Heart&SOLE

REINVIGORATING THE FUN FACTORHow the element of fun is vital for business success. >>> page 14

www.thecustomersshoes.com ISSUE 01

10 USEFUL CUSTOMER FACTSFacts to make you think twice about the importance of the customer. >>> page 4

SUPPORTING GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

LEARNING FROM DISNEY

10 things you can learn from the Disney Brand. >>> page 10

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Why this is essential to future success. >>> page 2

GOING THE EX TRA MILE

Cher yl Gregor y - MD & Editor

INDEX

p2 Going the Ex tra M i le

p4 10 Useful Customer Related Fac ts

p6 M ichelangelo Was Just Doing a Job

p8 Bui ld Teamwork [Energiser]

p10 Learning f rom Disney

p12 The Benef i ts of the Ex tra M i le

p14 Reinvigorat ing the Fun Fac tor

p16 On The Shel f

p18 Steps for Thought [Quiz]

p20 The Power of the Disney Brand

p22 7 Reasons We're a Sole Fi t

p24 Only the Wearer K nows. . .

p25 I nner Sole

p26 Get I n Touch

HEAR T & SOLE is

publ ished quar ter ly by

The Customer 's Shoes Ltd

w w w.thecustomersshoes.com

Issue #1

Al l r ights reser ved © 2011

thought for the issue:

Coming f rom a Design background in the Fashion and Tex t i le I ndustr y, where the whole purpose of the design is to " wow" the Customer into buying a par t icular col lec t ion or brand name, I k now that l i fe i s a stage and creat iv i t y i s key to gett ing attent ion! Just l ike the fashion industr y, the arena of customer exper ience is ver y competit ive and the saying " l i fe i s theatre" i s more impor tant now than i t ever was. The way we handle our customer exper iences (whether as a f loor c leaner or a company execut ive) depends on ever yone within the organisat ion mak ing steps together to make the di f ference. How our organisat ions wi l l succeed into 2012, and beyond, depends heavi ly on how we por tray ourselves to our "audience" – the customer. For a l l of us, “walk ing that ex tra mi le” i s essent ia l to future success. I t i s the only way to guarantee paying back div i -dends far exceeding your current expec tat ions. I n this i ssue we’ve provided many ideas that wi l l help you consider just how easy i t i s to go the ex tra mi le, but I ’d a lso l ike to give you an example of my own…

2 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e G o i n G t h e e x t r a M i l e

Recent ly, I of fered to make a wedding dress for my hairdresser. She wanted something a cut above the rest , and sa id she would pay me handsomely in return. I spent many hours designing and us ing a l l my inspirat ion to make something that was ex tra specia l . When f in ished i t looked stunning and I imagined how as a cus-tomer she would feel when she wore i t… and how she would feel when I submitted the bi l l . An essent ia l pr inciple of success in a l l walks of l i fe, and in a l l careers, i s a wi l l -ingness to "Go The Ex tra M i le" ; th is means giv ing a better ser v ice than that for which one is paid, and doing so with a wi l l ing hear t and a posit ive mental att i -tude ( rather than begrudgingly) . Search wherever you can for a s ingle sound argu-ment against this pr inciple and you won' t be able to f ind one, nor wi l l you f ind a s ingle example of endur ing success, which was not achieved in par t by i ts use! So with this in mind, I made the decis ion not to charge anything at a l l and to attach a l i t t le taf feta bag ins ide the dress containing t wo t iny horseshoes and a note ask ing my hairdresser to pass on my gi f t of ‘good-wi l l ’ in some way to some -one else. This may not sound l ike good business prac t ice… but when my hair-dresser discovered I would not charge her, she was over joyed! She told a l l her col -leagues, raved about me on her socia l net-work s i tes and in turn, for warded several other potent ia l c l ients my way.

Shor t ly af ter the most beaut i fu l bouquet of f lowers was del ivered to me, a long with a card containing an amount of money I had not expec ted at a l l , a lovely bonus, showing there can be reward for doing something that i s not expec ted of you! Reciprocit y indeed.

O f ten in today ’s business places, people do just what they need to do to "get by" in their job rather than going that ex tra mi le. I s i t because employees are over-worked or because they are general ly unwi l l ing to give something for nothing? I t doesn’t necessar i ly mean giv ing away a produc t/ser vice for f ree l ike I d id, but i t could be t ime, conversat ion and ass istance that i s not par t of the job descr ipt ion. I bel ieve i t i s only because people are of ten unaware of the chain reac t ion of posit ive events that come from doing this , for them-selves and their work col leagues, that they are re luc tant to give i t a t r y.

