Join us for an upcoming webinar with the author of "What Customers Want"

In association with Strategyn, The Institute for International Research invites you to join us for a one hour complimentary Web Seminar:

Why Your Idea is Worth Nothing, and How to Create Growth Plans that Work
Tony Ulwick, Founder & CEO, Strategyn
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/jd94qyn32jpu
Please use priority code MWS0041BL when registering

You just had what you thought to be a great idea, but the reality is less than one idea in a million is actually worth anything. Fewer than that are worth a lot. Why? To start, most ideas are generated in markets that are not worthy of investment - they are either too small or not under-served. But more importantly, most ideas address one or two customer needs, not dozens, and therefore fail to provide customers with significant new value. When customers cannot find solutions that help them get a job done significantly better, they simply continue to buy the products and services they are used to using.

In this webinar, Tony Ulwick, the author of "What Customers Want" and founder of Strategyn, will provide you with more insight into why most ideas are worth nothing and a framework for overcoming this challenge. These insights will be useful for any organization who is trying to accelerate its growth through innovation.

What you will learn:
• Why most ideas don't succeed in the marketplace
• A customer-centric framework for creating ideas that customers will embrace
• A method for creating a growth plan that will accelerate your company's growth

Who will benefit from this webinar:
Executives who need to accelerate their growth and have not achieved their growth goals.

About Tony Ulwick:
Tony Ulwick is an inventor, entrepreneur and a thought leader in the field of strategy and innovation. As an inventor, Tony has spent 20 years creating Outcome-Driven Innovation, a powerful innovation process that has a success rate of 86 percent - that is 5 times the industry average. He holds 4 issued and 6 pending patents that explain how he reinvented this complex process.

As an entrepreneur, Tony is the founder and CEO of Strategyn Consulting and the co-founder and managing director of Strategyn Equity Partners. His work has generated billions of dollars in revenue growth for companies such as Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Colgate-Palmolive and others. The focus of his businesses is to help companies accelerate growth through sound strategy and innovation.

As a thought leader, Tony has won the best business idea award from Harvard Business Review. he has authored the best selling book, "What Customers Want." His articles, which have been published in the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, are cited in hundreds of publications. His counter-intuitive views have challenged the way academics and executives think about strategy and building a culture of innovation.

Are you effectively measuring, aligning and communicating your customer strategy?

Are you looking for ways to revolutionize your customer experience? The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit is only ONE month away - don't worry, there's still time to secure your spot and save $100 off the standard rates!

Take a look at why you need to attend this October:
1. A Whole New Focus: Growing out of our past Linkage Strategies Event, Total Customer Experience Leaders is about integrating the voice of the customer into disparate pieces of customer research data within B2B and service oriented B2C companies.

2. Innovative Keynotes: Hear from client-side experts and award winning authors on creating customer-centric culture, the practice of storytelling, leveraging senior leadership and discovering authentic experiences.

3. Cross-Industry Speakers: Listen to a diverse group of leaders share industry specific case studies which include experiences from financial services, automotive, manufacturing, retail, healthcare and industrial companies.

4. Social Media CRM Symposium: Join our symposium day and learn how to better manage your customer experience by linking social media research to financial value.

5. Customizable Tracks: Personalize your onsite agenda by choosing between two unique tracks - Strategy & Action Planning.

6. Executive Summary: This is the only collaborative event that offers an event debrief with real-time practical insights for you to take back to your company.

7. Interactive Forums: Participate in collaborative sessions with your peers from these companies already signed on to attend:
AAA // AAA Arizona // AIG American General // Allstate Financial // American Family Insurance // AT&T Investment Management Corp // Blueocean Market Intelligence // Burke Inc. // Concentra Financial // Constant Contact // CPI Card Group // Customer Bliss // Customer Experience Partners // CVS Caremark // Diebold, Inc. // Discover Financial // EMC Innovation Network // Expedia // Farmers Insurance Group // Fedex Corporation // Forrester // GE Healthcare // Harrahs // Intel // JD Powers & Associates // Kelley Blue Book // Loyalty Research Center // Maritz Research // Martins Point Health Care // McDonald's Corporation // Microsoft Corporation // Mr Randy Bell // National Grid // Peppers & Rogers Group // Petra Consulting Group // Pfizer // Rockwell Automation // Sam's Club // Sara Lee // SPSI // Strategic Horizons Llp // SuperValu Inc. // Synovate // The Story Factor // Universal American Corporation // University of Georgia - Terry College of Business // UPS // Wright Express Corp.

