The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

We hope you enjoy today's show. If you do, could you vote for us in the People's Choice Podcast Award? It doesn't take long to cast your vote and it would really mean a lot to both Ryan and I. Thanks very much. Cheers!   To vote, please click here.   There is a compelling and interesting Sci-Fi show on Netflix called “The OA.” But I don’t recommend watching it.    I wouldn’t watch it because this show was victim of outdated broadcast content strategy in a streaming-dominated world of television. However, I mention it because it represents what can happen if you neglect to update your customer strategy to invest in your Long Tail business model.    The Long Tail refers to a different inventory approach made possible by the Internet. It represents the ability to have any number of options available in virtual form for the consumption of consumer groups of any number and still be profitable. It allows you to offer more options without regard for the shelf space needed in a physical space. The Long Tail strategy is particularly applicable to content, like books or television shows, but it likely has applications in many other business verticals as well.    In this episode, we explore the implications of the Long Tail strategy for customer experiences and how we can learn a lot from Netflix’s mistakes in this area. We also give you practical ways to apply these business lessons to your own Long Tail customer strategy.    Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience   “The OA” is a show with two seasons, referred to as parts, that ends the second season with a significant cliff hanger. However, since the other three parts of the original five-part story arc were never made, it hangs there in the Netflix Original inventory unresolved, forever. It is an unsatisfying end to an otherwise compelling show. That’s why even though you can watch the “The OA”  right now, I don’t recommend it. You will never get the answers you seek about what happened. We take a look at why this happens and what we can learn from it for your Long Tail customer strategy.   Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   01:36  Ryan introduces the premise of what happened with the Netflix show “The OA” and why their content strategy creates problems with their catalog.  04:32  Colin explains the concept of Long Tail and how it applied to Amazon’s business model in the early days and later became an essential part of other businesses’ offerings. 12:16  We discuss how Netflix might be a victim of using an old broadcast strategy to their approach to creating and renewing content, and how it can poison their Long Tail offering.     17:04  Colin asks Ryan to explain why humans need completion from a psychological standpoint, which Ryan ascribes to cognitive dissonance and our discomfort with feeling unresolved. 22:26  Ryan tells the story of France’s Maginot Line and how fighting an old war did nothing to help defend the country from the Germans in World War II. 24:52 We explain how you can apply what we see happening at Netflix to your own experience and its Long Tail possibilities and opportunities.     Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

We hope you enjoy today's show. If you do, could vote for us in the People's Choice Podcast Award? It doesn't take long to cast your vote and it would really mean a lot to both Ryan and I. Thanks very much. Cheers!   To vote, please click here.   Usually, we have one pickle per podcast. However, today’s podcast has two pickles per podcast. Sure, it’s still The Intuitive Customer Podcast, just now with an extra pickle.    Our first pickle comes from Jane, who works at a large business-to-business company. They are implementing a Voice of Customer program to identify critical improvements necessary for the organizations. However, to get the insight they need to make sweeping changes, they need robust data collection. Jane asked us for advice on how to increase their survey response rates to get the data they need, and also how to get the local team to get on board with the data collection process.    Our second, extra pickle, comes from Elizabeth, who asks, how is inflation affecting people’s ability to buy? Since I am sure that we are all curious about this issue—both as businesses and consumers—we thought we would include this one as a bonus.    In this episode, we respond to both Jane and Elizabeth’s business pickles. First, we discuss how Jane can increase her response rates to her survey and get the team on board with the new initiative. Then, we dive into research from consumer research firm Attest that tells us a bit about how people feel about inflation and how that is going to affect their customer behavior.  Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience   Previous podcasts might help take a bit of a deeper dive on each of our listener’s pickles. We had a podcast, that we produced in partnership with Attest, on the 5 Rules for Customer Research a few weeks ago, which addresses the areas of Jane’s pickle. Also, we did an episode recently called, Inflation is Going to Kill My CX, and that addresses some of the ways to respond to inflation in your experience.    Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   03:07  We hear the background on Jane’s pickle and what their company is trying to do.    06:37  Ryan shares perspective on how you can motivate people to respond to the survey in different ways, and Colin adds that considering who you are asking will also influence how you motivate them.     14:23 Colin explains how communication about how you will use the data you collect and being selective about how often you ask will both boost response rates. 20:44  We learn about Elizabeth’s question regarding inflation, and Colin shares interesting statistics that he gleaned from Attest's US inflation sentiment tracker. 24:06  Ryan explains how the way we buy gas might make the feelings about gas prices more painful.  26:08  Both Ryan and Colin share their insights on how organizations can respond to customers that are bombarded with price hikes and personal cutbacks that build relationships instead of destroying them.       We produced this podcast in partnership with Attest.     Do you have a business pickle? Tell us about it here.     Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.   Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey. 

