The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

Getting your new program initiatives accepted requires overcoming a lot. So, to help you get that done—and impress your boss doing it—you need to have a winning strategy. The corporate budget is a funny thing. Getting approval on a budget in the corporate world doesn't mean you get to spend it. Quite the contrary. You often have to get the budget approved for what you might spend and then when you want to spend it, you get approval again. When you read it written out like that, it sounds super inefficient and completely silly. However, my guess is that many of you that are responsible for a budget know exactly what we mean. Plus, change is hard for people. As a champion of a business program that would result in significant change, you are already going to have a challenging time getting that approved. This episode helps you get through this inefficient and silly process successfully, and impressing your boss while you do it. We share our tips and tricks for handling this process with clarity, influence, political awareness, realism, credibility, and professionalism. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 1:32 Colin shares a personal story about getting permission to spend his corporate budget, what he did to get it, and how it led to this podcast. 05:43 We share the first one about being clear about the goal and how numbers are essential to these discussions. 13:44 Now we explore how the good clear ideas you have that are supported by numbers need this critical spin so people can hear what you mean, followed by a foray into managing company politics. 21:52 We get into credibility, which is essential to convincing people to follow your way of thinking. 26:40 To round out the discussion, we get to the most important one, the one you have the most control over, professionalism. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

Organizations often fail to consider the context in which customers enter the experience, assuming that every customer is the same. However, recognizing the context of a customer's experience is crucial to developing an effective customer strategy. Context is an omnipresent factor in customer experience. Depending on a customer's context, we must create a customized experience. For instance, while working on a project for one of the cellular phone companies in the United States, we discovered that they treated customers who had lost their phone or had it stolen in the same manner. This oversight neglected the importance of context. Consider how you would feel if you had lost your phone in the back of a taxi. Most likely, you would feel foolish, right? Now, consider how you would feel if your phone was stolen. You might feel outraged, or scared, or both, which are different emotional responses than how you might feel after leaving your phone in a cab. Despite this, the mobile company treated both types of customers in the same way. They immediately requested the account number from both. However, we convinced them to determine what happened first, followed by ensuring the customer's safety if their phone was stolen. This simple change had an enormous impact on their experience design and outcomes. Thus, segmentation is a vital aspect of anticipating context. People bring unique perspectives and expectations to their experience. While segmentation is only one factor that can determine context, it is an excellent starting point. In this episode, we explore why context is crucial to customer experience design and how you can improve your understanding of your customer's context. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 03:10. We discuss how Kenneth Cukier's TED talk about "Big Data is Better Data" and how having data isn't enough to predict how people will interpret it. 07:12 Colin tests his theories with Ryan, who has his own context, which is always a fun activity. 10:20 Ryan shares an interesting demonstration of different contexts clashing in a researchers work with an isolated tribe in the Pacific. 14:20 Colin shares his recent insight about diversity, which he describes as a "blinding flash of the bloody obvious." 18:09 We get into a discussion about changing a person's context gracefully and the skills needed here. 27:48 We share our advice for helping organizations improve their experience understanding and using context in experience design. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

Journey Maps can be useless exercises. That's right…we said it. However, these often-used tools don't have to be as useless as they usually are. Journey Maps are only useless if you don't include the customer's emotional journey in them. Emotional journeys are the "squishy stuff" associated with why customers buy from you. Since customer's feelings are challenging to itemize, many organizations tend to leave them off. However, the result is a customer process, not a journey map. After all, without this information, how can you expect to predict and anticipate customer behavior? Moreover, how can you design an experience that is so well positioned for customers' needs that they come back for more (and more)? In this episode— and at the behest of a very complimentary listener who says we actually taught them something (!!)—we explore how you can integrate customer behavior, and the emotions that drive that behavior, into your journey maps. We show you how all the things we talk about on this podcast apply in a practical way and can produce practical results, like an ROI. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 04:10 We explain how we will demonstrate the application of behavioral sciences concepts to a standard Journey Map that we made up about booking a hotel online. 12:15 We go through each of the ten concepts we agreed upon before the show, and then Colin adds a bonus one at the end, catching Ryan off guard. 21:29 Using the checklist of (now) 11 concepts, we begin taking you through the process of applying each one to the booking a hotel online journey map, starting with Customer Segmentation, and so on through the list. 27:05 Ryan points out that many times, changes in how organizations serve customers can have an inadvertent effect on how an experience ends, which is detrimental to the emotional journey. 32:58 Colin shares a personal story of how a rental car company bamboozled him into getting a car he couldn't afford after a long-haul flight across the pond, and it cost the company money as a result. 37:00 We share our final tips and key takeaways from this exercise and how it should help you have a more complete picture of the customer journey. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

