Brand Building in Action

Customer Xperience = (Internal Change and Innovation) = Negligible Interest among Entrepreneurs  (Unless ofcourse Richard Branson or Tony Hsieh is the CEO) 

Brand Building = { External Cosmetic Show (rarely connects with internal state of affairs) } = Highest Interest among all Entrepreneurs

In fact  Customer Xperience = Brand Building in Action

Therefore to remain relevant and facinated among class of entrepreneurs I declare I am no longer Customer Xperience Champion but reposition as Champaigner - Brand in Action. 

Life and Brand is all abt Positioning , after-all (!!!)

5 Ways to Make CUSTOMERS your BRAND Ambassadors

People believes in customer reviews rather than brand ambassador's large cut outs and recommendations.Real brand ambassadors are customers as they recommend after using the offerings and so called brand ambassadors recommends for money they get!!!

When TRUST is the highest influencers  these new breed of brand ambassadors r preferred and searched on the net & social media. Today u search for any product or services , you will invariably get users reviews.I use reviews when I buy mobile phones, when I book hotels outstations,  when I want to experiment new things, when I do not want to subscribe to Speak Asia kind of schemes (I found whole lot of irregular things and cpl of articles by Sucheta Dalal in her magazine Money Life abt the Speak Asia drama which is going on with the help of Indian Print Media these days).Telling example of Branding vs Actual Customer Xperience. (now 19th May- govt has ordered inquiry into the affairs)

Bottom line is CUSTOMERS are net promoters or demoters of every BRANDs. Invest more in customer experience and less on BRAND Ambassadors which is paid , scripted & hence less authentic. 


Here are the ways U can make yr customers , yr brand ambassadors: (Experiment rigorously)

1) Go out of the way to solve customer problem.  Do it with SMILE. If U are a Dentist,don't just remove the teeth but give dental care booklet and free check up once a year bonus. 

2) Invite happy customers to periodic customer get to gather. Share their stories on blog, website and social media. Offer some branding mileage to those customers.(Introduce them and their business on social media)

3) Help and try to make your customers more successful in what they do. Have solution and not transaction approach.

4) To the extent possible customize the deal and make them feel special. As a tour organizer U have tie up with particular hotel, have an arrangement with the hotel to convey customer's preference, data and choice for surprise and delight. They must feel special for booking the hotel through yr company. 

5) Have Happy Hour.  On any one day a week ,lets say every Tuesday, allow any one randomly selected customer free shopping/buying/consuming every hour. Word of mouth publicity will much more cover the cost of free offerings.

Have as many surprise elements in yr offerings as possible.  

I am a FAN of Zappos.com , Starbucks & Virgin way of doing business. Why not every one else too? Looking for similar passion and enthusiasm from Indian Company !!!! Any 1 ? Kingfisher is closing in.

Not only do business , make it a fun for all involved.We ,after all , live only once and time to make FANs  are too short. Go full blast from TODAY. Share yr results here.

2 Questions on my ( our ) Birthday

We face many new years in one year in INDIA. 

1st Jan ( Calender Year )

1st April ( Financial Year )

New Year ( Next day of Diwali - Hindu New Year )

Gudi Padwa  ( Local State New Year , in my case Maharashtra) 

& 

Today ( In my case , and in your case yr respective actual birthday )

Advantage: Ever few months we can make new year resolutions and every few months we also review the same.  

I learned abt new ways to celebrate birthdays by following interesting ppl on Twitter: Author Chetan Bhagat took 300  less privileged children to the multiplex theatre for a movie, another gentleman spent time with senior citizen at one of the old age homes. Gr8 ideas.

Lets brain storm what better can be done on THE day?

Technology has made it easier to remember birthdays so I am getting many automated mails and many SMSs too. Just NOW got call from LIC for wishing me personally. 

I am still looking for Wow !!! er from all my service providers and all companies for whom I am a customer or a client. 

Therefore we have two questions: 

1) How do we celebrate our birthday - fruitfully /innovative-ly /non routine way?

2) How companies can wow!!! customers on their birthdays?