Going the ex tra mi le is s imply doing more than you are asked or expec ted to do. To real ise the benef i ts that come with going the ex tra mi le in business, you must not expec t anything in return.

So besides the great feel ing you can get in k nowing that you have done a br i l l iant job, what are the other funda-mental benef i ts of going the ex tra mi le? F IND OUT ON PAGE 12.

i s s u e 0 1 3

G o i n G t h e e x t r a M i l e h e a r t & s o l e

f l ick r : the consumer istf l ick r : a lancleaver_2000 f l ick

10 Useful Customer Related Fac ts

We’ve picked some useful fac ts for you to run through with your team, present at your nex t board meet ing or publ ish in your newsletter that re late to the excit ing wor ld of customer exper ience management and the loyalt y that fo l lows.

flick r : Bo47

4 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e u s e f u l C u s t o M e r f a C t s

Useful Customer Related Fac ts

FACT #1A 50% reduct ion in

customer base would occur i f le f t a lone over a 5 year

per iod Bain & Company

FACT #2An average

company loses between 10 – 30% of i ts customers

annual l y McKinsey

FACT #3Dissat is f ied customers whose

compla ints are taken care of are more l i ke ly to remain

loya l , and even become advocates , than those that

are ‘ just ’ customers Strauss & Seidel

FACT #4A 5% reduct ion in the

customer defect ion rate can increase prof i ts by 5

– 95% Bain & Company

FACT #5A customer is 4 t imes

more l i ke ly to defect to a compet i tor i f the problem

is serv ice re lated than pr ice or product re lated

Bain & Company

FACT #6 70% of buy ing

exper iences are based on how the customer fee ls they

are be ing treated McKinse

FACT #7 I t takes 12 pos i t i ve

exper iences to make up for one unresolved negat ive

exper ience “Understanding Customers” by Ruby

Newel l -Legner

FACT #8 A 2% increase in customer

retent ion has the same ef fect as decreasing costs

by 10% Leading on theEdge of Chaos, Emmet

Murphy & Mark Murph Law

FACT #9In the US a lone, people that

switch from insurance prov iders represent a $7.6

b i l l ion market in annual premiums JD Power &

Associates

FACT #10Research shows that a 10% increase in customer reten-

t ion leve ls resul t in a 30% increase in the va lue of the

company Bain & Company

i s s u e 0 1 5

u s e f u l C u s t o M e r f a C t s h e a r t & s o l e

W hen Pope Jul ius I I commiss ioned M ichelangelo to paint the cei l ing of the S ist ine Chapel in the ear ly 1500’s ,

the great ar t ist no doubt looked up at the enormous expanse above him (some 12,000sq. f t ) , broken up by the numerous vaults , pendentives and pi lasters and was immediately struck by the restr ic t ions, boundar ies and the enormous l imitat ions he would face. He resented the commiss ion, and bel ieved his work only ser ved the Pope's need for grandeur and therefore this demanded even more of h im to ensure that the grand result would be understood by the largely (perhaps) i l l i terate congregat ion that would v iew his work . I n the contex t of business today we could descr ibe the Pope as the c l ient and the v iewing publ ic as the end users. I t i s unl ikely that M ichelangelo complained that he didn’t l ike the shape

of the cei l ing, that i t wasn’t h is st y le or that i t would take just too much commitment, even though this was his f i rst ever f resco! Nor I suspec t would he have thought that the Pope just d idn’t get how he himsel f worked as an ar t ist . I nstead M ichelangelo turned ever y l imitat ion into ar t ist ic oppor tunit ies, lending testament to the t rue nature of creat iv i t y. He did not shy away f rom tak ing the most demanding of commis-s ions and del iver ing on the promise. But what i f he had made his task eas ier by being ‘ar t ist centr ic ’? What i f he had found ways to work around the boundar ies and l imitat ions he faced? What i f he had taken the easy route? What result would we now see had he chosen to a l low the l imitat ions to stand in his way so he could f ind an eas ier route to the customer ’s exper ience? The v iewer ’s exper ience ( the customer ’s exper ience) would have been lessened. I t ’s the di f ference bet ween being customer centr ic and organisat ion centr ic , or in the case of M ichelangelo, ar t ist centr ic and v iewer centr ic .

was just doing a job….

Michelangelo

6 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e J u s t a J o b

At the hear t of h is work is the stor y of the

bible and in stor y te l l ing the key to success

is to be understood. Even i f you are the

most ta lented manager or leader the fault

of being misunderstood l ies at your feet . I t

i s you who has the responsibi l i t y of being

understood not the audience you

communicate with .

Your Responsibi l i t y to Communicate

In del iver ing your culture change

programme, your new customer

exper ience strategy or your internal

communicat ions in i t iat ive, i t i s your

responsibi l i t y to communicate f rom

top to bottom in a way that i s under-

stood and meaningful and re levant for the

audience you are address ing. We of ten f ind

that the senior management team and top

table of the organisat ion has a dream and a

v is ion that they are c lear about del iver ing,

but as t ime goes by, as fur ther layers of the

organisat ion become involved the

message becomes di luted and evolves to

the ex tent that the direc t connec t ion

bet ween the v is ion and the f ront l ine staf f

becomes disconnec ted and the customer

exper ience being del ivered is remote f rom

the one envis ioned by the or iginal ar t ists .

We cal l th is connec t ion the Red L ine and

successful organisat ions are able to con-

nec t the v is ion of the organisat ion (cal l i t

purpose or a im) throughout so that even

the most func t ional of employee roles can

be direc t ly connec ted with the a im as i f by

a red l ine.

So the nex t t ime you consider the message

you want to communicate, th ink not of the

complexit ies of i t a l l , but think of the

overal l message, what is the one over-

arching theme you want people to take

away, the key message that needs to be

del ivered upon. And then communicate

with a l l the colour and engagement you

can muster because i t ’s only by enabl ing

employees and a l l s takeholders to c lear ly

see and receive the message that they wi l l

understand i t .

f l i ckr : laura Padgett

i s s u e 0 1 7

J u s t a J o b h e a r t & s o l e

Many of our advocates have asked us for some s imple team exerc ises that can be used dur ing meet ings to help develop improved customer ser v ice levels . I n this i ssue of ‘Hear t and Sole’ we have a s imple but fun ac t iv i t y to chal lenge your “crew ” and energise them at their nex t team meet ing. We have used this many t imes when we want to explore the subjec ts of problem solv ing, creat iv i t y, communicat ion and teamwork in a few minutes.

You wi l l need the fol lowing resources :

• A pair of sc issors• A stapler• A rol l of st ick y/mask ing tape• 20 sheets of A4 copy paper

Bui ld Teamwork With Our Paper 'Cut & Step' Chal lenge

send us a snaP

of your teaM tryinG this

and We MiGht inClude it in

our next issue!

8 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e t e a M G a M e

O B J E C T I V EThe team must use the resources to create a ‘ loop’ through which they must a l l pass through us ing the least amount of resources as poss ible.

C H A L L E N G E R U L E S• They have 15 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to execute their solut ion.

• They must only use the resources provided.

• They are not a l lowed to handle any of the mater ia ls dur ing the preparat ion phase.

S O LU T I O NVis i t our website for the s implest of solut ions which can be executed in less than 60 seconds! Vis i t http ://bit . ly/r t2 IUr for the 'Cut & Step' Chal lenge, where you can download a fu l l br ief ing sheet and check out the opt imum solut ion.

i s s u e 0 1 9

t e a M G a M e h e a r t & s o l e

flickr: daryl_mitchell

l earning f rom disneyDisney are wor ld famous for del iver ing great guest exper iences

and have a culture and way of doing business that i s the epitome

of “ the exper ience economy.” With strong leadership, a pass ion for

creat iv i t y and a v is ion that has changed the l ives of mi l l ions of people

over the years, we can a l l learn a lot f rom the wor ld of corporate Disney.

In this i ssue we have gathered together 10 quotes f rom the Twitter feed of the Disney I nst i tute (@disneyinst i tute) . Al l of which can help us to learn

about creat ing memorable customer exper iences. There 's a lso a lot to be learnt in the book “ Why we love Disney ” ; The power of the Disney Brand by Andi Ste in , turn to page 20 to read MD Cher yl ' s review. . .

