tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93077832024-02-28T14:15:43.669-07:00Technology Ideas: Clear and SimpleWhat technology is really important? What trends are worth watching? What do you need to know? Education starts here.Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-12999247877742964832014-03-13T16:27:00.000-07:002017-06-22T16:02:28.105-07:00The Smartphone is Today's Personal ComputerThe smartphone is today's Personal Computer. Desktop computers are for desktops and are no longer personal enough. Quad-core CPUs and GPUs make the smartphone the preferred platform for personal consumption. Always connected means no "itch" need go without a "scratch". The growth in ad revenue makes all kinds of sense with ads supporting the developer community. The big gap is in the business community. Few business apps have embraced the business user. It is time for business software suppliers to devise ways to streamline the movement to today's Personal Computer and be less dependent upon the desktop computer. Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-41743401686398347212013-12-20T13:25:00.002-07:002021-05-22T08:14:42.344-07:00Science of Business -- Gravity<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Gravity</span></b>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Gravity is all around us.
It is part of everything we do every day. So what exactly is this thing called Gravity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Let’s start with the definition. Gravity, according to the Collins Junior
Dictionary, is “the force that makes things fall when you drop them.” Now that’s pretty simple. It doesn’t take being Isaac Newton to realize
that apples will always be falling from trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So what does falling apples have to do with business? Glad you asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Think of your business as a very large apple. That apple is resting in your hand. Lift up that apple until your arm cannot go
any higher. OK. What are you now doing to that apple?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I imagine everyone is thinking “holding up the apple”. You are correct but what are you actually
doing to keep that apple up in the air?
Would you believe you are actively pushing the apple upwards? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yes, that’s right. The
effort you are expending to hold the apple in the air, assuming the apple is motionless,
is just enough effort to counter the force gravity is applying to the apple to
make it fall to the ground. You are
literally pushing the apple up continuously in order to keep it from falling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Your business operates according to the “Laws of
Gravity”. Regardless of whether your business
is large or small, it is subject to the same laws of gravity as the apple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In business, there are only 2 directions allowed: up and
down. The apple is either lifted in an
upward direction or it falls to the ground.
Your business is either being “lifted” up by the efforts of the
employees or it is “falling” to the ground.
Nature does not allow for a business to operate at an equilibrium state
for any length of time. In other words,
you cannot have sales or production at a flat level for any length of
time. In business, there are no exceptions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So what does it mean to “lift” your business? Active engagement in the growth of the
business “lifts” the business up and keeps it growing. Look at your sales figures. Are they going up or going down? How about your revenue numbers? In fact, if you look at all the various
statistics used to measure the success of your business, there are only 2
directions you will see in anything but a shuttered company: up and down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The more active the employees are at “lifting” the company,
the higher the sales figures and more likely the company becomes successful. The importance of contributions from every
employee are not to be overlooked. All
of us have probably known of employees who loafed about on the job and really
did not put forth a great deal of effort in doing the best job they could. These types of employees effectively add to
the overall weight that the balance of the employees must overcome in order to
keep the company going up. Get too many
employees riding on the shoulders of others and soon the “shouldered” employees
start to get dropped; figuratively and literally. When a business suffers drops in its sales
numbers over a sufficiently long period, staff reductions are inevitable. Thus, the dropping of employees comes to pass
in the form of layoffs; there are not enough “lifters” to compensate for the
loafers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As a business owner, if you drop a lifter from the company,
you have made the problem worse. It is
vital that every business recognize who are the lifters and who are not. Who are the really heavy lifters and who are
the lightweight lifters? Should it
become necessary to reduce the number of employees, it is critical to the
business to start with the loafers, then the lightweight lifters and then the
heavy lifters. Look at the statistics
for each employee to determine where each employee fits on the scale of
“lifters”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So what in the business world constitutes gravity? What is it that all the lifters are lifting
against? In simple terms, competition
and noise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Every business has competitors. These competitors are actively seeking
customers just like your business. How
much effort you must expend in order to counteract their sales efforts depends
upon the overall market size and your company’s size relative to your
competitors. The more competition you
face, the more gravity is present working against your lifting efforts. If the overall market is large and you face a
lot of similarly-sized competitors, your lifting efforts will not need to be as
large as that of a small business competing against very large
competitors. The key is to recognize
what market you can successfully play in given your lifting power and the
gravity imposed by your competition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Look at what happens when a Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Barnes
& Noble moves into town? These
behemoths can present formidable competition yet the nimble businesses in town
- recognizing the “gravity” they present - looks for ways to shrink the target market
to a size where their lifting capacity is greater than that of their
competition. Specialty retailers are
often unfazed by the introduction of a “big box” retailer. The really clever retailer takes advantage of
the situation and promotes his unique products as “special” and “personalized”.
In other words, the smart business
reduces the size of the target market they are trying to “lift” to something of
a size that allows their current lifters to continue to overcome competitive
gravity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Along with competition, the other component of gravity is noise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Noise is the cumulative distractions that all of us encounter
in our daily lives. The deluge of
advertising, radios, televisions, ringing phones and the general status of the
economy all contribute to the overall noise level through which a company’s
messages must emerge. How does the right
message get to the right person at the right time in order to bring about a
realization that whatever you are selling is something needed? If your prospect is looking for a solution,
the task is easier. If the problem you
are trying to solve is not yet known, the task is much harder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It used to be that what are considered noises today were once
considered sources of valuable information.
TV ads were informative. Now we
TiVo our way through them. Radio shows
were sponsored by a single vendor whom everyone knew. Now we have subscription radio so we can
avoid the ads. Newspapers were the
primary source of news about the world around us and now the Internet allows
for easy access to more news than any of us are prepared to digest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So how do you combat the noise factor. Networks.
Social networks, referral networks and business networks. When ads are generally distrusted, consumers
turn to friends and colleagues for insights.
They look to someone they trust to give them guidance. The Internet provides instant access to
thousands of viewpoints about almost everything that is for sale. Consumer Reports has been replaced by social
network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and YouTube. Clever usage of these tools can result in
customers becoming advocates and helping in the lifting efforts. Does that mean traditional advertising does
not work? No. It means that you need to be asking your
customers how they found out about you (survey) and track any changes in behavior. You may be surprised to find out that a great
many of your customers included on-line research in their buying decision
process. If you are not building your
“network”, you may be missing a lot of opportunities to secure customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thus we have the 2 sides in the battle for business success;
the lifters and gravity. The simple fact
is that as long as the capacity of the lifters is greater than the forces
combining to create gravity, the business will be successful. Allow gravity to get the better of your
company and without immediate action, the business will fold under the weight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you know who are the lifters in your company?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As always, if you would like
help implementing these ideas in your business, please call me regarding
available consulting services:
602-492-1088<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-84242581344277479802013-12-15T21:15:00.000-07:002013-12-20T13:18:33.370-07:00Science of Business – Vacuums<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Vacuums<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There are very few things that Mother Nature hates worse than
a vacuum. Look around you and you will
see virtually everything is filled with something. By definition, a vacuum is space that is
empty of matter. Liquids, solids or
gases, Mother Nature continually seeks to fill each and every vacuum
encountered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the world of science, vacuums can be incredible
useful. Vacuums create suction which can
help seal containers, attach things together and help us in our daily cleaning
chores. Our cars depend on vacuums for
various emissions and throttle controls.
Pumps of all kinds depend upon vacuums in order to work properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Interestingly, when you look at how science has applied
vacuums to our everyday lives, the purpose behind a vacuum is to create a flow
in a desired direction. Given that a
vacuum is static; it has no motion as it is an absence of matter, isn’t it
amazing that this static is actually a source of a flow of matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the world of business, there are clear examples of how the
laws surrounding vacuums apply. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so does a business. When a new market is created or identified,
there is effectively a vacuum condition which draws entrepreneurs to fill the
void and service this new market. When
an employee leaves a company, there is a void left behind that needs to be
filled. Some companies shuffle remaining
staff to fill the void and others hire replacements to fill the void. However addressed, the void gets filled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Successful selling is all about filling a void; getting the
prospect to recognize the existence of the void (vacuum) and to help fill that
void in an ideal manner. In fact, were
it not for the voids and the vacuum it creates, I suggest to you that there would
be no motion in any business. Commerce
does not happen from pushing. Force is
not how a booming business is built.
