Category: Cornerstone content

Protected content

The Ultimate Leadership Guide to Creating a Winning Consumer-First Culture

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Claiming to be “consumer-centric” is simple; executing it effectively requires a fundamental shift in leadership and company culture.

Many leaders believe they prioritise consumers, yet their strategies often miss the mark due to a lack of meaningful integration.

Building a genuinely consumer-first culture means driving every decision, process, and strategy with the consumer’s needs and values at the forefront.

This guide equips leaders with the insights and actionable strategies to foster a winning consumer-first culture. Rather than relying on superficial gestures, leaders can inspire a transformation that elevates the organisation, engages employees, and creates powerful, lasting consumer relationships.

1. Define Consumer-Centricity from the Top Down

A leader must set a clear and aligned definition of consumer-centricity. Many companies define consumer centricity as “putting the consumer at the centre,” yet this often stays as a slogan without actionable meaning. To ensure alignment across the organisation, start by answering these essential questions:

  • What does “consumer-first” mean to us as an organisation?
  • How do our consumers define a positive experience, and how does that align with our approach?

Encouraging leaders to establish and communicate this definition creates a foundation for a company-wide culture that actively listens and adapts to consumer feedback.

One of the best ways to do this is to adapt their vision and mission statements to specifically mention the consumer and how the company benefits them by providing solutions to their wants and needs.

Read more about how to adapt your own company’s mission in “The Essential Customer-Centric Mission Statement for Achieving Success.”

Leadership Example: Lego’s CEO exemplifies consumer-centric leadership by implementing programs like Lego Ideas, where consumers can directly contribute to product ideas. Lego sustains relevance and loyalty by embedding consumer voices into its product strategy, proving how consumer-centric thinking can drive long-term success. Source: Forbes.

2. Build Trust through Leadership Integrity and Transparency

In a world where consumers have endless choices, trust is invaluable. For leaders, this means instilling transparency and accountability at every level. Research from Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer shows that 88% of consumers expect businesses to lead with integrity, especially during uncertain times. Source: Edelman.

Leaders can build trust by:

  • Demonstrating honesty and follow-through in consumer communications.
  • Publicly stating and reinforcing company values.
  • Ensuring transparent practices, especially in data privacy and product claims.

Leadership Insight: Patagonia’s leadership has consistently been transparent, especially regarding its environmental impact. By acknowledging areas for improvement and committing to sustainability, Patagonia has built one of the most trusted brands globally. Source: Harvard Business Review.

3. Champion Personalized Experiences through Strategic Data Use

Today’s consumers want more than blanket personalisation; they seek experiences that resonate with their unique needs. Leaders can set the tone for truly consumer-first personalisation by emphasising a data-driven approach that moves beyond mere marketing to holistic, meaningful interactions.

Leadership Action: Starbucks’ CEO has driven personalisation efforts through the Starbucks Rewards program, tailoring offers based on individual preferences and purchase history. This strategy has fueled member growth and solidified consumer loyalty. Leaders looking … Click to continue reading

Top 10 Challenges of Mid-Sized CPG Companies: Insights, Statistics and Real-World Solutions

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Executives and business owners of mid-sized CPG companies face a unique set of challenges that differ from those of startups or larger enterprises.

These challenges stem from the need to balance growth, operations, and innovation while competing with both larger firms and more agile startups.

Here are the top ten challenges mid-sized consumer goods companies face, real-world examples of businesses that have successfully overcome these obstacles, and expanded solutions explaining how to implement these strategies in your own organisation.

 

Executive Summary

For those of you who tend to skim-read and only look at the bottom of an article to read the conclusions, here’s one better, an Executive Summary!

All companies struggle at times and mid-sized businesses have their own specific problems to solve without the resources of the larger organisations. The examples in this article show it is not only possible but sometimes in just a year or two. Check out the issue you’re struggling with and jump to the example for a quick solution.