Pl share yr thoughts. Cheers.

Customer Xperience Today @ ICICI Bank

Today @  ICICI Bank.

I sent my daughter to get pay order which she required for her college admission. She was carrying duly signed cheque. Today was the only day for her admission and timing was limited. Amount was Rs.385/- only.

Now at bank I am classified as Preferred Customer. Therefore they have a special section and they attend to preferred clients with more attention and care. (They should that is what I expected)

They gave requisition slip to fill to her which required signature of account holder. Since I was not there my daughter called me and told me that pls come as yr signature is a MUST. I was bit upset so I talked to the concerned officer and requested that this is the first time I am hearing this that its a MUST on requisition slip. However since I can not come & I will come during the day & sign the slip , you pls process the request. I also confirmed & informed that she is my daughter & she requires pay order for her college admission. However she refused to process the request unless its signed by me. My daughter met the branch manager , she was busy and confirmed that its a MUST & we cant help it.

Leaving all my work aside I had to rush to the bank and complied with the requirement. 

Couldn't this have been handled in a better way in any other bank?? Relationship banking I enjoy with other banks , they even clear the cheque unsigned or with some correction on the promise that I will come and sign as required , later.

Look at the amount, purpose and my authorisation and promise to comply over phone, however nothing worked. 

This is not process centric banking but total customer apathy and we care less approach. Is it no employee empowerment or no sense of banking judgment??. & I am classified as Preferred Customer!!! (Oh ,my god, what must be the plight of no so preferred customer!!!))

The same bank on TV commercials wishes the customer who has come to open account on his birthday with a CAKE. Total disconnect between branding and customer experience in reality!!!! 

Branding sans Customer Experience !!! Ad agencies and Brand Consultants are not the BRAND builders its customer experience that builds brands !!!Still they spend millions on BRAND and nothing on CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.  (Even basic,  forget wowing!!!)

Who U R defines What U do!!!

Company Board is Responsible to the Share Holders. Rest all are responsible to the CUSTOMERS.However internal focus of the company and designations in vogue is making life complicated and working in silos a norm. If the tone at the top is CUSTOMER and it percolates down suitably at all levels , it can change the meaning for the PEOPLE in the company especially in big positions.  I have attempted to change the status quo just by changing the meaning of the designations by making it end result centric.

Here I go .........

1) Chief Executive Officer  -  Chief Customer Experience Officer

2) Chief Operation Officer - Chief Delivery Officer

3) Chief HR/People Officer- Chief Happiness Officer

4) Chief Marketing Officer - Chief Brand Officer

5) Chief Sales Officer -  Chief Fulfillment Officer

6) Chief Technology Officer - Chief Enabling Officer

7) Chief Public Relation Officer - Chief Image Officer

8) Chief Knowledge Officer - Chief Intelligence Officer

9) Chief Product Officer - Chief Customer Officer

10) Chief Procurement Officer - Chief Quality Officer

11) Chief Finance Officer - Chief Profit Officer

12) Chief Internal Auditor - Chief Sustenance Officer

13) Chief Compliance Officer  - Chief Governance Officer

14) Chief Belief Officer (Future Group does have one) - Chief Culture Officer

15) Chief Strategy Officer - Chief Competitive Officer

16) Chief Innovation Officer - Chief Future Officer

Even if they start looking at their designations, mind set will start transform-ing. 

Readers may add many more CXOs and suggest even appropriate names to the one given above. Let the winds of change take over our enterprises.

New Start Up & Six Qualities of Start Up Entrepreneurs - Reallife Xperience

Recently I become a part of team www.kredence.com . Though was always a part of Team Ketan Raiyani formally or informally. 

About Ketan, and his entrepreneurial dream, I must say (1) passion, (2) dream & (3) risk taking ability coupled with (4) fund raising capacity are the few of the  foremost qualities one (Start up entrepreneurs)  must have.  Dream of achieving something unthinkable, unbelieveable. Many people get (final) kick when someone challenges  them, Ketan is one of them. ("U cant do" so i will do). I have also seen that as an entrepreneurs one must be able to (5) take timely judgement when to withdraw when someting is not working.

