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From Past to the Future: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and X(Cross) Reality

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If you want to know what is Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, this article might help you understand them. 

On the 23 October 2019, Life Intelligence Group proudly hosted the Digital Innovation Sydney meet-up with the theme: Discover and Innovate with Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality. 

As a company that focuses on changing the future, we were honored to have 42interactive (a team of lead professionals in the digital, mobile and immersive content space) who showed us the amazing technologies of AR/VR through live demos and experience. 

 

At first, we were confused with all these technologies but thanks to 42interactive, we have gained additional insights. And now, we are happy to share it with you.

From a simple science fiction prediction to reality, the evolution of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Cross Reality (XR) has come a long way. 

Hearing these terms makes us think they are all pretty much the same, that they are a new form of technology and are purely created for recreation purposes. However, the concept of AR/VR technology dates back in the 1800s! In addition, they are not only used for entertainment purposes but also for business and science applications.

To avoid confusion and get a deeper understanding of these technologies, we look at the differences and similarities of AR/VR technology, their uses, and their transformation over the years.

Getting to Know All the Realities

  • Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is a technology that enhances our real, physical world with superimposed computer-generated images and other digitally created content such as sounds and videos. The digital overlaying alters the perception of reality, providing the users or viewers with a one of a kind interactive experience.

Some of the best examples of Augmented Reality technology include Nintendo’s Pokémon Go App, a popular mobile game that involves catching and training Pokémon characters in a real location. Another one is the Weather Channel’s realistic visualization of extreme weather conditions such as tornadoes and hurricanes to explain what could they look like once they hit the ground.

  • Virtual Reality

You may think Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are just the same. At some point, VR and AR have similarities with each other in terms of their technologies, their entertainment purposes and the way they change the field of science and medicine. However, when it comes to their real purpose and delivery method, these two technologies are entirely different.

While Augmented Reality enhances the experience by adding layers of digital-generated objects and elements on top of a real environment and is being used across different mobile devices, Virtual Reality is a technology that allows you to interact with and immerse in a computer-generated environment, and this can be typically achieved by wearing a VR headset or goggle such as Facebook’s Oculus. With Virtual Reality, it’s as if you have escaped the real world and was transported in another dimension.

Image from rawpixel.com

  • Mixed Reality and X (Cross) Reality

To understand Mixed Reality and XR (or Cross Reality), one must have a basic understanding of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Now that you know the definition and difference between AR and VR, it’s time to know more about Mixed Reality and XR.

What is Mixed Reality?

Mixed Reality is a step beyond Augmented Reality as it combines the real world and the virtual objects. The concepts of AR and VR are combined to create a “mixed” reality, which makes the experience even more out of this world.

“a mixed reality environment, therefore, is one in which real-world and virtual world objects are presented together within a single display, that is, anywhere between the extrema of the virtuality continuum,” (an excerpt from titled “A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays.” a paper by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino).

Mixed Reality allows users to interact with virtual objects within the real environment in real-time. These digitally-created objects will also respond to the user like they are real. This technology is now being used in the manufacturing industry and the medical field.  

What is XR?

XR also referred to as Cross Reality, is not a specific technology but an umbrella term for AR, VR, MR, and other incoming Reality technologies.

XR covers the entire spectrum of real worlds and virtual worlds – the hardware, software, methods, and experience that make all the present Reality technologies. It refers to the combination of real and virtual worlds and the interaction of humans and machines generated by computer and wearable devices. Other definitions of XR include platforms and elements where the user can bring real objects into the virtual environment or see physical objects in a digital environment.

Where it all Started: Historical Background of AR, VR, and MR

Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash

1838-49: Invention of Stereoscopic photos & viewers, from Charles Wheatstone’s Stereoscope in 1838 to William Gruber’s View-Master in William Gruber and the lenticular stereoscope of David Brewster in 1849.

1929: Edward Link created the “Link Trainer”, which was deemed as the first commercial Flight Simulator.

1958: Invention of Sensorama by cinematographer Morton Heilig, the first attempt to achieve Augmented Reality through delivering visuals, sounds, vibration, including smell to the viewers.

1968: First AR/VR head-mounted head display created by Ivan Sutherland and was called (Sword of Damocles). The head-mounted AR/VR introduces users to the virtual world.

1969: The term Artificial Reality was coined by Myron Kruger, a virtual reality computer artist. Artificial reality is a series of computer-generated environments

1975: Myron Kruger built a laboratory which he referred to as “Videoplace”, which was considered to have the first “virtual reality” interface.

1980: Steve Mann introduced the world’s first wearable computing, also known as wearables or body-borne computers.