  1. Prose: Improved employee retention by 20% over 2 years.
  2. Chobani: Achieved double-digit revenue growth annually over 5 years.
  3. RXBAR: Improved cash flow by 15% in 18 months.
  4. KIND Snacks: Grew DTC sales by 25% in 3 years.
  5. Beyond Meat: Became a leading player in the plant-based market over 5 years.
  6. Gatorade: Increased consumer engagement and repeat purchases over 2 years.
  7. Seventh Generation: Avoided fines and strengthened market position in 3 years.
  8. Clif Bar: Successfully transitioned key executives over 5 years.
  9. Mondelez International: Reduced waste by 15% in 3 years.
  10. Nestlé: Pivoted towards health and wellness trends over 5 years.

Mid-sized CPG companies face a unique set of challenges as they navigate the complexities of growth, supply chain management, consumer trends, and competition from larger and smaller brands.

Here are the top ten challenges faced by CPG companies, supported by statistics and real-world examples, along with actionable solutions tailored to this industry.

 

1. Talent Acquisition and Retention in CPG

Attracting and retaining talent is particularly challenging in the CPG industry due to high turnover in manufacturing, distribution, and sales roles, coupled with increased competition for digital talent needed for e-commerce and data-driven marketing.

A 2023 report by Deloitte found that 66% of CPG executives identify talent acquisition and retention as a key business challenge. Additionally, the turnover rate for manufacturing jobs in the U.S. stood at 29% in 2022, further exacerbating the issue.

The solution to this particular challenge is to build a strong employer brand and invest in workforce development.

To attract and retain the right talent, mid-sized CPG companies need to focus on building their employer brand while investing in continuous training programs. Here’s how:

  1. Develop Your Employer Brand:
    • Promote your company’s purpose and values, particularly around sustainability and innovation, to attract younger talent interested in making a positive impact.
    • Utilize digital platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor to share success stories and showcase the culture.
  2. Invest in Training and Upskilling:
    • Provide ongoing
… Click to continue reading

7 Lessons on Customer Experience Excellence: Insights from a Personal Journey

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Inspiration for Customer Experience (CX) excellence can come from the most unexpected places. As business leaders, we know that keeping an open mind and learning from every occurrence is crucial to improving our own practices.

Recently, I had an eye-opening experience that reinforced this lesson in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

After the holiday season, I found myself grappling with severe lower back pain, which escalated into a medical ordeal that spanned hospital stays, emergency surgeries, and a lengthy recovery.

While the pain was, without a doubt, overwhelming, it provided me with a unique opportunity to observe the healthcare system from the patient’s perspective—a perspective that offers valuable lessons for any business striving for customer experience excellence.

As CEOs and business owners, the insights I gleaned from this experience are not only relevant but essential. Let me share with you seven key lessons I learned during my hospital stay and how they can be applied to your business, especially when it comes to enhancing customer experience.

 

1. Introduce Yourself with Purpose

Every time a new nurse or doctor entered my hospital room, they introduced themselves and clearly stated their role in my care. This seemingly simple act built trust, creating a personal connection in an otherwise impersonal setting.

Business Application: In business, introductions shouldn’t be limited to names. Every team member should articulate their role and purpose in any customer interaction. This not only sets the stage for effective communication but also helps customers feel at ease.

Whether it’s a new client meeting, a sales call, or a routine service check-in, ensuring that your team introduces themselves with clarity and purpose can set the tone for a positive interaction. This small step can prevent unnecessary confusion and ensure that everyone involved knows their role in delivering value to the customer.

 

2. Acknowledge That You Know Me

Despite seeing different medical professionals throughout my stay, I never felt like I had to start over with my story. Each practitioner knew who I was and understood my situation. This continuity reassured me that my needs were understood and being managed properly.

Business Application: How often do customers feel like they have to start over when they interact with your business? Companies that invest in personalized experiences—whether through CRM systems, detailed customer records, or simply attentive staff—demonstrate a commitment to their customers’ needs.

