Peppers & Rogers Group combines a global perspective, deep expertise in customer strategy and decades of experience serving top companies. Read our latest insights and thought leadership on the customer economy.
2012
Companies can outsmart their competition by taking the lead when it comes to being proactively trustworthy. I recently noticed a missed opportunity during an experience I had with my cable provider, Comcast.
Continue reading "Extreme Trust in Action: Comcast Misses an Opportunity" »
We are looking for examples of trustability shown by small- and medium-sized businesses. At Peppers & Rogers Group, our consulting practice primarily centers on larger companies, but there are a wide range of smaller firms that could benefit from establishing a reputation for trustability. Here are a couple of examples from our book Extreme Trust:
JetBlue is an example of a trustable company. The airline proactively refunds customers when it experiences long delays, in accordance with its Customer Bill of Rights. Both are examples of JetBlue's trustability. Watch the Peppers Unplugged video to learn more.
"No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money, too." -Margaret Thatcher
The clash between trustability and a company's own short-term financial interest is real. It is a serious and continuing obstacle to be overcome, and we don't want to minimize it. Urging companies simply to "do the right thing" isn't likely to change how management sees the world. The profit motive does that. But trustability is actually a tool for generating the kind of profits that ought to be beloved by any good capitalist.
"The big change in the world is that patients are taking control." The remarks from TEDMED's Jay Walker at last week's World Health Care Congress captured the prevailing sentiment of the conference for medical and healthcare executives. Nearly every session and keynote focused on the theme that consumers, once a secondary business consideration in the industry, have shot to the forefront of healthcare business strategy.
Continue reading "Executives Put Customers at the Center of the Healthcare Discussion" »
Relationships revolve around trust. The need to surround ourselves with people we consider trustworthy is ingrained in human nature. Whether it's determining who to share confidential information with or which email in our inbox we should open, trust is often at the back of our minds.
Continue reading "Global View: Maintaining a Trust-Focused Relationship in Turkey" »
Our latest book is now available: Extreme Trust: Honesty as a Competitive Advantage.
But what is "extreme trust" and what does it mean for businesses? Our argument is that in a more socially connected, transparent world -- a world of Twittter and Facebook, Wikileaks and YouTube, companies will be held accountable by customers for proactively protecting their interests, rather than simply passively refraining from cheating them or deceiving them. "Extreme trust" comes when a company is proactively trustworthy, or "trustable."
Mark Twain once said, "Never let formal education get in the way of your learning." I couldn't agree more, especially when it comes to customer strategy.
Look around at different campaigns out there trying to entice new customers or programs that reward existing customers. How long have they been in the market? Are they effective? Most of them, sadly, aren't. And here's why. Brace yourself people...this secret hits the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to messaging and product development:
Continue reading "Why Playing Fast and Loose With Customers Is a Good Thing" »
Being more trustable to customers means that companies, their managers, and their employees, must behave in a way that demonstrates empathy.
Continue reading "Corporations Must "Put on a Human Face" to Build Customer Trust" »
It's a reasonable bet that very few customers would want to pay $25 a month for AOL's dial-up ISP subscription - a subscription they don't need and never use, and that they don't really know they're paying for. And most likely no one would actually want to incur NSF (insufficient funds) charges by accident. There may be times a person would choose to incur such fees, and (who knows?) some people might simply choose to pay for dial-up service just so they can say they do, but on the whole, we don't think we're going too far out on a limb by suggesting that these are not examples of companies proactively protecting their customers' interests.
Continue reading "How Trustable Companies Use Customer Insight" »
Taking advantage of customers' errors may seem profitable in the short term, but in the long term it erodes customer trust and leads to churn.
-------
It was another banner year at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona. Attendance was up 11 percent over last year to 67,000 people. The event has outgrown its venue, and will next year be held on the outskirts of the city in anticipation of continued growth. It really is impressive to be able to interact with so many players in the industry.
The mood on the show floor and in the sessions was very positive and upbeat. Innovation is moving rapidly, and many people were excited to see the latest products and services from both industry stalwarts and fledgling start-ups. But among all the product releases and high-tech announcements, the real buzzword at the conference was "customer."
Continue reading "Three Customer Trends from the 2012 Mobile World Congress" »
In the telecom industry, convergence and integration is a challenge for mobile and fixed-line operators as customer demand grows. It's critical for companies to be consistent and keep their promises to customers. Ozan Bayulgen, partner at Peppers & Rogers Group, shares insights on how operators can make the most of this exciting time.