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will enable you to effectively measure, align and communicate your customer strategy to ensure business relevance. Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering.

We look forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix!

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Event Team
Visit the event webpage or follow us on Twitter for event updates and industry news: http://twitter.com/TotalCustomer

Your Customers Are Social, Are You?

I recently happened upon this great post "Top 5 Reasons Why Customer Service is Avoiding the Social Media Wave" and many of the points made rang true.

Two quotes in particular stood out to me, firstly: "Your customer service team is best equipped to handle service inquiries and provide content that helps educate your customers."

Many are afraid to make the first leap into social because they don't know what to say, or fear that no one cares to hear it, when in fact you might be the best expert for a particular topic. If you're avoiding social your voice is going unheard and customer service issues may be going unaddressed (as the voice of your company who is on social media doesn't have the knowledge or access to the solutions.) A social media strategy that is purely "owned" by marketing isn't providing the best possible experience for your customers and customer service needs to exist throughout all touch-points.

The second point that struck me was "Probably the most valuable aspect of social customer service (at this point) is pure acknowledgement of being heard." Uhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifltimately customers take to social media as a way to get their voices heard, and they will be doing so whether or not you're there to hear them. By addressing customer service issues on social media, you can then escalate private issues to a different channel, while allowing the customer to feel heard.

If these points still don't have you sold on social, I also recently read " 5 Businesses That Will Live (Or Die) By Social Media" on BNet. This post outlines some of the businesses that customers expect to see on social media, and the results may surprise you.

Is your company currently addressing customer service issues on social media? What strategy do you find works best for you? Share with us in the comments.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Why Your Idea is Worth Nothing, and How to Create Growth Plans that Work

In association with Strategyn, The Institute for International Research invites you to join us for a one hour complimentary Web Seminar:

Why Your Idea is Worth Nothing, and How to Create Growth Plans that Work
Tony Ulwick, Founder & CEO, Strategyn
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/jd94qyn32jpu

You just had what you thought to be a great idea, but the reality is less than one idea in a million is actually worth anything. Fewer than that are worth a lot. Why? To start, most ideas are generated in markets that are not worthy of investment - they are either too small or not under-served. But more importantly, most ideas address one or two customer needs, not dozens, and therefore fail to provide customers with significant new value. When customers cannot find solutions that help them get a job done significantly better, they simply continue to buy the products and services they are used to using.

In this webinar, Tony Ulwick, the author of "What Customers Want" and founder of Strategyn, will provide you with more insight into why most ideas are worth nothing and a framework for overcoming this challenge. These insights will be useful for any organization who is trying to accelerate its growth through innovation.

What you will learn:
• Why most ideas don't succeed in the marketplace
• A customer-centric framework for creating ideas that customers will embrace
• A method for creating a growth plan that will accelerate your company's growth

Who will benefit from this webinar:
Executives who need to accelerate their growth and have not achieved their growth goals.

About Tony Ulwick:
Tony Ulwick is an inventor, entrepreneur and a thought leader in the field of strategy and innovation. As an inventor, Tony has spent 20 years creating Outcome-Driven Innovation, a powerful innovation process that has a success rate of 86 percent - that is 5 times the industry average. He holds 4 issued and 6 pending patents that explain how he reinvented this complex process.

As an entrepreneur, Tony is the founder and CEO of Strategyn Consulting and the co-founder and managing director of Strategyn Equity Partners. His work has generated billions of dollars in revenue growth for companies such as Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Colgate-Palmolive and others. The focus of his businesses is to help companies accelerate growth through sound strategy and innovation.

As a thought leader, Tony has won the best business idea award from Harvard Business Review. he has authored the best selling book, "What Customers Want." His articles, which have been published in the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, are cited in hundreds of publications. His counter-intuitive views have challenged the way academics and executives think about strategy and building a culture of innovation.

Looking for New Ways to Revolutionize your Customer Experience?