1 0 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e l e a r n i n G f r o M . . .

flickr: pheede

flickr: Joe Shlabotnik

flickr: ross_hawkes

flickr: ste3ve

learning f rom disneyDisney are wor ld famous for del iver ing great guest exper iences

and have a culture and way of doing business that i s the epitome

of “ the exper ience economy.” With strong leadership, a pass ion for

creat iv i t y and a v is ion that has changed the l ives of mi l l ions of people

over the years, we can a l l learn a lot f rom the wor ld of corporate Disney.

LESSON #1“For internal communication to be effective, the methods and messages must meet employee's needs.”

LESSON #2“Examine your system and figure out ways for leaders to catch people doing things right - then recognize those individuals.”

LESSON #3“Great leaders make sincere efforts to help employees make the best use of their talents and skills.”

LESSON #4“Money is a short term motivator. What almost always matters most is knowing that your job is meaningful. Individuals need to know this.”

LESSON #5“Establishing your organization’s identity keeps everyone focused.”

LESSON #6“Bring up new leaders that focus more on purpose than task.”

LESSON #7"There is no downside to brainstorming. The process provides unlimited ways to generate creative ideas for every aspect of your business.”

LESSON #8“Lead by example and you’ll see people management in action. Your team will become united in purpose.”

LESSON #9“Empower your people and give them the opportunity to make deci-sions. Recognize those that are being proactive and doing things right.”

LESSON #10“For internal communication to be effective, the methods and messages must meet employee's needs.”

i s s u e 0 1 1 1

l e a r n i n G f r o M . . . h e a r t & s o l e

GOiNG thE ExtRA MiLE wiLL. . .

- Br ing out pos i t i ve emot ions in your

customers ; a l lowing them to both

remember you, fee l good about you, and return .

- Help you to move ahead, and stay

ahead of your compet i t ion and succeed

where others fa i l .

- He lp your organisat ion stand out from

the crowd and be d ist inguished.

THE BENEFITS OF THE EXTRA MILE Did you k now there are some fundamental benef i ts for you and your team, of going the 'ex tra mi le ' for your customers? These benef i ts are not a lways immediately recognisable, however, they do have a ver y posit ive ef fec t on the whole Customer Exper ience!

1 2 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e b e n e f i t s o f t h e e x t r a M i l e

t r y them!

Send a handwritten thank you note af ter purchase/interac t ion Show genuine interest in engaging your customer, look them in the eyes

Personal ise emai l /letters with meaningful conversat ion and care Change your habits , surpr ise customers with a new interac t ion on their v is i t Be prepared to break your pol ic ies i f something needs to be done

H ow and when do you go the ex tra mi le? The di f ference bet ween people who l ive a l i fe of

excel lence and those that l ive a l i fe of mediocr i t y real ly l ies in one cr i t ica l d ist inc t ion - the wi l l ingness to a lways go the ex tra mi le and exceed expec tat ions. You' ve got to take a step for ward and be ex traordinar y. Af ter a l l , ordinar y ef for ts wi l l produce ordinar y results ! Whether you are the managing direc tor, team leader or a team player, those that achieve long-last ing, susta inable success, do ever ything humanly poss ible to cont inual ly of fer more and a better customer exper ience, increas-ing value and except ional “stage per formance" that exceeds a l l expec tat ions.

Simple Examples of "How To Go The Extra Mi le"

del iver ing a fun, enjoyable and engaging exper ience no matter how f leet ingly i t may be is a fantast ic way to connect with your customers at an emot ional level , even in the b2b arena.

R E I N V I G O R AT I N G

T H E F U N FAC TO R With the economic downturn

cont inuing to be a prospec t for us a l l

far into the future, brands and

organisat ions that use ‘enjoyment ’

and 'del ight ' as par t of their Customer

Exper ience wi l l s tand out as dist inc-

t ive. I t i s the number one way to get

not iced. Us ing your reta i l space to

of fer areas for some form of enjoyable

ac t iv i t y wi l l develop a better customer

exper ience. I nternet Cafés, f ree WiFi ,

K ids Zones, Cinematic areas etc are just

a few examples.

www.thefuntheory.com

1 4 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e r e i n i G o r a t i n G f u n

stat ion were t ransformed

into a giant piano so that

tak ing the sta i rs in pref-

erence to the escalators

enabled users to play music

as they entered or lef t

the stat ion. This led to an

increase in 66% more people

choosing the sta i rs than the

escalator. So mak ing

mundane things fun can

change behaviour and in

doing so you connec t emo -

t ional ly to the user expe -

r ience; once again prov-

ing that emotions are at the

hear t of human behaviour.

ask yourself this . . . . when was the last t ime that you took that step back and considered your customer experience?

how enjoyable are you making your experience?

how could you change behaviour by making the experience more fun?