Continue reading "Customer Centricity in the Mobile World" »
Many financial services companies struggle to balance company and customer requirements. Specifically, they're challenged with the need to deliver exceptional multichannel contact center experiences while managing operational efficiencies, containing costs, and harnessing opportunities to increase sales.
Continue reading "Balancing Multichannel Customer Support with Cost Containment" »
The publishing industry will live or die with the success of Barnes & Noble. So says an article by Julie Bosman in The New York Times, "The Bookstore's Last Stand," (29Jan12, p. 1 Business). Bosman's article was spot on in many ways, and it's clear that CEO William Lynch is doing good things for the company. But as Ms. Bosman reports, Amazon.com's market cap is currently $88 billion, compared to B&N's mere $719 million. The Wall Street Journal reported last summer that then-execs at B&N offered to buy Amazon.com from Jeff Bezos in 1996 as a favor. In 15 years David and Goliath's roles have reversed. Have the weapons changed? Have the armies?
The healthcare industry is in a state of drastic change. Legislative changes, new technologies, rising costs and growing consumer expectations mean that health insurers need to think differently about how they build and nurture relationships with their customers.
Marc Ruggiano of Peppers & Rogers Group discusses the important role consumers have in how the healthcare industry evolves, and how the idea of consumer trust can be the foundation of transformation.
Continue reading "More Than Reform: Consumer Trust Is Redefining the Healthcare Industry" »
It's been barely a month since Yahoo appointed a new CEO. Things have been rather quiet from Yahoo's end, but the press has been quick to criticize Yahoo's board for yet another poor choice of Chief Executive to steer the Yahoo titanic out of icy waters. Indeed, at first sight, new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson does not strike you as an obvious digital captain to lead one of the world's largest Internet destinations.
In the movie Up in the Air, George Clooney's character is a consultant obsessed with loyalty programs. His goal is to reach 10 million frequent flier miles and have a plane named after him. But what companies can actually take their loyalty programs that far? How far can you go to keep loyal customers interested and reaching for more?
Many companies offer loyalty programs, designed to reward the most loyal customers and make sure they build share of wallet. They have a progression path, tiers to be reached, and higher and higher privileges that members aspire to achieve. So what happens when a customer reaches the top of the pyramid? How do you keep the spark of the initial relationship going strong?
Walt Disney is noted for saying that he wanted to create an experience that customers enjoy so much they come back, and they tell their friends. As part of Peppers & Rogers Group's Social Media Week last week, 1to1 Media Editorial Director Ginger Conlon and I spoke to several business leaders in New York whose firms were cited by 1to1 readers as having a unique or outstanding customer experience.
Social media when applied in healthcare often comes down to risks versus rewards, because the risk of saying something in a social channel that may violate patient confidentiality is simply too great for some providers.
Executives who grew up in the world of mass media, and -- despite the freshest thinking they can muster -- still ask, when confronted with the new technologies: "How can we use social media to increase sales, increase reach and frequency at low cost, and "create buzz?" It's the wrong question to ask.
I peruse the financial trade press pretty often. In them I read articles and come across ads touting new brands, new products, new technology, justification of new fee structures, announcements of buyouts and mergers, new channels of distribution, and so on. Most of it is interesting - some a little less so. But if you look closely at all of it, there is big pit of missing information.
Seriously, does anyone else notice that "customers" are glaringly excluded from the discussions? They are begging to be heard and are extremely willing to be loyal. But instead companies focus on everything else but their most important asset.
Continue reading "The Financial Industry's Selective Customer Memory" »
James Gaskin has written an interesting article in IT World about why one web site entrepreneur has declared he is fed up with the "freemium" business model. Freemium, widely used in the software and applications industry, allows a product to be distributed free of charge in its basic configuration, but then charges a user for more advanced versions or features. It's free to join LinkedIn and use it to post your profile and connect with others, but LinkedIn Premium services allow you to do things like see who has viewed your profile, search more thoroughly for others outside your connections, and reach out to people you aren't yet connected with. I play chess online for free, but for $5 a month I also get access to 25 chess tactics problems a day. My Xobni application is free, but with an upgrade my Outlook will automatically fill in many more email addresses, and do a number of other things that are highly useful to any heavy email user. Several higher-end media and content offerings are made on a freemium basis, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Times of London, and Harvard Business Review.
Continue reading "Freemium: Why Non-Paying Customers Are Harder to Satisfy" »
© 2010 Peppers & Rogers Group. All Rights Reserved.