According to Salesforce’s 2023 “State of the Connected Customer” report, 88% of customers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives and personalization efforts. Every touchpoint in the customer journey must be informed by past interactions. When your customers feel known and valued, you’re far more likely to foster loyalty and trust.

 

3. Prioritize Comfort and Satisfaction

Each medical visit began with a simple question: “Are you comfortable?” It was an open invitation to share how I was feeling, which in turn helped the staff respond to my needs more effectively.

Business Application: How often do you check in with your customers, not just about the product or service … Click to continue reading

10 Key Questions CPG Leaders Should Ask About Customer-First Strategies for Expanded Loyalty

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

CPG leaders (Consumer Goods Companies) understand that delivering exceptional consumer experiences is crucial for distinguishing their brands.

A customer-first strategy has emerged as a pivotal approach to business success in every industry, prioritizing customers’ needs, preferences, satisfaction and delight across all facets of an organisation.

This strategy is particularly vital for CPG companies given the direct impact on consumer choices and brand loyalty. It encompasses a comprehensive understanding of consumer behaviour and leverages advanced technologies like AI and data analytics to create personalized and seamless experiences from product development to point of sale and beyond.

For CEOs and business owners in the CPG sector, implementing a customer-first approach enhances customer loyalty and retention and drives profitability and long-term success in a rapidly evolving market.

Here are the ten most important questions that CPG leaders should ask when adopting a consumer-first strategy and culture in their organization.

 

1. What Does a Consumer-first Strategy Entail in the CPG Industry?

A customer-first strategy in CPG involves prioritizing consumer needs and experiences across all business operations, from product development to marketing and customer service. This approach requires CPG businesses to:

– Integrate consumer feedback into their product innovation processes
– Develop products that meet and ideally surpass consumer expectations for quality, convenience, and sustainability
– Provide exceptional consumer service across all touchpoints, including retail partners and e-commerce platforms

Companies like Honeywell and Medline Industries emphasize transparency and honesty, even when delivering uncomfortable truths, to build trust with their customers​ (Zendesk)​​ (Graph Digital).

According to a study by Zendesk, 90% of companies collect customer feedback, but only 10% act on it, and just 5% communicate back to their customers about the changes they made based on their feedback. This highlights a significant gap that customer-first strategies aim to fill by fostering transparency and building trust.

Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) “Consumer is Boss” philosophy exemplifies a customer-first strategy. P&G regularly conducts in-home visits and observational research to understand consumer needs deeply. This led to innovations like Tide Pods, which addressed the consumer desire for convenient, pre-measured laundry detergent.

According to a study by IRI and Boston Consulting Group, CPG companies that excel in consumer-centric practices grow their revenue 2.5 times faster than industry peers.

 

2. How Can We Understand Our CPG Customers Better?

Understanding CPG consumers requires leveraging data analytics and AI technologies to gain insights into their behaviours, preferences, and needs. This is particularly crucial in an industry where consumer trends can shift rapidly.

– Use advanced analytics to interpret point-of-sale data, social media sentiment, and e-commerce behaviours
– Implement AI-driven personalisation in marketing and product recommendations
– Conduct regular consumer panels and focus groups to gather qualitative insights

A McKinsey report found that companies using data-driven personalisation see 5-8 times the return on their investment (ROI) and can lift sales by 10% or more.

In addition, 71% of consumers today expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen​ (TSI).

A … Click to continue reading

Successful Brand Building for SMEs: Overcoming Your 10 Biggest Frustrations

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Brand building for SMEs is a complex journey. As an SME owner, CEO, or CMO, you may often be overwhelmed by the challenges of establishing and maintaining a strong brand presence.

In this article, we’ll explore ten common frustrations of brand building for SME leaders and provide solutions and inspiring real-world examples of overcoming them.

