This week I had dinner with my Mom at Seasons52. As the hostess took us to our seats, she picked up two black napkins and when we were seated asked us, since we were both wearing dark clothing, if we'd prefer a black napkin.

The Black Napkin

Last week I was having dinner with a colleague in Miami. A wonderful Italian restaurant on the inter-coastal waterway. Good food, good company. In the rustic tradition the white napkins resembled kitchen towels – thirsty but – uh fuzzy. Absorbed as I was in the food and the conversation I didn’t pay much attention to…

Authentic Experience, Creating Customer Happiness, Customer Experience, Customer focus, Customer Happiness, Customer Loyalty, Customer Service

So the afternoon at the NACCM Conference – after a lovely lunch in the sunny courtyard – was spent in the Uber Loyalists track talking about my favorite topic – creating the emotional attachment we call loyalty. Marti Beller of the Affinion Group shared her experience on Customer engagement and its many benefits. She confessed to being a passionate Mac enthusiast and talked about Apple’s ability to create a kind of loyalty most of us can only aspire to. She shared a statistic about banks that says that only 35% of consumers feel engaged with their banks – 56% could be swayed and 9% just downright dislike them. Glad to see there is so much room for improvement. Marti also took us beyond the traditional 4 P’s of marketing (remember them? Product, Place, Promotion, and Price?) and added her own take on it.

Watching Your P’s and Q’s

So the afternoon at the NACCM Conference – after a lovely lunch in the sunny courtyard – was spent in the Uber Loyalists track talking about my favorite topic – creating the emotional attachment we call loyalty. Marti Beller of the Affinion Group shared her experience on Customer engagement and its many benefits. She confessed…

Creating Customer Happiness, Culture, Customer Experience, Customer focus, Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Employee retention, Empowerment, Leadership

Cupped Hands

Off to a Great Start Today

Seven years ago the NACCM Chairperson was Kathleen Peterson, the Chief Vision Officer of Powerhouse Consulting and this year we were once again graced by her presence, her humor and her keen insight on the current business environment. She congratulated the audience, companies that understand the customer experience as a differentiator, for having negotiated the…

1 CommentCreating Customer Happiness, Culture, Customer Experience, Customer focus, Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Empowerment, Leadership, Marketing

Happy People

Direct from Customers First Conference

Hello from beautiful sunny Phoenix where I am attending the NACCM Customers First conference. Last year I had the pleasure of being the conference chair, this year I am thrilled to see colleague Kathleen Peterson kick off the main part of the conference today. Kathleen was our first chairperson oh so many years ago when…

Authentic Experience, Creating Customer Happiness, Culture, Customer Experience, Customer focus, Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Empowerment, Leadership, Marketing, Uncategorized

Happy Valentines

Happy Valentine’s Day

A day dedicated to love. How nice.   Everyone every where seems to be smiling today. At the farmer’s market this morning, the several stops I made today, even the dry cleaners where I complained about the stains they added to my cute little red jacket.   The supermarket seemed brimming with couples picking out…

1 CommentAuthenic Experience, Creating Customer Happiness, Creativity, Customer Experience, Happiness, Personal, Positive Practices, Workshop