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Of course its hard work, especially if you don’t know which way you are going Both Nicola Collister and myself were invited to a recent InspireMCR event hosted by Lawrence Jones of UKFast. I am quite an avid consumer of things. Never stop learning. Keep being curious. Keep moving. These and other such phrases are…
Having worked in Retail for over 20 years, we were delighted to be asked to co chair an event with Rant & Rave at the prestigious retailer Fortnum & Mason. There were a number of themes that were discussed throughout the day along with delightful drinks and fabulous food – only what one would expect at Fortnum & Mason.
As we transition from the Age of Information, or the internet of things and move into the Age of Engagement, have the challenges we faced on along the way changed? have they stayed the same? Or are they just getting harder?
Having run some of the largest contact centres in the UK, whilst some of the demand/contacts may have reduced as customers are doing it for themselves, such as basic queries or just checking on things, the challenges from the past 10 years are still prevalent with new trends emerging.
This was the theme from many of the questions in a discussion around customer experience measures and metrics that I was involved in at the end of 2014.
It’s a good question to debate and discuss, and I’ll outline some of the points below, but it also goes to highlight a potential human weakness. That of the constant search for a ‘silver bullet’ solution to our problems and challenges and I’m certainly not exempt from that temptation either.
We are surprisingly simple – Which makes us really complicated
I was chatting to a colleague Jon Marrs who is in the US exploring opportunities last night, and the thought occurred – It always starts with a question, but do we really understand how complicated it is to ask the right questions?
Why Customer Experience Has The Power To Affect Change. I thought this was worth bringing back out as we do tend to live in a volume related world and there is a big temptation to keep churning ‘stuff’ out. But every so often it feels good to go back and kick the coals over and share.
So we like principles like Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point because it resonates with us. The feeling that nothing worth having comes easily, and even the most gifted have to work hard (10 years) to get a top quartile result. It just makes sense….. does it not? Now that leads to a thought which I have been having a ponder on, which is – what sits at the heart of people who excel Vs those that don’t – besides 10 years of effort, and I think it is to do with Volume & Risk.
Now those who read this blog will know a recurring theme is the need to dress old ideas up as new ones, with the skill being in spotting which one of these ideas ‘time’ – usually based on something that started out in Kotler On Marketing – has come round again. For the winners in 2015, I think the new idea will be leveraging the greatest untapped resource most companies have. Their own Colleagues…
So we are a year old. What have we learned? We set up Custerian because we want to help business’s be more successful. Perhaps its an age thing, but you do get to a point in life where you appreciate phrases like ‘Giving Back’ or ‘Paying Forward’ more, so this altruistic outlook, making other’s successful, makes sense.
So I have been having a think today about why some companies seek, almost constantly, help and advice on how to create change, whilst others just get on with it. And I think asking yourself if you want to employ all your employees might be part of the answer. Because it points to, as a business, having a constrictive or expansive core to your DNA