Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on January 27, 2010 under Customer Moments | 
So I’m going through my stack of articles that I rip out of magazines and save for the “some day” that I’m going to do something with them and came across this article about the top 50 Innovative businesses of 2009 that appeared in the March 2009 issue of Fast Company.
Amazon comes in at #9 with a tagline piece of advice “what’s dangerous is not to evolve.”
The article is about the incredible sales of the Kindle. Of course, almost a year later, the Kindle isn’t new news but there was a statement in the article that was important enough for me to circle it and save:
“There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you’re good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.”
It is rare that a company begins its life or expands its offerings by first asking the customer what they want or need. If we start with the customer first – how would that change what we offer or how our business evolves?
I talk with many entrepreneurs who ask “how many years did it take you before you refined your niche market.” Or other veterans of business who say “my business today isn’t anything like what I thought it would be when I started.”
If we started with the customer first…would we get to our ideal business sooner? Do you have a customer focused business?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on September 21, 2009 under General |
Business Week announced their 2009 Customer Service Champs; the top 25 businesses offering the best customer service experience. This is the third year Business Week has ranked businesses based on the quality of staff, efficiency of service, likeliness to refer and the percentage that will make a return visit.
Leading the pack this year is Amazon.com. No surprise there – their understanding of what the customer wants and making it easy to obtain is a key to their success. Interestingly enough – they didn’t even make the top 25 in the first Customer Service Champs list of 2007.
In the article spotlighting customer service in a tough economy by Jena McGregor, she says that many companies are struggling with their service as they face layoffs which make it more difficult to offer the higher level of service consumers are demanding. However, she says that those on the top of the service charts are finding ways to make cuts other places beside programs and policies that focus on providing great customer service:
…the best performers are actually doing more to safeguard service in this recession. Bruce D. Temkin, principal analyst for customer experience at Forrester Research (FORR), says about half of the 90 large companies he recently surveyed are trying to avoid cuts to their customer service budgets. “There’s some real resilience in spending,” says Temkin.
That’s especially true for many of the winners of our third annual ranking of Customer Service Champs. Top performers are treating their best customers better than ever, even if that means doing less to wow new ones. While cutting back-office expenses, they’re trying to preserve front-line jobs and investing in cheap technology to improve service.
If anything, the tough economy has made starker the difference between companies that put customers first and those that sacrifice loyalty for short-term gain.
Now is the time to stand out from your competition by understanding the customer’s expectations and providing what they need and expect! As you look down the list of this year’s top 25, I think you will find yourself nodding in agreement with the selections. Businesses like The Ritz, Nordstroms, Trader Joe’s, and JetBlue Airways. If they can do it – why can’t we?
Interested in making comparisons?
2007 Champs
2008 Champs
2009 Champs