With him , I was a co founder of taxsmile.com & other ventures thereafter . Many a times we had contarion views on some matters & also had unpleasant arguments. However test of the true entrepreneur is his (6) ability to  keep people around him who can challenge his thinking (Not only YES men).  All these arguments always lead us to objectivity in the situation and refinement of thoughts.  Many may not be aware that start up goes back to drawing board N number of times before their endeavour touches the market.

One suggestion: Go for something outstanding and unprecedented in the world. Be known for SOMETHING or ANYTHING even if that means lower profit.Make FANS not only customers.

Its a game of high passion and  patience !!!

Its not FACTs but E-FACT that matters

In Mumbai Suburban Railway some times people having ticket of 2nd class travels by 1st class. In similar one such instance a commuter appears to be of  2nd class commuter was boarding the train. While he was boarding 1st class compartment cpl of commuters informed that this is first class compartment so don't board.  He didn't pay heed and entered the compartment.  Then one of the commuters told him that if the ticket checker comes and he is found with 2nd class ticket he will be fined Rs.500/-. Immediately without thinking for a second he got down of the compartment. 

Fact : 1st Class Compartment E-Fact (effect): Rs.500/- penalty

Yes stating fact is just a statistics. 

Toothpaste with Salt or Clove or LED TV or 200 CC Bike or Al Queda is a Terrorist organisation - but so what? How does it matters to me??

Mere statistics may not move people to take action. If you wants action,  talk abt the impact of the facts or non action on the person. Communication be it advertising or marketing or any such personal persuasion should have this in it to be E-Fact-ive !!!

6 Ways Individuals Can leverage Social Media (professionally)

1) Have Blog  - Share yr thoughts on the subject of yr expertise or work place experience/stories.(Half of the net users read some or the other blogs atleast monthly) (This blog got readers from more than 25 countries in less than 6 months)

2) Have Blog - Writing for Blog will make U a good observer and thinker. This way U will be a better person over all.(Extra Advantages - language & writing skills improvements)

3) Have Face Book Page -  This will help U connect with yr friends and family members.  Share yr online knowledge or gain from their knowledge. Its knowledge distribution everywhere. Either gain or share. Its win win.  (1 out of every 8 Minutes online is spent on FB)

a) Have Linked In Profile - This is a must. Most (Well many and many more to catch up) employers are now hiring after viewing profile here. One can do own branding here. Write & Get Recommendations. Its abt BRAND U.

b) Have Twitter Profile -   Here follow some of yr role models and someone u want to get in touch with. Reply their interesting twits and get noticed. This was not possible at all otherwise.( 90 mn  twits per day )

c) Post Reviews & Comments - Post product and services reviews you have experienced.  Its a gre8 utility in the world bombarded by push advertising. (78% net users do their product research online, 24% of adults have posted comments and reviews online)

Next time why businesses MUST use social media to get more business and enhance customer experience. See u Soon.

How to WOW !!!

Inviting tips , ideas & stories for my book How to Wow !!!!. 

Its abt wowing yr audience as an individual or as a company. Tips, real life stories and more such stories r welcome. 

Participants will receive free ecopy with due credit if story find place in the book. 

5 ways to Rejuvenate Your Brand ( U and Brand U represent )

Past Experience sometimes is the biggest hurdle. It CONDITIONS our mind. Previous patterns determine our future actions. Life is an explorations and conditioned mind cant explore but just follow the trend. This applies to individuals and enterprises equally.

Therefore to unCONDITION our mind we need to be alert of our thoughts & actions.  Out of the Box or Lateral Thinking is all about this. Everyone be it individual or company becomes prisoner of this "following the pattern" habit. This is how we become stale after sometime.

