Rod Shaddeau

Many of the service leaders we speak to ask: - How can you ensure you can trust AI recommendations? - How can you improve the solution over time? - How can we help call centers and dealers diagnose problems faster? These are important questions, and we’re excited to address them with our latest product enhancements. Aquant's Director of Product Management, Eran Granot's recently published a blog about how we're updating our product to address these questions. Check it out:

5

Warning: Travel Gripe This new system airports are enforcing for Uber and Lyft is just insane. Get a premium car - woohooo, we pick you up at the curb. Get a normal tier ride? No problem, you just have to walk a mile and a half to the 3rd class holding pen that you need a decoder ring, a compass and a full canteen to go find. Chicago, San Francisco and LA - been to all three in the last 10 days and all 3 are on this program now. Airports have non-existent parking, ride share reduces the load on those facilities. Figuring out a way to exist together without playing games or being on the financial take with each other (yeah I’m looking at you Lyft and Uber with your “exclusive” signage lock ups at major airports) shouldn’t be that hard. Except that airports and airlines and rideshares have no interest in actual customer service anymore. We are shambling dimes and dollars just shuffling off to the next destination. Don’t get me started on rideshares not enforcing guaranteed pickups for upper tiers and loyalty members anymore. In any major metro I have to call a regular ride and mid-tier ride and be ditched 4 or 5 times before I work my way up to double the price for a premium ride. I would say that ride share has jumped the shark and I will just take taxis again but good luck finding them - ride share crushed the taxi market resulting in diminished taxi fleets resulting in no taxis at the cab stand more times than I can count. Rant. Over. Until my next trip.

53

32 Comments

Some things shouldn’t change - the way you use your data should. Fullpath’s CDP is here to help bring your dealership into the future with your proud traditions intact. By activating your data with Fullpath, you can continue to offer the personalized, connected experience your dealership prides itself on in the digital era. #FullPath #CDXP Learn more about Fullpath’s CDP here >> https://bit.ly/3SOPtcr

12

United Airlines has been my airline of choice since they merged with Continental, and it's one of the few brands that has my absolutely loyalty as a customer. And currently, they are having success with "oversharing" around their delays - and it's working with greater customer satisfaction since implementing this strategy. This is something I've noticed in recent months. Looking at my texts, I can see where they let me know that we'd be delayed due to limits on the number of flights allowed to land due to construction at SFO. Another was a technical issue, with regular updates on their efforts to find a new plane. Most travelers know that delays are part of the game, and often outside of the control of airlines. I don't think most of us are unreasonable when faced with delays. The issue is often the lack of information - not knowing why the delay exists, what's being done about it, and estimates on when the issue will be resolved. Recruiting professionals out there, take note because we can learn something from this when it comes to candidate experience. Transparency builds trust, and it leads to a better experience for everyone involved. 1. Embrace the "no update update" Sometimes, just being told you need a bit more time to review an application or have scheduled all of the interviews needed can alleviate a lot of anxiety vs someone applying and sitting in an applicant pool for weeks or months on end! At Zapier, we try to communicate every 7 days...we may miss the mark sometimes, but our hope is that candidates are never wondering where they stand. 2. Share "the why" Airlines have always let us know when there's a delay - that's not new. But sharing the "why" behind it is. That can feel scary, especially if the news is something like, "we've extended an offer, but think you're amazing and if it doesn't pan out, we'd love to hire you". But candidates ultimately appreciate it, AND it shows them they can trust what your company tells them. Offering feedback after interviews is another way to do this and leave people feeling a less confused around rejections. 3. Tell people what to expect Let candidates know who they are interviewing with. Let them know what topics will be discussed. Tell them how you plan to set their compensation. The more information you can provide candidates, the better the experience will be for everyone. If any of these seem hard, there are tons of tools out there that can help. candidate.fyi creates a candidate hub making it easy to share this info directly with candidates (and empower candidates in a variety of other ways). Crosschq provides an arsenal of data, and one of my favorites is color-coding candidates so you can see when a candidate needs communication. And most decent ATSs will help you automate those "no update updates". It doesn't take significantly more effort to create a significantly better candidate experience - just lean into transparency!

