Bob Thompson
Secrets of Customer-Centric Success — Interview with Jeff Puritt, CEO of TELUS International
Everyone says they want to be customer-centric and deliver a great customer experience. But most companies struggle, despite collecting customer feedback and investing in the latest technologies. The key to turning CX dreams into a real competitive advantage is leadership! Sign up for my...
“State of Service” Report: Pandemic Driving Customers to Digital Channels and Automation
Salesforce.com just released its latest "State of Service" report with insights into how 7,000+ service professionals are adapting during the pandemic. I'd like to highlight a few key findings with the help of customer service thought leaders. Let's start with the critical role of...
CX ROI: Making the Case to Improve the Buying Experience
Sure, marketing and sales leaders want satisfied customers. But they won’t fund a CX initiative if that’s the main benefit. CX pros must show they are a valued contributor to the “revenue team.”
Is Customer Experience the Key to B2B Differentiation? Yes, the SERVICE Experience
For years we’ve seen many surveys finding that Customer Experience (CX) is a top priority and the key to differentiation. To the point that it’s become a mantra, accepted without question. Unfortunately, “CX” is used so broadly that it’s not clear whether it means customer...
CX ROI: How to Justify Improving the Customer Service Experience
To gain funding to improve the service experience, CX pros must support the KPIs of the customer service department. Improving customer satisfaction is not enough. At first blush, it should be a no-brainer to justify a Customer Experience (CX) program to improve the service experience.…
How to Sustain Relationships with Customers and Employees During the COVID-19 Crisis
On April 23, 2020, CustomerThink's Advisors came together to support a webinar with tips on how to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. In this post I share my opening comments and highlight some of the content shared by the speakers. I encourage everyone to...
7 Global CX Experts Reveal How to Prove the Business Value of Customer Experience
For the past three years (starting with this article) I've been banging the drum about a worrisome problem. Namely, less than one in four CX initiatives can demonstrate business impact in the form of tangible benefits. My argument in a nutshell: During a downturn, CX...
Can Revenue Operations (RevOps) Finally Get B2B Sales and Marketing to Embrace Customer Experience?
Revenue Operations -- RevOps for short -- is a growing trend according to a new report "The State of Revenue Operations 2019." Compared to 2018, the number of companies reporting a dedicated RevOps group increased from 20% to 31%. What caught my eye was...
Zendesk makes bold CRM move with new platform and sales suite
Zendesk is a well-known and huge presence in the help desk market. Founded in 2007 in Copenhagen, Zendesk is now a public company that serves over 150K customers globally and is rapidly approaching $1 billion in annual revenue. Impressive. Visit review sites like G2 or...
Report: Retention critical to growing subscription economy, but ownership and tactics need work
Subscription businesses are growing, big time. From cloud-based technology providers like Salesforce.com to consumer-focused brands like Stitchfix, increasingly the strategy is to convince customers to commit to recurring payments rather than a one-time charge at the beginning. Gartner forecasts that cloud revenue will exceed...
InMoment acquires MaritzCX, sets up Battle Royale in EFM industry
Last year the big news in the Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) industry was Medallia going public and SAP's acquisition of Qualtrics. That was a wake-up call to the rest of the industry that it's time to make a move. Typically industries consolidate around a...
Deloitte: The Future of B2B Sales is “Experience Selling”
Late last year I received a copy of an excellent paper reviewing the results of Deloitte's research into the state of "experience selling." I wanted to share some highlights from the report and my discussion with Harry Datwani, a Principal at Deloitte Digital who leads...
Beating the CX Slump: Leaders Spend Money Faster
Welcome to 2020 and the start of a new decade! CX dominated the conversation in the past 10 years; it will be interesting to see what happens next. In recent years one of the big topics has been how to get more bang for the...
Top Do’s and Don’ts of Customer Journey Mapping — 10 CX Experts Spill the...
If you're involved with a Customer Experience ("CX" for short) initiative, there's a very good chance that you're also doing customer journey mapping (CJM). If fact, CustomerThink's recent study of 200+ CX initiatives found nearly 8 of 10 respondents reported developing a journey...
Customer Success — A Unifying Mission for CRM and CXM
In this article, I’ll discuss how the “customer success” movement has developed, what it means, and why I believe it should be a unifying mission to help companies get value from both CRM and CXM, or whatever term you want to use for being customer-centric.
Cross-Channel Voice of Customer Analytics Gives a CX Edge to Orvis and Hunter Douglas
If you love fly-fishing, dogs, or spending time outdoors, you probably know about Orvis, the oldest mail-order company in the U.S. The company is justifiably proud of its products and reputation for customer service -- just take a look at the 18K Bizrate reviews...
SugarCRM repositions as CX Platform. A sign of “Peak CX”?
SugarCRM recently announced that it was "Driving the Future of Customer Experience with Powerful Products and New Vision." As the "CRM" part of SugarCRM suggests, the company sells solutions for sales, marketing, and customer service. Sugar Sell is best known because sales automation is what...
Could a “Customer Success” Mindset Save the CX Industry?
According to CustomerThink's recent study, just 25% of CX initiatives (funded and staffed) can claim quantifiable business value or competitive advantage. Could a "customer success" mindset help improve the odds of CX success?
Advanced Voice of Customer Analytics: Get Out of the Survey Rut and Start Winning...
Regular readers of my CX/VoC articles may recall that in 2011 I proposed that Chief Customer Officers needed a "Voice of Customer Command Center" to gain a complete picture of the health of their customer relationships. Since then, it's clear that more and more...
Verint Doubles Down on “Engagement” Strategy, Pushes VoC Unification
Last week I had an enjoyable visit to Orlando, Florida, for Verint's annual Engage conference. I'd like to share some highlights and comments about what I learned. Engagement R Us The tech industry has embraced "customer experience" because, well, that's what sells. Business leaders all…