George Taylor
If you see it, you own it: a simple rule for great customer experiences
Often times when we talk about building companies that are focused on delivering great customer experiences, we talk about the 10 things you need to do, or we may even focus on the top 5 or top 3. My experience says that most...
5 Keys to Effective Survey Design
Surveys don't have to be boring statistical summaries of data. When designed correctly, customer or employee surveys can be powerful drivers of facts for better decision-making and actions. Experience has shown that there are really five keys to designing surveys to get the most...
Measuring Up Customer Relationships
Think about marriage relationships for a minute. The strength of the relationship can be difficult to measure and sometimes gets summed up in terms like, "they're best friends" or "they just go together so well." Compare that with the simplicity of measuring...
Five Keys to Building Trust with Customers
In January the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer was released (see details here http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/trust-2013/). Each year this global research firm looks at attributes that lead to trust – a critical factor in building customer loyalty. They look at it across countries, across business...
3 Ways B2B Companies Deliver Value to Customers
There are three drivers that determine the value you deliver to your customers. Like anything in your business, it's important that you're able to both measure and manage these drivers so that you maximize your sales and profitability. Many companies are able...
Blocking Bad Booth Behavior
I was given an opportunity to attend a trade show conference this week. When I wasn't attending sessions, I was in the traditional exhibit hall area where a variety of vendors have spent significant money to vie for the attention and interest of...
Sales Through a Customer Lens – Phase 2
As sales people mature in their understanding of sales, they begin to recognize it has little to do with the seller and everything to do with the buyer. Professional, successful sales people recognize it is all about relationships and building the right kind...
Sales through a customer lens: phase 1
I find that when people first start their career in sales, they often have all the wrong ideas of what sales is all about. Their expectations are built on portrayals of salespeople in a negative light. They often think that to be...
Staying Small While Growing Big
I've been fortunate in my career. For the first 10 years, I worked for a small company with about 100 employees and total revenues under $5 million per year. Later, I worked for a Fortune 20 company with revenues topping $100 billion...
Measuring the Strength of Customer Relationships
I have a favorite saying that all relationships end up somewhere, but few relationships end up somewhere on purpose. Think about it for a minute. You have a variety of relationships in your life and in your interactions with businesses. Some...
Are your customer hand-offs coordinated?
Several years ago surgeons in London completed a six-hour operation to fix a hole in a young boy's heart. The surgery was successful, but the most dangerous part was about to begin - transferring the three-year-old patient from the operating room to the...
Outside-In: Internal Customer Advocates
Think for a minute about any simple interaction you have with a company. Something as simple as placing an order at a quick-serve restaurant. What appears on the surface to be a simple interaction, quickly lands into layer upon organizational layer of...
Outside-In: Getting Perspective
We are all customers of a business. In that role, we're all able to see things that are apparently invisible to the owners, operators and managers of that company. Take the local grocery store as an example, has it not long puzzled...