Remember when great customer service was enough?

Though “great customer service” continues to shine through, the rapid progression of customer expectations means great service is now a great place to start.

After all, it’s no secret that the ways customers interact with and gather information about your company is changing. B2B or B2C, they demand more than ever - and know how to get it.

Our world is at the early stages of a shift, that seen from 30,000 feet at 500 mph looks like a natural trajectory of companies in pursuit of market leadership in the face of ever-more sophisticated customers.

But things are morphing so quickly that, while we can peer into some aspects of the future, (even) we can’t predict it all.

Where will it end? Honestly, we don’t know, and that’s what makes CEM such an amazing field, and one I’m thrilled to be a part of.

Best,

Michael Hinshaw
Managing Director
MCorp Consulting

In brief, this is (and will
continue to be) an
evolutionary process.
For now, we’re looking at
a combination of:

- Clicks
- Mentions
- RTs (retweets)
- Reach (of a tweet)

Our baseline (0) is a
Tweet that has reached
only my approximately
3000 followers, and
opened (read) only an
average number of
times.

Insights and Influence in 140 Characters or Less…

1.) "The essence of Social #CRM... It’s not about you. It’s about your customers." http://ow.ly/4jPyr
How social media will impact business-to-business isn’t as clearly understood as its impact on the retail world. A little more author-promotional than we typically feature, this gives a peek into social media’s tough-to-quantify B2B relevance. One thing we know for sure? Your social media “marketing” had better speak to client concerns, or don’t bother speaking (or tweeting) at all. (Tweet Score: 76)

2.) "If I were my customer, what would I expect?" http://ow.ly/4bh9Y
Managing Customer Experience. Three words that encompass…well, everything we (collectively) do here. At first businesses were satisfied to satisfy, then we had to delight, then be intimate, then engage…. The bar just keeps rising, and nothing ever falls off the list. That’s why you need a map. MCorp’s used a mapping system to help clients break it all down and prioritize KEY interactions for years. Though I like to think we’re Rand McNally, we’re not the only ones with a map. (Tweet Score: 70)

3.) What It Means When “Customer Experience” Appears in Marketing and Advertising http://ow.ly/4g3Gq
Yes! Thank you McInnes! I too have noticed this trend, and was recently thinking about the same issues addressed here. The author and I agree this is lazy marketing at its best, a classic example of telling and not showing. We talk about looking at things from our customers’ perspective all the time, and this example of navel gazing is more like a punch in the gut. (Tweet Score: 68)

4.) I don't want to beat a dead horse [BP], but this is a great comparison in brand authenticity. http://ow.ly/4bbkz
Is it naïve to think that corporations – profiled in that 2005 documentary as sharing the traits of a textbook psychotic – can be genuine and truthful? All the time? My cynical side rolls its eyes, but the me who wants to change the world says go for it, be truthful at all costs, all the time. We preach that values need to be genuine or your customer experience will be fragmented, but I don’t know if the buying public is ready to embrace “We just don’t care!” (Tweet Score: 53)

5.) With the majority of companies focused on improved #customerexperience, how can you expect to differentiate on it?  http://ow.ly/4g3wd
Nice, three of our favorite CEM issues encapsulated in three bullet points. Seen in this format, the poor guys screwing up in bullet point #2 are probably the only ones being authentic…. (Tweet Score: 53)

6.) Reading: "Customer Experience...it's your DNA." http://ow.ly/4bh7a 
Will a new suit on the same old frog make you want to kiss it? At first glance you may think, “Hey, Prince Charming!” but upon closer examination, warts and all will be revealed. It’s that way with companies that slap a coat of paint on their branding without actually addressing customer wants and needs. The DNA strand doesn’t lie…CEX sure would be easier if it did. (Tweet Score: 51)

7.) Your industry has the wrong name... http://ow.ly/4jO4k
Short, sweet and right on, I could play this game all day. I’m in the “Dealing with people whose job it is to deal with people customers customer experience” business. Though I might change “dealing” – which sounds like a chore – to “working” – which never is. (Tweet Score: 47)

8.) Reading: "Why Most Product Launches Fail" http://ow.ly/4jOLO
Did you notice the word “Most”? Most. With all this talk about customer experience, let’s not forget what it takes to even get to a point where you have customers experiencing your product. Whether you’re Joe Blow or Proctor & Gamble, it’s a long road strewn with pitfalls. Here are five of them, for starters. (Tweet Score: 46)

9.) Why understanding your customer is the first step to delivering a better customer experience http://ow.ly/4oua4
So just who is this much-vaunted “customer” after whom we’re all scrambling to please? If you don’t know with great precision, then you’re throwing time, effort and money out the window. Know who she is, and what her Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is to you, paint a portrait of her (and your other most profitable clients) and hang them up on the damn walls if you have to. Then work your tail off to keep them happy / served / upsold. (Yeah, that’s my mug up in the corner, I can’t give all the glory to my peers, right?) (Tweet Score: 42)

10.) Reading: "Starbucks CEO: Can You 'Get Big And Stay Small'?" http://ow.ly/4o2Am
We’ve mentioned Starbuck’s woes here before, so let’s celebrate its climb back up. Especially since the climb started with an espresso retraining of its baristas. Brilliant! You can’t get any more core value than that. (Tweet Score: 41)