1. Inconsistent Brand Messaging

Consistency is key to building a strong brand for every company, but achieving it can be a significant hurdle. Inconsistent messaging across various channels can dilute your brand’s identity and confuse your audience. This inconsistency often stems from a lack of clear guidelines and miscommunication among team members. Unfortunately, these are common problems for brand building in SMEs.

Solution: Develop comprehensive brand guidelines that detail your brand’s voice, tone, visual style, and key messages. Ensure that all team members, from marketing to customer service, are trained and aligned with these guidelines. Regularly audit your content across different platforms to help maintain consistency and make necessary adjustments when needed.

Example: Beardbrand, an SME focused on beard grooming products, maintains consistent brand messaging through detailed brand guidelines and a strong, unified voice across all platforms. Their commitment to consistency has helped them build a loyal customer base and grow their brand significantly.

2. Limited Marketing Budget

Many SMEs operate with tight budgets, making allocating sufficient funds for branding activities a real challenge. This financial constraint can hinder your ability to invest in high-quality content, advertising, and innovative marketing strategies.

Solution: Focus on cost-effective branding strategies that provide high returns. Leverage social media platforms, which offer affordable advertising options and can help you reach a broader audience. Collaborate with influencers and use content marketing to share valuable information that establishes your brand authority. Remember, creativity often trumps budget when it comes to effective branding.

Example: Hiut Denim Co., a small UK-based jeans manufacturer, used storytelling and social media to build its brand without a large marketing budget. By focusing on the quality of its product and the story behind its brand, it attracted a dedicated following and increased its sales.

3. Difficulty Measuring ROI on Branding Initiatives

 

Conclusion

Brand building for SMEs and larger companies is an ongoing process that involves overcoming various challenges. Addressing these frustrations head-on can significantly enhance your brand’s presence and impact as an SME owner, CEO, or CMO. By implementing the solutions outlined above, you can navigate the complexities of brand building more effectively and set your business on a path to sustained success.

If you are looking for expert guidance to overcome these challenges and elevate your brand, consider partnering with a consultancy specialising in SME branding strategies. With the right support, you can confidently transform your frustrations into opportunities and achieve your branding goals.

For more insights and personalized assistance, visit C3Centricity and discover how we can help you build a strong, cohesive, impactful brand.

… Click to continue reading

Twenty Ways to Delight Your Customers: Transforming Satisfaction into Loyalty

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Today, most markets are saturated, and companies are fighting for the same customers. This is why organisations should no longer aim for customer satisfaction but rather delight. But how can you delight your customers so they remain loyal advocates?

With fewer and fewer differences between the products and services offered, many companies have realised that they can – and should – differentiate by improving their customer experience. Here are twenty ways to get started, together with best-in-class examples, but I’d love to hear how you delight your own customers and turn satisfaction into loyalty.

 

1. Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

Exceptional customer service is the first essential step to plan. It’s about creating an unforgettable positive experience that fosters loyalty and word-of-mouth promotion.

A study by American Express found that 70% of consumers are willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.

Nordstrom sets a high standard in this regard, famously accepting the return of car tyres they never sold to satisfy customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to service.

This example underscores the importance of empowering employees to make decisions that prioritize customer satisfaction, fostering a strong customer-centric culture.

Another company renowned for its customer service is Zappos, an online retailer. The company has a 365-day return policy and is known for going above and beyond for customers, such as when a customer service representative sent flowers to a customer who had lost her mother.

 

2. Personalise the Experience

Personalization makes customers feel uniquely valued and understood. It is the second most important way to delight your customers.

According to a report by Epsilon, 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences.

Spotify exemplifies personalization by using sophisticated algorithms to tailor playlists to individual tastes, improving user engagement and increasing subscription retention rates.

This approach demonstrates how leveraging data and technology to understand and anticipate customer preferences can significantly enhance the user experience.