Challenge is to get out of this and rejuvenate our thoughts on an ongoing basis:

5) Do something non routine daily.(take new route to office or home, buy  non regular magazine, go to movie with not so good review, watch channel not viewed regularly, offer peak season discount on products and services, pay yr supplier early and thank them for the support, celebrate achievement of family members of employees,  ask back office team to front end the customers,  respond to call center queries in 48 minutes instead of 48 hours, offer no question asked goods return for a day, call customer after a day of his purchase to know whether he is happy with product or service

4) Challenge Obvious Idea / Action / Interpretation. (Get feedback from suppliers, service providers, go to different restaurant, take no reason leave from the job and be with the family, have without appointments day for all patients,  go and play cricket with children on Sunday,   )

3) Think , apply your mind and look at the things in different perspective.(Talk to grieving customers or employees by calling him and giving full attention to know his perspectives)

2) For the sake of change do something differently. (Offer Lassi or lemon juice in place of routine Tea/Coffee to your customers /employees)

1) Check Business Processes more often for better customer experiences. Its a dynamic world, processes must be reviewed to achieve speed & convenience to customers.(Remove or merge processes, add delight factor in the process)

Many more such actions can be taken up routinely to un( Condition + Routine ) our mind. Daily Targets ,Quarterly Results and Annual Bonus will make it difficult to think anything other than routine but believe me thinking unroutine will improve all the three targets.

This is BRANDing in ACTION. Atrophy (Regular CONDITIONed) or Rejuvenate (Regular UNCONDITIONing). Choice of actions r clear. 

Six Questions to Awaken CUSTOMER within

As a part of my selection of case studies on customer experience & social media I request CEOs and Business Owners (or for that matter anyone interested) to share their views on following six AWAKENERs:

6) How often CUSTOMER xperience & feedback are on yr internal meeting agenda? 

Always, Sometime, seldom , never

5) Do U have someone fully end to end in charge of Customer Experience?

4) Do U believe that customer delight is core and critical to retain yr brand's competitive advantage? 

1) Do U believe in " Advertising & Marketing Messages need to line up with customer's real experiences. So first & foremost  U have to get customer xperience right. "

2) Do U have Social Media Strategy? If yes what is the core purpose? 

3) What are yr immediate plan to indulge on social media to enhance customer xperience & acquisition? & to enhance Health of the brand U represent?

  

Social Media & Customer De-light ( P-light )

"Focus of most marketing spend is usually around new customer acquisition and that only 20% of marketing budgets are typically spent on retention. Yet, in many cases, 75% of revenues comes from existing customers." (Book : Flip to Funnel)

Wow! Customer Xperience is NOW more relevant in times of powerful Social Media. Words Spreads with electrifying speed and across d globe - Good or Bad. 

Channel your marketing budget to existing customers. Wow !! them , delight them, offer them memorable experience, offer them something to speak (write) abt on social media online and offline. 

Every wants to share their experiences. Social Media is providing them many such platforms.Are we providing them enough (any) food for thought abt what to write/share with their friends, followers and group members ??? If we are not , customers have their own opinions. They will share.

Every customer is also a publisher. (FB, Tweet, U Tube , LinkedIn , Blog) Any clue what to do to get ur offerings published?

(Next coming up with my ebook on hOw to wOw!!!!)

U are not DEAD , but are U Dying in EMI !!! Wake up and Wake yr Boss up

People are dying from job related stress. Actually dying or moving fast towards death 

with diseases like stress related diabetes, cardiac problem, high blood pressure etc. 

(DEAD: Raghu Pillai of Future grp, R Ravimohan of Reliance, ex CRISIL, Ranjan Das of SAP, Dewang Mehta - NASSCOM are the known examples & DYING : Most of us)

Unfortunately the pace at which economy (due to technology) wants us to react is so fast that human species will take time to adjust. Like the versions of the IT products we also need advance versions of  people who can take on the technology and can react and move at speed of thought. I am not talking abt development of technology but the speed at which things in the world happens due to sophistication of technology is the KILLER.

Technology is just a one part, problem with CAPITALIST society is that Capital is d only measurement of success.All our measurements of success surrounds CAPITAL. ROI, IRR, EBIDTA, EPS, ROCE, PBT , EVA and that's it. Failure or success is defined by these figures. PERIOD.   