Quite the contrary. The booming
business is built from identifying a void, enlarging it, filling it and
continuing to uncover similar voids and filling them. The larger the void, the more attention the
void attracts and the more people there are trying to supply their solution to
fill the void.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the obvious application of vacuums to the world of
business. It applies to products,
markets, people and leadership. The
voids create vacuums and they will be filled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There is also a less obvious, but no less important,
application of vacuums to business; creating business flows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The filling</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of a void involves flows.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The filling of a vacuum involves those same
flows.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as science uses vacuums to
create flows, so too can a business.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Funny thing about flows, they can only go in 1 direction for so long
before they must be reversed.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me
give you an example.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A common camping trick for creating a shower is to suspend a
1 gallon jug of water from a tree. Poke
a small hole in the bottom of the jug and watch the water start to drain
out. Assuming the lid is secured, the
water will exit the jug in a small stream for a minute or so and then
stop. The reason the water stopped
flowing out was that a vacuum was created in the top of the jug and it
eventually grew strong enough to keep the water in the jug. Allow air to flow into the jug and water can
start flowing out again. Simple physics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In business, the same flows apply. Marketing, advertising, promotion or whatever
you want to call it, are all examples of outbound flows. If you put out enough outbound flows, you
will create the hanging jug condition; the outflow cannot continue until an
inflow occurs. The simplicity of this
model is that nature will supply the inflow.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Companies that are unaware of this natural law will often
decide to squeeze the “jug” in hopes of getting more sales to occur. Like the plastic jug, squeezing harder does
force more outflow but at what effort level relative to inflow? Essentially, pushing harder and harder on the
target audience does not create inflow just as there is a point in which no
more water will exit the jug no matter how hard you squeeze. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The key is to understand how to balance outflow and
inflow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In our jug example, the pinhole lets out a very small stream
of water. Does not take long before the
water stops flowing. If the target
market for your business is small and clearly identified, the amount of
promotion to that audience that is needed in order to create an inflow is not
very large. If your market is very large
or not well defined, it will take an outflow that is much larger is size and
much longer in duration until the natural inflow condition occurs. This is a physical law of nature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Want your promotion efforts to pay off, narrow the focus as
much as you can. The more specific you
can be about the target audience, the more effective the efforts will be. Once clearly defined, outflow to the
targets. Be sure the message reaches the
targets without inundating them. Then stop
and wait for the inflow. If the inflow
does not happen, you either did not reach the audience or the volume was too
low. Verify the audience and increase
the volume of outflow. The wise
promotions person will accurately track how much went out and how much has come
in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As you would expect, the effectiveness of the promotion
itself plays a role. Survey your target
audience to find the effective messages before spending large sums of money on
promotion. When you get the right
message to the right audience, the inflow happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Vacuums are caused by voids in both business and nature. Flows occur as a result of filling
vacuums. The smart business owner
recognizes this condition and makes it work for him. A void is an opportunity. Flows of sufficient volume to the right
targets create a vacuum that will create an inflow once the outflow is
stopped. Too much outflow and the
process stops – the vacuum is too strong.
Too little outflow and the vacuum takes a long, long time to be
created. Someone else may well see the
same void and fill it before you do. The
key is recognize the need for balance.
Enough outflow is needed in order to create the vacuum. Let the inflow happen and then outflow
again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Apply this simple concept and your business will expand. It’s just the laws of nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-62576068981629129382013-12-05T15:46:00.000-07:002013-12-20T13:42:53.880-07:00Does Omni-Channel Service Equate to Better Service?<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The evolution of customer service delivery channels has sped
up in the last few years. Consumers
being connected all the time is having a big impact on the expectations of the
consumer and the way in which customer service is delivered. The real question that needs to be asked; “Are
consumers happier with the service they are now receiving?” Based on the research I am seeing, the answer
is NO. The good news is that service
perceptions are not getting worse.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how is that possible?
Weren’t the new media streams like Facebook, Twitter, on-line chat and
browsers supposed to help put an end to unhappiness in the customer base? Only if you drank the Kool-aid™.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact of the matter is that it does not matter whether
you call it omni-channel, multi-channel, internet-channel or any other kind of
service, if the customers cannot get their answers in a timely way, they are
not happy. If the service model is
already a mess, adding more media streams only makes things worse. Today, the penalties for poor service are very
swift and severe. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what should companies be doing to avoid these
penalties? Simple.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Recognize that at the end
of the day, the agents carry the load when it comes to service. I have read hundreds of Twitter and FB
rants and only rarely is the rant solely about a web page or an IVR
script. Almost always, there is an
unskilled agent involved. Train
agents on the knowledge and people skills they need for their job and
verify each area on a regular basis.
<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Recognize that not all
media are created equal. English is
not a simple language. Neither are
a great many other languages. The ability
to write those languages and to know both what to say and how to say it is
not a universal skill. Each new
media embraced as part of the customer service model brings along unique
skill requirements that must be met.
Agent skill-inventories are the easiest way to identify whom among
the existing staff are either qualified or could be quickly qualified to
take on the new media.
Skill-inventories have a short shelf life so regular verification
is needed.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Silos are the biggest
barrier to the customer service process.
Silos reflect a management structure that places politics ahead of service
with a few exceptions needed for legal reasons. Silos are found in data, product and
media areas.<br /></li>
>From a data standpoint, there needs to be 1 picture of each customer. That picture will be a composite, drawing
information from multiple systems, but it needs to appear to the agent as
a single system. <br />
<br />
Product silos prevent agents from seeing the breadth of a customer’s
involvement with a company. Is the
bank 1 company with 50 different products to offer or 50 small banks each
with a single product? If you want
a relationship with your customers, you know the correct answer.<br />
<br /></ol>
Media decides how the agent and customer interact. Agent to customer-data should always be
comprehensive and agnostic with regard to media. Do not give the social media agents
different information than that which the voice agents access. With the proper skilling, they may well
be the same agent.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The well-designed customer service system is built on a
foundation of comprehensive customer data accessed by properly skilled agents
and self-service systems through communication avenues considered appropriate
for the industry. While the underlying communication
technologies may change, the basic mandates have been around as long as there
have been customers and vendors. </div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-48732612203114532832013-11-04T08:35:00.001-07:002013-11-04T08:35:50.522-07:00Barriers to home automationYou have 2 paths that I can see to get the autonomous home to become a reality: industry committee agreement or gorilla creates defacto protocol. Industry committees are the slowest method of getting a standard but, as you know from history, are the best method to get an initial core set of companies to come to an agreement and then enlist the support of other companies to embrace the emerging standard. Takes some time but it creates a market leader in the form of a committee. The gorilla is the other path and always the fastest. Not the most fair and not always the best method but when the gorilla moves, the rest of the market takes notice.<br />
<br />
Imagine if Apple were to define a protocol for communicating between all system in the house. They would also bring out various software controls and an intelligent "hub" to which everything communicated. The iOS world would simply be an access means for modifying the settings and logic to be applied by the hub. This would be the perfect gorilla for this marketplace. In fact, I have been wondering why Tim Cook is so blind to the obvious opportunity. <br />
<br />
If I were a gambling man, I would bet the industry committee, slow as it is, beats Apple to the punch. Motorola might have been a possibility but Google has ripped out their guts and left a shell. Honeywell has the controller chops but not the consumer visibility to make it happen. Look for them to help form the initial industry committee. Nest? Committee. Johnson Controls? Committee. Sharp, Samsung, Mitsubishi? Committee. <br />
<br />
All we need right now is the leader to emerge to help form the committee and get the specification started. Any volunteers?Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-65493206151124738292013-10-02T23:32:00.001-07:002013-10-02T23:32:33.740-07:00The Customer-Designed Experience<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like many others, it is great to see that the big consumer companies are starting to recognize the importance of the consumer in the service experience. That said, I have yet to really see any company label their effort "The Customer Designed Experience." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With all the technology that exists today, why is it that my preferences are not integral to the overall design of the experience. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why can I not show up at Starbucks and just give them my membership card and tell them I want item 2 from my menu? That's all I should need to say as I have programmed in my favorites on the membership site. They also ought to have access to a running account of where the card has been used and what it is that I have been buying. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every connection with the customer needs to leave behind "footprints." Build the mobile tools to both push and pull these footprints. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imagine walking into a Quiznos after you have used their mobile app to collect the orders for all your colleagues. You arrive at Quiznos, bump the order into their system via NFC, assuming you have not already sent it via your phone/tablet, and the complete order is transferred. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Safeway has a mobile app that allows me to load it with coupons for the things I want on my shopping list. The missing step is to allow me to scan the items as I put them in my cart so that I know I got everything on the list and that the promo pricing is applicable - I might have grabbed the size that was not on special or perhaps the wrong brand. Let me display my bar code via my smartphone or my membership card to secure the discounts. Grab via NFC? Works for me. It is all about giving each consumer choices when it comes to interactions. Some days it is easier to grab my Safeway card from my wallet than it is to fire up the Safeway app on my phone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The idea here is that me, the consumer, is a vital part of designing the overall experience. Really smart mobile apps that allow me to do what I want when I want. Web site interfaces that can be personalized and share info with the mobile apps. A single history of interactions that span all media forms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I start seeing that kind system, I know which companies will be getting my loyalty.</span>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-85199976204063581822013-08-20T15:34:00.000-07:002013-09-04T16:35:02.999-07:00Understanding Workforce Optimization<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I read an article today about workforce optimization, WFO,
and was struck by the author’s viewpoint.
