Strativity - Creating Profitable Customer Experiences

J.C. Penney Co. – Start With People

Posted on: April 17, 2013 by:

The Wall Street Journal today reported on the low employee morale inherited by J.C. Penney’s returning CEO, Myron “Mike” Ullman, after the chain slashed its workforce by tens of thousands over the past year. Retail is not just a business of merchandising and discounts, as it has been portrayed by the media in the last week since the department-store chain ousted its former chief executive Ron Johnson. Retail is a people business as well, which Mr. Johnson clearly did not understand.

Creating a new retail platform, as was attempted with the “JCP” branding platform, requires the organization to lean on its brand ambassadors. If the transformation from J.C. Penney to JCP was executed as I’ve seen so many in the past, regardless of executive’s intentions, it probably sounded to employees as “Everything you have done so far was wrong, this is the new right.” Or perhaps, “Even our name is old an outdated, so we’re changing it.” Even without thousands of layoffs, a poorly planned and executed transformation will quickly create low employee morale. Now imagine the thousands and thousands of employees who face customers every day. What expression do you think they have on their face? How keen are they to help their customers? What is their attitude towards confused customers who are looking for a discount?

“Service is Broken” at McDonalds – Ideas to Exceptionalize It

Posted on: April 11, 2013 by: Lior Arussy

The Wall Street Journal reported today about a recent webcast McDonalds executives delivered to its franchisees discussing the deterioration of the customer service quality as delivered by their employees. The article describes the fast-food giant’s strong position on fixing these issues and addressing the customer service issues. Comments on the web echo the same feelings, recognizing the rather apathetic - and sometimes even outright rude - attitudes received from McDonald’s employees.

How To Destroy A Legendary Brand Through Awful Customer Experience - The Legendary Luxury Hotel in NYC Story

Posted on: January 08, 2013 by: Lior Arussy

If you are looking for the CliffNotes version of this story it is quite simple – lean on your great heritage and cut costs at your guests’ expense. I am writing this article not with the purpose of blame and shame and therefore refrain from mentioning the actual hotel’s name.

The Beginning of the End of Groupon – Why Price is Not a Sustainable Business Strategy

Posted on: December 05, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

One cannot read the news these days without hearing about the difficulties Groupon, Living Social and the other daily deals companies are facing. It seems as if the market is turning on these online coupon businesses and demand is declining. Merchants are now refusing to renew their offers and are shunning the Groupon business model.

Customer Journey Mapping – Doing It Right, Part III

Posted on: November 28, 2012 by: Ed Murphy

Customer Journey Mapping (Customer Experience Mapping) - What is it and what does it provide?

There are numerous articles and papers on customer journey mapping that describe it as a tool that allows for identification of Moments of Truth or that will provide an organization with a prioritization for improving the customer experience. Customer Experience Management (CEM) has evolved since Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, first used the term “moments of truth”, defined broadly as the various points at which employees come in contact with customers. Today’s CEM professionals would define Carlzon’s “moments of truth” as “touchpoints”. Over the years, we have learned that while every customer interaction is important, not all interactions should be considered Moments of Truth. Strativity Group defines Moments of Truth as the touchpoints that provide the greatest opportunity for impacting the customer experience (those with the greatest gap between how important a touchpoint is to customers and how well customers believe your organization performs on the touchpoint).

Customer Journey Mapping – Doing It Right, Part II

Posted on: November 20, 2012 by: Michael Starr

Customer Journey Mapping (or Customer Experience Mapping) has become the fad du jour of the customer experience world. Companies around the world are mapping their customers’ journeys either on their own or with the help of consulting firms like Strativity Group. While journey maps, when used properly, are an excellent tool in helping organizations determine where to focus their efforts to improve the experience they deliver to their customers, too often the maps simply end up as wall decorations for organizations that fail to change in a meaningful way the experience they deliver. Two issues frequently arise that limit the effectiveness of journey mapping efforts:

Customer Journey Mapping – Doing It Right

Posted on: November 15, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

A recent Forrester Research report discusses a customer journey mapping phenomena that Strativity Group has also experienced in recent years. Many companies show interest, jump on the bandwagon and create a map detailing the complexities of their customers’ journey. Then what? According the Forrester report, in most cases, little to nothing happens next. How is it that great intentions of customer experience professionals oftentimes dwindle to little action or impact? Is there something wrong with the customer journey mapping methodology? Was the final map not detailed enough? Did we miss something? These factors might have made a small impact, but the real reason for the little impact has to do with the intention.

Interview with Lior Arussy on Exceptionalize It!