Netflix offers another excellent example of personalization. It analyzes viewing patterns to recommend shows and movies, enhancing user satisfaction and retention. I bet you’ve clicked on many of their suggested titles. I know I have!

 

3. Offer a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs reward and encourage repeat business, creating a tangible incentive for ongoing patronage.

This strategy boosts sales and delights customers by enhancing their emotional connection with the brand and making members feel valued and special.

Sephora’s Beauty Insider program offers a compelling example with tiered rewards, including birthday gifts, exclusive discounts, and early product access.

Any way that makes your customers feel special will also increase their loyalty and advocacy.

 

4. Maintain High Quality and Reliability

A company’s commitment to quality reassures customers and confirms their purchase decision, fostering trust and satisfaction.

Especially where larger and exceptional purchases are made, your customers need ongoing reassurance that they made the right decision.

Toyota is renowned for the durability and reliability of its vehicles, which has cultivated a loyal customer base

… Click to continue reading

A New Breakthrough Model of Customer Experience – Quantum Customer Centricity™

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

The World Has Changed. Everyone is talking about the importance of customer centricity. But they should be actioning quantum customer centricity! Let me explain.

Many people think that customer centricity is the same as customer experience. They’re wrong! At least if they are thinking about the traditional CX model.

As we start a new year, I am celebrating the official launch of the New CX Model Quantum Customer Centricity™ (QC²) … Beyond CX. After decades of learning and experimentation, I created QC2 so that every business can successfully adopt a customer-first strategy, and become more agile, more resourceful, and experience increased market growth.

 

Adopting a Customer-First Strategy is Essential

The CX Index states that 90% of businesses, regardless of the vertical they are operating in, have made CX their primary focus. And research by Gartner concluded that 80% of organizations expect to compete mainly based on CX.

Therefore, you could already have been left behind, unless you’ve started on your journey to increased customer centricity! But there is a big difference between talking about putting the customer first and doing so.

The CEI Survey found that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. However, only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations.

That’s good news for you late adopters, as it means you may still have time to benefit from delivering a better CX experience for your customers, but you must act NOW!

And anyway, why wouldn’t you? The benefits are huge!

According to research, customer-centric companies grow their revenues 4% to 8% faster than their market competitors. Not only that, 79% reported significant cost savings, and 84% increased their revenue.

But how do you optimise your own customer-first strategy, and where do you begin?

 

Why Traditional CX is Letting You Down Without You Even Knowing It!

Most discussions about customer experience only consider the interaction between the customer and the company. As a result, most effort goes into improving customer service departments and call centres.

Since these departments tend to be either small or even outsourced, changes to them have little impact on how a business works. And unfortunately, they are also rarely of great interest to top management.

The customer journey is often seen as linear and only impacting the different departments at distinct points in time. Even if customer emotions are considered at each touchpoint, which is already an improvement on the usual journey map, it remains limited and static.

In addition, information about the customer may be gathered, but it is rarely shared across departments, let alone integrated for deeper knowledge and understanding of the customer.

All of this has resulted in individual actions being taken without a holistic view of the customer or their experience. That is why so few organisations succeed in delighting the customer with their customer-first strategy adoption.

It’s time for a new CX model!

 

The Quantum Customer Centricity™ (QC2) Model

The new CX model, Quantum Customer Centricity™ … Click to continue reading

7 Secrets to Business Growth from Leading Global Brands

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Whenever several people ask me to share my strategies for achieving business growth, it indicates that something significant is happening in the marketplace.

This is precisely what happened to me a few months ago. No less than two of my current clients and four new companies have asked me for support in growing their businesses in just the past month! In particular, they have all said that one or more of their brands is stable (to be polite) and that they want to reverse their (negative) trend.

Is this your situation, too? Did you also struggle to achieve growth this year? If so, I have a useful 7-step process that will bring you rapid change in 2024. (although if I were one of the self-proclaimed “gurus” we all see on social media these days, I probably would guarantee you results in days or weeks, shouldn’t I?!!)

