“Experience” is one of those words that is both aspirational while also meaning something uniquely different to each person who uses the word. No matter who you define it, the important thing to remember is that experiences lie in the value of the beholder. The reality is that experiences are something you feel, you sense, and they’re defined by the people experiencing them. Whether they’re amazing, meh or terrible, they’re either forgotten or they turn into memories. Either way, reactions…
Designing the Experience: My Ongoing Experiments with Book Trailers and Storytelling
I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood trailers. So much so, that 10 years ago, I was determined to develop a trailer for my next book at the time, Engage!. Since then, I launched every subsequent book with a trailer. You can see a compilation here. With my latest book X, I broke that tradition. It wasn’t intentional however. I simply got so caught up with the launch and the following book tour that I couldn’t get to it. That didn’t…
Enhancing Customer Experience With Wearable Tech
Guest post by Blake Morgan (@blakemichellem), Customer Experience Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Author of the new book, More Is More In X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, author Brian Solis talks about how Disney created its MagicBand—an all-in-one device that connects users with their vacation options—embedded with technology that allows customers to make purchases without a credit card or cash, get in and out of the park, review and optimize wait times, book FastPass, open their hotel room door, make dinner reservations, and…
Customer Experience Should Be Designed For And Measured By What Customer’s Actually Experience
Customer experience (CX) is the new black and it is, for all intents and purposes, the catalyst for accelerated and purposeful digital transformation. In my research however, I find that customer experience is not truly a customer-first initiative. It is in many cases relegated to enterprise-first approaches to improve customer flow from an infrastructure perspective. It’s not necessarily something I’m calling out as a problem. Optimizing customer journeys is indeed necessary. But, it is not a means to an end. It is…
Customer Experience is the New Marketing and Customer Experiences are the New Brand
My friends Rob Cottingham, Gerard Francis Corbett and I have had some fun lately. One way to gain perspective on our modern reality is to do so through humor. So when a several big brands in the beverage, transportation, banking and airline industries were suddenly in the global media hot seat, we had a laugh and productive conversations behind the scenes. As a result, we set out to build upon these unfortunate opportunities with a couple of pithy but poignant cartoons hoping to spark a bigger dialogue….
Is Your Marketing Strategy Aimed at the Present or the Future?
If you’ve designed your marketing strategy around what your market expects today, you may want to revisit it. Why? Your market will expect something different in the future. And that future is starting to arrive now. When I’m not deep in the weeds studying Digital Transformation, Innovation, Experience Design and Culture, I’m incessantly thinking about brands of tomorrow and what it takes to be relevant to an evolving society. I recently spent some time with Qlutch CEO Jim Sagar to explore…
Customer Experience Versus Just Experience: Why the difference is key to brand relevance
Customer experience aka CX is one of the most important trends changing business today. And, experts believe that it represents the next big competitive advantage for companies that invest in it. But what is customer experience exactly? It’s one of those terms (and movements) that is defined and interpreted differently depending on who’s talking about it within the organization. But without a common appreciation for customer experience and what it represents to customers, not just our view of them, our…
Techonomics: Disruptive Technologies and The Effect on Business and Humanity
My friend Jason Middleton hosts a fascinating program on KGO 810 in San Francisco/Silicon Valley…Techonomics. On the show, he interviews some of the most interesting minds in tech to explore the latest trends and what’s on the horizon. Jason recently invited me to join the program and I jumped at the chance. I wanted to share our conversation with you here… In 9 action-packed minutes we discuss: – The need for changemakers and rainmakers – The importance of digital anthropology…
Top 11 Trends Shaping the Future of Retail
I took this picture in 2016 at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, California. This used to be a Sears department store. While Sears is still alive and kicking, it’s sad to see so many once celebrated brands slowly deteriorate and/or then suddenly crumble. I call this the new “Kodak Moment,” that moment when executives fail to see how customers and markets are shifting. All too often, there appears to be a pervasive “too big to fail,” shareholder-first attitude during what amounts to…
The Key to Creativity and Innovation is Empathy
Growing up in Los Angeles and living in Silicon Valley for 20-plus years has plugged me into a unique network of creativity and innovation. Although many would say that I technically live in a bubble, I have practiced the art of participation and observation to earn a balanced perspective when it comes to ideation and design. While I am surrounded by some of the most amazing minds, I am also inspired by those shaping innovation hubs. If it’s one thing I’ve learned,…