Are you looking for the next must attend conference for customer-focused research and insights professionals?

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit is an event you cannot afford to miss.

It's the ONLY comprehensive forum for B2B and service oriented B2C leaders to come together for a high level exchange around the latest issues that matter most. This is an event about measuring feedback from your customers, operationalizing and optimizing it and making sure your program remains business relevant.


Here are some sessions we thought you might be interested in:

Measuring and Monitoring Employee Engagement to Drive Client Loyalty

- Paula Harris, Director, Client & Member Research, CVS Caremark

- Barbara Barelka, Manager, Client Research, CVS Caremark

Turning Today's Chatter into Tomorrow's Insight - Successfully Integrating Multiple VOC Sources

- David Ensing, Vice President, VOC Integration, Maritz Research

Listen, Measure & Act! Building an Operational VOC Plan Across Every Touch Point

- Jim Bampos, VP of Customer Quality, EMC

Unlocking the Holy Grail of Market Research - Digging Deeper into the Tacit Knowledge of the Consumer through Text Analytics

- David Howlett, Senior Director, Consumer Insights & Strategy, J.D. Powers & Associates

Linking Your Customer Segmentation with Customer Loyalty

- Ron Noll, Manager, Segment Analytics and Customer Loyalty, GE Healthcare

Social Media & Traditional Research: What Are We Leaving on the Table?

- Randall Brandt, Ph.D., VP, Customer Experience & Loyalty, Maritz Research

Customer Chatter: Measuring Word of Mouth Effects in Loyalty

- Fred Thompson, Contributing Editor, Colloquy

And those are just a sample of the 25+ sessions we have to offer.

Download the brochure for the complete agenda.

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will enable you to effectively measure, align and communicate your customer strategy to ensure business relevance.

Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering. Register here.

We look forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix!

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Event Team
Visit the event webpage.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TotalCustomer
Already registered? Join us on crowdvine: http://totalcustomer.crowdvine.com/

Captivate your Customers through Storytelling at NACCM this November

"Attracting a new customer costs 5 times as much as keeping an existing one." Source: Lee Resource Inc.

When budgets are tight, how do you ensure your customers don't take their business elsewhere? It's time to start Captivating your Customers, and NACCM: North American Conference on Customer Management in Walt Disney World will help you do just that this November!

Captivate your customers through STORYTELLING
Peter Guber, Chairman & CEO, MANDALAY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP and Author, Tell to Win – Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story
Success is often won by creating compelling stories that have the power to move partners, shareholders, customers, and employees to action. You will learn directly from Peter on how to craft, deliver – and own – a story that is truly compelling, one capable of turning others into viral advocates for your goal. Click here for a full list of keynotes.

Captivate your customers through LOYALTY
Mike Sachs, General Manager, CRM & Owner Loyalty, VOLKSWAGEN of AMERICA
Learn VW’s philosophy on loyalty, how it is evolving and the initiatives the CRM team are spearheading to drive cross-functional accountability for loyalty from marketing and Operations, through Retail and After Sales. Click here for the full-day Loyalty Summit.

Captivate your customers through SOCIAL MEDIA
Becky Carroll, Author, The Hidden Power of Your Customers, Community Program Manager, VERIZON
Social technologies are changing not only customer expectations but customer behavior. Your business should be using social media to attract new customers as well as engaging existing customers. Becky will share effective ways to utilize social media to achieve your customer relationship goals – and grow your business. Click here for all of our 'next practice' talks.

Captivate your customers through EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
Jamie Naughton, Speaker of the House, Chief Culture Ambassador, ZAPPOS.COM
The story behind Zappos’ success lies behind two empowering words: Deliver Happiness. Learn the different ingredients used by Zappos.com to build a long-lasting enduring brand, including the importance of customer service and company culture. Click here for all talks on sharpening core competencies.

And many more… Download the brochure to learn more about this year’s program.

Or better yet, register now and see for yourself why NACCM has been the most trusted partner for peer-to-peer sharing for the past 9 years. Readers of the Customer's 1st blog can save 15% off the standard registration rate with code NACCMBlog. Register here.

We look forward to welcoming you this November 14-16 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando.

