Customer service is being re-invented with an attitude that is very different from what we are used to seeing. Companies are beginning to think forward for their customers—to anticipate how they can become a more valuable partner. Steve Jobs once described the difference between TV and the Web as Lean Back vs. Sit Forward media. […]

All of us are well aware that basic knowledge is getting more basic, because it is more easily accessible. Google and other high-performance search engines have proven that. Customer 3D™ organizations are factoring this trend into the design of their services in order to creatively grow their businesses. It’s happening at two ends of the […]

Steve Jobs once described the difference between TV and the Web as Lean Back vs. Sit Forward media. Today,we have created a world in which access to everything is more direct—news, information searches, etc. From the standpoint of effort we have to put into it, we expect tomorrow's product or process to be easier and more intuitive for us. In this new world order, a Sit Forward organization must have a different metabolism to keep its customers involved.

All of us are well aware that basic knowledge is getting more basic, because it is more easily accessible. Google and other high-performance search engines have proven that. Customer 3D™ organizations are factoring this trend into the design of their services in order to creatively grow their businesses. It’s happening at two ends of the […]

In every industry, there are exceptional performers that don’t have to look for customers. Instead, they draw them in by defining the future that these devotees want to be shown. Rather than trying to perfect what is already being done, Customer 3D companies question what is not being said and then go after that new dimension.

3D customer thinking within organizations makes those companies very difficult to copy. The Customer 3D™ system takes customer-centricity to a new dimension by delivering real differentiation between your organization and the rest of the market.

But we don’t pay attention until they are really good. Exceptionally customer-centered organizations have an energy that attracts faithful customers who have noticed what makes them different and rewarded them with go-nowhere-else loyalty. Customers show up because of the company and the product is no longer part of the decision. They already know the product is going to be good.

One-dimensional companies look at what they can or cannot do, rather than what the customer needs or values. Customer-centered companies think proactively and innovate with creative ideas that will benefit the customer and that will also work out better for employees.

Ironically, being customer-centered also makes your products better. Why? Because these products and services that you are offering are now being designed based on what matters to your customers.

Solution-selling must be customer-centered. In order to be successful, it must make the primary customer’s product better in the eyes of the secondary customer. It has to be focused on the customer’s customer.

The original customer relationship systems that you developed were acceptable 10-20-30 years ago are becoming obsolete. Remastering, however, is available through new systems that replace mechanistic, product-centric cultures with more organic, customer-centric versions.

Highly customer-centered organizations believe they live in the same environment as their customers and they educate their employees to carry out a strategy that judges every action by the customer success it delivers.

Most supplier-centric organizations rationalize that they know what customers need. What these companies perceive to be needs fall far short of what customers want. Customer-centric organizations look for new opportunities to offer to their customers, rather than waiting for them to be asked for.

The new approach to customer-centricity embodies being a caretaker for the customer ecology in every interaction between external customers and your organization.

Everything-products or services-can be enhanced to perform better than it does today. Rather than thinking about what the service currently looks like, envision what it can be in the future. The secret is to approach it from the user's viewpoint--by thinking like a customer. Harvard professor Ted Levitt defined this development process 40 years ago […]

The most important question that every organization must answer is "Exactly how is the customer changing?" Adrian Slywotzky and David Morrison, in The Profit Zone: How Strategic Business Design Will Lead You to Tomorrow's Profits, challenged businesses: "To create a strategic and dynamic perspective on the customer, one must have a clear and compelling point of […]

When a plant is put in a window, over time it begins to lean toward the light. In the same manner, generous, abundant actions by businesses create a positive energy source that attracts customers. These suppliers are viewed as legendary, not ordinary.

Organizations will not be successful by making old ways more efficient. The competitive environment is changing so rapidly that a lean cost structure is no longer a differentiator. Instead, the advantage going forward will go to the companies that can develop a solidly different vision that tests their decisions based on what is best for […]