  

Which company actually measures stress or happiness of the employees , suppliers (Quick deliveries and delayed payment) & customers on an on going basis and actually work towards improving the happiness and lowering the stress? No Annual Reports talks about people's happiness or customers happiness due to the existence of the enterprise.  People talks about triple bottom line (one each for Shareholders, Society and Environment).We have regulator like SEBI and minister like Jairam Ramesh so two of the three are looked after to some extent (environment reporting is negligible).  Society incl people (HR) and customer influenced by the Enterprise is invariably ignored. 

Companies in the US like Zapoos is one of the very few who has taken up HAPPINESS as an objective of their existence and they are working on delivering happiness not just to their customers but to people across the globe. 

Unless the focus changes things will not change. Unless  we care abt the people more than the shareholders  things will not change. Unless our annual reports are driven by people, customers and society at large than by Companies Act things will not change. Which company will wake up first??  Infosys did it once on governance and reporting transparency.  
Who will take the lead this time? Are we not extremely conditioned!!!

Caution before U Commence !!!!

Never ever start any project without financial closure. Short term approach that lets manage till we need additional money invariably will puncture (Cost and time overrun, cost of finance will go up in a emergency situation and not so well thought out decisions  in desperation) the project. 

Don't forget the lesson of 2008 crisis, take money when available and not when u need it.  You may not use the available money in full and pay interest or commitment charges , but that is a better scenario than no money and project suffers.

Seen this and seeing again and again. 

(Not appliable to start ups, they need to manage from whatever sources till they dilute to professional investors)

Soul is left to someone else , CEOs r focusing on BODY of Business.

Customer Experience = Marketing Job ?? Biggest Myth of enterprises of TODAY. 

Its d Job of the highest decision maker or decision making forum in d company. 

Why?? Customer Experience can be altered and made delightful by;

1) Making Offerings stand out among the competing crowd

2) Making HR more customer friendly and happier

3) Making business processes customer friendly and quicker

4) Making after sales , powerful tool to get new sales

5) Going out of the way to help customers. Its abt empowering yr people

6) Its about DESIGN. The way products /services will be manufactured and delivered to the customers. 

7) Its abt sales collateral, ad campaign, social responsibility, governance and everything.

Its a SOUL (Script) of any enterprise. How CEOs and Core Team can remain out of the DESIGNING process of Customer Xperience and leave it to CMO or CSO??

CEOs other priorities without the center focus of customer experience design are misplaced priorities. Its red ocean mind set and running away from the real issue.

Do U design and measure Customer Experience this way???

Lets start designing and measuring Customer Experience with this bench mark!!! Fantastic Focus.

19 Life Changing Books !!!

 1) Experience Economy- Pine & Gilmore

2) Re-imagine & Circle of Innovation - Tom Peters

3) Rethinking the Future - Many Renowned Management Thinkers

4) Linchpin & Small is new Big - Seth Godin

5) Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh

6) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

 7) Mavericks @ Work - Taylor & Labaree

8) The Referral Engine - John Jantsch

9) Seven Days Weekend - Ricardo Semler

10) The Goal - Dr Eliyahu Goldratt

11) Blue Ocean Strategy - Kim & Renne

12) The Starbucks Experience  - Michelli

13) Working with Emotional Intelligence - Danial Goleman

14) Who moved my cheese - Spencer Johnson

15) The Professional & Go Kiss d world - Subroto Bagchi

& Of course

16)  Indian Income Tax Act and Companies Act - For not pursing & practicing the same

(Everything need not end with round figure, influence is not in the given order & not included religious books - 
Readers are welcome to share their influencers - boook or people)

I learned from MS Dhoni " "

What MS Dhoni Means to U??

Applied Learnings from his captaincy??? 

Pl share yr thoughts. 

Customer Xperience - What ?? - See how Fidelity is doing!!!

Now this is called breathing in and out Customer Experience. Elevator for Employees @ Fidelity Inv - US..

Courtesy Bruce Temkin

Why Partnership Fails!!!

