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Breaking Bread

Having customers eat together strengthens their ties with each other, and you.

As long as I can remember, I’ve had an interest in esoteric subcultures. Early on it was comic book collecting, then Magic: The Gathering, then sleight of hand, and then cocktails and bartender culture.

All of these subcultures share a common feature: they have conventions to bring like-minded people together.

The events at these conventions usually aren’t the big draw. Instead, it’s meeting friends new and old over drinks at the newest bar that opened or a late night fourth-meal in the back of a Denny’s.

Humans have an innate desire to come together—it is one of our basic needs. And, breaking bread together is one of the strongest ways to form bonds.

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August 9, 2019 by

Omotenashi: How Selfless Is Your Customer Service?

Customers are people; consumers are statistics.

Customers are people; consumers are statistics.
Stanley Marcus, Quest for the Best

On a recent trip overseas, I was struck at the difference in attitude between airport security in Japan and the US.

In Japan, the conveyor belts had a curved design that took up little space and returned the bins automatically, there were only a few employees, and all of the employees were trying to help the customers get through security as pain-free as possible.

In the US, there was a new and confusing conveyor belt system that kept backing up, there were more employees at each scanner than I wanted to count, and the TSA employee instructing people how to use the new system kept talking down to customers that didn’t understand what they were supposed to do.

The difference between these two experiences, like all customer service experiences, comes down to cultural differences—the culture of the society or the organization.

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August 2, 2019 by

Stories Are Taking Over The Customer Journey

The primary ingredient behind compelling stories come down to one thing: problems.

The protagonist faces a challenge and tries to overcome it. This is the essence of drama and the key to good storytelling.

Without problems—without troubles and tensions—there’s no story. There’s nothing to engage us. Continue Reading

May 17, 2019 by

How Insightful are Your Customer Insights?

The reason our stories, messaging and marketing fall flat is that the people we want to serve are not motivated by our need to be seen, to be heard or to close a sale. People—your audience, customers and clients—are motivated by their need to be seen, heard and understood.
Bernadette Jiwa, The Right Story

Despite the amount of money companies spend on customer insights, most companies don’t value true insights.

Insights should tell you something new; they should change the way you think. Yet, most companies reward predictable results instead of game changers.1

On average, companies value “insights” that confirm what they’re already doing. At best, they want “insights” that only slightly modify what they’re already doing.

But, are these insights really insightful? Continue Reading

May 11, 2019 by