R E I N V I G O R AT I N G

T H E F U N FAC TO R

I f your organisat ion is st i l l

led by marketers and accoun-

tants that k now l i t t le of the

theor y of customer exper ience

then you have some way to go

to compete in these di f f icult

t imes. Your organisat ion wi l l

need a s igni f icant shi f t f rom

produc t or ser v ice or ientat ion

to one of customer exper ience

or ientat ion. Customers are

seek ing greater and improved

exper iences when they shop

take for example the shopping

complexes we see in ever y c i t y

around the countr y. No longer

are these places to s imply buy

produc ts f rom, these are places

to spend t ime, to soak up the

exper ience such places have

to of fer. As consumers, we are

cont inual ly seek ing out the

“wow ” exper ience or an

exper ience that helps us di f -

ferent iate bet ween one brand

and another amid the mult iple

choices we are faced with .

At The Customer ’s Shoes we

bel ieve that as we a l l develop

our exper iences whether i t

i s B2C or B2B, that i t should

remain s imple in execut ion,

enjoyable to exper ience and

uncompl icated in i ts business

or brand message.

Fun has a big impac t not just

on customers but employees

too. I n fac t the Fun Theor y

website, A Volkswagen

in i t iat ive descr ibes i ts

purpose as :

“ This s i te is dedicated to

the thought that something

as s imple as fun is the eas i -

est way to change people’s

behaviour for the better. Be

i t for yoursel f, for the envi -

ronment, or for something

ent i re ly di f ferent , the only

thing that matters i s that

i t ’s change for the better.”

The purpose of the Fun

Theor y in i t iat ives is to

change behaviour by

mak ing things fun. There

are lots of examples on the

website http://thefunthe -

or y.com/ but one we par t ic -

ular ly l ike is where sta i rs at

a Stock holm underground

i s s u e 0 1 1 5

r e i n i G o r a t i n G f u n h e a r t & s o l e

Exper iences that f i t the customer per fec t ly .

A look at the good, the bad and the ugly in customer ser v ice over the last few months.

On the Shel f . . .Golden Shoes

M A R K S & S P E N C E R S , C R I B B S C AU S E WAY, B R I S TO L Last month, The Customer 's Shoes team exper ienced their BEST supermarket exper ience ever ! When a M&S Cr ibbs Causeway staf f member, Carolyn, showed ex tra care and attent ion at the checkout . Carolyn of fered our MD, Cher yl , money saving vouchers before scanning i tems that were e l igible and then proceeded to te l l her about a £5 of f voucher in the Dai ly Mai l which she could a lso use before paying. Carolyn genuinely seemed to care about her customers and i t d idn' t go unnoticed.

N AT I O N A L E X P R E S S COAC H E SBig thumbs up to Nat ional Express who generously of fered f ree Wembley Spain vs England t ickets to a t witter fo l lower when he missed out on winning t ickets v ia their of f ic ia l competit ion. Af ter t weet ing that he would have loved to have won a pair, Nat ional Express asked@stowespor t to emai l them and they 'd see i f they had any spare - which they did!

f l i ckr : l i t t le b lue hen 1 6 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e o n t h e s h e l f

exper iences that are complete ly lacking! Very uncomfortable for the customer. . .

Uncomfor table exper iences for the customer - companies that need a customer exper ience ref i t t ing!

One Odd Shoe

L I V E D R I V E F I L E S TO R AG E We' ve recent ly star ted a campaign on our website, where customers can nominate organisat ions for our Odd Shoe Awards - i t ' s a b i t l ike the Fi lm I ndustr y 's 'R azz ies ' awards. . . not a good thing to have. A conf i rmat ion that your ser v ice is lack ing. One of our fo l lowers recent ly complained about the ser v ice of 'L ive Dr ive ' f i le storage, with complaints about lost data , system bugs and, most impor tant ly, l ies to the customer! There 's most def in i te ly room for improvement here. . . Read the ful l ar t ic le at : http ://bit . ly/szGFyk

G E T YO U R E X P E R I E N C E S F E AT U R E D H E R E !Nex t issue, we'd l ike to feature some of your exper iences! Where have you had memorable customer interac t ions, whether for the wrong or r ight reasons? Emai l us now at : measureup@thecustomersshoes.com or go onl ine and submit your own blog post at :

w w w.thecustomersshoes.com/submit

f l i ckr : l i t t le b lue hen i s s u e 0 1 1 7

o n t h e s h e l f h e a r t & s o l e

01 Is the

customer a lways

r ight?