Seems she saw WFO encompassing the hiring process in addition to the more
traditional performance management and scheduling elements. This viewpoint, yes, it is valid, is a bit
different from the WFO definitions from sources such as Gartner or DMG. To be honest, I think all of them get it
right but none of them has the complete picture. In fact, the WFO descriptions are beginning
to sound a lot like the story of the 6 blind men trying to describe an
elephant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Optimizing a workforce is not a product category as much as
it a strategy; a very high level strategy.
In my experience, understanding WFO starts with understanding the 4
pillars that make up the strategy: Segmentation,
Routing, Skills, & Schedules. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To understand how these 4 pillars intersect one another, let’s
walk through a typical interaction. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An existing customer picks up the phone and dials Acme Widgets
about an order not yet received. Once
the caller is identified, the routing engine is engaged to perform a number of
tasks. Looking at the contact history in
the CRM system, the customer’s preferences and contact history are
retrieved. In short, the customer gets
segmented by the routing engine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The routing engine then goes about locating a suitable
resource for the customer. Among the
many decision criteria available to the router is a list of skills or
attributes about each and every agent.
That list of skills mimics the customer segmentation model and is part
of WFO. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The job of the router is to find the most appropriate match
between agent and customer. Notice I did
not say “best available” agent. Once
that agent is located, the call is delivered to the agent and the customer engagement
occurs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how did the list of skills come about? How often are the skill values verified? How do you know they align with the customer segmentation
model? What about the availability of
the agents? Are you able to forecast
volumes at the site level or can you forecast at the activity level? Can you forecast at the customer segment
level? What role does segmentation play
in the overall forecasting model? Does
the scheduling model built on your forecasting model take into account agent
skills? Can your scheduling model
dynamically adjust staffing assignments or is it static once published? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are all valid WFO questions though sadly, they are too
frequently seen as a routing question or a WFM question or a training
question. The fact of the matter is that
how you assign, measure and track agent skills has an impact on both WFM and
interaction routing. Performance
management tools, KPIs from the ACD and the variety of subjective feedback
mechanisms have an impact on the skills measurement process which then has an
impact on routing. A change to the
customer segmentation model is not just a change of marketing as it has
implications that effect routing strategies and agent skills. When you affect skills you affect agent training
and WFM….and the list goes on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
WFO seems just like the elephant until you step back far enough
to see what is really there. It is very
clear to me why WFO is a relatively new category within the contact center
market. Until the various modules in the
call center were integrated, it was very hard to really see an elephant not to
mention that virtually every company was organizationally structured to
reinforce the 4 pillars as being separate services with largely independent objectives. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, the software in the contact center is largely
integrated, lots of it is hosted and there really is no reason for the pillars
to be silos. It is time to take that
large step back, look at the customer experience process from a much broader
perspective and architect the various customer service processes knowing that
there is a ripple effect that needs to be embraced.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The agents, the clerks in the stores, the staff at the airport
check-in desk and anyone else who comes in contact with customers are the most
valuable resources in a business. WFO is
about optimizing their skills and talents and applying those in ways that
exceed the customer expectation.
Accomplish that and you will have optimized the workforce.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d like to hear your thoughts about WFO. Please reply to this posting and let me know
if your organization operates with the 4 pillars as silos or are they connected
through more than a handful of software APIs.</div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-81941790717196494712013-05-29T14:33:00.000-07:002013-05-29T14:33:19.759-07:00Spelling Bee or Memorization Test?<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you ever watched the National Spelling Bee? Pretty phenomenal watching the kids spell
some pretty amazing words. I am certain
long hours were spent on the part of every contestant memorizing long lists of words
known to be included in the overall list of words.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I listened to the latest contest, I wondered how many of the
words the kids were spelling were words the kids could fully define. Seems to me that the contest is really a big
exercise in memorization rather than a contest that brings about an explosion
in the vocabulary of all the contestants.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine what would happen if the National Spelling Bee
required that each child spelled the word and then provided at least 1
definition of the word and a sample sentence using the word correctly. The vocabulary increase of every child would
be enormous. Perhaps the slaughter of
English as I learned it would be slowed as children all over the country would
be learning the meaning of lots of words rather than just memorizing the
spelling list.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sadly, I do not see this ever happening. Our current school systems focus on “memorize
and regurgitate” rather than “understand and apply.” The current Spelling Bee format is a game of
the latter when it ought to be a game of the former. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it were possible to draft an open challenge to the
current Spelling Bee system, then I would gladly issue the challenge but alas,
the school systems in the US are not interested in students being able to
think. Their system of measurement is
strictly based on memorization.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you think? Would
you like to see The National Spelling Bee changed to become the National
Vocabulary Contest? </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-71819878300849386142013-04-08T18:59:00.000-07:002013-04-08T19:00:25.342-07:00More Than a Watch<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have had my Pebble watch for about a month now and I can
tell you it is an amazing bit of technology.
As I have sifted through all the ways is has allowed me to change
behaviors for the better, I have also realized that there are a couple of
larger impacts that the Pebble is having that few seem to notice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Impact #1: Pebble and
the Phablet</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My son remarked to me the other day about the growth of the
screen size of phones that are coming to market and how some will no longer fit
in many pockets. I remarked that the
baby boomers like me are happily plunking down lots of cash for these larger
screens rather than hunt for reading glasses every time an email or text
message arrives. In fact, even without
eyesight issues, larger phones are just easier to read even though they are not
designed for a “holster” connected to a belt or purse strap. My Pebble with its Bluetooth connection means
I do not need to pull out my phablet phone every time an alert happens. This is a big nuisance removed from my life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Pebble watch face may be a bit small, perhaps even
blurry for un-aided eyes, but I can tell what type of alert set my wrist to
buzzing and whether or not the cause is worth digging out my phablet. I suspect that as more phablet-sized phones
get sold, the convenience that Pebble offers will become as desired as the Bluetooth
headset that these large phones really need.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Impact #2: The Birth
of an Industry</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many of you may well be too young to recall the Apple Newton
or the Casio Boss. Neither survived long
as both suffered from various missing functionality. Enter the Pilot, the name “Palm” came later. Initially, like the Pebble, the Pilot arrived
with a slightly different objective in mind than that of the preceding PDAs. The Pilot was designed to be more than an
organizer and configurable to the needs of the users. Its size allowed it to be held comfortably in
one hand with data entered via a stylus and a “strange” form of shorthand we
know as Graffiti. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Initially, the Pilot was a novelty and many critics lamented
the need for more software. The fact of
the matter is that out of the box, the Pilot allowed the user to keep track of
their contact list and calendar and take notes among the handful of apps
available. It also synchronized the
various apps on my desktop computer. The
simple design was the personification of the niche for which it was designed; a
device that was small, easy to access, suitable PDA applications, decent
battery life and extensible via SDK. It
was meant to complement the bulky desktop computers we all had along with pens
and paper. Turns out, the Pilot was the
right combination of features and the market took off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Pebble is history repeating itself. The initial release has a limited set of
software apps with more coming via the SDK.
The market niche being addresses is uniquely defined not as a computer
on my wrist but as a notification-enabling extension of my phone. Personally, I do not want a computer on my
wrist. Costs too much and the screen
would be too small. I did not buy a
Pilot because I wanted a PC in my pocket.
I did not buy a Nano and make it into a watch because it did not and
does not have the functionality that I want.
The Pebble does exactly what I want; let me screen the phone-based
alerts without having to drag out my phone.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the developer community continues to build apps and
Pebble continues to expose more of the inner workings of the Pebble to the
developers, look for the idea of “phone extension” to become a monster market. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Accelerometer, magnetometer, CPU, memory, backlight and buttons. Imagine apps on your phone with remote
control functions on your Pebble.