Posted on: November 14, 2012 by: Lacey Stephen

Lior Arussy’s recent book, Exceptionalize It! is a wakeup call to stop accepting mediocrity and average performance; to stop accepting mediocrity and average performance; to stop simply knowing what we should do and instead to start doing those things.

All You Need is LOVE

Posted on: November 13, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to see LOVE the Cirque Du Soleil show in Las Vegas celebrating the songs of the Beatles. It is an amazing interpretation of the classics with a unique combination of acrobatics, theatrics and customs and music. One would say an overwhelming experience of all the senses.

Do Customers Really Know What They Want?

Posted on: November 06, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

Here are some questions to ignite your thinking: 1. Did customers ask for an iPod, iPhone, or iPad? 2. Was Facebook the outcome of a focus group? 3. Did customers request Groupon? 4. Was the latest fashion trend a result of customer interviews? 5. Did the idea for the Wii come from customer satisfaction studies? 6. Was Swiffer an outcome of customer in-depth surveys?

Did I Believe Criss Angel? Lessons in Experience Design

Posted on: October 24, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

The Criss Angel Show Believe at the Luxur hotel in Las Vegas was true to what Las Vegas is all about: a constant attempt to outdo your competitors. In that regard, Las Vegas provides a living proof for the need to innovate, evolve and reach new, higher standards. The intense competition among hotels, night clubs, shows and restaurants forces business leaders to reinvent themselves every day.

The Guiding Assumption

Posted on: August 01, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

What do you really think about your customers? During a recent conversation with a client, I asked, "Why are your policies so restrictive? It seems as though you don't trust your customers." "Well, that depends," the client replied. When I asked him to elaborate, he said, "Let me give you some examples. In 1978, we had a customer who abused our generosity, so we needed to plug that hole. In 1997, we had another customer who took advantage of our return policy, so we made sure that will not happen again." Put simply, my client's processes and procedures were a reflection of a few abusive customers he encountered as far back as 35 years ago. His organization's approach was that all customers are, in fact, similar to these abusive customers, leading him to the conclusion that all customers are cheaters unless proven otherwise. This is, unfortunately, not an isolated case. We see a similar attitude at companies worldwide.

What Beautiful Shoes

Posted on: May 15, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

During a recent business trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, I decided to check into the Missoni Hotel - one of two in the whole world. The Italian based hotel was designed by the famous Italian fashion house by the same name. Known for colorful and geometric designs, the Missoni designers were able to transfer the beautiful spirit of life to the hotel. The vibrant designs were felt in every aspect of the hotel experience. From the specially designed hotel staff uniforms (including a Missoni kilt) to the rooms and the toiletries, the designer’s trademark style was apparent. Utilizing different materials and fabrics, the Missoni Hotel is a celebration for the senses. It was not a surprise to me that the vibrant designs infused a sense of celebration and happiness in every aspect of the hotel. The hotel website prepared me for these sensations by giving me an accurate depiction of what my stay would look like. And as a design house, I expected Missoni to shine in this aspect.

The Customer, the Missing CEO, and the Miracle That Will Not Happen

Posted on: May 01, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

There are no shortcuts to customer strategy. An interesting issue emerged during my recent presentation of the results of customer experience diagnostics to a B2B company. Top clients of the company indicated that, unlike other vendors they work with, my client does not have executive sponsorship of the relationships. When I explained the concept of executive sponsorship of key accounts, the participants seemed unclear. I found out why during the break, when one participant said, "I can't see our CEO even thinking about such sponsorship. I can't see him hopping on a plane to our top clients." This response, unfortunately, is not uncommon. We see the same pattern with companies around the world. The CEO makes a big declaration about the importance of a customer strategy, and then disappears. The customer strategy at this point is assigned to midlevel managers, who are supposed to come back with a bullet-proof, financially justified strategy that will differentiate the company in the marketplace. And, of course, generate immediate profits for the next quarter. The CEO will then emerge, after multiple VPs have reviewed and tweaked the new strategy, to bless the new strategy in a public way. My response to this game is a primal scream. Are you kidding me?

Effective Ways to Create a Cynical Culture

Posted on: April 02, 2012 by: Lior Arussy

Cynicism requires a great deal of negligence to emerge in organizations. For a cynical culture to be created, it only takes one employee to start following the proven rules that will ensure Cynicism will spread into the hearts and minds of each and every employee. Unlike other corporate initiatives, cynicism does not require sponsorship from top executives. It does not require consensus and acceptance by all. All it takes are a few woeful leaders who will neglect their role, fail to engage employees and cynicism, and who will quickly become an essential host citizen in your corporate hallways to spread the epidemic.