1989: Jason Lainer popularised the term “Virtual Reality”. Lainer developed several VR gears such as the Dataglove and the Eyephone.

1990: The term “Augmented Reality” is created by Thomas P. Caudell of Boeing

1992: Louis Rosenberg developed the first advanced AR/VR System called “Virtual Fixtures”. This technology is a complex robotic system that aims to improve workplace productivity.

1993: SEGA VR Headset, a wrap-around prototype glass, was introduced, with features such as LCD screens in the visor, head tracking, and stereo sound.

1994: The first appearance of Mixed Reality through a research paper written by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino

1995: The Nintendo Virtual Boy, a 3D gaming console, was first released in Japan and North America.

2000s: AR in print media and ARToolkit in Adobe Flash were made available in 2009. Google released the Google Glass wearable AR technology in 2014. Microsoft Hololens AR Headset in 2016. AR applications have been used in retails in 2017.

Consumer Adoption of AR/VR

With the hype of digital devices these days, introducing the AR/VR technology to the consumers may sound like an easy job, but it’s not. When talking about Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, there’s one best word to associate with it, and that is the “future”. However, not everyone is ready for these futuristic innovations, and not all consumers are already familiar with these technologies. How do retailers cope with these challenges?

A study from Artillery in 2018 found that 87% of US consumers using a mobile phone, only one-third of them are using augmented reality. Out of these one-third users, 73% said they were satisfied with their AR experience. On the VR side, the same report found only 11% of US consumers have VR headset. A survey from eMarketer also revealed that only 10% of US consumers have used AR or VR for shopping. But 45% of them say they would like to try these technologies.

So why are there more AR users than VR users in the US? According to eMarketer, AR applications can be easily accessed through mobile devices, which is easier for the majority of users. In addition to this, there are human factors that hold back the consumer’s adoption to AR/VR technology. Some of these include aesthetics, comfort, and customization.

On a brighter note, a forecast from eMarketer and Statista shows promising statistics for retail. In 2019, eMarketer estimated 42.9 million US consumers will use VR and 68.7 million people will use AR once a month. In 2020, 77.7% of US consumers will become AR users, while 51.8% will be VR users. In 2021, 85% will use AR and 57.1 will be VR users.

A survey from Statista projects massive growth in both AR and VR headset sales in 2019 and the coming years. This suggests that both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies will sell more than 30 million units every year by 2023.

Image from rawpixel.com

The Future is Fun and Bright

At Life Intelligence Group, we set our minds in the future. We make sure to always stay ahead of the technological advancements to provide only the most state-of-the-art services. We focus on innovation and we are committed to changing people’s lives through our application TaskSpur and our very own intelligent personal assistant Ari.

In the future, our users can run TaskSpur with Reality Glasses and work with Ari to help them manage their life at work and at home in a more interactive way. With TaskSpur, we’ll change the way you get things done and accomplish your goals in life.

The future is here and now. We are here to help you embrace it with enthusiasm. 

Consumer Value: Know What Your Customers Really Want

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Learning what consumers truly value is a real challenge for every company. As the competition in the market gets tougher, the standards of consumers also get higher. 

Consumer value can be seen from the perspective of the customer and the business. From the customer perspective, this refers to the value of a product or a service that the customer is willing to pay for what they get in return, regardless of the price. From a business perspective, consumer value refers to the consumer’s worth to the company if that person makes a purchase higher than the cost of making the product. 

Understanding the “elements of value” can help companies to address what consumers of modern society want. 

The Elements of Value

What are the “elements of value”?

To better understand why consumers buy and what they really want, researchers from Bain & Company developed two different Value Pyramids – one for the business (B2B) and one for consumers (B2C). 

Let’s focus on the B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Value Pyramid. This type of Value Pyramid identifies the 30 Elements of Value for consumers and is grouped into four categories: functional, emotional, life-changing and social-impact elements. 

  • Functional elements – at the base of the pyramid are the elements that demonstrate what a product can do for the consumer. The functional level consists of 14 elements which include ‘saves time’, ‘makes money’, ‘simplifies’, ‘reduces risks’, ‘efforts’, and costs as well as ‘quality’ and ‘informs’. 
  • Emotional elements – the next level shows the product’s emotional effect on the consumer. On this level are 10 elements which include ‘reduces anxiety’, ‘rewards me’, ‘nostalgia’, ‘wellness, ‘fun/entertainment’ and ‘provides access’. 
  • Life-changing elements – the third level exhibits elements on how a product or service change’s consumer’s life. The level has only five elements and these are ‘provides hope’, ‘self-actualization’, ‘motivation’, ‘heirloom’, and ‘affiliation/belonging’. 
  • Social-impact elements – the top level of the pyramid has one element called self-transcendence, which indicates how a product or service brings value to society.