OnStar. Are you listening? Home automation via Pebble? Just
scroll the Pebble screen, hit a button and change the thermostat setting. How many apps are on your phone today for
which interactions via a small screen and a couple of buttons would mean no
need to drag out the phone?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the Pebble may appear to have lots of competitors
today and in the near term, none have the price point and focused niche that
can be found in Pebble. Like the initial
Pilot, the Pebble has nailed the combination of features and launched a race to
lead this new market. I, for one, cannot
wait for the pace to pick up speed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d like to get your thoughts on these ideas and on
Smashtalk. Please visit my web site @
www.smashtalk.net.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-87745438120524292172013-03-17T20:48:00.000-07:002013-03-17T20:48:42.755-07:00Summer of Sequels Comes to Text Messaging<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s approaching summertime which means it’s time for
sequels. We have already had the latest
Die Hard movie. The Wizard of Oz now has
a sequel. SpiderMan 2 is coming as is another
round of Transformers and X-Men. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So why does Hollywood have such a reliance on sequels? Money.
Nothing more complicated than that.
If an original movie did well, sequels are created to extend the revenue
stream the original movie produced. In
short, take a successful idea and extend the usefulness of the idea to create
continued revenue streams. If the
formula did not work, you can be sure that Hollywood would not create the vast
number of sequels it does every year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Technology is the same.
Apple has grown to be very successful by creating sequels of all their
hottest products. In many cases, these
sequels are delivered long before a dip in the current revenue streams
occurs. HP used to do the same with
printers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that text messaging has a sequel waiting in the
wings. That’s right. The most ubiquitous form of sharing
information has a new version ready to be delivered to every text messaging
user in the world. Want to see success
built upon success? That’s Smashtalk<sup>®</sup>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smashtalk is the sequel to the current form of text
messaging. Like a movie sequel, current texting
users will quickly recognize the original and find the sequel to be even
better. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smashtalk is text messaging that includes Reply-All functionality. No web sites.
No change of behavior. No impact to
the carrier’s network. Send a text
message to a group of friends or colleagues and each recipient can reply with a
single text message that goes to everyone on the original recipient list. It’s just like e-mail but done with text
messaging.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smashtalk is fully backwards compatible with existing phones
thus allowing Smashtalk messages to be received as if they were sent by an
old-fashioned phone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Simply put, Smashtalk is the sequel to the current
generation of text messaging and Smashtalk patents are available for
licensing. Smashtalk is running today on
PCs and Macs and can be easily ported to any telephony device.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are ready for the text messaging sequel, contact your
carrier and demand they provide you Smashtalk on your phone. Isn’t it time you enjoy a sequel that makes
your life easier each and every day?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come visit us and use
our links to let your carrier know you want Smashtalk. <a href="http://www.smashtalk.net/">www.smashtalk.net</a><br /></div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-6610229288109059722013-01-20T23:59:00.000-07:002013-01-21T00:00:33.991-07:00Smashtalk® is Like the Bicycle<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bicycles are a major form of transportation all over the
world today. It is amazing when you look
at the history of bicycles how one key change to the design of the bicycle changed
the nature of bicycles forever.
Smashtalk® is poised to
do the same to the <span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">world
of text messaging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1817, Baron von Drais invented a walking machine that
would help him get around the royal gardens faster: two same-size in-line
wheels, the front one steerable, mounted in a frame which you straddled. The device was propelled by pushing your feet
against the ground, thus rolling yourself and the device forward in a sort of
gliding walk. It wasn't until
1865 that pedals were added. That’s 48
years between invention and the first major improvement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Text messaging celebrated its 20 year anniversary this past
November. Like the bicycle, it’s taken a
long time for any evolutionary changes to come to the world of text messaging. That first evolutionary change is Smashtalk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Smashtalk
is native text messaging with the Reply-All functionality that ought to have
been available from day 1. Like pedals on
a bicycle, Smashtalk changes everything about text messaging. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Want
to hold a real-time conversation with multiple friends or colleagues? Smashtalk lets you do this without involving
e-mail or web sites. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Need
to make a quick decision amongst multiple colleagues? Smashtalk is the answer and works across all the
carrier networks without their having to change anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Worried
about exposing your friend’s cell numbers through Reply-All? Not a problem. Smashtalk only displays names. You cannot reply to names for which you do
not possess a valid text messaging address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
fact of the matter is that Smashtalk opens a lot of new doors as far as usage,
functionality and benefit to all who have mobile devices that can send or
receive text messages. Even if you do
not have a Smashtalk-enabled device, you will still receive Smashtalk
messages. What you will see is exactly
what you see today; the name of the sender and the option to reply to the
sender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Smashtalk
is running today on both Windows and Mac computers. It is patented technology that is easily
ported to any mobile operating system.
It is also inexpensive to license.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
invite you to visit <a href="http://www.smashtalk.net/">www.smashtalk.net</a>
and click on the link to send a message to senior executives at Google asking
them to include Smashtalk in Android. Let
them know that you can see the impact Smashtalk would have on how you connect
with your friends and you want Smashtalk on your smartphone and tablet.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 18px;">Isn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> it time that text messaging got a set of “pedals?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-35944503639805545272013-01-06T21:21:00.000-07:002013-01-21T00:00:55.360-07:00Text Messaging is like Windshield Wipers <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do windshield wipers and text messaging have in
common? More than you may imagine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When cars were first being built, windshield wipers came 1
to a car and were manually twisted back and forth to clear the windshield. The process, while primitive by today’s
standard, worked just fine. Cars did not
travel at high speed and were not well sealed so driving in the rain was not a
great experience wipers or not. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Electric wipers were an innovation that added quite an
expense and were commonly viewed as a feature for only the high-end cars. It took a number of years before all cars
came equipped with electric wipers. As history
has shown, without the introduction of electric wipers, driving cars at high
speeds in the rain would be impossible. Few
people saw that potential limitation until cars started to go faster. Text messaging is following this same
evolutionary path.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Text messaging, recently celebrating 20 years of existence,
is a very simple and easy way to send 160 characters to 1 or more
recipients. Like the first design of
wipers, text messaging of today is antiquated and ripe for improvements. The “motor-driven” version of SMS is text
messaging with “Reply-All” functionality.
Sadly, until now, the majority of efforts to deploy this feature have involved
the use of 3<sup>rd</sup> party web sites.
In the wiper business, this is akin to using air jets to blow rain off
the windshield instead of improving the wiper mechanism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smashtalk®
is the “electric motor” version of text messaging. Smashtalk is native text messaging but with
the Reply-All capability baked right into the software. No 3<sup>rd</sup> party web sites. No change to the carrier infrastructure. No learning curve for the consumer. Best of all, full backward compatibility with
all existing SMS systems is native in Smashtalk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The real question the telecom industry ought to be asking is
what advances will occur once Smashtalk is adopted by all the mobile OS
vendors? Smashtalk’s Reply-All
capability along with its application to application messaging is certain to
change the way people and applications communicate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contact your carrier and handset vendor today and demand
Smashtalk. The future of text messaging
awaits those with the vision to see the breadth of possibilities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
www.smashtalk.net</div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-11867227115655470482012-12-27T22:12:00.001-07:002012-12-27T22:12:20.627-07:00The Android Report<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
To all my friends and anyone else who happens upon this blog
posting, I have decided to document what I believe is the solution to the
ongoing struggles I have experienced in the last 18 months trying to get
Android to function in a consistent and reliable manner alongside my
Outlook-led life. I believe I have tamed
the beast. To all my Apple buddies, I am
not sure Apple has a better approach to my situation according to many to whom
I have consulted so save your breath.
iPhone is not in my future.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the situation and the final answer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I run Outlook as a stand-alone e-mail application. I connect to 5 different mail servers, one of
which is an Exchange server. I do not
use the Exchange as a primary mail server but as just another POP3 account.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The challenge is calendar and contact list
synchronization. E-mail from all 5
systems works great….other than native Android does not have any method for bulk
deleting messages from the phone. Yes,
it does seem odd but Google is relying on the handset vendors to provide a true
message delete function. At least this
is true for Gingerbread.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, calendar and contact sync’ing are a problem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Google wants everyone to sync to a Gmail account. 2 things wrong with that: I don’t trust Google with the info and there
is no elegant way to keep my Outlook info in sync with Google. Android to Google sync is fine if you are
willing to accept the field layout that Google enforces. These layouts do not map well to Outlook thus
a choice is forced on the user; accept the Outlook layout for calendar and contact
info or accept the Google layout. Google
used to have an Outlook client to Gmail sync app but has discontinued the
support of that app unless you are a paying Google apps user. I did try the tool prior to it being
discontinued and there were lots of issues with both contacts and calendar
items so no real loss IMHO. As I am reliant
on Outlook, making Gmail the primary system is not possible or viable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also discovered that every Outlook Sync app that I could grab
from the Google Play site, paid and free, had issues with Outlook 2010. I suspect there was something in the MS
upgrade from O2007 to O2010 that wasn’t kosher but the result is that I am not
able to find a single synchronization app that works with a standalone Outlook
2010 install. I suspect had I the option
to start over with a brand new .PST file, things would have been
different. Not that I mind too much but
I find it interesting that MS has modified the storage format and/or APIs to
the .PST file to such a degree that what works with O2007 does not stand a
chance with O2010. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here’s where I have ended up. My Nexus S Android phone on Gingerbread is
sync’ing with Outlook 2007 via MyPhoneExplorer (MPE). I did send off money to the developer as a token
of my appreciation. MPE is configured to
only sync from Outlook to the phone. No
2-way sync. No worries about some app
enabling a sync to GMail and messing up my phone which then messes up my Outlook. Yes, this has happened more than once.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The nice part about MPE is that although the push is 1
direction, I still get a pop-up that displays any differences between the phone
and Outlook so that I can allow individual phone updates to be pushed into
Outlook. Painful? Sometimes, but always better than scrambling
the calendar or address book in Outlook.