The NACCM Event Team
Visit the event website
Follow us on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook

The Art of Storytelling in a Data Driven World

Are you leveraging your customer research by linking and aligning it with key organizational issues? At The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit you will learn how to integrate storytelling into your numerical analysis to truly understand (and maintain) your customer experience.

Hear inside stories on Measurement & ROI, Data Performance, Operational Metrics and Social Media CRM from customer experience, loyalty, research and insights executives at: AT&T, Kelley Blue Book, CVS Caremark, Verizon, AAA Northern California, Rockwell Automation, J.D. Power & Associates, Maritz Research, CPI Card Group, Customer Experience Partners, Customer Bliss, EMC, Forrester, Expedia, Allstate Financial, Peppers & Rogers Group, Pfizer, FedEx Corporation, GE Healthcare, Microsoft Corporation, and more. Download the brochure to see the full program.

Interested to know who else will be there?
Check out this impressive list of companies already signed on to attend:
AAA // AAA Arizona // AIG American General // Allstate Financial // AT&T Investment Management Corp // Blueocean Market Intelligence // Burke Inc. // CPI Card Group // Customer Bliss // Customer Experience Partners // CVS Caremark // Diebold, Inc. // EMC Innovation Network // Expedia // Farmers Insurance Group // Fedex Corporation // Forrester // GE Healthcare // Harrahs // Intel // JD Powers & Associates // Kelley Blue Book // Maritz Research // Martins Point Health Care // McDonald's Corporation // Microsoft Corporation // Peppers & Rogers Group // Petra Consulting Group // Pfizer // Rockwell Automation // Sam's Club // Sara Lee // SPSI // Strategic Horizons Llp // SuperValu Inc. // Synovate // The Story Factor // Universal American Corporation // University of Georgia - Terry College of Business // UPS // Wright Express Corp.

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will enable you to effectively measure, align and communicate your customer strategy to ensure business relevance. Register by Friday, August 19 to Save $200 off the standard & onsite rate. Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering.

We look forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix!
The Total Customer Experience Leaders Event Team
Visit the event webpage for details.
Follow us on Twitter for event updates.

Storyteller Spotlight Series: Michael R. Hoffman of Client x Client

In the most recent episode of the 2011 NACCM Storyteller Spotlight Series I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael R. Hoffman, Author of Customer Worthy, and founder and partner at Client x Client. In his work at Client x Client Hoffman has learned that innovative customer service comes from a place of trying to make every experience a customer has an exceptional, memorable moment.

For Michael, great customer experience begin simply enough with the golden rule of ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ When you can gather enough information about a customer to discover what would make an experience extraordinary for them, everyone will profit. Explaining this, he said “because we have all this customer intelligence technology…we can then leverage our knowledge to anticipate where customers are going to go or where they should go and try to ensure that the customer meets their objective and our business meets our objective and that those two are aligned.”

Ultimately he has one piece of all-important customer advice for those looking to solve customer problems or develop new products and that is “Think like a customer.”

To hear more about this philosophy, listen to the full interview here.

Michael will be presenting one of our keynote addresses “It’s 2012, Are You Customer Worthy?” on Wednesday, November 16^th, 2011 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Florida. As he said in our interview, “in five years I look at the customer experience and think that it will be dramatically different then it is today…customers are coming up with the newest latest ideas, they’re showing companies how they want to do business, how they want to buy and shop, and often in ways that the companies didn’t anticipate.”

In this session learn how customers are voting with their feet, their clicks and their wallets. In 2011 customers took over brands, messaging and even countries. 2012 demands companies be customer worthy at every contact through every process – or else. To succeed companies must marry corporate objectives to customer expectations and continuously be customer worthy in every interaction. Be prepared to hear some best & worst examples and walk away with new tools.

Readers of the Customer's 1st blog can save 15% off the standard registration rate with code NACCMBlog. Register here.

Stay in touch with NACCM, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or join our LinkedIn Community for event updates, discounts and industry news and information.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Exclusive 15% discount on NACCM

For the past 9 years, your peers have trusted NACCM to provide them with the opportunity to meet and build relationships with the most inspiring and forward-thinking leaders in the customer world.

The North American Conference on Customer Management is thrilled to announce the list of 2011 speakers looking to share their insights and experiences with YOU.

