Want Loyalty? Accumulate More Dopamine!

Neuroscience offers new insights on what causes customer retention. Experimenters have recently studied the brain activity involved when positive experiences sway the decision to stick with one option rather than switch to another. Since subscription-based companies must keep their customers … Continued

The Fallacy of Employee Performance Metrics

This time of year many of us managers use numbers when we conduct performance evaluations. Most of us, however, make serious attribution errors, believing business outcomes are due to individual performances. As a result, we use metrics inappropriately and demotivate … Continued

Lyfe Lessons for SaaS

There’s more to retaining customers than having a good product. Lyfe Kitchen seems made to order for progressive Boulder, Colorado.  There’s the enviable location on Pearl Street. There’s the tasty, healthy food, favorites like the Quinoa Crunch Bowl and the … Continued

Too Much of a Good Thing is a Bad Thing

We’ve all experienced walking into a fast food restaurant and being faced with myriad choices. “What can I get you?” the employee behind the counter asks. “Ummmm…” You stare at the menu trying to make sense of an overwhelming number … Continued

Proof, not Marketing, Grows Loyalty

Leading companies plant seeds of trust Bombarded by thousands of product claims each day, we’ve become jaded. While we consider genuine those recommendations we get from people we know, most of us don’t believe ads and find salespeople only moderately … Continued

A Vacation Ends in a Moment of Truth

A tale of two Lufthansa managers   “So here’s the problem,” the young manager said after looking at his computer screen. “We see the leg from Frankfurt to Denver but we don’t see the leg from St. Petersburg to Frankfurt.” … Continued

The “Wow!” Effect

Dopamine yields dollars “So that’s what happened. When Microsoft pushed their latest Windows update, they shut off a service the printer uses to communicate over the wireless link.” The Hewlett-Packard support rep then clicked on the utility and turned it … Continued

The Hidden Benefits of Small Talk

Pleasantries lead to trust What do we do when we meet someone new? We engage in small talk. “What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do for a living?” We probe for something in common to start … Continued

Saying No without Saying “No”

A lesson in customer management from luxury hospitality  No is essential in business. Without it, there’s no focus: every idea is a good idea and any deal is a good deal. Despite having limited resources, some companies try to be all things to all people, continually … Continued

The New CRC Metric: Chronicle of Transformation

Same change, different industry Last week, Totango discussed Customer Retention Cost (CRC) at their annual Customer Success Summit in San Francisco. Their new measure helps SaaS companies compare the costs of battling churn and growing installed base revenue. The metric, … Continued