(^117) ■
UNDERSTAND THE C
ONVERSATIONS T
HAT M
ATTER
is the combination of listening, understanding customers, and enabling the organiza-
tion to respond effectively and in a talkworthy manner that is really at the heart of the
Freshbooks’ example.
One may argue that “Freshbooks is a small business” or “If Freshbooks sent
flowers to everyone, they’d be out of business.” To the first objection, the counter is
that plenty of small businesses could not have done this even if they had wanted to.
Freshbooks actually did it, and in a timely manner. Freshbooks’ internal process—
not their marketing campaigns—facilitated their talkworthy response. To the second
point, the counter is they only have to do it once in a while to advance in the eyes (and
hearts) of many of their customers. There is no expectation that every Freshbooks
customer will get flowers. Instead, there is an expectation that Freshbooks consistently
recognizes and cares about its customers. Freshbooks is free to express this in any way
it wants, whenever it chooses. Consider the similar practices at Zappos: They’ve built
a billion-dollar business by doing things that were sometimes more expensive—free
shipping, both directions and occasionally even overnight shipping upgrades—“just
because.” Creating customer delight is a proven business builder.
Touchpoint Analysis
Touchpoints are my passion. As a product manager, I was immediately drawn to the
simple reality that everything I did in terms of product design came down to one cus-
tomer moment. That moment is, of course, the point in time when a customer uses
and experiences some aspect of the product I’d designed or brought to market. That
moment, and only that moment, is the single truth that exists from the customer’s per-
spective. What happens when your customer plugs it in, turns it on, calls with a ques-
tion, or shifts it into drive.
These points of intersection between the customer’s world and the brand, product,
or service are what I refer to as touchpoints. They include marketing touchpoints—a
commercial that someone sees on TV that elicits an emotional response (as a dad, I still
get happy tears when I see the “Sea World” spots we created at GSD&M)—as well as
operational touchpoints, such as the feeling you get walking into a Whole Foods Market.
Touchpoint analysis is often presented from a marketing perspective but is appli-
cable nonetheless across the organization. The key to applying this analytical method-
ology lies in understanding your firm or business—how it operates—and in knowing
what your customers consider important and talkworthy.
The combination of talkworthiness and importance comes about because con-
versations don’t happen when no one cares to start them. Recognize here that some
aspects of any product or service may not be talkworthy (customers may not recognize
or attribute significance to them) but they are still required—by law or regulatory
rule for example—or in some way essential to the actual delivery of the service or the
functioning of the product. For the aspects of your product or service that are both