1) No clear (roles ,responsibility & business) definition

2) Not knowing clear strength of the partner

3) No idea of how team can produce results which individuals can not

4) Different (Goals & Values)

5) No (large heart & attitude of leg go)

6) Attitude, ego and I (don't need ne one / I alone can do it) mind set

7) Mixing personal problems with business issues

8) Joining hands (without due diligence or for limited selfish motives)

9) Unable to accept one as a leader

Ambanis, Bajajs, Goenkas, Birlas, Mafatlals, Microsoft Partners, Salim Javed, Thackreys are examples of many many many such broken partnerships in business, politics and families. 

Mostly it destroys value, Its sad , its worthless & repenting in the long-run. Synergy is in joining hands & reverse of synergy is in separation. 

I invite readers with many more such insights for the benefits of other readers.

Your Brand Can't Survive without Customer Xperience Agenda 2011-12.

1) Appoint Chief Customer Xperience Officer reporting to CEO. A MUST. (is there ne one in charge of end to end customer experience with yr brand ??? )

2) Critically evaluate all customer touch points. Whether they create memorability in some way for the end users?

3) Have online social media team (it cud be one man) in place to gather data on customer reviews of yr offerings. Spread awareness about yr brand and address complains & concerns of the customers. (At the speed of thought and not once a week)

4) Act on negative feedback to improve offerings and promote positive feedback. (Must be a part of all review meet)

5) Encourage happy customers to share their views online /offline.

6) During the year make sure to make feel your all customer very special at least once a year. Genuinely. Have events, special price, offer free tickets, alter their opinion about how far a company can go to please their customers.

7) If u r a public company, make it a point to include customer experience initiatives and customer speak out . part of yr annual report. Have measurability and measure it every year. 

8)  Proactive , proactive and proactive to know what customer feels and think about yr brand and offerings. Do whatever it takes to find out. Spend money as customers are going to be spoke person in the market when yr company does very good or very bad.

9) Everyone is the solution business. Therefore don't just limit your efforts plainly in what u offer. Try & solve customer problem which she wants to solve thru yr offerings.

10) Try and apply everything above from TODAY. Retained customer will attract new customers. 

Whether yr customers are promoting yr brand??  If not, check out, you may be offering mediocre customer experience. No one wud like to tell others that they are consuming mediocre offerings but if they are enchanted they will go out and tell the whole world. Amitabh Bachchans, Sachin Tendlukars & Madhuri Dixits of the BRANDs have their FAN followings. Make yr brand one amongst them this YEAR.

Focus on Balance Sheet first to restructure d Business

Focus on Balance Sheet first to restructure d business

Entrepreneurs mainly focus on sales first and then profit. However it is the Balance Sheet and not P & L statement is the most important business document.  P & L Statement only talks about how company has fared operationally during that particular year. 

Its the Balance Sheet that reflects that whether company is receiving payment of sold goods, leverage is in order or its risky, whether company is  paying their suppliers in time or no, how much have company earned all these years and what company has retained in the business, funds diverted or no, bank limits are overdrawn or otherwise, liquidity position etc etc. 

Therefore review of balance sheet on an on going basis is a MUST to measure the company performance. Even if you want to restructure yr business start with Balance Sheet.

When was the last time Balance Sheet and implications were discussed with auditor or management consultant???

Cash Flow is Necessary but not Sufficient

Many a times Cash Flow is so comforting that entrepreneurs forget about Profit. Its your money that counts at the end of the day. Cash Flow is important and critical but not enough. Its not your money. It is money in the system. May be belongs to banks, creditors or private lenders.

Unless U have profit in the books and cash flow supporting the same, u r in for trouble (Big or small depends). At individual level we have seen the crisis in the US in  2008. Same can happen or is happening with many entrepreneurs who consider present cash flow is their own ownership.  

It is also not necessary that all entrepreneurs are finance savvy (even management savvy) to understand implications of these tricky situations. Earlier it is the better it is.

Honor Your People - PUBLICLY & Regularly

Which industry attracts talented people!!! Any Guess???

Yes its Bollywood. Industry which celebrates success of their people publicly 5 to 6 times. a year. (We have so many film/TV awards annually).