02 Who should

come f i rst your people

or your customers?

03 Which is the

most important : h ir ing

r ight or tra in ing r ight?

Take this quick 3 point quiz to f ind out i f your think ing on the customer exper ience is on t rack . . .

Steps for Thought Quiz

1 Is the customer a lways r ight? No, but they are absolutely a lways the customer. O f course sometimes they wi l l be wrong. . . I n fac t at t imes there’s a need to

f i re some customers s imply because they e i ther cost you too much or they are unprof i table to do business with . However, the answer to this quest ion has much wider impl icat ions. To f ind out more do v is i t http://bit . ly/teqEKP for a fu l ler explanat ion of the ins ights and or igins of the phrase “ the customer is a lways r ight ” and what i t means to the modern approach to customer exper ience management.

1 8 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e Q u i Z

2. Who should come first your people or your customers?

2 Who should come f i rst your people or your customers? We say your people

come f i rst as the employee exper ience is intr ins ical ly l inked to the customer exper ience. Get your people f i t f i rst and then fol low through with the customer exper ience. O f course you can’t necessar i ly wait unt i l the culture is developed; i t ’s a quest ion of having to work on both at the same t ime, employee exper ience and customer exper ience. US a i r l ine JetBlue is quoted as saying that i t h i res comedians rather than tra in employees to be funny. There’s a big di f ference in the customer exper ience that e i ther approach would give. And once Google had learned that those middle managers who created compel l ing and engaging internal cultures far outper formed those with greater technical exper t ise i t t r iggered a comprehensive study to ident i fy the per formance dr ivers for such per formance hikes. To f ind out more about what leaders in the f ie ld do to develop the r ight culture see our post at http://bit . ly/vM wgv5

3 Which is the most impor tant : h i r ing r ight or t ra ining r ight? H ire for att i tude f i rst , t ra in

for sk i l l . We bel ieve this i s a lways the best pol ic y. With the r ight att i tude you can work wonders to develop sk i l l s but an att i tude that i s cultural ly mismatched to your endeavours to del iver a great customer and employee exper ience is bound to fa i l in the long term. H ir ing the r ight employee can be a tough and chal lenging process but i f done correc t ly wi l l be one that avoids expense, costs to the work ing environment, and t ime for those involved in the recruitment process. H i r ing the r ight employee wi l l pay you back in produc t iv i t y, a successful employment re lat ionship, and a posit ive impac t on your total work environment with col leagues. Disney I nst i tute recommends you induc t newly hi red employees into your culture f i rst , and then cover produc t , ru les, etc. To learn more about hi r ing r ight read our post http://bit . ly/suDLsH

i s s u e 0 1 1 9

Q u i Z h e a r t & s o l e

THE POWER OF THE DISNEY

BRAND

A good read

An ins ight by MD Cher yl : I n my opinion, th is i s a great read! I t real ly focuses on how a brand has managed to gain such a power ful hold throughout the wor ld for decades. Andi Ste in’s of f ice is sa id to be pi led high with Memorabi l ia , and i t cannot go unnoticed that she is a Disney fan through and through. Andi wrote this book af ter researching Disney for years. From her background as Associate Professor of Communicat ions, she has spoken with enthusiasts , consumers and former employees f rom Disney and v is i ted var ious theme parks around the wor ld. Famil iar with a l l the parks in Cal i fornia and Flor ida , she has a lso v is i ted the Disney parks in Tok yo and Hong Kong.

Stein discovered the enormit y of the Disney name whi lst conduc t ing her research. She says ; “People just break into smi les and want to te l l you about their posit ive exper iences.

We love Disney for many reasons - they ’re fami ly f r iendly, their charac ters’ make us laugh and feel good, they ’re an escape f rom our t roubles and people k now what to expec t . The Disney message is a lways, u l t imately, posit ive” I n the ear ly days in the 1920’s , the beginning of Disney was just a smal l s tudio, run by a few. But this Company soon became one of the most inf luent ia l organisat ions in the enter ta inment industr y in the wor ld. “ Why we love Disney" detai ls the reason for Disney ’s t remendous growth and appeal even today. I t descr ibes the inf lu-ence of the Disney company over the decades and into the 21st centur y.