Infographic source: Harvard Business Review

Researchers indicated that the 30 Elements of Value is an extension to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who theorised that people have five categories of needs. From the bottom of the pyramid to the top, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. According to Maslow, we can only achieve self-actualization once we meet the needs at the lower level of the pyramid. 

Resembling Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, The Value of Pyramid also requires meeting at least some elements at the lower level in order for a company to be successful in delivering the elements on the top level. As explained by Jamie Cleghorn, one of the co-authors of the research, “The elements of value at the base are the more common objective criteria we’re all familiar with.  It is the higher-level, subjective elements that companies often fail to pay enough attention to.”

The Elements of Value is critical for the company’s business performance and customer satisfaction. When Bain & Company and Research Now (an online sampling company) conducted a survey for over 10,000 U.S. consumers about their perceptions of roughly 50 U.S.-based companies, they found that companies that got a high score on four or more value elements had more loyal customers and better revenue growth than companies with just one high score. 

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Researchers identified the top five elements that consumers value from 10 industries. Here, we pick three industries as a sample:

  • Apparel retail:
  1. Quality
  2. Variety
  3. Avoids hassles
  4. Design/aesthetics
  5. Saves time
  • Consumer Banking:
  1. Quality
  2. Provides access
  3. Heirloom
  4. Avoids hassles
  5. Reduces anxiety
  • Smartphones:
  1. Quality
  2. Reduces effort
  3. Variety
  4. Organizes
  5. Connects

As you can observe, quality is the most important element for consumers. Researchers stated that after quality, the next critical elements depend on the type of industry.

What Can Your Company Do?

To apply the elements of value to your business, here are some smart actions to take:

  • Improve on the elements that form your company’s core value to help you gain competitive advantage and address your customers’ needs better.
  • Thoughtfully add elements to expand your value proposition without overhauling your product or services.
  • Identify which elements are the most important for your industry and how you can build up those relative to your competitors.
  • Understand your customers’ priorities, frustrations, and reasons why they find a service or product inconvenient. 
  • Use elements to boost or open a new company offering. Once you have identified which elements boost your product’s value, prioritise and focus on the elements you have chosen. 

Photo by Felix on rawpixel.com

The elements can help managers creatively add value to their brands, products, and services and thereby gain an edge with consumers—the true arbiters of value.  — Jesús Gil Hernández

To increase customer experience and satisfaction, marketers should focus on creating consumer value. This can lead to the improvement of customer loyalty, price, and market share as well as reduction of errors and efficient products/services. 

At Life Intelligence Group, we use advanced strategies to help your business grow, and one of these is using Agile methodology to boost your consumer value. Interested to learn more? Visit us today at: https://www.lifeintelligencegroup.com/

The History of Agile Methods and Innovations

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In the early 1900s, IT experts could take dozens of years to develop a software computer. Then came Agile, and the world of Information Technology became a much, much better place.   

The implementation of Agile methodologies has then revolutionised the way software developers and industry leaders design and build products for their clients. Unlike traditional methods, Agile makes the development process faster and easier, and of course less frustrating than before. 

Image from Pexel

But did you know that the origin of Agile started outside of IT? In this brief but detailed history of Agile innovation, we will get to know more about the pioneers of Agile methodologies, the practices that yield a foundation for this approach and how Agile Manifesto was created. 

Are you ready to travel back in time and discover the long yet colourful heritage of Agile? Here we go. 

1930s: The “Plan-Do-Study-Act” Cycle

In the 1930s, the physicist and statistician Walter Shewhart of Bell Telephone Laboratories proposed a series of short Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. PDSA is an iterative and incremental-development methodology and involves a four-stage problem-solving model which is used to improve a process or execute change. 

The iterative and incremental-development methodology are key practices in Agile. This approach works by breaking projects into pieces instead of delivering them all at once near the completion. It uses user stories and prioritising them continuously, usually a one or two-week cycle called iterations or sprints. 

Shewart shared PDSA methodology to his mentee, W. Edwards Deming. Deming used PDSA extensively in Japan and was hired to train several Toyota managers. His expertise in the PDSA cycle leads the company to develop the famous Toyota Production System (TPS), which is known as the primary source of “lean” thinking that many organisations are still using up to this day.   

Deming published the PDSA cycle in The New Economics in 1993. He also renamed it the “Deming Cycle”. Each stage of the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle comprises the following actions:

   Plan – plan a change or a test, aimed at improvement

   Do – carry out the change or the test (preferably on a small scale)

   Study – study the results. What did we learn? What went wrong?