Having a high IQ isn't the most important thing for leadership. It helps, but intelligence isn't enough to make a great leader. It turns out that IQ without EQ, or emotional intelligence, doesn't inspire teams to meet or exceed their goals. This EQ concept, popularized by Daniel Goleman, has been a crucial component of the leadership conversation for several years. Similarly, customer service representatives with high EQ are crucial for the emotional management of customers. The ability to understand and manage emotions is a crucial factor in ensuring customer satisfaction. EQ involves the ability to identify and manage our own emotions and the emotions of others, as well as understanding your reactions to situations and how they may affect others. In other words, leaders and customer service representatives who can remain calm and objective in stressful situations are more effective in their roles. In this episode, we will delve into the concept of EQ, what it entails, and its impact on leadership and customer service strategies. We will explore the five realms of EQ, starting with knowing your emotions. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 03:26 We introduce EQ and Goleman's concept of the five realms of it, and how the first concept of it helped in Colin's recent weight loss efforts. 08:50 Colin shares a story about how 30 years ago as a middle manager he went to a 360-degree feedback event that fundamentally changed how he thought about himself. 12:51 Ryan talks about how he likes that unlike intelligence, EQ is something you can work on and improve, no matter what you were given naturally. 17:11 Colin talks about the most silent transaction he ever had at the grocery store, and why that employee might be in the wrong position in the store. 20:30 We explain how well you deal with change is an essential part of EQ, particularly if you have some work to do. 28:55 We summarize what we learned and how developing EQ can help one's leadership as well as improve the Customer Experience their organization delivers. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

Vijay, one of our listeners, drew my attention to a deficit in my content regarding customer strategy. He asked if we had anything on customer engagement. After a search of both my hard drives (computer and memory), I realized that I didn't. To remedy this giant hole in our content, we recorded this podcast. Now, part of not having any content on the subject means I didn't have a definition ready for the term. However, like anyone would these days, I fixed that with an internet search. I found an excellent one at HubSpot, another great one at Salesforce, and third at Qualtrics. Each of these definitions was unique and oddly familiar. However, together they do a great job of defining the general outline of the concept. To summarize them, let's say that customer engagement is about interacting with customers in a connected way through a variety of channels to build an emotional connection with them. In a recent podcast with Customer Experience pioneer Joe Pine, we explored the idea of time well spent. One addition I might make to the combination definition from my previous three sources is to deliver an experience that a customer thinks of as "time well-spent." Often when customers feel this way about your product, service, or experience, they will recommend it to their friends and family—which is an excellent indication of engagement. In this episode, we explore the concept of customer engagement and how you can craft a winning strategy for it in your experiences. Plus, we fill a hole in our content to satisfy Vijay's request and feel better about the job we are doing engaging you with our content. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 03:53 We share definitions regarding Customer Engagement and how we agree and disagree with part of them. 10:44 We discuss how finding a new idea in marketing is essential, so, reengaging old concepts under a new name is fine if it means solid strategy comes back into fashion. 17:02 We revisit the idea first shared by Pine on an earlier podcast about how engagement is also about time, from giving it to you to thinking of what was spent with you as a good investment. 20:52 Ryan offers his critique about the concept of customer engagement and a common mistake many organizations make when trying to improve it. 22:43 Colin share his key takeaways about the concept and how you can apply a practical strategy for engagement moving forward. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

If you have been listening to us for a while now, you probably know about our "I'm in a Pickle" podcasts and the "5 Rules" series. If so, and you're a fan, today is your lucky day because this podcast is a mash-up of both series. Not only that, but we also added in 5 more bonus rules for 100% more rules. It seems that quite a few people in our audience have a pickle. They want to start a consultancy but don't know what to do. So, we are here to help. In this episode, we explore the 10 rules for building a successful consultancy and how they apply to your success. While we can't guarantee that you will be successful if you follow them, we know that you won't be if you don't. Here are some key moments in the discussion: 02:47 Colin kicks off the rules by encouraging to read an old book for some new thinking and to challenge yourself to be brave. 13:20 Ryan explains the critical mistake many entrepreneurs make when starting a new venture and how you can avoid making the same one. 20:41 We discuss providing value to your customers and how you can tell if you are doing that. 24:39 Colin gets practical about something that there is never enough of in a new business, money, and how to make sure you get what you are owed. 27:44 We wrap up the rules by explaining what you shouldn't do, even if there is good money in it. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

One of our listeners has a pickle. They did research that told them a product was just what their customers wanted, so they developed and launched it. But now, there are no sales. They want to know what went wrong. We suspect we might know. Research is a double-edged sword. It has the power to give us answers we want but not always the answers we need. Many things we do, deliberately or otherwise, affect what we hear. In addition, sometimes our sources are unreliable. Customers have different mindsets when they answer a question on a survey and when they make a buying decision. So, what they tell you on a survey might be quite different than what they do as customers. In this episode, we take a deeper dive into these ideas of what went wrong for our listener's product launch. We also share some practical advice to avoid making these mistakes in the future. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 02:43 We discuss the pickle our listener, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote into us about. 06:36 We talk about how survey questions can lead your respondents to an answer, called Push Polling, which is very well explained in this comedy program from the UK, Yes, Minister." 11:28 Colin talks about where he thinks the real crux of the problem is for his listeners' pickle, not understand the customers real underlying motivations. 16:55 We discuss the concept of what we hire product and services to do for us, like a job, and how some buying decisions satisfy two different roles. 19:02 Colin shares a story about a major product launch that cause major headaches for his organization back in the day. 25:30 We share the practical advice for our listener's pickle and how you can avoid making these same mistakes in your product development. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

