Blurring the lines between Customers & Employees
Now here’s another article that I wish I had written. Move Over, Baby Boomers by Paul Greenberg over at CIO magazine discusses Generation X’ers and how as customers and employees they demand far more collaboration than anyone before.
To quote, “Collaborative customer experiences are the watchwords of the new CRM model. That means that a relationship between company and customer provides customers with transparency into corporate thinking, which enables the two parties to craft the customer experience jointly.”
Paul hits the nail on the head with this article. In the not too distant future, the more transparent a company is the more it is likely to succeed in the marketplace. Successful companies will be the ones that are willing to open up their product plans to customers so that they can poke holes at them.
These companies will encourage their employees to reach out to customers and engage in meaningful conversations about their product experiences, interests and future desires. They will setup social networks not just for employees to talk to one another but for employees to talk to customers and business partners. These companies will invite customers into their research labs, boardrooms and factory floors to help them make their products better. And most importantly, these companies will practice simplicity and ease of use like it has never been practiced before.
As I discussed at an Avenue A | Razorfish Client Summit earlier this year, in the world of the future company websites will look like the New York Times as they’ll have to “give” a lot more information before their receive anything in return. And more than that, with outsourcing the rage, the only sustainable competitive advantage will be around the customer experience and ease of use.
Wondering what makes a good customer experience? Business 2.0 can help you. Visit their Bottomline Design Awards to learn about companies that get it.
In another post, I’ll address how the blurring of the lines between customers and employees will impact the corporate intranet.
