220: Future Customer or Present Customer?

Adam and Jeannie discuss balancing innovation around the needs of the future customer with those of the present customer at Medallia’s Experience-17 conference. Is your future customer more important than today’s? Brands are investing a lot in tailoring future customer experiences for the new generation, and we saw many examples at Experience-17. Millennials are the larger of the current generations, so this is important! But millennials aren’t the only group to consider, and they do things much differently than previous generations. What works for them may not work as well for Gen X’ers, and may not work at all for Baby Boomers.   The best brands find ways to create experiences that make younger customers more comfortable while still offering the experiences older generations are accustomed to.  Can you innovate around the future customer without alienating the current customer? Should you? Thanks to Medallia for providing tickets to Experience-17, we bring you fresh examples, pro tips and fun facts from the conference.  Related Content 360Connext® post, Mobile Innovation Is Not About Your Phone! Customers That Stick® post, 5 Millennial Traits to Improve Customer Service Medallia’s Experience-17 Conference Episode 155: Don’t Forget the Baby Boomers Episode 142: Anna Liotta, Unlocking Generational Codes We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices