understanding of your customers is to watch and listen to them whenever you can. Observation and listening are powerful but often underutilised tools of the marketer. It is, therefore, disappointing that so many companies run to conduct market research, usually a qualitative study, as a first step [.]. The post Five Rules of Observation and Why it’s Hard to Do Effectively appeared first on C3Centricity.
because when you prepare well calmness will take over. This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. It takes much to be successful in the customer service industry. Today’s shoppers are a hardened bunch. More than ever before they are knowledgeable, deliberate in their price negotiations and not afraid to uphold their expectations. Do you have customer service courage?
We all have our limits. Work takes a toll on us physically and mentally, and if pushed too far, we inevitably burnout. Even in the most positive settings, we only have so much we can give to our work week. And for many of us working in the world of contact centers, we give a lot. Luckily, companies are starting to notice employee workloads and other factors that lead to churn or efficiency collapse.
For the third straight year, USAA took the top spot in the Temkin Web Experience Ratings. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, the 2016 Temkin Web Experience Ratings examine 257 companies across 20 industries (see full list of companies (.pdf)). You can see all of the company data on the Temkin Ratings website. Download dataset for $295 (download sample file (.xls)) […].
Speaker: Jennifer Hodroge, Omni-Channel Strategic Leader, Forrester CX Certified
Marketers know that personalization is the key to engagement—but with limited budgets and time, how do you prioritize what, where, and how to personalize? Aligning your content, campaigns, and buyer experiences requires a deep understanding of customer needs. In this new webinar with expert Jennifer Hodroge, we’ll explore how to leverage insights and customer journey mapping to build personalization strategies that deliver real impact.
How many of you have ever had an interview where you were asked a question that set you aback? As if the question stunned you and made you take a moment to analyze and really consider your response? I’ve had so few that I can count them on one hand. That’s not to say that all of the other interviews I’ve had in my life weren’t stellar; just that they didn’t give me the opportunity to truly use the analytical part of my brain that is so important for problem-solving in customer support.
I have been positively influenced by many people and organisations over the years – in fact I continue to be on a daily basis. As well as being a big believer in the principle of ‘simplicity’, I am also an advocate of ‘shamelessly stealing’ ideas that make sense to me. Maybe the utilisation of ideas garnered from others should not be considered ‘stealing’ – especially if credit is always given to those who were behind the idea – perhaps the r
It’s impossible to overstate the urgency for businesses to understand Millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 1995. In the U.S. alone, Millennials number 80 million, and control over $600 billion in annual spending. Also known as Gen Y, this cohort already has enormous impact on society and the economy. In a new comprehensive report, Vision Critical, in partnership with the insights consultancy Maru VCR&C, set out to uncover truths and bust myths about this elusive generation.
your apologies only go so far This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. While driving home late one night from work I stopped into a Wendy’s Restaurant for a quick meal. I hand over my credit card for payment; it’s denied. What, how can that be? A few minutes later my wife calls me to say that she just got a call from the credit card company, the bank, saying they want to speak to me about the card.
Savvy B2B marketers know that a great account-based marketing (ABM) strategy leads to higher ROI and sustainable growth. In this guide, we’ll cover: What makes for a successful ABM strategy? What are the key elements and capabilities of ABM that can make a real difference? How is AI changing workflows and driving functionality? This Martech Intelligence Report on Enterprise Account-Based Marketing examines the state of ABM in 2024 and what to consider when implementing ABM software.
Customer feedback is customer experience gold. That’s why there are transaction surveys, experience surveys, customer interviews, customer focus groups (although you know I’m not a fan) and many, many formal ways to gather feedback and use it to improve the experience. But many customers don’t want to answer your survey questions. They’d rather tweet about […].
I’m extremely proud to be a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP). One of the reasons is that this certification encourages CX professionals to build and maintain their expertise at a high level, which will raise the overall quality of CX across organizations. So my hope is that more qualified CX professionals will join the ranks of CCXPs.
When you have an opening on your customer support team, you can take all the right steps and still not know whether a prospective hire is going to be the right fit. Even when you’ve gone through resume reviewing, phone screening, and first round interviews, you may still be left with a handful of great candidates. Although this is a good problem to have, it can be stressful for any hiring manager.
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