Share Your Skies With Us

OK, I've not heard the term cloudification used until today, but it's worthy. This article makes the casee that pushing customer experience tools and data sets into the cloud creates a competitive advantage because of abilities to leverage the technologies widely. Not sure I'm as concerned about the technology as the touch, but it is a worthwhile read, if only because of the new derivative word.

To be clear, satisfaction does not equal loyalty. Not in marriage. Not in business. So - great customer sat scores might be meaningless when it comes to loyalty. As this article explains, "Getting a customer to return depends on more than satisfaction. It depends on giving the customer a reason to come back." In my eyes, there are only two strategies to bring customers back - innovation (it's so new and different that you are in a blue ocean market) or relationships. Most of us need to work on the latter...

I recently helped a long-time friend and advisor develop strategy for the redevelopment of her company's website. Of note - we created a really obvious "self-service zone" that could help visitors immediately access forms, tools and critical information. This article explains why providing customers with the means to self-serve is becoming a critical corporate capability. As the article states, "The experience is the message: Your brand is nothing less than the complete experience of doing business with you." Once again, make it effortless, and you will win.