   Act – adopt the change or abandon it, or run through the cycle again

The incremental and iterative development methodologies were also used to create the X-15 hypersonic jet in the 1950s.

1960’s: Evolutionary Project Management 

Evo, short for Evolutionary Value Delivery, was considered by many Agile experts as the “original” agile method. Tom Gilbs originally used it as a project management method back in the 1960s, both personally and through clients. Evo focuses on “delivering measurable multiple value requirements to stakeholders” and recommends two-week iterations that focus on the delivery of product each iteration.  

The principles of Evo, which are detailed in the Systems Engineering Conference paper, are as follows:

E1: Decompose by performance results and stakeholders;

E2: Do high-risk steps early, learn how ‘unknowns’ really perform;

E3: Focus on improving your most valuable performance objectives first;

E4: Base your early evolution on existing systems and stakeholders;

E5: Design to cost dynamically;

E6: Design to performance dynamically;

E7: Invest in an open-ended architecture early on;

E8: Motivate your team by rewarding results;

E9: Prioritize changes by value, not place in queue;

E10: Learn fast, change fast, adapt to reality fast.

1986: The New New Product Development Game

In January 1986, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka, both University professors, published an article in Harvard Business Review called The New New Product Development Game. In their article, they discussed the analogy of rugby game as a new way of developing produpcts and delivering projects. 

Instead of following the traditional “relay race” approach, where one group passes its completed phase to the next group of functional specialists, they proposed moving towards the team-oriented “rugby” approach. According to Takeuchi and Nonaka, the rugby approach is “where a team tries to go the whole distance as a unit, passing the ball back and forth.” The rugby approach is a holistic method that focuses on six characteristics:

  • built-in instability
  • self-organising project teams
  • overlapping development phases
  • multi-learning
  • subtle control
  • organisational transfer of learning 

Scrum, a popular and widely used agile framework, is inspired by this approach

Image from Pexel

1990s: The Emergence of Various Agile Methodologies 

The 1990s marked the proliferation of various Agile methodologies such as Crystal Framework, Scrum, Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM), and Extreme Programming (XP). 

Crystal Framework in 1992 – created by Allistair Cockburn, the Crystal Framework focuses on people and their interactions rather than processes and tools. Cockburn defines Crystal as “a family of human-powered, adaptive, ultra-light, ‘stretch-to-fit’ software development methodologies.” He believed that when working with a project, skills, teamwork, and communication have the biggest impact on the outcome of the project. 

Scrum in 1993 – Inspired by Takeuchi and Nonaka’s rugby approach, Jeff Sutherland created a new way of developing software and called his method “Scrum”. Using Scrum methods, Sutherland could finish his projects on time with fewer issues than any previous release. In 1995, Sutherland and his colleague Ken Schwaber officially presented the Scrum method to the public. 

Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) in 1994 –  known as the predecessor of the agile project management, DSDM is an agile methodology that uses an iterative approach to software development. It is largely based on the methodology of Rapid Application Development (RAD) and is built on four principles: (1) feasibility and business study, (2) functional model and prototype iteration, (3) design and build iteration, (4) implementation. 

Extreme Programming in 1999 – Extreme Programming or XP is an agile project management methodology created by Kent Beck, the Lead Software Engineer at Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3). XP is considered as one of the most popular agile methods because of its proven success at many companies and its focus on customer satisfaction as well as an emphasis on teamwork. XP also uses a very simple set of rules that are based on sound values and principles: planning, managing, designing, coding, and testing.  

Image from Pexel

2001: The Gathering in Utah and the Agile Manifesto 

The creation of Agile Manifesto had its own interesting backstory before it became the most popular software development manifesto we have known today. It all started when seventeen developers, which includes Alistair Cockburn, Jeff Sutherland, Ken Schwaber, and Kent Beck, met and gathered in Snowbird, Utah, for a three-day retreat. 

The working session had two main objectives:

  • Each person will present to the group his lightweight method approach to building software
  • Discuss the surge of heavyweight methods and how to address them

A lot of things happened during the working session, and one of these was the decision to change the “lightweight” terminology with “agile”, which was suggested by one of the attendees who read the book “Agile Competitors and Virtual Organizations: Strategies for Enriching the Customer”.  In full agreement, the term “Agile” became the new name for the movement, and then the Agile Manifesto was written with the following four key values:

  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan

“At the core, I believe Agile Methodologists are really about “mushy” stuff—about delivering good products to customers by operating in an environment that does more than talk about “people as our most important asset” but actually “acts” as if people were the most important, and lose the word ”asset”. So in the final analysis, the meteoric rise of interest in—and sometimes tremendous criticism of—Agile Methodologies is about the mushy stuff of values and culture.”, (excerpt from the history of the Agile Manifesto.)