Trust a bi-directional sync? No
way. I have wasted way too many hours
rebuilding Outlook to risk an issue. I
gladly screen the individual changes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bottom line is that I do like to tinker with computer
gear and my Android phone allows me to do a lot of that. If my tinkering helps 1 other Android user
avoid the late night rebuild efforts I have undertaken, then that’s a good
thing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next step is to get a Key Lime Pie-based phone when they
ship and do it all over again. </div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-53986396202947587902012-11-26T15:35:00.000-07:002012-11-26T15:35:14.962-07:00Coming Full Circle: Computing Goes Back to the Enterprise<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clouds are all the rage in the computing world. Clouds are being promoted as the ideal computing
model for today and the future. Beyond
the obvious call center services, office productivity applications are now
cloud-based as are all the social media sites in vogue today. There are dozens of companies who will host
entire computing infrastructures thus removing all the server farms from the
control of the enterprise. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clearly, there are financial incentives that make cloud computing
the preferred method of supporting computing needs of today rather than the traditional
enterprise hosting model. The question
to be asking now is “How long with this model last before we switch back to
enterprise hosting?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those too young to remember, cloud hosting is a “been
there, done that” model. Used to be that
mainframes were the only computers and companies would open timeshare accounts
if they needed large-scale computing resources they did not possess. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dumb-terminals gave way to PCs when the technology and
associated knowledge of computing started to advance. Throw in Local Area Networks (LANs) and
suddenly it was possible to harness a lot of computing power with a relatively
low price compared to “big iron.”
Distributed computing took root and looked to be the model for the
long-term future. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Along came DARPA and their need to connect a number of
universities to its massive collection of computers. The Internet was born with CMU creating the
first browser to help bring images to the PC on your desktop. Quickly the computing model swung back to
large computing systems being accessed remotely albeit with a dramatic change
to the underlying computers. Throw in
plentiful bandwidth, orders of magnitude faster than 1200 baud modems, and LANs
gave way to a web of Internet-connected servers that hosted the content needing
to be accessed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if you believe that technology operates in cycles, what
will be the catalyst that will move us away from cloud computing and what will
the next model look like?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The catalyst is PRIVACY!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, web sites all over the world are buying and selling
our private information. Hackers are
grabbing passwords as such an alarming rate it’s any wonder the credit card
industry is still in business.
Governments are creating regulations and passing laws that make access
to business and personal information stored by the service providers as easy to
access as a phone call. The tipping
point is coming and when it hits, there will be a swift migration back to the secure
world of the internal data center. No
one will trust that their sensitive information is safe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The good news is that all the knowledge about building apps
that run on mobile devices will continue to be useful. Bandwidth will continue to be plentiful. Knowledge of hosting infrastructure will
still be valuable as individual companies will host all their own services.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Social media and free e-mail services will provide
transitory storage services as local storage will take a quantum leap forward
allowing all personal data to be kept local.
The web will continue to be an information resource but not a storage location. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How soon will this transition happen? I believe this transition will start in less
than 18 months. When you look at what is
happening within the hacker community, web site privacy and laws being passes
around the world, privacy is already under attack. BofA has had to issue me new credit cards 3
times in the last year due to “unexplained charges.” No admission of security failure; just “fraud
prevention.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I may be off on the timing, I am certain I have nailed
the catalyst. Opportunities will abound
for those who understand history.</div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-82590706471822430092012-10-05T13:29:00.000-07:002012-10-06T22:45:04.464-07:00Signs that Customer Service Matters<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently found myself trying to reach Customer Service
executives in a large number of US companies.
After a full day of research, I came to a very sobering conclusion: Most large companies in America have no
interest in hearing from their customers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, the most common way to electronically reach
individuals in a company is e-mail. US
Mail still works but I cannot tell you how many people have told me that the
letter I sent was probably “still sitting in their mailbox at work” as they
never check their mailbox anymore. So,
e-mail it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here’s your challenge of the day: Pick 5 big companies with whom you do
business on a regular basis. Identify
the senior customer service executive from the information on the company’s web
site and send them a nice e-mail telling them how much you like their products.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can’t find their e-mail address? Not surprising. Putting an e-mail address on a web site is a
spammer’s dream. So that leaves you with
guessing the e-mail address. “firstname.lastname”
is pretty common these days.
Surprisingly, this logical form of e-mail naming is not very common for
senior execs which takes me back to my original point; if you want people to be
able to reach you, have an e-mail name or alias that follows a logical
model. Anything less is purposeful
obfuscation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t want all the SPAM that would arrive if I was
reachable using a common name” is the excuse I commonly hear. In a large company, it would seem to me that
an admin could be assigned to screen out the flotsam messages and forward the
valuable messages to the senior exec.
Some may claim the work to be tedious but so is throwing out junk mail
that arrives in our USPS mailbox each day.
It’s just part of what you do if you have a mailbox.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My experience has shown me that it is a rare occasion that a
senior executive can be directly addressed by e-mail. Try all the various naming conventions you
want. Very few will be found to be
workable. Notable exceptions include
Steve Ballmer, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Karen Puckett and Hubert Joly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sad reality is that too many companies want the public
to think they are customer-focused when the reality is quite the opposite. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next time you see a company promoting their exceptional
service, see if you can electronically reach their senior executives. The companies that are serious about service
will have the e-mail option available for you.
The posers will have their executives sequestered where no one can reach
them because they are “too busy” to have someone screen their messages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d like to know the names of companies where you have been
able to reach senior management. There
ought to be an Honor Roll for these folks.