I believe that one of the major issues in marketing these days is that companies are following an incomplete, outdated CX (customer experience) model.

 

The Need for a New CX Model

The CX Index states that 90% of businesses, regardless of the vertical they are operating in, have made CX their primary focus. And research by Gartner concluded that 80% of organizations expect to compete mainly based on CX.

This should be good news for customers, but there’s a problem.

Most discussions about customer experience only consider the interaction between the customer and the company. As a result, most effort goes into improving customer service departments and call centres.

Since these departments tend to be either smaller or even outsourced, their changes have little impact on how a business works. They are also of little interest to top management.

The customer journey is seen as linear and only impacts different departments at distinct points in time. Even if their emotions are considered at each touchpoint, which is already an improvement, it remains static.

In addition, information about the customer may be gathered, but it is rarely shared, let alone integrated, for deeper knowledge and understanding.

This has resulted in individual actions being taken without a holistic view of the customer or their experience. That is why so few succeed.

 

Quantum Customer CentricityQuantum Customer Centricity (QC2) takes a multi-dimensional view of the four moving parts of a customer-first strategy. It boosts business by leveraging your strengths while identifying the biggest opportunities for growth. It finds the small, key changes that will maximise your company’s benefit.

And these smaller atomic transformations are far more likely to succeed than larger ones.

QC2 is a breakthrough approach that integrates rather than replaces what you are already doing well, so progress is made faster and usually also considerably cheaper.

It creates greater agility, delivering more targeted and accelerated results than most of the traditional models typical to larger organizations.

If you’d like to learn more about QC² and what it can do for your business, you can download a free copy of the book “The … Click to continue reading

Using AI to Delight Your Customers With More AI (Authentic Interactions)

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives and has revolutionized how we interact with technology and businesses. This post discusses how to use AI to enhance customer experience with another AI, authentic interactions.

Over the past year, the AI landscape has witnessed a significant shift from AI versus AI competitions to AI working in collaboration with AI. Although AI-driven interactions have made significant progress, it is time to take them to the next level by integrating authentic interactions with AI to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Let’s examine how AI has evolved in customer relations and explore ten ways businesses can integrate authentic interactions with AI to enhance customer experiences.

Get ready to delve into a world where technology meets humanity, where the future of customer engagement is not AI versus AI, but AI working in tandem with AI.

 

The Evolution of AI in Authentic Interactions with Customers

Over the years, AI has greatly evolved in customer interactions. Initially, AI was used to automate monotonous tasks and to provide quick and efficient responses to customer inquiries. However, the early AI systems were often inflexible and could not understand and adapt to the subtleties of human communication.

With the advances in AI technology, we have seen the emergence of chatbots and virtual assistants that can engage in more natural and context-aware conversations.

This development has led to a shift from the traditional AI versus AI approach, where AI tries to outsmart or outperform other AIs, to a more collaborative approach known as AI + AI.

 

AI + AI: The Future of Customer Engagements

The combination of AI and AI marks a significant change in how businesses utilize AI technologies for authentic customer interactions. Instead of setting one AI system against another, businesses are now concentrating on integrating multiple AI components to function together fluidly, ultimately improving customer experiences.

Here are ten methods to integrate authentic interactions with AI to achieve this goal:

1. Embracing Emotional Intelligence (EI) is crucial for AI. It involves training algorithms to recognize and respond to human emotions by understanding cues such as tone of voice, choice of words, and facial expressions.

This helps AI gauge a customer’s emotional state and respond appropriately with empathy and support. When AI acknowledges customers’ feelings, they feel heard and valued and can offer personalized solutions.

