The days of the $1,300 toilet seat and the $800 screwdriver are long over. Today, government procurement is an intricate process that ensures government agencies have the tools, resources, products, and services they need to serve their constituents, and that providers are offering the best combination of price and quality.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 — Let’s assume, like most businesses, that you have a keen focus on pleasing your customers. You have plans, people and policies that ensure you are offering a great experience, and you are doing everything you can to make it easy to do business with you. That’s all well and good -- congratulations! However, it’s important to note that there are brands committed to going beyond “pleasing” their customers -- they are moving up to “delighting” their customers.
Tue, May 28, 2019 — People pleasing—for as long as there have been sellers and buyers, there have been efforts by sellers to get those buyers coming back for more. If we think all the way back to the dark ages of retailing, we can imagine that there was heavy competition for those stone-chiseled wheels—and certainly the stonemason with the best service (and ratings on Yelp) had the most robust business. Of course, most businesses will SAY that THEY have a keen focus on delighting their customers—that THEY are the best at building retention and ongoing loyalty. “Of course we do,” they say. “It’s a company virtue! We’ve been doing it for years!” Yet, when you examine the actual processes and procedures used in the interaction with their customers, you will often find the opposite. This is not necessarily willful—it likely is a function of a reliance on tried and true business processes in a selling environment when the business situation may have changed. (Pity the stonemason who was beat out by Goodyear to put rubber treads on those wheels!)
Tue, Apr 23, 2019 — For everyone who tosses an iPhone in disgust or screams when Instagram is down, there are legions of people who praise technology—particularly for its ability to provide better customer service. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) advances; programs that analyze and target messages to the right consumers, in the right amounts; and just software that puts a customers information at the fingertips of a telephone support agent—all are helping to smooth the confluence between tech and service. So why is it that it sometimes, technology actually deprecates the customer experience? And what can be done about this?
Wed, Mar 27, 2019 — For consumers tired of endless hold times, long-snaking lines, and difficulty getting customer service, help is on the way. The often confusing, maddening connection to some of our favorite brands and services is about to improve substantially—driven by a pair of tech-powered developments poised to move into the consumer and B2B mainstream sooner than most people think. The first is Artificial Intelligence (AI)—something that, for years, seemed to be the domain of Hollywood hype. Today, whether we know it or not, real learning software is in active use today in a wide variety of areas, ranging from cyber security to your Netflix app.