They are the real Customer Service executives.</div>
</div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-24118897948331351612012-08-21T17:00:00.000-07:002012-08-21T17:00:27.675-07:00The Next Quantum Leap in Device Convenience<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was asked the other day to describe the next generation of technology and how it would change our daily routines. I suspect the question came up after having viewed an interview with Intel’s “futurist” and their thoughts about technology. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I look at my daily routine, I start with the common thread. “What do all my activities have in common and what makes each unique?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From what I can tell, the only things that are common among all my activities are my physical body and my communication skills. Thus, a device or service needs to always be available to enhance both of these regardless of what I am doing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So let’s take a look at the other things that this new generation of technology needs to do to meet my ever-changing activity list.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wake up in the morning. My device knows my preference for my desired wake-up time and then adjusts for early appointments or flights. Rules I set handle the 80% and I manually adjust the settings for the other 20%. As soon as I turn off the alarm, my device notifies me if I have any e-mails that have arrived overnight from designated senders I consider important. When my device knows I am sleeping, it mutes the ringer except for calls or messages from people I have tagged as vital. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am always asked if I want to hear the messages and I can “snooze” the offer until a later time, cancel the offer or accept the offer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tell my device to create my morning setup: The setup consists of which lights I want on, what TV or radio channel I want to hear, the HVAC temp I want and if I want the blinds opened. Everything is WiFi enabled so this is not a challenge. I get ready to head out the door and I tell my device to switch to “work” mode and things shut off and the thermostat changes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NFC in my device followed by a voice recognition match unlock my car. I place my device in the dashboard cradle and immediately my seating preferences, mirror settings, radio settings and temp controls are all set to my preferences as stored on my device. Both telephony and data services while driving are based on extending the functions of my device once connected. Antenna boosters help avoid dropped calls and lost data. GPS is device based with the in-dash head unit providing the viewing screen. In fact, I can access and control all the functions of my device from the head unit. AM/FM will be car radio supplied but downloaded music is played from my device through the amplifiers in my car’s audio system. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Voice recognition is used to allow me to be notified of important incoming communications as well as the ability to engage in outgoing communication activities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I arrive at work, NFC allows me clear all building security systems and reach my office. Once at my desk, I “dock” my device and it quickly synchronizes designated data files with the company storage systems. Phone preferences and all messaging preferences are in place on my device and imposed on my desktop equipment via the “dock”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Attending a meeting, I “undock” my device from my desk and dock it with my tablet. Once again, the device becomes an extension if not the “CPU” of the device to which it is docked. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I go out for a lunch meeting or to visit a client, my device will offer me GPS maps if it knows I am going to a location I have not been to before. As it has my detailed calendar, I can call the party I am meeting or confirm the reservation through a voice request.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During any appointment, the device changes notification modes reflecting my knowledge of manners and etiquette. If I travel near a location associated with an item on my ToDo list, I am asked if I want to stop to handle the task. GPS instructions are offered if I decide to tackle the task list item. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, I return home and reverse many of the steps. As my home is filled with “docks” in a variety of types and locations, I can move my device as I move about the house. Voice commands are always available to adjust the entertainment system and environmental systems.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of what I have described can be done today but it isn’t being done for a variety of reasons. Cost is probably the largest obstacle. There is such a wide variety of devices in one’s home that can be automated but the cost of the automation is extreme. WiFi thermostats are readily available. WiFi to IRD controls are available for almost every entertainment device so that part is covered. Blinds are easy. Even the “docks” are available today. It’s the manufacturing scale that will not allow the prices to come down to a highly consumable level.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Automotive connectivity is a bit of a tough nut. Detroit likes the revenue it generates from selling added electronics. I am not sure what it will take to establish a standard for “automotive personalization” that would allow me to personalize a rental car as easily as my personal car but that is what needs to happen. I can easily see that each car manufacturer would design their own software apps thus a traveler would need to carry around the application for each car manufacturer and possible model in order to have a clean experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rest of the model comes down having enough horsepower in the device that it can perform the speech and logic functions I have described. The device also needs to fit in the palm of my hand. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If this sounds like today’s smartphone extended in all sorts of useful ways, you are on the right track. It may well be that the “brain” is something that is placed into the smartphone just as it is connected to the desktop, car or tablet computer. If the devices into which the “brain” is connected provides all the input and output services, the smartphone becomes just another type of dock for the “removable brain.” It may also be that the “brain” docks in a devices that docks in yet another device thus my smartphone docks in my car with the “brain” docked in the Smartphone. That removable brain fits in my pocket, is fully encrypted and has plenty of storage for all my important data beyond just my preferences. Upgrading the “brain” becomes rather easy so long as the form factor remains stable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The balance of the requirements come down to intelligence to know how to connect to all the communication and data services of the “dock” to which it is connected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s my idea of what the next generation of technology will bring to us. The technology is already lining up behind a few key barriers. When those barriers come down, our daily habit patterns will undergo a dramatic shift. I am looking forward to that shift.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-971272796445951582012-08-20T13:07:00.000-07:002012-08-20T13:07:14.766-07:00The Missing Element in Performance Measurement<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Can you imagine having your work performance measured and
analyzed every minute of every day?
Today, most call center agents know exactly how that feels. Today’s modern call center is designed to
capture performance measures about every aspect of every interaction an agent
has with a customer. In fact, outside of
the computer chip plants, I suggest that customer service interactions are the
most instrumented parts of most companies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">All this measuring and all this evaluating in order to
deliver the highest level of service possible and yet there is a big hole in
the entire process. While there are
daily measures of agent performance, when was the last time you heard of an
agent’s current knowledge levels being measured? In fact, in a great many companies, once an
agent has attended training and passed the exams accompanying the training, the
assumption is that “knowledge gained is knowledge retained.” I beg to differ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Studies have shown that information learned but not utilized
is quickly forgotten. A recent study of
physicians attending an eLearning course found that the doctors had forgotten 50%
of the material in 8 days and 90% of the material in just 8 weeks. I cannot imagine that the retention rate of
the contact center agent is any better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is time for companies to regularly measure knowledge just as
they regularly measure performance. Agent
knowledge levels have a direct effect on agent performance. Where knowledge gaps are identified,
gap-filling training courses needs to be delivered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Agent performance measurement is an ongoing and continuous
process in all contact centers. It is
time to incorporate knowledge measurement into the equation and fill a vital
yet mostly ignored characteristic of all high performers; they know the
material they need to know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-20558432889070865202012-07-25T12:39:00.001-07:002012-07-26T11:51:47.583-07:00The Next Productivity Boost<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Throughout
history, great advances in productivity have come about when business systems
thought to be discreet by design were brought together. Henry Ford’s assembly lines brought together
various discreet steps in the manufacturing process to produce large gains in factory
productivity. Today’s multi-modal
shipping systems put containers on ships and transfer them directly to trucks
without having to unload the contents of a single container. The productivity gains have been tremendous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s
business world is filled with software systems that are discreet knowledge-based
tools designed to produce productivity gains in every part of the enterprise. Computers have provided a means for
connecting discreet systems into a more powerful unitary model that has driven
these gains. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
challenge facing every business today is how to continue to produce performance
improvements. What will bring about the
next performance boost?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Taking
a look at what brought about the prior increases, it is pretty clear that the
bringing together of discreet systems is common to almost every productivity
boost. In the case of the call center,
there is a large opportunity that has gone largely ignored; connecting learning
systems with performance measurement systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s
call centers are heavily wired to track and report on just about every action
an agent takes in support of a customer.
Stopwatches measure virtually every duration possible. Outcomes of each and every call are recorded
and tracked. Even words spoken and voice
tone are tracked and analyzed in today’s call centers. All this is being done in the name of
performance management. Sadly, little
attention is paid to the knowledge level of the agent as an instrumented
system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Therein
lies the next wave of performance improvement.
Through instrumenting the agent education process, call centers will be
able to identify the impact knowledge is having on the overall performance
goals. In today’s model, agents are continually receiving coaching as the “go to solution” for so many performance problems
when, in fact, the problem may well be a gap in knowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Connecting
an instrumented education system to an existing performance management system will
produce insights into performance outcomes that will open the door to entirely
new levels of understanding. A fully
connected performance system will allow for correlations to be identified
between training and performance. Knowledge
erosion, a naturally occurring process, can be identified alongside other
performance inhibitors. Resolving the
real underlying performance problem rather than the symptom will bring about lasting
performance gains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Imagine
being able to have a system that prescriptively identified the various options
for correcting performance drops that have statistically proven themselves to
be effective. Imagine being able to
boost the performance of the agents in the second quartile to a 3<sup>rd</sup>
of 4<sup>th</sup> quartile level through systematic efforts that have been
proven effective statistically. No more
guesswork. No more hoping that coaching
will solve everything. Combining an
instrumented education system with the existing performance analytic systems
will produce exactly that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">History
has shown time and time again that big gains come from connecting together
disconnected systems that share common resources. In the call center, that resource is the
agent; the most expensive resource in the call center. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Instrumenting
the agent education process and connecting it to the existing performance measurement
systems is the next productivity booster.
It is time for the innovators to step up and deliver this boost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-39407104319806876582012-06-11T23:13:00.001-07:002012-06-11T23:13:40.177-07:00Customer Crafted Service – A Deeper Dive<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Customer Crafted
Service Model, as described in my previous posting, “The Next Frontier”, highlights
the concepts for building a customer service system that reflects the demands
of today’s customers; customers who have more choices in all areas of products
and services than ever before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the center of that
model is the customer – the decision maker regarding all facets of the
interaction. Surrounding the customer
are the various communication tools that are available today. All forms of mobile devices along with
traditional devices are supported.
Customers are free to choose the form of communication that meets their
current situation and preferences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wrapped around the
communication “ring” is the “data” ring.
Within this ring are the various data repositories which contain all
interaction, transaction and tracking history.
This data is the same data that the agent views when called upon by the customer
to help resolve a problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Essentially, the Customer
Crafted Service model has as its foundation the concept that the customer has
the power to choose which communication method to choose at any given moment
and through that method, has the ability to access all of the information that
is available regardless of the communication method selected. Within this model, there are no silos of data
permitted. There are no “advantages” for
a customer to select 1 communication method over another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, many will
say that this idea is not viable or not possible given the multitude of vendors
needing to be connected together in order to have the necessary level of
seamless integration. Hogwash! Be patient and demanding and watch the web
community create the conduits. In fact,
the integration will be the easy part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The real challenge is
the “customer crafted” part of the model.
This is the part of the model that takes differentiation to an entirely
new level. Personalization like you have
never imagined is a vital part of this model.
In fact, the Customer Crafted Service model is the only design that communicates
who is the focal point as a part of every interaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How you achieve the
level of personalization that translates, in the mind of the customer, into a
competitive advantage is something I have thought about for a number of
years. I am willing to share this
information and all the concepts behind the Customer Crafted Service model to
those who are truly interested in leading their market. Here’s my offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I will host a 1 hour webinar
briefing on the Customer Crafted Service model to any organization that wants
to look at an entirely new way to view their customer service strategy. In the briefing, I will present the reason it
is time to drop the status quo and re-think how service is delivered. I will present the architecture of the Customer
Crafted Service model and how it differs from today’s service models. I will wrap up the session by describing how
this system becomes so highly personalized that customers will wonder why
everyone doesn’t offer the same service.