Which other industry celebrates annually success or performance of their participants??  Suited booted corporate awards celebrates success of their owners not people.

Honor your people for what they are doing for your enterprise success publicly. Acknowledge their contribution not just at the bottom of  directors report but on top of the annual report and at every annual /semi annual mega events. 

How to glorify your business & industry - learn from Bollywood.

Connecting People is D thing

Yes, biggest difference people can make is by connecting two right people. People meeting people creates SYNERGY. 

Face Book , Linkedin or for that matter every social media sites are doing it. Nokia has slogan Connecting People.   

Every seminar and conferences are opportunity to connect with people. Knowing d with people can make huge difference. Be it professional of personal life. 

Recollect WHO all were introduced to you by someone and now you have great relation with the ones who were introduced. 

Many a times intermediaries are not valued at the value they deserve. Be it broker or you friend who introduces you to new people are doing great service to your life. 

Value intermediaries , value d people who brings new contacts , new deals,  new opportunities to your life. (they may have commercial angel to it, even though - as your benefit is far larger than what commercial interests intermediaries may have). 

Change yr life by - Surround your self with people who brings new contacts of right people to you.

 

Chain Re-Action of Referral Marketing

How REFERENCE can become good business sense for everyone? We refer many things to many people.

Why do we refer?? What makes any products and services referable? Most Referred  businesses save a lot in marketing and selling cost. However they invest in making customer experience remarkable. This will lead to chain reaction of reference. 

Get an insight of how many of your clients are from refereeing category!!! If not many then there is a cause(s) of worry but if there are many then are u using this referral marketing tool in a systematic way???

Think on WHAT will make U remarkable and more referrable??? Work on that and use the tool effectively. In the era of online world , referral spreads like a FIRE. 

r U doing, wat U r passionate about?

Either love U what do or Find doing something what U Love. Life otherwise is waste of time.

1. Leave yr job if u hate yr role 
2. Leave yr business if u r disinterested in doing it
3. Leave yr boss if U don't respect him
4. Leave yr relationship if it is no longer sustainable
5. Just Leave whatever U don't like 

But before taking ne such dramatic step, find your LOVE.  Valentine day is about finding and expressing yr LOVE. Its about living yr LOVE . Be it yr person or yr passion.

R U indispensable in yr roles??

No one is indispensable. However one who is difficult to replace is worth much more than other folks. 

Indispensable people go out of the way to get things done. They don't care whether its their duty or whether they have the mandate. They don't wait for the instructions. Going beyond and above their role proactively.They take charge.

These are the qualifiers. You may see many such people around u. Entrepreneurs are the ones but there are many in employed category and they are Worth praising, noticing and following.

Vote for Me. Wagon R Smart Idea Context

http://wagonrsmartideas.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=53518

Are yr marketing efforts not yielding desired results?

Call Centers (Out Bound) , spam mails , SMS Marketing, all push marketing techniques are going to have nature death. Its found when needed matters & not found every now & then on every channel and medium.(its truly disturbing and killing BRANDS) 

People have enough choices of getting what they want courtesy google , face book, face book friends, linkedin connects & likes and Just Dial kind of networks. Work on existing customers and they will freely become your brand ambassadors. But who cares once the transaction is over???

Marketeers have to innovate , innovate by creative destruction. What once used to or every one else is doing is BORING & Brand Killers.

Hello - Redefine Your Business Objects, Yes Seriously.

How many of us really believe that we all are in the business

of DELIVERING HAPPINESS??

Think of What PAIN yr offering removes or what PLEASURE your offering gives??

21st Century - Decade No. II, require all of us to realign our paradiams. 

  

Examples of Failed Customer Focus

1) We get automated replies to our mails & we cant reply.

2) We get marketing SMS without direct number of the sender.

3) We speak to call center agents - every time different person.

4) We get computer generated letters hence signature not required.

5) We get letters signed by authorised signatory (un-named)

6) We can return goods only within fixed time/day. However they sale us 24 X 7 thru outbound call centers even if we are in toilet. (they have refund policy but no sale policy)

7) They send us most complicated prize winning competition documents every now and then. (Earlier Readers Digest now India Today)

8) They offer attractive prizes on joining the club but when time comes to utilise membership advantages we are least preferred.

9) They make fancy website  but wants us to call them by not providing online contact help/mail.

10) All of them work only for MONEY and Profit & not for customers. '

Its a lose lose situation out there and not win win. Customers are unhappy (shifting brands, no brand loyalty,no trust, frustrated with the way they are being treated) and marketeers are fighting in their own red ocean (no customer centric innovation or focus).  

Customer Experience turns Citizen Experience in Gujarat

When CUSTOMER experience thinking is applied at state level it becomes CITIZEN Experience (Aspirations) management. CM Narendra Modi very well knows this and applying the same to his fullest capacity. I was in Gujarat on 12/13th of Jan.Vibrant Gujarat - Amazing Show of Strength of Gujarat and what one man with dedicated mission can do.

One has to be there to experience the vibrancy in people of Gujarat just because of their leader is doing every bit to develop and promote the state. Not only political leaders but our corporate leaders also have to learn many things from this vibrant leader. How is he driving the state keeping people's development agenda at the CORE. He believes that customers i.e citizen come first. Billions of dollars of MOUs, investments, people centric innovative schemes, celebration of festivals on large scales, explosion in infrastructure development & what not!!!

Two eye opener (political) when I was returning from Gujarat: US wants to partner with the state under his leadership in 2013 Vibrant Gujarat  Summit and benefit out of the state's economic development but no Visa to man who is making this happen (Duel Standards, we need more of wiki leaks to bring out hypocrites in political system world over) and secondly India need leader who can think, act and delivers and not only scholar and learned as PM. Leaders and not scholars can run the state , country and for that matter any institutions.

Have U ever been WOWed !!!!! ????

Inviting Views from Professionals & Customers associated with:

1. Real Estate 
2. Hospital  
3. Retail 
4. Banking

Industries to share their CUSTOMER Delight Business Processes. Implemented as insiders or Experienced as customers. (All other delightful experiences as a customer r welcome)

r CEOs PASSIONATE abt their CUSTOMERS?

During last 7 days columnists in leading business papers wrote abt Customer Experience and WOW !!!  THRICE.

1) In Mint Shuchi Bansal - Marketing & Media Editor referring to wow!!! customer services by Quintessentially Services.

2) In ET , Amitabh Chaudhry - Chief HDFC Insurance talking abt Customer Centricity of the Organisation.

3) Today, Ruchard Branson in the Mint talks abt Delightful Customer Experience as core competency @ Virgin.

However unfortunately most Top Managements in India still think Customer Experience is marketing and customer services department job. Whenever I speak to the owners of the businesses abt the subject, 9 3/4th  out of 10 refers me to their customer service and marketing dept. They even dont bother to know more abt it. 

They will do every other things to push their sales , spent time with brand designers , media and ad agencies, large growth options thru M & A, large fund raising , but when it comes to customer and customer experience they turn it to other departments. I fail to understand for /with whom they spent time if customers are not their priority or domain!!! 

No one , in fact no one thinks abt customer WOW !!! Moments,  forget designing that WOW !!! moments. 

In the world of online fulfillment , all physical businesses will keep fighting and bleeding in red ocean unless they make compelling reasons for the customer to experience their offerings. 

This will not happen without the top management's passion for the customers.

Go out of the Way and Do something worth Cherishing during 2011.

Happy 2011 

How to Make it Memorable & Delightful (i.e. HAPPY) for all the stake holders. i.e. family , friends and business associates, share holders , colleagues, & CUSTOMERS?

Don't Just Wish them do something to make it Happen. 

i

Will work with more Clients in helping them creating WOW!!! Customer Experiences. 

Will take up start up mentoring so will share my experiences in entrepreneurship. 

Will continue to share my insight on real life HAPPINESS drivers.

Go out of the Way and Do something worth Cherishing during 2011. Life is truly SHORT.