2014-08-26

About customer service

As Internet technologies become more pervasive in business a number of things are happening that are not unlike what many of us saw in the early days of use of IT in companies: after an enthusiastic early adoption that also happens to be a very chaotic phase, businesses become more mature and systematic in their approach, so operational aspects become critical aspects of the experience customers have of the company's products and services. However, with social media giving customers a much stronger voice, there is one specific aspect of operations that is of strategic importance: customer service, both in the traditional sense and in the form of self-service / self-care functions available online. There are at least three important guidelines every executive should keep in mind when deciding about marketing, sales and customer service.
1. Consistently good customer service comes through systems, not just smiles. 
2. Extraordinary customer service comes through smiles, not just systems.
3. You can’t give good customer service if you don’t hire appropriate employees.
To get another more quantified perspective on the importance of customer service, we recommend reading a recent publication by McKinsey&Co titled "Why companies should care about e-care".

2014-08-07

The challenges of design for the mass market

Margaret Gould Stewart: How giant websites design…: http://youtu.be/quJdL9ggETI