The Importance of Customer Closeness

After starting his career on a market stall in Essex, John Sills has spent the last twenty-five years working to make the world a better place for customers. John is the Managing Partner at the customer-led growth company The Foundation, and his writing has also been featured in publications such as The Guardian and Management Today. He joins the show to discuss his thought-provoking and timely new book The Human Experience: How to make life better for your customers and create a more successful organization. Important Links:

• John’s Website
• John’s Twitter
• John’s Substack

Show Notes:

• John’s time working on an Essex market stall
• Human vs functional customer experience
• What’s blocking the human experience?
• Why do leaders stay away from the frontline?
• Escaping Vogonization
• Does the human experience scale?
• The benefits of starting from first principles
• Why companies should empower their staff
• The link between curiosity, creativity & customer experience
• Why aren’t companies changing & why aren’t more startups disrupting?
• Are frictionless customer experiences desirable?
• The myth of customer loyalty
• Tech upgrades & immersion
• MUCH more!

Books Mentioned:

• The Human Experience: How to make life better for your customers and create a more successful organization; by John Sills
• The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
• The Customer Copernicus: How to be Customer-Led; by Charlie Dawson
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams