Information as a Competitive Advantage – Part 2: Creation of Customer Value

Information which: contributes to the understanding of the customer profile, the market segmentation and the focused provisioning of products and services on selected Customer groups

Medical Encounters of the Third Kind

In medicine these third-kind discussions are usually seen as preventative in nature, and often aren’t easy to broach given the intense pressures of time most doctors face, and given the traditional view most patients have of their doctors. However, some chiropractors, naturopaths and holistic medical practitioners have built successful practices in the

A is For Outstanding

Within an organization, departments may have very different opinions about how well they are doing, and how well, or poorly, other departments around them are performing. These disagreements stem from a lack of clear standards for evaluating internal service. This can lead to...

Why Quality Assurance is Not Enough

How can a company produce zero-defect products, boast dramatic cycle-time reductions, be certified for consistent, reliable performance...and still lose valuable customers?

It Takes One Grump to Spoil a Brand!

Companies invest millions to create, design, fine-tune, build, promote and extend their brands. Think Nike, Virgin, Versace, Raffles, Amazon. All your investment brings customers to your door (or website) with expectations matching your...

How to be a Better Customer

When you give better service, your customers will appreciate you more. But when you give lousy service, your customers can be a pain in the neck. The flip side is also true. If you are an...

Stretching Your Sense of Service

If you provide internal service, do you reach across functional lines, or stay stuck inside your departmental 'silo'? Is your communication with colleagues and partners positive, proactive and persistent?

How to Pay a Powerful Compliment

Sincere compliments motivate, encourage and inspire. The next time you praise a deserving person or organization, create a compliment with positive power...

Make Things Easy for Your Customers

I have three complaints and three suggestions.

Partnership Power: A Smart New Way to Improve Your Business and Your Life

In the beginning, great products were enough to guarantee your business success. With product sophistication, 'six sigma' manufacturing and zero defects you could consistently beat the competition.

Moment of Truth or Moment of Impact

Moments of truth are all those times when customers experience and evaluate your service. Work hard, do a good job, and customers will come back for more.

The Cheesecake of Tomorrow

At an elegant resort in Mauritius, the dessert menu was rather sparse. One customer asked the waiter for 'The Special Dessert of Today.'

Customers - NO

We were visiting in Gisborne, an attractive small town near Melbourne, Australia

What to do When Your Customer is About to Explode

When things go wrong, many customers get upset. Some blow up in anger. The next time your customer is ready to explode, use these five proven steps to sanity.

100% is Not Enough - You Need 120%

I recently organized a service benchmarking visit to Singapore for 22 Korean sales and service trainers. In seven days we visited 23 leading organizations. A very busy week!