What You Need to Know About Collaborative Consumption

Collaborative consumption (CC) has emerged as a new business model that has been very effective in serving Millennials. However, what does it really entail and when will it be successful? In CC, a platform provider acts as a matchmaker, so that a customer can access assets of a peer service provider. This article discusses how …

The Moment of Truth: A Co-creation Perspective

The term “moment of truth” (MOT) is not new to me and I was happy to learn it was an integral part of the customer-experience community vocabulary.  As I have visited with many in the community, I’ve discovered there are various definitions for MOTs in relation to the customer journey. It is generally agreed that …

Hub-of-All-Things: Breaking Data Silos for a Better Service

The advent of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) in today’s world of connected things and connected people has made it possible for firms to harvest lots of real-time customer data – information from people and objects, and indeed everything. This is compounded by individuals spending much of their time generating data for others about our lives, placing …

The Next Wave of Service Delivery: Success Accelerators!

By Randy Wootton The Challenge Today, more and more companies depend on software as a service (SaaS) to operate essential parts of their business, such as managing their relationships with customers, driving sales performance, and maintaining employee communication. As the industry and surrounding ecosystem that delivers these services matures, it faces a growing demand for accountability and results. …

Show you care: initiating co-creation in service recovery

By Dr. Yingzi Xu Customers are no longer passive receivers of service offerings from companies, but rather value creators themselves. Companies realize that involving customers in service production and co-production is a cost-saving strategy and an effective way to satisfy customers. Co-production expands to co-design of new services as well as to co-recovery, which allows companies …

How Customer Participation in B2B Peer-to-Peer Problem Solving Communities Influences the Need for Traditional Customer Service

By Sterling Bone Can peer-to-peer interactions in a customer support community reduce the need for one-on-one traditional customer support service? New research sponsored by Arizona State’s Center for Services Leadership and published in the Journal of Service Research (JSR) attempts to address this question. Firms that leverage the collective wisdom and knowledge in their customer …

How to Influence Patients, and Clients, to "DIY"

                                      By Kathryn K. Eaton Over the last year, I have had the remarkable opportunity to work with the Obesity Solutions Initiative, which is a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University.  My work with this outstanding team of people has been varied and challenging, but my background in marketing has been a perfect …

Put Your Customers to Work? Not So Fast!

By Lan Xia With the support of new technologies, companies are gradually realizing the importance and benefits of co-creation, where the value of a service is increasingly co-created by the firm and the customer. Consumers are increasingly put to work for the services they demand, from carrying their own food in fast-food restaurants to creating …

Restoring Customer’s Sense of Control through Service Co-Creation

by Adriana Samper In today’s tumultuous global climate, people inevitably face forces or situations that test the limits of their control.  Natural disasters, political and economic turmoil can all threaten feelings of control over personal and professional outcomes.  Hurricane Sandy or the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma show how people can be strikingly affected and feel …