Pre-programmed responses should be banned as they are easily recognized and do more harm than good. Call centre representatives should be given the autonomy to do what’s best for the customer within certain guidelines. If you’d like to read more about delivering best-in-class customer service, read the post: “7 Ways to Deliver Awesome Customer Service & Build Loyal Advocates”

2. Human-AI hybrid teams combine the best of both worlds by utilizing the strengths of humans and AI systems. AI is highly efficient in handling routine tasks and queries, allowing for quick and seamless customer responses.

However, when complex issues arise or when human empathy and problem-solving skills are required,

… Click to continue reading

Today’s Toughest Marketing Challenge is Not Achieving Customer Satisfaction!

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Customer satisfaction doesn’t last as long as it used to.

We’ve all become extremely demanding, thanks to constant new offers of innovation and novelty.

Today, we want things better, faster and sometimes cheaper as well. And customer satisfaction is becoming insufficient to drive growth alone. Companies need to deliver more, a lot more!

I was recently in the US, and as seems to be the norm these days, the hotel in which I stayed asked me to rate my stay afterwards. I completed their form, giving only four and five-star ratings, as I had been very satisfied with my visit, the hotel room, the staff and their services. Imagine my surprise, therefore when I got the following email a day or so after submitting my review:

“Thank you for taking the time to complete our online survey regarding your recent stay at our hotel.

On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologize for failing to exceed your expectations. Your satisfaction is important to us and we will be using the feedback you provided to make improvements to ensure we offer an exceptional experience for our guests in the future.

I hope that you will consider staying with us again so that we can have another chance to provide you with a superior experience.”

Shocking mail, isn’t it? To think that a Hotel would apologise for not exceeding my expectations!

I believe that is exactly why they get a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor. For them, customer satisfaction is not enough; they want their guests to be enchanted, enthralled, and excited, so a return visit is a “no-brainer”; no other hotel choice would make sense!

So I have a question for you: How do you treat your own customers? Do you do just enough to satisfy them, or do you consistently look to exceed their expectations?

If you are a regular reader here – and I’d love to know why if you’re not, so I can do better in the future – you will know that I often talk about “surprising” and “delighting” our customers. These are not hollow words; there’s a very real reason why I use them. The reason is that our customers may be satisfied, but they will never stay satisfied for long.

The above example is one way that the hotel staff ensures they have enough time to correct whatever is not a “superior experience,” as they term their own desired service level, and to continue to offer total customer satisfaction.

 

Examples of Brands Going Beyond Customer Satisfaction

Here are a few examples of other companies that go above and beyond in terms of their own customer service. I hope they inspire you to do the same and to aspire to exceed customer satisfaction whenever and wherever you can.

Coming back to the title of this post, I hope you now agree that satisfaction is no longer sufficient to attract and keep your customers.

It’s time to step up your game to aim … Click to continue reading

7 Ways to Deliver Awesome Customer Service & Build Loyal Advocates

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

How can some companies deliver awesome customer service while others get it so totally wrong?!

I want to share a personal story of disinterested client support with you this week. From it, I have drawn seven learnings for everyone wanting to deliver awesome customer service and build loyal advocates.

Let me start by saying that it still puzzles me why any organisation would have trouble offering superior customer service when there are so many great examples they merely have to copy. (JetBlue, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, Zappos) In fact, Mark Earls wrote a great book on exactly this topic, called Copy, Copy, Copy which I highly recommend.

This story is just one example of how some companies still struggle to accept that the customer is right, even when they’re wrong! Not that I was wrong in this case (at least I don’t think so, but I’ll let you be the judge of that).

However, the company concerned certainly gave me the impression that they believed I might have been trying to cheat them with the information I provided in my emails. They were never satisfied with what I sent, even when it was what THEY had specifically requested!

Perhaps they were just dragging out the process hoping not to have to “pay up”. You can see for yourself below, or just jump to the seven learnings at the end of the post so that you can avoid making the same mistakes yourself.

 

Background

Many years ago I bought a TomTom guidance system to help me navigate the streets of American cities.