I n her book , Andi d iscusses the company ’s evolut ion, and how Disney cont inues to market i tse l f to bui ld i ts fabulous brand.

2 0 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e a G o o d r e a d

Buy now from

Amazon £20.30

ISBN:1433108976

I t i s c lear the Customer Exper ience is at the ver y hear t of the whole Disney phi losophy. Empathy goes hand in hand with brand loyalt y and there is a per fec t a l ignment bet ween what the brand says and offers , and how i ts customers exper ience i t .

I t i s not iceable that in this nex t phase of the economic downturn Disney has a great deal to of fer a l l of us in the messages i t por trays, brands must now engage their audience much more through the emotional connec t ions - to establ ish a c loseness bet ween the customer and the brand i tse l f.

Organisat ions must te l l a stor y, they must be l ike novels that you just can’t put down.

I do hope you wi l l take t ime to read this inspir ing book!

Do what you do so wel l

that they wi l l want to see i t

again and br ing their

f r iends. WALT

DISNEY

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a G o o d r e a d h e a r t & s o l e

quote of the month

7 Reasons Why We Can Be a “Sole Fi t ” for Your Organisat ionI f you’re look ing for a Company that can help you del iver an outstanding customer and employee exper ience, we have a few t ips ta i lor-made especia l ly for you. Focusing exclus ively on contemporar y, cutt ing- edge ideas, we set out to of fer you advice based on our shoe re lated theme, af ter a l l . We have l i tera l ly made ‘ the customer ’s shoes’ our business.

i f you want to be creat ive in your company, your career, your l i fe , a l l i t takes is one easy step. . . the extra one. When you encounter a fami l iar p lan, you just ask one quest ion: What else could we do?

dale daunten

fancy a customer exper ience re lated quote sent to your inbox dai ly?

s ign up at : ht tp://b i t . ly/ tcsquotes

01LiGhtwEiGht

AND FLExiBLE.

Any agency that

is st i f f , r ig id and not wi l l ing or

focused on changing with the

t imes wi l l not be ab le to surv ive .

Especia l l y when f lex ib i l i t y and

creat iv i ty is needed in

c ircumstances that in f luence you

and your programme. Our team

at the Customer’s Shoes have

tr immed our overheads and so

we carry no heavy costs we need

to recover , so you receive an

af fordable , premium

serv ice . Add to that the

f lex ib i l i t y that on ly comes from

a smal l v ibrant team and you

have the benef i t o f work ing

with an agency that can react

to your needs at every stage

of the journey , is ready to run

when necessary and is sturdy

and robust enough to last the

long treks on those b igger

pro jects .

2 2 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e s o l e f i t

02 SMOOth AND

SEAMLESS.

The best

shoes are smooth and

seamless and a l though we

are innovat ive , where needed

we can scratch and scuf f to

chal lenge the status quo in

your organisat ion . We a lso

recognise when there ’s a

need to s l ip smooth ly into

p lace when work ing with you

too so you’ l l f ind we don’t

chaf f or i rr i tate but become

part of a seamless ly

integrated team.

03 whOLE

AND hALF

SiZES.

You can access our

serv ices at var ious

leve ls from major cu l ture

change programmes through

to short sharp two hour

‘whizz ’ sess ions that focus

sk i l l deve lopment or

customer journey

enhancements exact ly where

i t ’s needed.

04 LEAthER

UPPERS.

We’re not a

manufactured, canned or

synthet ic agency but one

whose cu l ture you wi l l f ind

is genuine , trustworthy and

of fers a premium package of

serv ices and so lut ions which

are tru ly un ique

05 EASY AND

ADJUStABLE

FAStENERS.

We understand how

important i t is to make l i fe

as convenient as poss ib le to

the c l ient . We work with you

to achieve your strateg ic and

tact ica l goals and ad just to

your needs, as and when the

journey changes.

06 GROwiNG

ROOM.

The best f i t

is one that a l lows room for

growth. We never under

est imate the resource

required or sk imp and save ,

but would rather a l low room

for growth a l lowing your

pro ject to be correct ly

resourced with a l i t t le spare

capaci ty for movement .

07 CAREFULLY

FittED.

We ta i lor

make our serv ices so they

perfect ly meet your needs.

We have a few of f the peg

so lut ions for rap id

deployment and for those

on a shoe str ing budget too!