The Customer Crafted Service model is the next generation of service
that is available starting today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The cost of this 1
hour briefing is $200.00. I can be
reached through my web page @ <a href="http://www.c-e-p-inc.com/">www.c-e-p-inc.com</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The economy is
getting ready for a big turnaround. If
you would like to put your company in the best possible position to take
advantage of the coming boom, you need to have deployed your service model
based on the Customer Crafted Service concepts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-16988320767820391242012-05-31T17:02:00.001-07:002012-06-11T16:58:16.718-07:00Customer Crafted Service – The Next Frontier<br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The customer service
model has undergone a great deal of change in the past few years. Social media and the explosion of mobile
computers, i.e. smartphones, have created a new series of challenges for
companies looking to service customers in a way that builds the relationship. What place should mobile have in the overall
customer service plan? Is voice
self-service supposed to be a service platform or just another way to diverting
calls away from expensive agents? Are
web sites contributing to the service delivery model or are they their own
island where customers come and go without leaving a trace?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is time to develop
a new approach to delivering customer service.
It is time for the vendor community and their customers to take a step back
and really look at what they need to be doing rather than reacting to each and
every new media type that hits the market.
It is time for the Customer Crafted Service (CCS) model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today’s customer
service model typically depicts the customer coming at a company through a
myriad of channels, each channel having unique properties. The view is of the customer “storming the
castle” looking for solutions to their problems. The job of the company is to react properly
to each “invasion” in hopes of avoiding future invasions. This model, in existence for dozens of years,
does little to embrace the new technologies that are available. Time for a new model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Customer Crafted
Service model starts with the customer in the center. That’s the control point in the process. Around this center are wrapped the various
communication systems which the customer can use to contact the company. Among these systems are the usual suspects
like voice, web, e-mail, SMS, chat and various social media forms. Because these forms touch the customer, they
must be designed to be configured by the customer. In other words, each of these media forms
must be able to be tailored by the customer to suit their preferences – NOT the
preferences of the company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">These communication
systems are the layer between the customer and the data systems which collect
customer interaction history. In this
many-to-many model, all communication systems are able to access and edit all
the information in the data systems. These
data systems are the same data system to which the agents connect when helping
a customer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The details on how
each of the communication systems and data systems are customized will be
covered in the next posting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Customer Crafted
Service model is not a radical change from many of the service models which
exist today. What is very different is
the point of emphasis – the customer. It
is long past time that the customer be front and center in the customer service
world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Take a look at your
own customer service model. If you would
like help changing your service model to embrace the Customer Crafted Service
model, I am available to help you on a consulting basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
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</div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-54243497447814739252012-05-16T13:48:00.000-07:002012-05-16T22:38:32.906-07:00Stop Instrumenting and Start Solving Problems<br />
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<br /></div>
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Taking your car to the mechanic. Most of us have engaged in this ritual. Some of us recall the process from many years
ago when the local garage sold you gas and fixed your car. Now, it’s all science and technology.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I bring up the modern car as it is analogous to the modern contact
center in many ways. Look at a car made
in the 60’s. They operated with a handful of simple principles. Engines all operated by the same rules. The gauges on the dash told you the basic
info you needed to know when driving the car.
When something broke, most mechanics could quickly diagnose the problem
from a simple description of what happened when you heard the “clunk”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call centers used to be operated in a similar manner. There was a basic ACD that held the calls in
various queues and agents took calls on a FIFO basis. When a queue backed up, agents were shuffled
about until a more optimal distribution of manpower was achieved. Reporting was also pretty simple as the ACD
could provide AHT, AWT and other volume and time-related metrics. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Today’s contact center is like today’s automobile;
everything is monitored and computer controlled. Nothing goes unmeasured or untracked. The “dashboard” in today’s contact center
looks more complex than Mission Control in the early NASA years. Everything has “sensors” that continually
monitor the operation in order to maintain peak performance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sadly, all of this instrumentation has one big flaw. Today’s automobiles are no different. When something goes wrong in the contact
center, the bells go off, the alarms ring and lots of screens become populated
with red objects. There are lots of
devices that are telling you that something has gone wrong, where it has gone
wrong and how it is effecting other parts of the organization. What they can’t tell you is “Why” and “How do
I fix it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today, you take your ailing auto to the dealer and they plug
in a computer to the car’s interface and lots of data is dumped out for the
mechanic to review. Rarely can the
computer tell you why something broke.
Sadly, in many cases, the computer fails to be able to tell you what
needs fixing. Its sensors are designed
to capture failure not diagnose cause or suggest corrective measures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Take a look at your ACD reports. Do they tell you why a statistic has taken a
trip South? Do they tell you that
specific actions will correct the problem?
Are your QM systems, speech analytic systems or customer survey systems
any better or more “intelligent?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is lacking to close the loop is a system that can bring
together all the data from these statistical gathering systems along with the
statistics from all the existing knowledge enhancing systems and find
correlations between the data points. In
other words, find any and all causal relationships between the various data
sets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Such relationships, based on historical data, will highlight
what steps to take to bring about a change in behavior in any monitored
statistic. AHT going up. Take a look at
all the data sets where there is a strong correlation between the AHT statistic
and any other statistic. Here you will
find the answer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Take the AHT situation for example. AHT is going up. That’s considered bad in most shops. Looking through the correlated statistics,
you find that a specific training module on fully acknowledging the customer in
order to end a call politely has a high correlation with AHT. You also see that statistics related to coaching
sessions appear to also have a high correlation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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About this point you realize that the prescriptive answer to
the problem, statistically speaking, is to have the agent(s) take the training
module and then reinforce the training with targeted coaching. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now many of you are saying to yourselves that you already know
how to fix these types of problems; that’s where experience becomes valuable. I suggest to you that the “shade tree”
approach has long ago outlived its usefulness.
Today, there is no time to experiment with what you think will
work. The luxury of "trial & error” is
no longer available as virtually every market has become highly competitive and
time sensitive. The need for continual
improvement only works fiscally when the actions being taken are immediately producing
the desired results. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What every contact center needs today is a prescriptive
system that provides an intelligent approach to resolving the alarms. No one needs more alarms today. The modern contact center of today is so
highly instrumented that nothing escapes measurement. What it missing is the piece of technology that
takes in all the inputs from all the instrumentation and can produce actions
plans when things go wrong. That missing
piece of software is not missing any more.
