Marc Sokol
Marc Sokol
A psychologist with an eye for the ways organizational dynamics make it possible or impossible to delight customers, I see the world from the eyes of customers, employees and leaders who strive to transform customer experience.
Will ‘big data’ become your worst nightmare?
Image by shvmoz via Flickr Could this happen to your company…. When the executive convened a group of senior leaders to dig into the competitor's…
Tribute to Steve Jobs and all inspired by him
Image via Wikipedia You probably know by now that Steve Jobs died today, October 5th. His life story can be read here. Below I...
How will your company rate on the ‘Customer Worry Index’?
Admit it: You worry. You worry that the new teller who just said "oops" when they mistakenly transferred your money from the wrong account will...
Good and great: Choices that shape customer experience
Perhaps you know the phrase, "Good is the enemy of great". Popularized in recent years by Jim Collins, the phrase suggests that satisfaction with just...
The new rules of marketing still include the old rules!
Jason Fell shares a thoughtful post, "The new, new rules of business marketing", building off the recent revised edition of The new rules of...
Customer service leadership among big banks: The time is now!
In addition to the overall 2011 Customer Experience Ratings, Bruce Temkin recently published a summary of ratings for Customer Service across multiple industries. I...
Wanted: customer experience leadership to fill a vacuum. First one to do so, wins!
The 2011 Temkin Customer Experience Ratings are out. I look forward to most anything Bruce Temkin has to report about the state of customer...
The enduring emotional connection of going beyond your own imagination
Image via Wikipedia Recently I've been focused on a phrase a client of mine has begun to use, "beyond imagination". My vision is to create…
Networking for hungry marketing professionals
For the marketing and business development professionals who read this blog…. Two guys are walking down the same street at separate times. Each is hungry,...
Four lessons your customer service function can learn from “The Royal Wedding”
If you were among the billion or so people who watched The Royal Wedding today, the word that should come to mind is 'Brilliant'! And...
The pain of misalignment: Your body doesn’t like it, why should your customers?
Recently I published a post describing on how marketing and customer service functions are impacting each other. More than 1,900 people have read the...
How smartphones will read customer attitudes
Image via Wikipedia Will QR codes become the mood ring of the new millennium? Remember mood rings? Put them on and supposedly they would reflect…
Good business unit strategy; poor customer experience. What would you do?
Recently I've been talking with executives about customer experience and the alignment of marketing, sales and operations functions. Some report success they have seen...
Making change happen: magic words vs. words-in-action
Organizational change is fraught with buzzwords. We treat many of them as if they were magic words. They are not. Try this exercise: Out loud...
Fishing for what customers really value
Originally written about employee engagement, and how some companies respond to economic challenge, the following is also about fishing for customers: On the frozen lakes...
Pagan business owner sacrifices female employees to appease customer
What happens when you pursue being customer-centric, but don't balance that goal with also being employee-centric? This is your chance to coach the...
Five secrets from a dance instructor that will sweep your customers off their feet.
Image via Wikipedia Our last post began with a story about Tim who trains surgeons to use new medical devices. He shared five keys to...
Dance instructor operates on surgeon
Image via Wikipedia If you want to be more customer-centric in the way you train, draw from your own personal experience. The gentleman sitting next…
How much does your marketing department really show the love?
Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but not for marketers. We are about love all year long, right? Maybe but maybe not: your company...
Is marketing the new customer service or is customer service the new marketing?
That's the question posed to Marsha Collier by Guy Kawasaki in an American Express Open Forum interview. Marsha is author of The Ultimate...