Meet the Cast of Storytellers Sharing their Moments that Matter...

Big Picture Inspirational Keynotes From:

• Peter Guber, Founder & CEO, Mandalay Entertainment, Owner & Chairman, NBA' Golden State Warriors, Author, TELL TO WIN - CONNECT, PERSUADE, AND TRIUMPH WITH THE HIDDEN POWER OF STORY

• Jamie Naughton, Speaker of the House, Chief Culture Ambassador, ZAPPOS.COM, INC

• John Costello, Chief Global Customer & Marketing Officer, DUNKIN BRANDS

Plus, Actionable Insights From:

• AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, INC.: Tim Earley, Director of Customer Experience and Integration

• BEST BUY: Gina Debogovich, Senior Manager, Communities *

• CUSTOMER CARE COACH: JoAnna Brandi, Author, Consultant, Speaker and Positive Leadership Coach

• PEOPLEMETTRICS: Sean McDade, CEO

• CUSTOMER WORTHY: Michael R. Hoffman, Author, Customer Cartographer, Client x Client

• DELL: Maribel Sierra, Director, Social Media Listening and Engagement

• DELL: Michelle Brigman, Director, Social Media Listening Command Center

• DISNEY INSTITUTE: Speaker Name TBA

• DSW DESIGNER SHOE WAREHOUSE: Kelly N. Cook, Shoe Lover, Vice President - Customer Strategy & Engagement

• GFK CUSTOMER LOYALTY: Howard L. Lax, Ph.D., Vice President, Consulting

• HILTON WORLDWIDE: Marie Williams, Senior Director, Digital Innovation, Hilton

• HUMANA, INC: William Greenwald, Director, Performance Coaching and Advisory Practice (PCAP)

• JANET LEBLANC + ASSOCIATES: Janet LeBlanc, President *

• JETBLUE AIRWAYS: Bonny Simi, Director of Customer Experience and Analysis

• KAPLAN UNIVERSITY: Sophie Vlessing, Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Student Experience *

• MICROSOFT BING: Lise Brende, Director, Marketing Analytics - Bing & MSN

• NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY: Jasmine Y Green, Chief Customer Advocate

• NBA'S OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Pete Winemiller, Senior Vice President, Guest Relations *

• SAFELITE AUTOGLASS: Tom Feeney, President & CEO

• SEARS: David Slavick, Director, CRM/Loyalty & Innovation

• SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: Fred Taylor, Jr., Senior Manager Proactive Customer Service Communications *

• SPRINT: Melinda Parks, Director, Loyalty & Retention Marketing

• SYMANTEC CORPORATION: Desirree Madison-Biggs, Director, Customer Experience Insights & Advocacy *

• VERIZON: Becky Carroll, Community Program Manager, Founder, Customer ROCK!/Petra Consulting, and Author, The Hidden Power of Your Customers

• VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC: Mike Sachs, General Manager, CRM & Owner Loyalty *

*=1to1 Customer Champion!

Download the brochure for full conference details.

Readers of the Customer's 1st blog can save 15% off the standard registration rate with code NACCMBlog. Register here.

We hope to see you in Orlando this November,

The NACCM Event Team

Visit the event website

Follow us on Twitter

Become a Fan on Facebook

5 Decisions Today’s Most Beloved Companies Make That Drive Their Success

Go "behind the scenes" and tap into the decision making process of the top B2B, and service oriented B2C companies at The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit. Here you will learn how top customer rated companies thrive in a culture that expects strategic growth and demands competitive action planning.

Join Jeanne Bliss, President of CustomerBliss, Author of Chief Customer Officer and I Love You More Than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad at the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit, taking place October 3-5, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona as she delivers her keynote presentation:

Becoming a Company Customers Love and Can't Live Without: The Five Decisions of Beloved and Prosperous Companies

Through this session begin the process to understand how your decisions and actions have created your culture. Understand its impact on your customers, on your employees and on your business growth and prosperity. See how far or close you are to earning business outcomes compared to beloved and prosperous companies.