When I was still a lad, around 10, I brought home a school report that read, “Colin is the class clown.” I am still proud of that report card to this day. Humor is an essential part of life and, surprisingly enough, business. There are numerous ways to use humor to your advantage in your customer strategy.     You might have heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” That’s because it is. There are many health benefits of laughter. Laughter reduces tension and increases trust in relationships. It can make an uncomfortable situation more bearable, which is good for everyone’s mental health, too.    Laughter is an excellent strategic tool in business, as well as in life. When we laugh, it feels disarming, and we are more willing to listen to people who make us laugh—because we hope they will do it again! When people are listening to you, there are many more opportunities to be persuasive.    I always want my team to use humor, appropriate humor, of course. I also encourage them to read the room, or, to put it another way, ensure that their joke is coming at the right time.    In this episode, we explore the many ways that humor can encourage your customer strategy in a positive direction. We also talk about the four theories behind what makes something funny, and have many clips that demonstrate what we mean.    (Also, it is important to note that the comedy clips have a bit of fruity (aka, bad) language, so be careful if you play them at work or around your mum.)   Key Ideas to Improve Your Customer Experience   We discuss the four theories of humor, which, to be honest, don’t sound funny at all. As we go through them, some of you naturally funny people will understand these concepts intuitively. However, for those that want to be more amusing and use comedy more effectively in their customer strategy, it is helpful to be familiar with what makes something funny to people. So, consider how you can apply these concepts to business, whether through the contact center and account management interactions, or marketing messaging, or even in the conference room.   Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   09:05 We begin with the first of four theories of humor, Superiority Theory, which is much better than the other three for sure. 14:51 Ryan talks about the second theory of humor, Relief Theory, and we all felt a lot better afterward.   19:50 Incongruity Theory is the third theory we discuss, but it didn’t go at all like we expected. 25:05 The last theory, Benign Violation Theory, explains how breaking social norms or language meaning is what makes this type funny that Ryan probably made up because he needed a fourth one to finish out the list.    27:03 Colin asks Ryan to explain where sarcasm falls into all of this and then proceeds to use a bunch of British slang that really cleared things up for all of us. 35:51 Colin and Ryan break down how all of these theories can be useful in your customer strategy.        We hope you enjoy today's show. If you do, could vote for us in the People's Choice Podcast Award? It doesn't take long to cast your vote and it would really mean a lot to both Ryan and I. Thanks very much. Cheers!   To vote, please click here.   Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

I was recently out and about and thought how happy I was that the pandemic was behind us. Many people must feel the same way because retail is bouncing back after two terrible years. However, it’s not bouncing back to the way it was before. Customers have changed how they want things and organizations should take advantage of how a physical and virtual experience work together in their customer strategy.    Bjorn contacted us with this very question. He has a business pickle that he wants help with, specifically, how to leverage the technology like Customer Science and online tools developed during the pandemic to enhance the brick-and-mortar Customer Experience.    In this episode, we explore this subject. We give examples of some excellent versions of this integration as well as areas of opportunity for them. We refer to two other podcasts, Nissan and the Metaverse, that discuss these types of integrations that might also help surrounding this topic.  We also give Bjorn and the rest of you the practical advice that can make this process work for your customers and your bottom line.   Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience   Different people want distinctive experiences at various times. This idea is the foundation of Customer Segmentation and targeted marketing. When discussing an integration between online and physical Customer Strategies, it is essential to consider why people want one over the other or why they were motivated to be in the type of interaction they are at any given time. This understanding will help you create an integration strategy that enhances things for your customers rather than detracts.    Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   02:40  We hear about Bjorn’s pickle from Bjorn himself and reflect on how the pandemic changed both online and brick-and-mortar interactions likely forever. 06:01  Colin shares a story about a recent shopping experience that was an excellent example of what is possible with the physical/virtual experience integration until they blew it at the end. 11:35  We talk about how the most important question to ask when comparing shoppers between online and in-person is their motivation for being there.  14:30  Colin shares some interesting statistics from McKinsey’s “What's Next for Digital Consumers? May 23rd, 2021,” which leads to a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of human interactions in Customer Experiences and how organizations should adapt experiences regarding that.    22:53  Colin talks about how Customer Science and the AI involved will enable more customer segmentation that was possible in an analog world.  29:24  We summarize our discussion and what it means for practical steps organizations can take to successfully integrate digital and physical experiences moving forward.       Do you have a business pickle? Tell us about it here.   We hope you enjoy today's show. If you do, could vote for us in the People's Choice Podcast Award? It doesn't take long to cast your vote and it would really mean a lot to both Ryan and I. Thanks very much. Cheers!   To vote, please click here.       Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers. 

