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Archive for July, 2006

Customers Want to Feel They Belong

Posted by John Todor on July 14th, 2006

In the movie, Get Shorty, the Chili Palmer loan shark character is played by John Travolta. In one scene he is teaching the Danny DeVito character how to play a loan shark. Travolta says “look at me,” “look at me” while looking at Dan DeVito with a blank expression on his face. Then he says, […]

Design for the Customer Experience

Posted by John Todor on July 14th, 2006

Consumer advocate, David Horowitz, recently sited an interesting study. A Dutch scientist found that 50% of all “malfunctioning” products returned to stores by customers worked perfectly. Typically a customer will struggle to get a device working for about 20 minutes.   After that they give up and return it to the store.
  
   Product designers, are you […]

Defining Customer Engagement

Posted by John Todor on July 13th, 2006

Recently Peppers and Rogers (insight@peppersandrogersgroup.com) weighed in on the Advertising Research Foundations’ (ARF) definition of customer engagement. Apparently the ARF definition is “Engagement is turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced by the surrounding context.”
   I agree with Peppers and Rogers. What does this mean? How does this definition clarify anything? Furthermore, how […]

Communicating in the Face of Future Shock

Posted by John Todor on July 13th, 2006

Technological Singularity - the point when technological progress and societal change has accelerated to a point where people lose the ability to comprehend and reliably predict what’s happening in their world.
 
   As I argue in Chapter Seven of my forthcoming book “Addicted Customers”(www.AddictedCustomers.com) -this perceived loss of control is happening today. This not only puts […]

Consumer Phone Rage

Posted by John Todor on July 13th, 2006

  I just read titled “Consumer phone rage is serious issue for UK customer service” and am more than a little shocked at the direction and tone of the article. Check it out for yourself at www.customermanagement.co.uk/cmnews.
  
   Here are the facts as reported:
 
“ 37% of UK consumers admitted shouting or swearing at customer service agents over […]

Engaged Customers

Posted by John Todor on July 12th, 2006

“Pleasure is a powerful source of motivation, but it does not produce change; it is a conservative force that makes us want to satisfy existing needs, achieve comfort and relaxation … Enjoyment (gratification) on the other hand is not always pleasant, and it can be utterly stressful at times. A mountain climber may be close […]

Customer Engagement

Posted by John Todor on July 12th, 2006

 Customers must live and function in a context that is so fast-paced and fast-changing that it is straining their ability to cope. A shortage of time is a major concern for most people. There are too many things to do, and so much to accomplish but there is still only twenty-four hours in a day. […]

Win-Win-Win Business Relationships

Posted by John Todor on July 12th, 2006

   Many believe customer loyalty is dead. Many also feel sustainable profits and growth is extremely difficult. Most businesses are chasing short-term profits in an ever-tightening spiral of cutthroat competition. Companies buy their customer’s business through pricing, incentives, or convenience, promising more for less, faster and with less involvement. This further motivates customers shop on […]

Acquisition Costs, the Customer Experience and Profits

Posted by John Todor on July 12th, 2006

  It came up again today in the Q&A session following my presentation. How can a company cost-justify allocating resources to enhance the customer experience-where’s the pay-off, where do the funds come from?
 
  Here’s a statistic that should bring the financial justification into perspective.
 
  One in five customers walked out of retail stores in the […]

Trust in Customer Relationships

Posted by John Todor on July 12th, 2006

“Our study found that if respondents lose trust in a company, they are highly likely (70% to 80%) not to purchase its products or services. Worse, people do not simply internalize their doubts; they talk to others and spread distrust-with up to 33% now using the web to post their views.” 2006 Edelman Trust Barometer […]