I love to drive and feel just as much at home on a 26-lane Los Angeles highway as the two-lane Swiss autoroute system. (If you’re interested in which Californian road is 26 lanes wide, it’s the I-5/I-405 interchange.) However, after making many impromptu visits to unplanned US destinations I decided it was time to get a mobile GPS to use in my rental cars.

A few years on, I thought that it could also help me in Europe, even Switzerland, when trying to locate a new client or contact. (My car at the time was almost fifteen years old  and wasn’t equipped with a GPS!) I, therefore, added Europe to my online account, since my model couldn’t keep both in memory at the same time!

Last May I replaced the European maps with my American ones as I was visiting Florida that month. When I tried to reinstall the European maps in September, they had somehow disappeared from my account. I contacted TomTom customer service to ask how I could get my maps back and this is how our conversation went over the pursuing three months – with their worst English mistakes removed or corrected for better comprehension, but their own font bolding left in. (!)

 

The Exchange with TomTom

Me: “Hi there, I contacted you in May about changing from European to US maps. I now want to change back and the maps are no longer … Click to continue reading

The Power of Creativity: How to Foster Innovation in Your Organization

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

How important is innovation in your organisation? You’re missing out on revenue and growth if it is not one of your top three objectives!

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a critical component of success. Companies that embrace innovation consistently outperform their competitors, adapt to changing market conditions, and create sustainable growth.

To truly ignite innovation, organizations must foster a culture of creativity and continuous improvement. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of this culture and provide insights, statistics, and real-world examples to help you cultivate it within your own company.

 

The Imperative of Innovation in Your Organisation

Innovation is not an option but a necessity. Customers rarely stay satisfied for long these days and are constantly looking for something better.

According to a PwC Global Innovation Survey, 80% of CEOs believe innovation is a key driver for business growth. This sentiment is supported by hard numbers: Companies that prioritize innovation are 50% more likely to outperform their peers over a ten-year period, as reported by McKinsey.

But what exactly is innovation? Wikipedia defines it as:

The practical implementation of ideas that results in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services.

As you can see it has ideation as its foundation, which already gives an indication about nurturing it in organisations.

It is usually accepted that there are three main types of innovation: product innovation, process innovation, and business model innovation. Since I always try to take the customer’s perspective, we will be concentrating on product and, to a lesser extent, service innovation in this article.

So, how can you leverage the power of innovation in your organisation to drive growth, stay competitive, and future-proof your business? The answer lies in creating a culture that values creativity and continuous improvement.

 

Creating a Culture of Creativity

There are three main ways you can encourage more creativity in your business. Or should I say there are three ways to stifle creativity if you don’t follow these three rules?

Encourage Open Communication: Open and free communication is one of the cornerstones of a creative culture. Employees who feel heard and valued are likelier to share their ideas and insights.

In a study conducted by Gallup, organizations with high employee engagement were found to be 21% more profitable and 17% more productive than those with disengaged staff.

Engaged employees outperform their peers because they tend to be more innovative, and efficient, and have higher customer retention rates. This illustrates that a culture of creativity isn’t just about generating ideas; it’s about harnessing the collective intelligence of your workforce.

Example: Google is a great example of a company that has understood and embraced this concept. Their famous “20% time” policy, where employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work hours on projects of their choosing, has led to innovations like Gmail and Google News.

Embrace Diversity: Diverse teams are more likely to generate innovative ideas. We all know that men and women … Click to continue reading

Latest Post

[pt_view id=”999bb999ha”]

Join Global Customer First Strategists!

Get our latest posts before everyone else, and exclusive content just for you.

* indicates required

C3Centricity LogoJOIN C3CENTRICITY FANS

Get Useful Tips, Tricks & Tools Like These Sent Straight to Your Inbox

You have successfully subscribed to the newsletter

There was an error while trying to send your request. Please try again.

C3Centricity will use this information to send you useful updates and exciting marketing communications.