Plus! Hear inside stories on Measurement & ROI, Data Performance, Operational Metrics and Social Media CRM from customer experience, loyalty, research and insights executives at: AT&T, Kelley Blue Book, CVS Caremark, Verizon, AAA Northern California, Rockwell Automation, J.D. Power & Associates, Maritz Research, CPI Card Group, Customer Experience Partners, Customer Bliss, EMC, Forrester, Expedia, Allstate Financial, Peppers & Rogers Group, Pfizer, FedEx Corporation, GE Healthcare, Microsoft Corporation, and more. Download the brochure to see the full program.

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will enable you to effectively measure, align and communicate your customer strategy to ensure business relevance. Register by Friday, August 19 to Save $200 off the standard & onsite rate. Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering.

We look forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix!
The Total Customer Experience Leaders Event Team
Visit the event webpage.
Follow us on Twitter.

Total Customer Experience Leaders Speaker Spotlight: John Cushman of AT&T

In the weeks leading up to the 2011 Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit we're going to be hearing from some of the speakers.

Today we have an interview with John M. Cushman of AT&T. John will be presenting "Creating a Customer Centric Culture" on Oct. 4th 2011 at the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit. This session will highlight the myriad of reasons why creating a customer centric culture is essential to businesses of all sizes today. Attendees will be provided with a behind the scenes view of how AT&T is blending people processes and new technologies like social media, to improve its own B2B Customer experiences. Tips on ways to link various touch points in the LEARN-BUY-GET-USE-PAY-SERVICE Customer Continuum will be shared. Learn how to:
• Create a Customer Centric Culture
• Identify areas of opportunity
• Track ROI and measure success

To learn more about the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit, download the brochure here.

In our interview, Cushman said "what keeps me challenged is the rate of change." Hear more about the changing customer experience world, by listening to the podcast here.

To hear more from and network with customer experience leaders, join us this October in Phoenix, AZ for the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit. Register for the event here. Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering.

Storyteller Spotlight Series: Jamie Naughton of Zappos!

At Zappos!, customer service has no time limit. In fact, the record for longest customer care call currently stands at 8 hours and 23 minutes!

I had the pleasure recently of speaking with Jamie Naughton, Speaker of the House at Zappos for the first of our 2011 NACCM Storyteller Spotlight Series. Jamie shared with me some of the secrets that keep her motivated, and the story of the 7+ hour customer call. To hear more, listen to the podcast here.



Jamie will be presenting "Delivering Happiness" at the 9th annual NACCM event. As Speaker of the House at Zappos, Jamie works directly with CEO Tony Hsieh, focusing on the culture for which the company has become known. Learn the different ingredients used by Zappos.com to build a long-lasting enduring brand, including the importance of customer service and company culture. Jamie's one key takeaway: How to Deliver Happiness through Service! Learn more about her session and the NACCM event by downloading the brochure here.

Readers of the Customer's 1st blog can save 15% off the standard registration rate with code NACCMBlog. Register here.

Stay in touch with NACCM, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or join our LinkedIn Community for event updates, discounts and industry news and information.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Total Customer Experience Leaders Speaker Spotlight: David Blair of Rockwell Automation

In the weeks leading up to the 2011 Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit we're going to be hearing from some of the speakers.

Today we have an interview with David Blair, Director, Customer Experience of Rockwell Automation. David will be chairing the 2011 event, which takes place Oct 3-5, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ. To learn more about the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit, download the brochure here.

TCEL: Tell us about a project you are working on or recently completed that you are proud of?

DB: We’ve just completed a new event-based survey that allows us to get feedback on our PROJECT business. The survey is very different from our annual customer survey in that it focuses on the individual project – from proposal through design through start-up. The goal is to both ensure a successful project, and get actionable feedback on our performance.

TCEL: What do you think is the key to a successful Customer Experience program?

DB: Senior Management support. Improving customer experience can’t be done from the bottom up. Moving the needle takes hard work and real commitment. And that comes by senior management talking about customer experience, defining performance goals, linking performance to compensation, prioritizing customer experience expenditures, and taking a personal interest in improvement projects.

TCEL: What inspired you to get in the field? What keeps you motivated?

