Moving on, starting over

Hi Folks!

I've started a new blog on Medium, and will be blogging from there.

Please follow and comment on my posts on Medium, going forward. I appreciate your readership and support so far.

Signing off from this blog.

Best regards,
Kumaran

IKEA | Need a Hex Wrench to fasten Web, Mobile & Store Customer Experience?

As a recent home-buyer, I have spent quite a few hours and dollars at my favorite online and bricks-and-mortar stores... And, as someone who makes his living by improving customer service, I couldn't help but notice the kind and maturity of customer experiences these stores and brands were delivering. In this post, I'd like to share with you some observations from my shopping experience at IKEA.

I have been a loyal customer of IKEA for years. I'm probably one of their typical customers too -- young family that prefers contemporary design at a low cost. Recently, I was interested in ordering a specific floor lamp I had seen on their web site, but unfortunately, my local store did not have the product in stock. I was baffled when I found out that the product was not available for an online purchase. My options were to drive several hundred miles to a store in the nearest state and buy the product there, or wait for several months to buy it at the local store. The very idea of not being able to order something online seemed strange and dated.

Alright... I will admit that I have been totally spoiled by brilliant omnichannel experiences that have surfaced across the retail industry in the last couple of years -- be it the Target mobile app's product locator that keeps my brain from getting fried while wanting to find a spice or baking supply in the store, or the Toys R Us buy-online-pick-up-in-store option which allowed me to cram a 2 hour road trip to visit my nephew, and a last-minute surprise gift which I was able to pick up on my way, while dealing with traffic in LA on a weekday evening.

Nevertheless, these are simple yet profound ways in which these retailers let their customers know that they are interacting with the same retailer regardless of whether they use a mobile app, a web site or walk into a store. This consistency and cohesion mean a lot to the digital consumer today. The differentiated experience also leads to increased revenue and loyalty.

As retailers across the board blur the line between bricks-and-mortar and online channels, the drive to offer a consistent and connected customer experience across channels becomes more of a norm. Interestingly, this perspective is gaining adoption across other industries such as travel, financial services and telecommunications as well. Rather than simply improving the quality of interactions either in the contact center, or in the retail store, or on the web or mobile, businesses are increasingly concerned about the customer experience across these channels. Earlier this year, an HBR article pointed out that the customer journey matters more than the individual interactions, and that firms that strive to provide a consistent and connected experience across interactions will stand to benefit from higher revenues and customer loyalty -- the whole matters more than the sum of the parts.

As consumers, we're getting used to the idea of buying online and picking up items in the store, walking into a store, finding out that a product is not in stock and then ordering using a kiosk to ship the product home, using augmented reality in mobile apps (this one from IKEA, actually) to virtually experience products before purchasing them and more. As this trend continues to emerge and evolve, it's quite likely that the average consumer is going to expect the omnichannel experience as a given.

Question I'd like to raise is whether the price-sensitive customer who is looking for that well-designed furniture might also assume that she should be able to experience "one IKEA and a connected shopping experience", regardless of whether she chooses to go online or walk into a store.

iPads, Curated Computing & Call Center Desktops

Isn't it compelling to keep up with the latest and greatest information on things that matter to you? Well, no wonder so many of us are hooked on to the web; refreshing news feeds, checking email and following conversations. Regardless of how organized you are it is easy to get overwhelmed when there's more information generated in a second, than could be consumed in a lifetime. So, what exactly happens when we get overwhelmed with information? 

This article points out how this information overload could cause cursory reading and distracted thinking ultimately turns you into a "shallow thinker." So, what can we do about it? How can we get organized so that we balance the quantity & variety of information we consume with the quality of attention we provide to the content in return? 

For starters, instead of drinking from the fire hose, we need to take advantage of packaged bottles of water. We need to move away from complex and versatile experiences toward simple and relevant experiences. As this blog post aptly suggests, we need an immersive experience made possible through curated computing. It turns out that this is exactly what Apple accomplishes with its vetting process behind the App Store. Be it an iPhone or an iPad, you get to install only those apps that have been chosen through a vetting process. It is this vetting/curating process that ensures that your experience is simple and relevant. Apple is able to provide richer experiences in exchange for your freedom to install whatever you want. It hands you a bottle, where you may have inadvertently chosen the fire hose. This immersive experience shifts the focus from; "how many things can you do at once?" to "how well can you do the one thing that you've chosen to do?"