Breakthrough thinking: Why do we believe things that are not true?   There was a car brand several decades ago in the UK called ŠKODA. It was a terrible car, much like Yugo was in the US. However, they have changed their image and today, my son wants to buy one. I told him the jokes we all used to have about ŠKODA and their low-quality construction (What do a ŠKODA and a baby have in common? They never go anywhere without a rattle.)    My son doesn’t care. His perception is that they are a great car company. Mine hasn’t changed.    Now, I know my son better than anyone, except maybe his wife and mother. I know he is sensible and good with his money. He’s no Wally. If he decides to do something, he bloody well knows why (he gets that from me). Nevertheless, his opinion that the company is better now has done nothing to change my mind.    In this episode we are exploring why we believe things that are not true, even when faced with facts. Psychologically, there are a lot of reasons we do this. We also talk about how you can overcome a bad reputation and change customers perceptions of you with your customer strategy. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t happen fast.    Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience   There are a few reasons why we won’t change our minds even when the facts tell us we should. Some are psychological; some are social. However, they are all at work in this critical customer strategy concept.    Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   04:31  Colin shares how the different spread of information about the war in Ukraine in the West vs. Russia can ensure that the Russian people don’t change their minds or stop supporting it.  09:19  Ryan answers Colin’s questions about why people don’t change their minds even when they are presented with information that they are wrong about something with several influences.  12:32  We discuss how the self-image can get in the way of changing one’s mind, also; we push away negativity from our self-image.     16:12  We talk about the length of time it takes to change minds and what it takes during that time to ensure it happens. 19:11 Ryan tells a story about how social agendas can also get in the way of changing one’s minds, and it will probably not surprise you to know that politics is a culprit.  26:54  Colin reviews what he thinks the key learning is for organizations and how we would combat these inclinations with customer strategy.         Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

Podcast Summary A lot of the behavioral sciences can feel intimidating. However, it doesn’t have to be. The Five Rules Podcast Series is our attempt at giving you an easy entry point into the complex and messy world of Behavioral Science. 5 Rules for Effective Customer Research That Make A Difference Customer research is an essential part of any organization’s customer strategy. However, it requires more than emailing a customer survey out over seven years or so. Customer research requires a few things to be effective in driving the metrics that matter for your experiences.  This episode, with guest Sam Killip, Director of Customer Research from consumer research platform, Attest, which helps organizations understand their customers. Attest’s global online consumer platform taps into hundreds of thousands of consumers around the globe.  Killip says their clients survey consumers to understand consumers' views and what they're doing, thinking, and feeling to feed into their customer strategy. With her help, we devised a list of five rules for making these efforts effective.  Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience The 5 Rules for Effective Customer Research That Make a Difference include: 1. Define the right method. 2. Get under the skin of the customer. 3. Cast your net wide. 4. Respect the respondents. 5. Do them little and often rather than large-scale. Here are a few key moments in the discussion: 03:09  Killip explain a little background about Attest and how she came to her position there after a long career in law before joining the team. 05:04  We share the first rule, Define the right method, and discuss why survey answers are not always the best way to understand why customers do what they do.  08:55  We introduce the second rule, Get under the skin of the customer, and why mom and pop shop owners knew this one from day one, and how larger companies can gain that same understanding. 14:36  When talking about rule number three, Cast your net wide, Tillip explains how you can get into trouble when you make too many assumptions about your who your customers are. 20:18  As we move into the second to last rule, Respect the respondents, we focus on appreciation for the people who provide the customer voice and the essential nature of keeping them engaged with the project. 23:49  We cover the last rule, Do them little and often rather than large-scale, and why this one is essential to keeping your finger on the pulse of the customer sentiment. Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 289,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy LLC as one of the best management consultancies for the last two years. Follow Colin on Linkedin and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.  Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 22,000 subscribers.  Experience Health Check: You already have an experience, even if you weren't deliberate about it. Our Experience Health Check can help you understand what you have today. Colin or one of our team can assess your digital or physical Customer Experience, interacting with your organization as a customer to define what is good and what needs improving. Then, they will provide a list of recommendations for critical next steps for your organization. Click here to learn more.  How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

