Comments for Customer Experience Matters

Comment on The 4 Key Ingredients Of Great Organizations by Neff Hudson

Neff Hudson — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:15:03 +0000

Interesting model, Bruce. I really like the concept of Adaptive Design, which could even qualify as a core competency. I wonder if it’s less about “realities” than emerging customer requirements and/or market trends. And it may be interesting to extend “customer responsiveness” to “customer connectedness” (a mouthful to be sure). Learning from, and connecting with, customers wherever they want to engage.

But in summary, good stuff here! Keep going…

Comment on Misleading Coupons Hurt Loyalty by Lesley Grossblatt

Lesley Grossblatt — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:44:10 +0000

Bottom line, it’s certainly not storewide.

Comment on The 4 Key Ingredients Of Great Organizations by Bob Viney

Bob Viney — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:51:02 +0000

Bruce, the comment on collaboration above is a really key element of your Adaptive Design step, in my experience. Hard to work in large organizations to achieve the goals of a customer experience that grows market share, share of wallet, loyalty, and thus profits, without the collaboration of departments and profit centers.

I’d also like to engage in dialogue on customer value vs customer experience. In my career, I’ve found that customer experience really goes through the roof when an organization begins to focus across it’s full range of product and service offerings and operations with optimizing the value of individual customer relationships. And marketing that supports customer value is quite different than what passes for customer-centric and social media marketing today. The best examples there are still focused on what I call “product-centric” marketing to generate a “transaction”. It’s all about how to better reach, better target, etc, without really engaging in a true customer-centric, INTERACTIVE messaging process. That’s where the potential for great growth and susatinable competitive lie, in my experience.

Comment on Accenture CEO On Leadership, Plus A C&P by Accethics

Accethics — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:43:17 +0000

Accenture partners claim that the company enforces high ethical standards but the facts shows differently.
Douglas Scrivner responded to a SEC related to the reestructuring costs that http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1143908/000095013706000977/filename1.htm
“The partners did not pay the tax liability at the time of the reorganization transaction because the Company and its external advisors felt there was a reasonable possibility of a favorable outcome. The Company and its external advisors believed the tax positions related to the restructuring transactions were appropriate and supportable under local tax law and the Company intends to defend, as needed, tax positions taken by the partners. A favorable outcome is still possible through either issues not being identified on audit by tax authorities, a successful defense of the position, or expiration of the statute of limitations, so it is not appropriate to pay the tax liability at the time of the transaction, or at any time, unless administrative and legal processes have concluded and resulted in an actual unfavorable outcome.”
In page 16 of the “NOTICE OF THE 2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS”
( http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000119312509251604/dpre14a.htm ) is stated:

“Senior Executive Tax Costs
The Company has informed approximately 2,500 of our senior executives that if the senior executive reported for tax purposes the transactions involved in connection with our transition to a corporate structure in 2001, the Company will, in certain circumstances, provide a legal defense to that individual if his or her reporting position is challenged by the relevant tax authority. In the event such a defense is unsuccessful, and the senior executive is then subject to extraordinary financial disadvantage, the Company will review such circumstances for that individual and find an appropriate way to avoid severe financial damage to that individual.”

In the newspaper el Mundo there was informed that Accenture (and therefore all shareholders) have paid 110 million euros, plus the penalty related with the unpaid taxes of the 100 Spanish Partners in 2001 reestructuring.
http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2008/06/20/economia/1213922650.html
If now as declared there are 2500 senior executives that might be in the same situation, it is stright forward to have a direct correlation of the possible personal tax impact on former senior executives that Accenture is commenting it might be paid by the company and therefore by all Accenture shareholders.

Where are Accenture Ethical Standards?

Comment on The 4 Key Ingredients Of Great Organizations by martinking

martinking — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:59:10 +0000

Sounds all very traditional to me – top down command control machine organisations.

Comment on The 4 Key Ingredients Of Great Organizations by Arnold

Arnold — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:58:46 +0000

As the challenges and the changes are more complicated and unpredictable, I would like to add ‘Collaboration’. To find answers and approached to these challenges, organizations need to bring people together to address them. Not only cross silo’s/functions, but also from outside.

In these groups you need to have a large variet and diversity of people.

Comment on The 4 Key Ingredients Of Great Organizations by Bruce Temkin

Bruce Temkin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:35:51 +0000

Esteban: I feel like you’re reading my mind. Thanks for the encouragement.

Domenick: Thanks for your feedback and nice comments. I agree with the goal of customer delight, but my thinking is that it comes from doing all 4 areas — not just from customer-responsiveness. Hopefully my Spring posts will be helpful for your class.

Comment on Misleading Coupons Hurt Loyalty by Bruce Temkin

Bruce Temkin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:26:30 +0000

Hi everyone: Great conversation. I didn’t write the post to go after Lord & Taylor specifically, since they are not the only ones guilty of this practices. But there are definitely lessons to learn (for companies and consumers) which have come up in your comments. Thanks!

Comment on Misleading Coupons Hurt Loyalty by abhatti

abhatti — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:10:34 +0000

I think if people use more efficient coupon tools they’ll be able to save a lot of time. For example, if you use RivePoint (www.rivepoint.com) you’ll be able to get Lord & Taylor coupons on your phone and if they don’t accept it at least you don’t have to feel bad about going thru the whole process of cutting, clipping and saving the coupon only to get depressed later when it doesn’t work.

Comment on Misleading Coupons Hurt Loyalty by Domenick Celentano

Domenick Celentano — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:54:57 +0000

Apparently Lord &Taylor management geniuses have not heard of two important concepts:

The Lifetime Value of a Customer
Social Networking

This one incident is now on the blogosphere for all to see and for most, would dissuade a potential new L& T customer. You just have to wonder how management is so ignorant today about Customer Delight and the power of Social Media.