But the essence of a great

c l ient exper ience is to fu l l y

understand your needs and

then match the appropr iate

resource, inte l lect and

exper ience - and then go the

extra mi le !

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s o l e f i t h e a r t & s o l e

SEE thE GAME NOw At:

http://bit . ly/laces_ladders

There is an Engl ish proverb that says “only the wearer k nows where the shoe

pinches”, meaning that i f you want to understand the

issues behind someone else’s exper ience you

need to ask them. This i s the essence of a

voice of the customer strategy, captur ing,

interpret ing and ac t ing upon customer

feedback .

For the fun of i t we took the theme of shoes

pinching and considered some of the health

problems re lated to i l l - f i t t ing foot wear and the

impac t upon the feet , inc luding bl isters , bunions and

toe nai ls . We then incorporated them into a chi ldhood game of Snakes and

Ladders which we have renamed Laces and Ladders to st ick with the theme

of shoes.

So here i t i s , and in case you are wear y of the normal business c l ichés, we would l ike to introduce you to some new customer exper ience and programme j ingo. Who k nows these may just become the phrases of the t ime!

O N LY T H E W E A R E R K N O W S

W H E R E T H E S H O E P I N C H E S

2 4 i s s u e 0 1

h e a r t & s o l e o n ly t h e W e a r e r k n o W s

O N LY T H E W E A R E R K N O W S

W H E R E T H E S H O E P I N C H E SInner

So le . . .neVer forGet your

CustoMers or eMPloyees

Do you think you would

remember a customer you

only met once more than t wo

decades ago?

I magine remember ing the

bir thday of one of your customers and then

providing them with a gi f t of a l i fet ime 18

years on. Wel l that ’s exac t ly what happened to

Shona O wen, a student who was born onboard

a Br i t ish Air ways jet back in 1991. Br i t ish Air-

ways were proud to of fer Shona a f ree f l ight to

celebrate her 18th bir thday in 2009.

Shona of Aberdeen, was del ivered at the giddy

height of 7 ,000f t in the f i rst c lass compar t-

ment of a Boeing 747 jet as i t approached G at-

wick Airpor t . Her premature bir th went without

a h i tch suppor ted by a Dutch doc tor t ravel l ing

onboard as wel l as ass istance f rom the cabin

crew. Shona took the a i r l ine up on the of fer

and chose to f ly to Austra l ia to v is i t her grand-

mother on a Fi rst C lass t icket .

O f course BA had some good PR mi leage in

this stor y themselves in fac t on Sunday 13th

November, 2011 they placed a s ingle page

spread in the Sunday Telegraph trumpeting

their customer care and used Shona’s case as

an example.

Nonetheless the a i r l ine should be praised for

tak ing the in i t iat ive in the f i rst p lace of record-

ing the chi ld ’s b i r th and then us ing i t to con-

nec t with her a l l these years later.

The impor tance of remember ing the customer

can not be understated whether i t i s remem-

ber ing them with ‘cook ies’ on their comput-

ers, their purchase histor y when they s ign into

your website (Amazon) , or their ser v ice histor y

when your deal with their enquir y f rom your CRM

system. Remember ing val idates the person’s past .

Remember ing takes on many forms:

1. To recal l to the mind with ef for t ; th ink of

again : E .g. “ I f inal ly remembered their name.”

2 .To recal l or become aware of suddenly or

spontaneously : E .g. “ Then I remembered that

today is your bi r thday.”

3 . To reta in in the memor y : Remember your

appointment with…

4. To keep (someone) in mind as wor thy of con-

s iderat ion or recognit ion.

5 . To reward with a gi f t or t ip.

6 . To give greet ings f rom: Remember me to your

fami ly.

By remember ing we show we care, by remember-

ing we demonstrate to customers and employ-

ees that they are impor tant , by remember ing we

show i t matters that we hold onto the memories

and histor y we have of others.

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i n n e r s o l e h e a r t & s o l e

Like what you' ve read? Tweet us and let us k now! t witter : customers_shoes

Thanks for reading the f i rst issue of Heart & Sole . We hope you 've been insp ired to use some of the ideas featured, in your own customer exper iences!

I f you 're look ing to WOW your customers, we 'd love to be of ass istance. We can he lp with : - Insp irat ional Tra in ing - Strateg ic Guidance - CEM Tools and Solut ions Get in touch: 01242 269076measureup@thecustomersshoes.com www.thecustomersshoes.com

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