Not that long ago, I spent time with Kevin Delaney and the digital transformation team at Cisco’s Connected Futures to explore the evolving consumer landscape. My research and ongoing work with Google continues to show how and why people are changing and how businesses must transform through digital and also human approaches. Technology isn’t the answer, it’s a means to solve problems and create opportunities tied to how people are changing. As part of a deeper conversation and project with…
What does the future of CX look like? Here are some of the most promising predictions
What does the future of CX look like? That was the question asked by CMO.com shortly before the new year. The result is an impressive list of predictionsĀ offered by some of the brightest minds working to make the future of CX a reality today. This is What the “CX of the Future” Looks Like The entire list is worth your time and study. Here are some of my favorites: “The CX of the future will be a combination of ultra-convenient…
The Future of Experience Design
It’s amazing to me how many companies still don’t “see” the customer when it comes to customer experience. While everyone talks about Customer Experience (CX) as the new black, most companies miss the real opportunity to be customer-centric. They don’t actually think about experiences from the perspective of the people they want to reach. Customers are evolving. Business processes and mindsets are not keeping up. As a result, they’re limited in the ability to design experiences that matter to an…
Customer Experience is Defined by the Experience Customerās Have, Remember and Share
The funny thing about customer experience is that, for all of its good intentions, it is a bit ironic. Many businesses talk about the importance of customer experience (CX). At the same time, many are prioritizing investments in new technologies and touchpoints to improve engagement. But, when asked about their understanding of modern customer behaviors, expectations, preferences and which experiences in their life they love and donāt loveā¦you get crickets. All too often, customer experience doesnāt really start with the…
Innovation is a gift worth getting: Competing for the future starts with challenging business as usual
Every day when you get to the office, there is a surmountable volume of work that greets you. The list is usually pretty long, with calls to return, to do items stacked up, emails overflowing, meetings, marketing and sales planning to fill the pipeline. Itās all in a dayās work. But what if one day you woke up and noticed that the volume of work was notably less? Iām sure youād be relieved for a bit. But then each day,…
Moving Beyond Demographics: Today’s Hyperconnected ‘Generation C’
Several years ago as I was writing The End of Business as Usual, I researched how the customer journey was evolving. Specifically, I studied how traditional touch points compared to digital touch points and more so, how customers were hacking their way to desired outcomes. Along the way, I found that when it comes to “digital customers,” alignment in behaviors and preferences spanned generations beyond traditional demographics. At the time, I referenced this group of hyperconnected customers “Generation C” where…
Why Disruptive Technology is Hijacking Your Customers
Disruptive technology is not just a commodity anymore; it has become a necessity. I recently met with Rilke Thomsen ofĀ Sleeknote to talk aboutĀ how disruptive technology is shaping customer behaviors, preferences and expectations. OurĀ conversation turned into a short but interesting three-part audio series that I wanted to share with you here. What is disruptive technology? Disruptive technology is something that comes along early on and has the potential to disrupt markets, behavior, and processes models. According to Brian, there are three…
Customer Experience Should Be Designed For And Measured By What Customerās Actually Experience
Customer experience (CX) is the new black and it is, for all intents and purposes, the catalyst for accelerated and purposeful digital transformation. In my research however, I find that customer experience is not truly a customer-first initiative. It is in many cases relegated to enterprise-first approaches to improve customer flowĀ from an infrastructure perspective. It’s not necessarily something I’m calling out as a problem. Optimizing customer journeysĀ is indeed necessary. But, it is not a means to an end. It is…
Top 11 Trends Shaping the Future of Retail
I took this picture in 2016 at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, California. This used to be a Sears department store. While Sears is still alive and kicking, it’s sad to see so many once celebrated brands slowly deteriorate and/or then suddenlyĀ crumble. I call this the new “Kodak Moment,” that moment when executives fail to see how customers and markets are shifting. All too often, there appears to be a pervasiveĀ “too big to fail,” shareholder-first attitude during what amounts to…
Digital Darwinism: Evolve with Your Customers or Regress Toward Irrelevance
I recently had the pleasure of speaking at Unite host by Satmetrix in New Orleans. Customer experience, IT and management executives from around the world met in the “Big Easy” to learn from one another, share experiences and envision a new future for customer engagement. Prior to the event, I met with the Satmetrix team to discuss my presentation so that we could share the message for those that could not be there live. The conversation was summarized over at…