We have another business pickle to address. This time it’s with Christine Jones who is having problem with her organization not taking customer complaints or the Voice of Customer program seriously.    We have been there. Ryan once worked at a grocery store that had a suggestion box that he never once in all the years he worked there saw opened. He suspects that no one even had the key anymore.    Colin’s corporate employer engaged in a pricey customer survey every year, listened to the results, including the complaints, and then carried on with business-as-usual. When Colin complained, one person suggested maybe they stop doing the customer survey.    In this episode, we explore why this happens with Voice of Customer feedback and complaints. We also share practical and actionable steps to change this for your organizations—and none of them are to stop getting customer feedback.    Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience   Organizations that are monopolies don’t need to bother with customer feedback. However, monopolies are few and far between. For the rest of the organizations, which is almost all of them, competition necessitates taking customer complaints seriously—before your customers become the competition’s customers.    Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   01:58  We read Christine’s pickle and share our stories that commiserate her problem, because it’s not an uncommon one, especially in business today. 06:00  Colin shares his last point first with Christine, which is exactly what he did in the same situation: realize that it could be that this organization might not be the best fit for her long term.    13:57  Ryan explains that empathy for fellow employees will help customer strategy champions to help them prioritize the experience agenda, which might mean making allies higher up in the organization. 19:26  We discuss Confirmation Bias and Reference Points and how they play a role in how organizations view the Voice of Customer and customer complaints (hint: they are not small ones).   24:24  We share the practical things that Christine can do in this environment to affect change and get the organization to take customer complaints seriously. 29:24  We talk about what might be the greatest customer complaint ever set to music, United Breaks Guitars.     Do you have a business pickle? Tell us about it here.   Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

Your Customers Want Self-Service, and Here’s What You Need to Know about Why   You bend over backwards to provide helpful customer service. You look for the best team members, with the right attitude and aptitude to take care of your customers in every way.    What it means to “take care” of customers is changing. So, while a focus on customer service is a sound and proven strategy, it could be what your customers want most is for your employees to leave them alone. Customers would rather take care of themselves with self-service.   However, self-service isn’t the only service that customers want. There are times when self-service doesn’t work, and only having that option will create a bad experience.    In this episode, we discuss why people want self-service and what any company should consider when providing customers that option. We also talk about when self-service doesn’t work and why—and those reasons might surprise you.    Key Ideas to Improve Your Customer Experience   Two stats caught our attention from consumer research company Attest’s US Food and Beverage Report from July 2021.  The first was 72 percent of Gen-Z shoppers would rather use self-checkout at the grocery store, and the second was that 68 percent of all shoppers would rather try clothes and makeup online with the help of a virtual tool. Attest’s research indicates that younger people like self-service for everyday interactions. It also suggests that shoppers of any age are pretty happy with online shopping for things that were traditionally in-person purchases.    Here are a few key moments in the discussion:   04:33  We start off the conversation by discussing if this is about wanting more or less human interaction or a generational thing. 07:56  Ryan shares the most important question to ask regarding making the move to a self-service channel (Hint: it’s about customers). 12:24  Colin talks about how he uses self-service in his Freedom Boat Club membership and why he prefers booking flights online over talking to a company representative (Hint: It’s because he’s picky).    17:18  Ryan explains how customers wanting to be in control is a significant driver in a self-service preference, and why not everybody feels that way. 18:27  Ryan explains some of the psychology that is underneath these preferences and needs, as well as suggesting a summer reading assignment for our listeners that want to know more. 22:33  We get into the advice we have for firms regarding self-service for their experiences as well as what to avoid in those situations.         Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.    Customer Experience Information & Resources   LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.   Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.    Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.      How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