We will admit it. We have made mistakes in our lives. It's only natural that some of the calls you make in your journey are going to be bad ones. Believe it or not, we are thankful for them. One learns a lot from one's mistakes or at least that is the hope. Some of the calls were good ones, though, and we are thankful for those, too. Perhaps, even we two, like the blind squirrel, can find a nut once in a while. One of the great things about having a podcast is that we can share information. In this episode, we share some stories about things that have gone wrong. Our hope is that you can learn vicariously through us without having to suffer through similar pains yourself. Similarly, we share some of our triumphs, too, with the hope that these success stories might help some of you as well. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 02:50 Colin shares what he learned about choosing the right companies for his career goals by mucking it up in his 20s with one company worse than the next. 07:01 Ryan explains how he learned that loyalty isn't always a two-way street when he experienced his first layoff at a startup. 10:26 We learn how recruitment is a bit like a fairy tale in that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the proper prince or princess. 14:00 We discuss the importance of having a plan rather than crossing one's fingers and hoping for the best. 17:08 Colin tells us what he would have done differently at the beginning of his consultancy rather than the decision he made that almost bankrupted it. 21:28 We both share out successful decisions, from continuing to pursue a degree to establishing a priority for work-life balance to adopting a mindset of continuously learning. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

Did you know that FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, is a powerful motivator for customer behavior? Organizations today should find ways to leverage the power of FOMO with their customers. I was surprised to learn how much of an addiction social media was for some people and how it linked up with feelings of FOMO. You might be as surprised by these statistics from 2021 as I was: 51% of people visit or log into their social media more now than two years before 27% of people wake up and check their social media accounts 45% of users said they couldn't wait for more than 12 hours to check their social media accounts 20% of users can't waste time for more than an hour without checking their feeds 69% of people think if they don't check Facebook and other platforms that they will miss important events In this episode, we explore what FOMO is and how it affects what we do and why. We also talk about a couple of practical (and ethical) ways you can leverage its power to increase the profits for your bottom line. Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience Regret, even the anticipation of regret, is a huge part of FOMO. These feelings are associated with Loss Aversion, which describes how we hate losing things more than we enjoy gaining things. If we feel like we missed out, we are losing out on the chance to be a part of something—and we really don't like that feeling. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 03:58 Ryan defines FOMO and explains how social media and FOMO go hand in hand these days. 10:56 We connect FOMO with other emotions, like regret, and feeling included, or excluded as the case may be, and explain how avoiding these emotions can be powerful motivator. 14:33 We connect the idea that FOMO is part of some marketing team's goal for an experience; they want FOMO to occur with their followers for things like celebrity 21:02 Colin shares some more stats about the emotions tied to FOMO and how they are on the destructive side. 24:40 We share three practical things you can do for your customers that use the power of FOMO (in a good way) for your experiences and to the benefit of your customers. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.

This Podcast produced in partnership with Zuper™. You are probably underestimating the importance of a vital part of your Customer experience. Most organizations do. However, neglecting to address it can have negative impact on your customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer advocacy. Dying to know what it could be? Well, the area that is often underestimated in importance is the impact of your field service engineers. Often the face of your company, these team members deliver a critical part of your customer interaction. Underestimating the significance of this part of your experience is a critical mistake. Field service is a term not everyone is familiar with. However, you are familiar with them even if you don't know what they are called. Field service describes the people that install, repair, and upgrade your equipment. Their ubiquity is such that they are a part of everyday life. In fact, you probably saw a few at work in some capacity today; you just didn't know what they were called. In this episode, we host an expert in Field Service on our recent podcast, Michael Israel (MichaelIsrael@Zuper.co), Head of Field Service Evangelism at Zuper. Israel has worked in customer and field service for over 50 years. He has managed domestic and international field service operations, including 12 years at IBM. He's also been in management and executive roles with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) providers and field service software applications with Oracle and SAP. Here are some other key moments in the discussion: 02:05 Colin introduce Israel, and Israel shares some of his related experience that led him to becoming an expert in Field Service, as well as what the area entails. 10:11 We get into a discussion of the changing attitude for the service side of a customer experience, from viewing it as a cost to seeing it as profit center. 20:38 Colin asks why more organizations don't embrace adopting software to manage this part of the experience; Israel's response might surprise you. 24:23 We discuss the opportunity for a lot of companies regarding training and who does a good job with leveraging performance in this area. 27:29 Israel gives us a glimpse into the future of field service and what technology will do to enhance this critical area. 30:37 We all share our key takeaways and practical applications for organizations that want to address field service in their experiences. _________________________________________________________________ Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn HERE. Follow Colin on Twitter HERE. Click HERE to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. To learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services Click here.