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, […]
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.
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  Product designers, are you […]
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 […]
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.
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  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 […]
 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.
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  Here are the facts as reported:
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“Â 37% of UK consumers admitted shouting or swearing at customer service agents over […]
“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 […]
 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. […]
  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 […]
 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?
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 Here’s a statistic that should bring the financial justification into perspective.
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 One in five customers walked out of retail stores in the […]
“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 […]