It’s just not yet discovered by enough companies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Optimizer by Silver Lining Solutions provides the analytic
tools that provide the action plan when things go wrong. Optimizer takes in data sets from all
monitoring system that can export data. Learning systems, coaching systems, ACDs, QM
tools and the like all produce tremendous data sets. Optimizer turns these data sets into useful
information whose value goes far beyond making screens red and triggering alarms. Optimizer provides the answers to the
question of “What steps should I take to fix the problem?” Answers that are based on statistics – not personal
opinion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is time to close the gap that all the instrumentation has
created. It is time for a system that
takes in all the existing data sets and uses them to produce timely and
accurate responses to the under-performing parts of the contact center. It is time for Optimizer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-77952392701825301212012-02-27T18:58:00.001-07:002012-02-29T22:25:03.765-07:00The Customer Service “Leap of Faith”Customer service departments share a great many common practices. They hire new agents as needed and put them through the company’s standard on-boarding program. This usually includes a number of training courses and simulation exercises designed to make sure the new agent has the basic skills to do their job. The new agent, comfortable in their new cubicle, then begins the process of improvement. <br />
<br />
Every phone call is recorded and many are evaluated looking for areas of improvement. Performance metrics are captured reflecting how quickly and skillfully the agent can respond to customer requests. Statistics such as average call duration, percentage of calls needing to be transferred, percentage of calls needing to be escalated and other metrics are monitored in an effort to identify where improvements can be made. There is also the need to attend ongoing training courses to continually broaden the agent’s base of knowledge. All goes along well during the “grace period” for the new agent.<br />
<br />
And then comes the big leap. A Supervisor or Manager will review the statistics and upon seeing a statistic that is not meeting the standards, make a judgment call about the best course of action to improve the performance level. That course of action is frequently the assignment of additional training in a specific problem area. I use the term “judgment” as too often this is exactly what is done. The Manager has assumed that training is the answer and thus has made the dreaded “Leap of Faith.” If the problem calls are about Product X, then the needed training must be the Product X training course. There is no fault here as the “judgment call” is necessary given the lack of tools to bring facts to the decision process.<br />
<br />
The “Leap of Faith” comes from the fact that without a tool to correlate the results from training classes to the performance measures that are being captured, there is no way to know if additional training is part of the solution or part of the problem. It might well be that the Product X course has not been updated in a number of months and that its content is now woefully out of date. Customers are asking questions about Product X for which the training course has not provided the answers. <br />
<br />
A tool that correlates the results from course completion tests with the results from performance measurement systems will quickly identify which educational efforts are highly correlated to which levels of performance results. Such a tool guides Supervisors and Managers to intelligent decisions about the course of action that will produce improvement in the shortest amount of time. Straight statistical connections. No guessing. No wasted time or money. “High test results from Course A consistently result in high performance measures for statistic 5.” <br />
<br />
Want to know how to improve a measure’s statistic? Locate the training or coaching process that has the highest correlation value to the failing statistic and schedule the agent accordingly. <br />
<br />
Without knowing where there is a statistical cause & effect relationship between training and performance, contact centers have no choice but to make the “Leap of Faith” and hope they are making the right decisions that will produce performance improvements. Sadly, many companies I have visited have found that correlations they thought existed don’t. Even the more senior agents can subjected to useless trainings without a performance management tool that can clearly identify what correlates with what.<br />
<br />
Silver Lining’s SkillsAssess software product includes such a tool; SkillsAnalysis. SkillsAnalysis is a module that can take in any number of performance metrics from any number of systems along with any number of assessment results from any number of training and coaching systems and analyze every possible combination for correlation. The results can be and have been eye opening. <br />
<br />
The training organization benefits from knowing exactly how much they are contributing to the overall success of the contact center. The statistics can prove which courses have a direct, positive effect on the performance measures and which ones do not. Imagine being the VP of Learning and Development and being able to prove to the budget committee that not only is L&D having a positive impact but that additional funding is warranted to revise courses that are underperforming. <br />
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Using SkillsAnalysis, the Supervisors and Managers have certainty that the course of action they schedule to address a performance problem will produce the desired outcome as there are statistics that historically back the decision. Minimum interruption within the agent’s schedule. No wasted time on actions that don’t produce improvement.<br />
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So is your contact center regularly making the “Leap of Faith?” Does it operate according to the “Once trained, knowledge gained” concept? Is it time to connect your investment in performance measurement tools with your investment in agent training tools and create some synergy? It is time for Silver Lining Solutions’ SkillsAnalysis.Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-4501672823788788462012-02-19T23:25:00.000-07:002012-02-19T23:25:11.658-07:00Is Apple Immune to the Osborne Effect?The iPad3. The iPhone5. Both products are expected to be released this year. Both products are expected to offer vast improvements over current versions. Both products are both the best kept secrets and the worst kept secrets at the same time. <br />
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So how is it that Apple avoids becoming subject to the “Osborne Effect?” I know, sounds like a rhetorical question but it isn’t. I really do not know how Apple continues to sell monstrous numbers of products when a new model is known to be right around the corner. <br />
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Traditionally, car companies highlight new models and various technology enhancements prior to a model being available for purchase yet they go to great lengths to keep the shape of a new fender or front grill from prying eyes. If you knew that the model of car you were thinking of buying was expected to undergo a significant change, would you wait? Would you use the upcoming arrival as a way to get a better price on the existing model? <br />
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Apple’s forthcoming iPad3 is pretty much known to have a better screen and a better processor and yet Apple continues to stock the store shelves with iPad2s and is offering no discounts. The iPhone5 is coming and will likely be 4G and have a bigger screen. iPhone 4S is still selling very well. Certainly there is more time between now and the release date for the next iPhone but in the past, sales remained steady up to the release date. Strong enough anyway to deplete the channel of inventory.<br />
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Automobile companies have a similar sales strategy but they heavily discount older models in order to get them sold and the price tag makes them less of an impulse buy. <br />
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So here’s the big question of the day. What is it about Apple that allows them to continue selling existing models up to the day the new model goes on sale or is this just a myth? Let me know what you think.Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-25241237813671159702012-01-16T06:00:00.002-07:002013-01-21T00:01:34.341-07:00Innovation Applied to Existing TechnologiesIt rains a lot in Oregon so wipers are pretty much a necessity. Watching them go back and forth one afternoon got me to thinking, “I wonder how many cars are made today that do not have intermittent wipers?” I suspect that the answer is very few if any. Were Low – Medium – High not sufficient? Certainly better than On/Off as an option. How many of you would trade in your intermittent wipers for a “standard version with 3 speed settings? Yeah, me too. I like my variable speed option.<br />
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I am certain that there are a great many other examples of “industry standards” that were vastly improved and became the new “standard” in an industry. I bring this up as this is the situation with text messaging. <br />
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Text messaging continues to experience explosive growth in spite of the rhetoric of industry pundits that suggest it is “old fashioned” and “out of date” technology. Tell that to the growing base of consumers who are increasingly dependent upon text messaging as a primary communication means. The automobile industry shot down the idea of intermittent wipers for a variety of reasons including claims of consumers being “very happy” with their Low/Medium/High wipers. Surprisingly, the carriers and handset vendors today are saying the same thing about text messaging with a Reply-All option – “the consumers are very happy with the current technology and we do not see any need to improve things.” <br />
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To be fair, I have had some conversations with technologists who claim that the plethora of web-based group text services are the way of the future. I point out that such claims were made of the instant messaging world and look where that industry is now.<br />
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What is really encouraging is that of all the consumers to whom I have introduced the concept of Reply-All text messaging, not a one has told me they did not want it on their phone. Most said that were it available to them, they would seriously consider changing phones. Seems maybe the idea is too obvious to be valuable to the vendor community?<br />
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Smashtalk is the patent-pending technology that has the capability of providing every mobile phone user with the capability of enjoying text messaging with a Reply-All option while maintaining full backward compatibility with existing text messaging technology and infrastructure. Smashtalk is running today on PCs and Macs and is suitable for inclusion in any mobile handset. <br />
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I’d like your ideas about how to awaken the handset vendors and carriers alike to the modern day version of intermittent wipers; Smashtalk. How much more useful would text messaging be to you were you able to hold actual multi-party conversations via text messaging. The technology exists. Those who can put this technology in your hands don’t think it’s an innovation that is wanted by the consumer. I think they are wrong. I am hoping you agree.<br />
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If you would like to have the Reply-All option on your phone, I ask that you do something each time you send a text message and think, “I wish I had a Reply-All option right now.” I ask that you tweet the following: <br />
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I want Smashtalk so I can have the Reply-All option for my text msgs . #ATT #Verizon #WindowsPhone #Android #Motorola #Smashtalk <br />
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Thanks for your help in awakening the mobile industry.Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9307783.post-9017670160439669302011-12-28T10:46:00.000-07:002011-12-28T10:46:44.391-07:00The Role of Social Media in Simple TermsWind the clock way, way back. Look at retailing before telephones and radios. Customer service was a personal experience that happened at the place of business. Want to visit with other customers, visit with your neighbors as the smaller towns all supported the local merchants and the merchants generally listened or went out of business. Wind the clock forward and retailers are on a steady path to greater and greater levels of isolation with their customers. Most retailers today have no real "forum" for customers to share ideas or unique experiences with each other much less share these ideas with the vendors/retailers. <br />
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That's the basis for social media in the business world. Creation and fostering of a community of customers and company representatives that allow for a free flowing dialog of ideas, feedback and sadly, problems. The problems need to be quickly addressed so as not to sour the balance of the conversations. The best thing is to create a sidebar conversation of some sort to resolve the issue and then publish to all that the issue was successfully resolved. Never leave a posted complaint without a notice of resolution. <br />
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This model puts the responsibility for social media in the hands of Marketing/Sales with problem resolution the responsibility of Customer Service. Don't mix these 2 together. Marketing needs to focus on growing the loyalty of the customer base. Customer Service needs to address the problems.<br />
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In fact, in a well run Customer Service model, customers are advised to use designated support channels when they have a problem and not rely on Twitter or Facebook for answers. On-line support forums are not the same as "social media" per se but are a great place to allow customers to help each other provided they are properly moderated. Do not mix these forums with other social media channels. <br />
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Those companies that have complaints and problems being reported on their social media sites on a regular basis have a failed Customer Service system. It's no more complicated than that. <br />
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Remember the old adage, "Praise in public, reprimand in private." This applies to social media as well. <br />
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If you would like help defining and deploying an effective Social Media strategy alongside your Customer Service system, CEP, Inc. can help. Please contact us for a free evaluation of your existing systems.Mark Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01289488258571094027noreply@blogger.com1