121

30 Comments

How many pairs of eyes would it have taken to spot "the zero" for Lyft? How many zeros have already been picked up? Regardless of the number of people who have set their eyes on the document, you need the one tool that will transform your reporting process and protect your business from potential risks. With CtrlPrint Integrate, you can seamlessly connect data from different sources through one source of truth for all your reports. From data gathering to the designed report, CtrlPrint not only enhances productivity but also ensures that businesses can operate more securely and efficiently. Message me or book directly for a quick demo! https://lnkd.in/gh4maczq

11

1 Comment

I don't remember where I had read this, but I like this simple formula. Of course, CSM should work on maximizing the Adoption, the Value, the Satisfaction at first. However, sometimes, CSM are also working with "unlucky" customers who are facing some problems. Before focusing on the Value, important to clean some situations and to rebuild strong foundation.

12

1 Comment

Check out Platform Science's latest blog to learn more about some helpful tips to combat the summer season and ensure your fleet runs smoothly.

1

CX Metrics can be deceiving, especially the term "containment rate". Many companies are claiming high containment rates as a badge of honor to win new customers who think that may be the end all goal, it's not, improved customer experience is. It's well documented that Xfinity has one of the worst customer experience records across direct to consumer businesses. As a 20+ year customer, thankfully their network is strong and I rarely have to deal with their customer service like I am this week. They are likely proud of their 100% containment rate. How do I know it's 100%? Because their advanced IVA has purposely hung up on me 9 times. This after spending 8+ hours since Sunday texting, calling and cursing at the automated attendant just hoping they have sentiment analysis turned on to get some attention. There are too many errors that occurred to me to list but guess what, no AI would have solved my biggest frustrations over the last 48 hours. What are their challenges? Process! Some ideas to consider: 1. A lack of clean handoffs and explanation in the automated text or email leaving me asking more questions vs. resolving them 2. Placing all the empathy on the live agents which honestly is misguided. If you're the 10th agent I'm talking to because I have no internet, I want solutions not apologies. 3. Role playing - why not eat your own dog food and create a scenario like mine and replay all the steps. They would find dozens and dozens of gaps and dead-ends. 4. I'm irritated and still without internet so why must you ask me to verify my address every time and tell me to reboot my modem when I'm reaching out through the app and you should know who I am? 5. Don't make promises you can't keep when the tools allow for errors. I was promised an appointment by a supervisor only to be told by the next person that they submitted the ticket incorrectly so it never even got picked up. 6. If you send me a survey after every interaction and I provide 0's each time, maybe those need special treatment. After the 7th 0 in a row, maybe that's an automatic escalation?? That's enough to make a point. Transforming a contact center with the latest technology combined with outdated processes will still yield a poor CX. Not to mention the negative ROI on just a single customer. P.S. Big props to AT&T Wireless for their stable personal hotspot I've been using in place of wifi!