Admittedly, an immersive experience may not be the silver bullet for every single information overload scenario. Nevertheless, curated computing presents enormous opportunities to solve some of the key problems that otherwise would require rewiring the brain! If you happen to be running or supporting a call center, for instance, you hear constantly about the challenges agents face in using multiple applications and dealing with complex processes. They either swim or drown in an ocean of data on the desktop and try their best to connect with the customer on the other end of the phone. I'm sure you see the parallels – desktop chaos is the fire hose we need to avoid. Instead of expecting your call center agents to go on a treasure hunt to answer simple billing questions like "Why did my bill go up to $400 last month?", you could present billing related events on a timeline and provide a simple and relevant experience. Not only will your agent share the right information with the customer [improve FCR and AHT], but she'll also be able to serve and provide care with empathy. Now, that's what an immersive experience can do for your call center agents and customers! 

Originally posted at http://www.customerthink.com

Value != Energy

After much deliberation, I'm ready to report that "Capitalism at the Crossroads" has joined the prestigious list of books that have helped me think deeper and clearer about the world we live in.

As a kid, I've often wondered about finding common ground between corporate profits and the common good. It was easy to view the world as a collection of evil corporations driven by profits on one side, and a bunch of unsustainable or small-scale philanthropic organizations on the other. While this perception is colored with intangibles like good and evil, we cannot deny that companies are driven by margins. If there is any room for the common good in corporate portfolios, it better be profitable. The question is not whether there is common ground between corporate profits and the common good, but whether anybody wants to find it. Stuart Hart's book urges MNCs to go hunting for that common ground by discussing the opportunities and challenges businesses have in aligning profitability, humanity and the environment.

Coincidentally, I started following Umair Haque's blog and lectures while I was reading this book. The underlying similarity between Hart's and Haque's arguments is that businesses stand to benefit more by providing real or "thick" value to their customers than by being too concerned about profitability. They urge businesses to think about the whole as opposed to the parts. These guys do so, not only with their classroom theories, but also with numerous real world examples.

Thinking about the value you might destroy while you are trying to create value seems like common sense. Try applying this thought to the simple decisions you make during the day, and very quickly, you'll realize why businesses and governments fret about the "burden" of sustainability. We know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Value on the other hand, can be created and destroyed. It is futile to believe that the transfer of value needs to be rewarded, for it's just NOT energy. Let's dig value creation... Profits shall follow.

Command to Democracy

Anybody who has used Google's services has known that they run them in beta for the longest time -- Gmail has been out there for 5 years with more than 100 million users, and it's still in beta. It has become very common in the IT industry to add features incrementally to an existing service, be it in alpha, beta or gamma versions.

It's important to separate the business model from the industry in this case, to truly appreciate the value offered by this approach.

Threadless, an up and coming start-up thrives on a business model that engages the consumer at a deeper level through in-market innovation. People get to grade designs for T-Shirts. The design's grade determines whether/how it gets printed and sold. Instead of planning inventories centrally, based on market research and the judgment of a select few, the company manages its supply chain based on actual demand which is driven by real value, not perceived value.

The concept is not irrelevant beyond the internet. In fact, it was not even pioneered by internet based businesses. World Water Corporation attempted to provide water and power to developing countries, using advanced technology, by getting several central governments signed up for multi-million dollar projects. The corrupt governments impeded progress and the initiative was not successful. On the other hand, KickStart, an international social enterprise based in East Africa, managed to provide water and power in rural areas, through its Micro-Irrigation Pumps, which were co-invented with its potential consumers, to ensure value addition, acceptance and affordability. KickStart was able to accomplish what WWC set out for, primarily, by collaborating with its customers early on in the process, and on an ongoing basis.

KickStart, Threadless and Google embody the transition of business operations from Command to Democracy. Instead of running a business in a command and control fashion, they engage with customers & other stakeholders in a deeply democratic fashion. This in turn helps them run a profitable operation which at the same time is focussed on the outcome -- the value customers gain through their products and services. That's what we call Win-Win.

