Competitive Advantage – The Extra .01%

Published By Ben Shute On Tuesday, February 9th 2010. Under Competitive Advantage, innovation, product positioning  Tags: , , ,   
Competitive Advantage – The Extra .01%
I was doing my weekly shopping over the weekend, and something grabbed my attention. While I was looking for some kitchen cleaner spray, I noticed that the most any of them kill is 99.99% of household germs. Now, don't get me wrong, I know that's a pretty high strike rate, but ... Continue Reading

Excuses Are Not A Customer Service Policy

Published By Ben Shute On Friday, December 18th 2009. Under Best Practice, Customer Service, Policy, customer experience  Tags: , ,   
Excuses Are Not A Customer Service Policy
On the weekend I caught up with friends for breakfast at a local café. They had turned up earlier than me and already ordered. I sat down and ordered a coffee, and then had a look at the menu. It was from here that an almost comedic service routine started. I ... Continue Reading

Real Social Networking

Published By Ben Shute On Monday, September 7th 2009. Under Best Practice, Customer Service, Online Reputation, Social Networking  Tags: , , ,   
Real Social Networking
Every Saturday morning I take my son to his swimming lessons, which is truly one of the highlights of my week. My wife has deemed these weekend classes "dad soup", because it seems this is the day when all the fathers are around to jump in the pool. Last weekend, I ... Continue Reading

4 Lessons In Customer Service

Published By Ben Shute On Tuesday, August 25th 2009. Under Best Practice, Customer Service, Online Reputation  Tags: , , , ,   
4 Lessons In Customer Service
Those that have been following some of my tweets during the last week will know that I have been searching for a new laptop. On top of this, I've also upgraded my broadband, making this a week where I have dealt with my fair share of sales people and customer ... Continue Reading

Twitter as a Customer Service Tool

Published By Ben Shute On Wednesday, June 17th 2009. Under Best Practice, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter  Tags: , , , , ,   
Twitter as a Customer Service Tool
This to me is a a perfect illustration of the new world order where Twitter can be used to track brand perceptions, trends and respond to customer feedback, something that many businesses are getting on board with. The most important aspect here though for me is that the company is engaging with me to keep me informed, not to sell something.