20

5 Comments

𝗣𝘂𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰: 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗦 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 After an inspiring two days at Gainsight Pulse 2024, I'm amazed at but not surprise by the rapid pace of innovation happening in the Customer Success space. This wasn't just about new tactics or efficiencies - the content pushed us to entirely reimagine how we drive value, empowerment, and human potential in CS. A few themes resonated deeply: 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 AI was easily one of the hottest topics at Pulse. The AI roadmap session by Shantan Reddy spotlighted Gainsight's vision for an AI-enabled knowledge layer and intelligent assistants to automate workflows and surface insights. IBM's Janine Sneed and her team showcased how generative AI can power meeting assistants to prep for meetings, automate notes, action items, follow-ups, and more. The consistent refrain: This AI transformation will be human-first, not human-free. As the Kobiton team outlined, the power will come from human-AI collaboration where we leverage technology to augment our strategic abilities. 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀 The most effective organizations mapped out intelligent, hyper-personalized journeys tailored to specific roles, industries, and desired outcomes. Rather than generic messaging, they used predictive intelligence to construct self-guided experiences attuned to each user's current context. Autonomous journeys meet people where they are. 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 To truly transform, organizations must move beyond incremental CS changes to holistic transformations. They redesigned entire engagement models, created centralized workflow engines, and made CS a catalyst for broader organizational changes around customer obsession. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 Transformations aren't just about datasets and impressive technology - they are about leading and inspiring people to be open to change and to use their skills to transform together. Kate Peter and Nikki Bishop did a fantastic job of detailing how implementing a human-first culture drives both employee and customer satisfaction, leading to collaboration and business excellence. The challenge for many organizations is achieving the clean datasets needed for these transformations. If you've navigated this journey, I'd love to connect. Reflecting on Pulse 2024, I'm excited about the immense opportunities we as an industry have at this time to shape the future of Customer Success. We're in the midst of a CS renaissance, catalyzed by the convergence of human ingenuity and AI. I'm leaning into this era of collaboration, eager to harness the transformative potential of technologies like generative AI while cultivating extraordinary relationships with our customers. #Gainsightpulse2024 #AI #HumanFirst #CustomerSuccess #Leadership

27

1 Comment

According to Transunion research, only 21% of Gen Z renters have their rent payments reported to the credit bureaus. This is a huge opportunity for any landlord looking to differentiate themselves. Rent reporting is often seen as a win-win because of the benefits it brings to the landlord and resident. For the landlord: - Discourages late payments - Differentiates you from the competition - Converts more and better leads into renters - Improve cash flow through reduced delinquencies - Appeals to credit conscientious residents who care about their financial reputations For the Residents: - Encourages financial responsibility and accountability - Helps move credit invisible individuals to credit available. - Helps them look favorable for future financial obligations - Improves their credit score (assuming on-time payments) - Rewards them with an additional benefit from their (likely) highest monthly spend. Here's the report, no sign-up needed: https://lnkd.in/gpUdypg3 #rentreporting #genz #propertymanagement

3

Always fun to publish a practice case and then see that EXACT story in the headlines. If you’re prepping for consulting interviews right now, try our new practice case on GM’s transition to EVs (PDF is attached). Once you’re done you can “check your work” by reading recent articles on how GM is actually navigating the headwinds (I linked to a recent one in the comments). #consulting #interviewprep

9

1 Comment

Can I afford to be a #Chevy Guy anymore? From my grandmothers 72' Malibu to the 93'vette I learned to drive in, or my dad's Silverado i drove at 16. I have been a GM family member, customer, supporter, fanatic my whole life. A father of 5 and all that entails, i am faced with replacing my second #chevytrucks transmission under a year. one blew at 72k miles the second at 93k miles. I don't remember swapping transmissions before 100k miles as part of the routine maintenance schedule?? the hard truth is that this transmission (6L80-6L90) has been a "known" problem for well over a decade, GM claiming to make teaks and changes but a dud is a dud... what is GM doing for the "best part of Chevy... their customers?" absolutely nothing. With so many brands fighting for market share, does #marybarra have anyone watching the back door? Generations of Loyalty are disintegrating in your hands... But it begs the question, are other Manufactures doing a better job?? #toyota Is replacing 100k potentially faulty engines for free… #chevrolet #chevy #teamchevrolet #gm #gmfamily #generalmotors #z71 #chevytrucks #chevysilverado #chevysuburban #6l80 #detroit #chevytahoe #governmentmotors #fueledbynature #meateater #americanmade

4

2 Comments

Platform Science's newest blog dives into the features of PS Asset Tracking and how it helps fleets increase their visibility on every truck with real-time data all in one central location. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gchKgnya .