How do you know if someone trusts you? Is it how they talk to you? How much time do they spend with you? What do they say about you when you aren’t around? We might argue the answer is D, all of the above. Plus, there are many other behaviors people have that indicate they trust you. Moreover, these things are true whether we are talking about people in your personal life or customers on your sales reports.  All this talk about trust is because of Bob. As you may remember, some of our listeners write into our “I’m in a Pickle” feature of the podcast. This week we consult Bob about how to find out if the account he manages as part of his new position trusts his company.  Bob’s wants to know if we have any tests that will help him determine if they do. In this episode, we talk about the many ways you can find out if your customers trust you. They range from the direct to the obscure but should give you a clear picture of how customers feel about your company regarding trust and many other emotions you want to know about. Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience Bob’s question inspired not just one answer, but several. We have four suggestions for Bob that can help determine if his account trusts his company. Each of them is effective in their own way, and also works together with the others to create a complete picture of the trust in this significant business relationship.  Here are a few key moments in the discussion: 02:29  Our listener Bob shares his pickle as a new employee at a company handling a big account that wants to test whether the account trusts his company, and asks for our help. 04:13  We share our first suggestion for Bob, which is to ask customers if they trust you, preferably on surveys, which is the easy part; the hard part is what we tell you about the answers. 08:13  The second secret we share builds upon the first one by suggesting you pose scenarios and ask questions whose answers will indicate what they think about you.     15:39  We talk about how to use what you know about customer behavior data to discern how much customers trust you, including what they want to hide from you. 22:02  Ryan explains how trust experiments and games can also indicate how customers feel about you, including an example from the British TV hit show, “Golden Balls.”   Do you have a business pickle? Tell us about it here. Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.  Customer Experience Information & Resources LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter. Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.  Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.  How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

The contact center at many organizations doesn’t get the strategic consideration it deserves. My former contact center team at British Telecom seemed to be viewed primarily as a cost center, a necessary expense. As a result, their team was always pressured to streamline staffing, coached to be as efficient as possible with multiple priorities, and designed to generate the least amount of cost.  These measures weren’t bad business principles, but they also didn’t send the best signal to the team. Contact center employees felt like second-class citizens in the organization, not nearly as valuable or venerated as sales and marketing. However, the contact center should have been valued. The contact center is an essential component to your experience, and also contains a wealth of information about your customers. With all that rich data pouring in, the contact center can be a front-line help to the company and the company’s brand.  The tide is turning regarding how organizations view the contact center. We have the pandemic to thank for part of this realization about the contact center’s value. One of the few good things that came out of the pandemic was the acceleration of technology adoption and comfort. Plus, the need for contact center workers to work from home meant that organizations had to embrace the cloud, which is an essential element for the contact center technology of the future. In this episode, we host Thomas Goodmanson, President and CEO of Calabrio, a global Customer Experience intelligence company that builds software to enrich customer interactions. Goodmanson explains the future of contact centers and why now is an excellent time to be in the contact center game.  Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience Goodmanson points out that high turnover rates are a source of frustration for many contact center organizations. Turnover makes it difficult to train your people in the skills necessary to deliver that experience you want for your brand. If you don’t have that front-line team there for the context, the data you collect is full of all your customer behavior insights, but inaccessible to put to work for your customer strategy.  Here are a few key moments in the discussion: 05:41  Goodmanson explains which parts of the employee experience of the contact center employee are broken and why.  08:30  Colin asks Goodmanson to take a deeper dive into how the software available for contact centers enriches human interactions and where that ties into Calabrio’s customer experience intelligence field. 14:21  We discuss the area of self-service and how some generational differences might drive the channels for future contact centers.     18:48  Goodmanson describes how software innovation will alleviate some of the stresses and pain points associated with a call center employee’s daily work.    22:00  Colin shares his view about how the experiences of the future that will be most successful are those that are proactive, and asks what Goodmanson thinks about that, too.  24:37  All three of the hosts share their advice and key takeaways for the future of contact centers.        This episode is sponsored by Calabrio.  Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.  Customer Experience Information & Resources LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter. Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.  Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers.  How can we help? Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.