Category Archives: Customer Experience

Examples of how small wins can enhance the customer experience

What are the small frustrations customers have with your product or service?

This is one of my favourite (and I believe) insightful questions I ask leaders and marketing or sales managers. What are the small frustrations that customers, clients or consumers have with your product or service? Notice the word frustration. It’s an emotive word. These are what I call small losses. In most cases it’s a surprisingly long list. For example; – waiting in line to be served – fine print on an advertisement – or in the case in the photo, packaging ... Read more

What is the ultimate consumer response?

Thank you! The ultimate consumer, user or client response is thank you. Just in this example in a supermarket where a ball was placed right near the cat food. This is a great idea and saves the shopper needless time searching for something for the cat to play with. It’s a small idea with a big pay-off. It could be a thank-you for your: – thoughtfulness or - attention to detail or - beautiful design or - use of my data in a proactive way or - friendliness or - a new idea or - ... Read more

As a leader what are you and your team testing in the next 30 days?

In much of the literature around innovation there is a strategy which talks about moving into adjacent markets. I have never really liked this description but the idea is a good one. Serving a market that is close to what you are doing at the moment makes a great deal of sense. In this example, SUBWAY is offering a range of products to the catering market (I found this outlet in the city near the business sector). In this case it builds on the strengths of SUBWAY and offers a potential new ... Read more

What is the starting point for innovative thinking?

Innovation nearly always starts with a question. For example: It could be a ‘why’ type question: Why do we keep producing this report? Why don’t customers buy from us? Why are people always late for our meetings? Or asking ‘what’ type questions: What are the problems with our customer service? What are customers really looking for in a new product? Or ‘how’ type questions: How can we reduce our customer’s waiting time by 10%? How can we ... Read more

Might a tiny smile make a world of difference?

I was in a cafe today and the person who served me did so with great efficiency. They remembered my order and were quite attentive. They seemed to forget just one thing. They never smiled. It’s a small thing I agree. But it would have made the cafe experience for me a better one. Perhaps this applies to the fashion industry as well? The model here is beautiful. But it seems to me that many male and females selected to model clothes could afford to smile. If i was the fashion brand ... Read more

A win – win way to engage your customers

I found this rating system on a blog that I came across. What a cool idea. Readers become more engaged. And the writers, editors and bloggers obtain some useful feedback on their posts. Wonderful example of a small win – win. How could you take this concept (i.e. obtaining immediate customer feedback) to your brand or business? Read more

What’s the most deceptive word in marketing & advertising?

There are many I suspect. But what about the word ‘from’? Prices range from…………… It’s only a small word but it can hide all sorts of dubious claims. Marketing, brand and advertising leaders believe they are being clever by using the word ‘from’. But is suspect consumers and customers see through these claims – in fact, it puts them on notice. And if you feel duped it is another ‘small loss’. For the consumer and ... Read more

How can you add some personality to your brands?

Many brands are like grey wall-paper. They are there but you don’t notice them. That is why it is so refreshing when a brand, product or service does something just a little bit different. Like this mobile coffee cart at an airport. The barista’s name is ‘handsome’. A touch cheeky but in instantly warmed to him. How can you inject a bit more personality into your brand or business? Read more

How a small wins goal can have a big impact

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a small wins goal of reading 2 books every month. It’s a small, tangible, realistic goal. His first book is Moises Naim’s “The End of Power”. This was at No. 44,369 on Amazon’s list of best-selling books — now it has entered the top 10 as a direct result of Zuckerberg’s endorsement. This begs the question. Who might endorse your product or service? And why? It does not have to be someone famous. What ... Read more

Who can nudge the purchase decision?

The sales person. Or the waiter. Or the customer service representative. Or the agent…. It only takes a quiet word to influence your decision. I wouldn’t buy that sir/madam for these reasons……. I have had no problem with this product ever etc. It just takes a small nudge. Identifying these nudge points are a great starting point for any small wins innovation process. Read more