2

Whenever I hear someone say "This is bad!" (like all the sturm and drang around product management lately) my response is almost always "Wait a darn minute." I mean where there are clear moral absolutes, then fine. Pass judgment. But about things in business? I have a hard time with absolutes. I know they drive clicks, but I still don't like them, because they are always wrong. Is product management simple, like the Simpliverse people say? Well, yes, it's conceptually not that complicated. In fact, a big problem in product management is people getting things *too* complicated. Starting from first principles or simplicity (not simplistic) is often the better approach. Ensuring you don't miss the forest for the trees. For example: what problem *are* we solving? Why will people buy our solution instead of their other alternatives. If you can't answer those questions well, then there's no point in more complexity. And is product management complex? Yes. It's highly complex. It involves predicting the future. It involves leading, influencing, motivating, and persuading people. A LOT of different types of people. Customers, prospects, your dev team, the architects, your sales team, your marketing team, your execs, analysts. Each of those groups speaks different languages (sounds like English, but is not). Each has different priorities, catastrophizes in their own way, doesn't tell you what they are thinking (in their own way), and so on. Dealing with all the communication is highly complex. But, all in the service of something simple. Making something that people will buy, which means solving a worthwhile problem in a way that, for some people, is their best alternative. If you can't articulate the latter part of that sentence: something people will buy to solve a worthwhile problem in a way that for some people is their best alternative - then it doesn't matter how much of a master you are of all the complicated communication. That's why it's both simple and complex. Both concepts apply. And neither is wrong. And, in the right context, each is powerful. H/t Greg Prickril, Jason Knight, Saeed K., John Cutler

9

6 Comments

Y'all know I love booking direct whenever possible as a consumer so when the industry makes it easier I have a field day. For hotels, direct booking perks can include: 👏 More flexible cancellation policies 😅 Less risk of being bumped if overbooked 👋 Better room location (bye bye elevators!) 💰 Loyalty rewards When direct booking vacation rentals you benefit from: 🤑 Significant savings (up to 30% less in some cases) 😍 Assurance you're booking a professionally managed vacation rental Steve Davis brought a really cool Chrome Extension to my attention today called Directo - Free Travel Chrome Extension that automatically pairs/finds the direct booking website for the listing you're looking at on AirBnB or any major OTA. Not only do guests benefit but hosts do as well, keeping more profits in house and building up more guest loyalty for future business. Can't wait to try this out! Linking to extension in the comments ⬇️ #travelhack #traveltips #directbooking #vacationrentals #shortermrentals #hotels #accommodations #tourismindustry

7

1 Comment

What Really Matters: Why Sharetown Prioritizes Your Customer Lifetime Value As CROs, we're constantly bombarded with metrics. But through the noise, one metric reigns supreme: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). It's the cornerstone of sustainable growth, and understanding what impacts it is the key to unlocking true business success. One often overlooked factor in LTV is the large and bulky returns process. Here's why it deserves your full attention: Recent studies by The Harris Poll show that 91% of customers are more likely to do business with a company again after a positive return experience. That's a staggering number, translating directly to increased customer retention and higher LTV. Conversely, a bad returns process can have a devastating impact. 72% of customers say they'd tell others about a negative return experience, damaging brand reputation and driving customers away. So, how does Sharetown stand out? Here's the secret sauce: Seamless Integration: Our returns process is built directly into the user experience, eliminating friction and frustration for you and your customer. Speed & Efficiency: We prioritize fast turnaround times, ensuring a smooth and swift resolution. This minimizes customer inconvenience and keeps them coming back for more. Transparency & Communication: We keep customers informed every step of the way, fostering trust and confidence. The Sharetown Advantage: Our commitment to a superior returns experience translates directly to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, a maximized LTV for your business. As a measure of our quality, we rate 4.9 stars on average on Google. Compare that to other returns solutions and the Sharetown difference will become obvious Want to learn more about how Sharetown can elevate your customer experience and unlock the full potential of your LTV? Reach out to me directly, and let's chat! #CustomerExperience #LTV #Sharetown #Returns #CRO

6

1 Comment