DB: Motivation is easy. In our company, the Customer Experience Office is not just the messenger for conveying customer feedback - we’re also responsible for driving improvements. So knowing the next customer survey is right around the corner, and I’ll be the one walking through results with the CEO, I’m constantly motivated to drive feedback into actions that will improve our Customer Experience scores. I got into the field primarily because it allowed me to leverage my diverse background (sales, marketing, quality, product development) and interpersonal skills to make some real differences.

TCEL: What is one thing you’re excited about for this year’s Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit?

DB: Meeting peers. In our field, we rarely get a chance to share our approaches, successes and failures with peers. Books and consultants are helpful, but there’s really no substitute for an in-depth understanding of how other companies approach customer experience. There’s no one right way, and the approaches vary widely. My goal is to gather ideas that will form the basis for a strategy that elevates our own program to the next level, and likewise I hope I can offer ideas to help others advance.

TCEL: What is one question you are looking to get answered at this year’s Summit?

DB: My question: How do you keep the vitality in your customer experience program? It strikes me that no matter how good the research is, and how well it’s presented, the enthusiasm naturally diminishes over time.

TCEL: What books or websites are you currently reading?

DB: At the risk of offending authors out there, I’ve found the number of good books around B2B customer experience to be very limited. So I welcome hearing what others have found. I’m currently reading a book called “Wired and Dangerous” by Chip Bell. The book is very helpful in understanding the impact of the internet and social media on service providers. But it goes beyond that to discuss the general psychology behind customer service loyalty. So far I’d definitely recommend it.

TCEL: Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us!

To hear more from and network with customer experience leaders, join us this October in Phoenix, AZ for the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit. Register for the event here. Please use priority code TCEL11BLOG when registering.

Social CRM... for B2B?

Are you working in the B2B world and wondering if there is any room for B2B in the social media space?

Social Media isn't just a place for B2C companies to announce promotions or sales or address customer concerns. In fact, it can be an excellent platform for B2B companies to create dialog and form engaging human connections with potential prospects, as well as track industry trends and position themselves as a thought leader in the space.

Check out this recent post on Fast Company for "6 ways B2B companies can take advantage of Twitter" as a starting point.

For more in-depth information on this topic, join us this October at the Social Media CRM
Symposium at the The Total Customer Experience Leaders (TCEL) summit. TCEL is about integrating the voice of the customer into disparate pieces of customer research data within B2B. Our Symposium Day will help you learn how to better manage your customer experience by linking social media research to financial value. To learn more about the event, download the brochure here.

How Microsoft guarantees accountability from its customer facing resources

Join Tim Berry, Director, Customer & Partner Experience, US - Enterprise Partner Group, Microsoft at the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit, taking place October 3-5, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona for his much anticipated keynote presentation:

Steps to Driving Action on the Front Line in a B2B Environment

This session will focus on how to create an end to end process that can be used as a foundation for accountabilities for your front line customer facing resources.
Key learnings will be shared on the following areas:
• Leveraging Senior Leadership to set the correct tone for the discussion
• Integrating the feedback into future account plans
• Holding your teams accountable

In addition to Microsoft the following companies will also share their inside stories on Measurement & ROI, Data Performance, Operational Metrics and Social Media CRM.
AT&T, Kelley Blue Book, CVS Caremark, Verizon, AAA Northern California, Rockwell Automation, J.D. Power & Associates, Maritz Research, CPI Card Group, Customer Experience Partners, Customer Bliss, EMC, Forrester, Expedia, Allstate Financial, Peppers & Rogers Group, Pfizer, FedEx Corporation, GE Healthcare and more. Download the brochure to see the full program.

The Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will enable you to effectively measure, align and communicate your customer strategy to ensure business relevance. Register as a reader of our blog with code TCEL11BLOG by July 22, 2011 & save $300 off the standard & onsite rate.

We look forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix!
The Total Customer Experience Leaders Event Team
Visit the event webpage.
Follow us on Twitter.

Looking to connect with Customer Experience Leaders?

NEW FOR 2011! Attendees of this year’s Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit will have access to our new, exclusive networking platform Crowdvine.

Meet your fellow attendees, set up meetings and create your own custom agenda all before the event. You can find the community at http://totalcustomer.crowdvine.com/

Want in on the community? Join us at the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit this October in Phoenix, AZ. Use code TCEL11BLOG and register for the conference here.