For decades, businesses used technology to distance themselves from customers. Systems and processes helped companes automate, grow and scale transactions and service. Moving forward, we have to explore technology and service innovation to deliver against the experiences customers value versus building updated solutions on top of existing paradigms. Innovation is all the work you do to conform to expectations and aspirations of people as they evolve instead of making them conform to your legacy perspectives, assumptions, processes and metrics of…
Brands of the Future: The Critical Relationship Between BX, CX, UX and EX
Businesses are doubling down on customer experience and rightfully so. The customer has never been more connected, informed and empowered. Any brand hoping to survive and thrive in an era of digital Darwinism has no choice but to #adaptordie. But customer experience in of itself is not enough. Brands must understand what it means to compete at a time when people are not only changing, their priorities around values, aspirations and loyalty are also shifting. Humanity is now the killer…
Future digital banking trends that apply to almost any consumer-facing business
Each year, my friend Jim Marous assembles some of the industry’s most interesting perspectives on retail banking trends and predictions for the year ahead. I was invited back to share my thoughts (thank you Jim!) Although, looking back, I still stand by my ideas from the previous two years. I wanted to share the highlights from the report and also my contributions to this year’s list of trends/predictions. I also included ideas from previous years to help financial executives see the…
Customer Experience is Defined by the Experience Customer’s 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 don’t love…you get crickets. All too often, customer experience doesn’t really start with the…
The Future of Brand, Tech and Business is Experience
If you’ve never attended the Next Conference in Germany, plan for the next event. It combines elements of SXSW in a festival, city-wide format where people, technology, music and art converge into an experience that’s anything but a conference. I’ve had the privilege of presenting at Next over the years. In 2016, I was invited once again (I think for the third time) and I jumped at the chance. Well, actually, I flew to Hamburg, but you know what I…
It’s not the End of Retail, It’s the End of Retail As We Know It
Retail, like every industry, faces digital Darwinism as technology and markets evolve and disrupt. This isn’t new. But what is clear, executives are not prioritizing bold strategies and investments that save them from their “Kodak Moment,” that moment when consumer behaviors and values evolve beyond brand recognition. If you read about the state of retail today, you’ll see dramatic descriptors such as “apocalypse,” “the end…,” “dying,” you get the picture. While doom and gloom and disruption is inherent in every…
Experience Happens: Design What You Want People to Feel
“Experience” is one of those words that is both aspirational while also meaning something uniquely different to each person who uses the word. No matter who you define it, the important thing to remember is that experiences lie in the value of the beholder. The reality is that experiences are something you feel, you sense, and they’re defined by the people experiencing them. Whether they’re amazing, meh or terrible, they’re either forgotten or they turn into memories. Either way, reactions…
Customer Experience is the New Marketing and Customer Experiences are the New Brand
My friends Rob Cottingham, Gerard Francis Corbett and I have had some fun lately. One way to gain perspective on our modern reality is to do so through humor. So when a several big brands in the beverage, transportation, banking and airline industries were suddenly in the global media hot seat, we had a laugh and productive conversations behind the scenes. As a result, we set out to build upon these unfortunate opportunities with a couple of pithy but poignant cartoons hoping to spark a bigger dialogue….
Customer Experience Versus Just Experience: Why the difference is key to brand relevance
Customer experience aka CX is one of the most important trends changing business today. And, experts believe that it represents the next big competitive advantage for companies that invest in it. But what is customer experience exactly? It’s one of those terms (and movements) that is defined and interpreted differently depending on who’s talking about it within the organization. But without a common appreciation for customer experience and what it represents to customers, not just our view of them, our…
Techonomics: Disruptive Technologies and The Effect on Business and Humanity
My friend Jason Middleton hosts a fascinating program on KGO 810 in San Francisco/Silicon Valley…Techonomics. On the show, he interviews some of the most interesting minds in tech to explore the latest trends and what’s on the horizon. Jason recently invited me to join the program and I jumped at the chance. I wanted to share our conversation with you here… In 9 action-packed minutes we discuss: – The need for changemakers and rainmakers – The importance of digital anthropology…