Capitalism 2.0

Folks are looking for green shoots of growth and yearning for an upbeat report on the economy. Many wonder which industry would help kick start the economy. Some say it would be green tech, some say it would be high tech, and the speculation goes on... Here's an economist who says that growth will not be spurred by an industry but by an institution -- a different kind of institution.

Umair Haque observes that capitalism as it's been practiced so far has led us to this mess, and claims that it is not sustainable any longer. He suggests that a collaborative capitalism should and will replace the status quo.

The beauty of Capitalism 2.0 is that it is not anything like socialism, as some might suspect. Interestingly, it shares some traits with Web 2.0 [the long tail, wisdom of the crowds], and underscores the importance of running a business that focuses not only on income, but more so on the outcome -- the value gained by its consumers.

If you have the time, I'd suggest you watch this video from Haque's session on the same topic, with several examples [Threadless, Etsy, Nike, Walmart, to name a few] and exhibits [Global GDP Growth & Interaction explosion patterns].

Umair Haque @ Daytona Sessions vol. 2 - Constructive Capitalism from Daytona Sessions on Vimeo.

Energy Policy 101

Congress has started work on The American Clean Energy and Security Act, which, if enacted, will introduce a cap-and-trade system for curbing green house gas emissions. This officially fuels a much awaited debate on climate policy in the US. In the weeks and months to come, we will hear a lot about cap-and-trade and carbon tax, their effectiveness in fighting climate change, their price and their impact on consumers, workers and investors.

This is the first of a series of posts, through which I hope to communicate what I think you should know about energy policy to make sense of the information that is thrown at you.

1. Why?
If you'd like to challenge the need for regulation in this area, you may read my previous post.

2. What?
Carbon Tax - Carbon tax is a form of pollution tax. It levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels based on how much carbon their combustion emits. The price of commodities that cause higher emissions will increase as a result of the tax, thereby discouraging the use of such commodities and products. The intended benefit is that users of fossil fuels will seek alternative sources, thereby spurring innovations, and the tax revenue can also be used to fund such projects. This option is praised for its simplicity and impartiality.

Cap-and-Trade - The cap is a limit on pollution in terms of emissions. An emitter would have to hold permits/allowances [1 allowance to emit 1 ton of CO2] to emit carbon. If the emitter is able to contain emissions and ends up having an allowance-surplus, they may sell/trade those emissions to another emitter, who needs additional allowances to compensate for the excessive emissions they may have produced. In effect, this option would set a limit on pollution and set a market-driven price for emissions. This approach is lauded for its certainty with respect to pollution control.

3. Why Cap-and-Trade?
It is joked that Cap-and-Trade is the politically correct option, as it doesn't have the word "tax". Jokes apart, the underlying theory behind both approaches is to somehow make the stakeholders "feel the pain", so that they take action to wean themselves off of unsustainable ways of life. In other words, there are costs associated with both approaches that consumers, workers and investors/businesses will have to shoulder in varying degrees. Given that we will have to pay for reducing emissions any way, we might as well go with the option that has a better shot at getting the job done. The implementation of either approach will have to deal with challenges such as effective redistribution of revenue, alleviation of the impact of a regressive taxation framework and most importantly promotion of innovation. While the challenges are common, what gives Cap-and-Trade its edge is that it is the plan that has a clearly stated objective -- tangible limit on emissions. Isn't it funny that something so basic is obfuscated so much?!

4. Why-How?
Before we dive into the details of the Cap-and-Trade system, and which factors determine its success, it is important to recognize that the key to success lies in the design of a system that allows for effective incentives & penalties. The design of a market is no child's play, and this is especially true, when companies are to buy and sell the "right to emit CO2". As strange as that may sound, there is an invaluable opportunity to learn from research done in this area and through experiences from the cap-and-trade systems implemented in the US for SO2 in the 90s, and in Europe for C02.

5. How?
I appreciate your commitment, if you've gotten this far... I know... all you did was skim through and look at the last paragraph! Will cover the "How?" in a separate post.