2011: Scaled Agile Framework

The Scaled Agile Framework methodology (or SAFe for short) is created by Dean Leffingwell, the Chief Methodologist at Scaled Agile Inc. and the author of the best selling book Agile Software Requirements. SAFe is developed for teams and large organisations to help them become flexible and manage the challenges they have when practising agile; thus it is built on three pillars: 

  • Team
  • Program
  • Portfolio

The latest version SAFe 4.6, which was released last October 2018, introduces the Five Competencies for Lean Enterprises: Lean-Agile Leadership, Team and Technical Agility, DevOps and Release on Demand, Business Solutions and Lean Systems Engineering, and Lean Portfolio Management. Up to this day, SAFe is still one of the most popular agile frameworks and prides itself as the world’s leading framework for scaling Agile across the enterprise.

The business changes. The technology changes. The team changes. The team members change. The problem isn’t change, per se, because change is going to happen; the problem, rather, is the inability to cope with change when it comes.— Kent Beck

Today, Agile is still one of the best methodologies used by many organisations, including Fortune 500 companies. Agile is not only a framework that consists of Scrum, Kanban, and XP, but foremost it is also a mindset that can be learned through coaching, mentoring or using an agile productivity tool.  At Life Intelligence Group, our products and services are grounded in the principles of Agile. We believe that being agile not only starts in the workplace; it can also start at home. And it starts by changing our old habits, having a growth mindset and sticking to our goals until we achieve them. 

Transitioning to Agile? We’ve got you covered! Our Agile experts at Life Intelligence Group can train your company and employees in the Scaled Agile Framework for a smooth and successful transition. Our courses also help you to apply Agile practices at home and build an Agile Mindset for a more productive, stress-free life. To learn more, please visit our website: https://lifeintelligencegroup.com/

Why You Need to Develop an Agile Mindset

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Do you agree that your mindset has something to do with your failures and achievements in life?

For us here at Life Intelligence Group, we strongly believe that success starts with a positive, Agile mind.

Our mindset is so powerful that it can either make or break our life ahead.  

Peter Diamandis, an Engineer, physician and entrepreneur,  once said:

“Your mindset matters. It affects everything – from the business and investment decisions you make, to the way you raise your children, to your stress levels and overall well-being.”

We couldn’t agree more.

If you ever wondered how an Agile Mindset can transform you, here are some of the most important things you need to know.

What is Agile – Simplified

What exactly is Agile and Agile Mindset?

For some people, Agile is somewhat a familiar word but a complex one to describe and to explain. If you’re only starting to understand what Agile is all about, you have come to the right place. In a simpler explanation, Agile means:

  • A mindset, approach, and philosophy of what and how we think
  • Better social interaction and stronger team collaboration
  • Superior task and time management
  • Transparency and clearness of plans, goals, and outcomes
  • A balanced and stress-free life
  • Organised thoughts and systematic planning
  • Continuous self-reflection and improvement on the things you do

With an agile mind, you can:

  • Be stress-free and effective at work
  • Strengthen your relationship with your friends and family
  • Build a realistic and effective timeline for your goals
  • Improve your focus, awareness, and mindfulness
  • Do things that matter most for yourself and your stakeholders
  • Build a lasting relationship with your customers and stakeholders
  • Fulfill your commitments and aim for more successful outcomes
  • Find purpose in your life and be more passionate about working and collaborating
  • Feel a sense of accomplishment because you’re confident that you are working on what matters more for you

The Benefits of Adopting Agile Methodology

agile mindset benefits

Statistics don’t lie.

Integrating Agile principles into your personal and professional life today leads to amazing results:

69% – Accelerated product delivery

61% – Enhanced ability to manage changing priorities

53% – Increased productivity

42% – Improved business/IT alignment

37% – Reduced project risk

We believe that when it comes to success, you need more than just a positive mind.

You also need to be Agile!

But who needs to adopt this type of thinking anyway?

Our answer: everyone! Yourself, your loved ones, your staff, your employees, your team!

Any person who has plans and aims to be successful in life must shift their mindset and start embracing the principles of Agile.

Why Choose Life Intelligence Group for your Agile Journey?

At Life Intelligence Group, we help you build a powerful mindset through organising your thoughts, finding your awareness, setting your lifetime goals, and improving your overall thinking.

How? By helping you build a strong and enduring Agile Mindset.

If you want to adopt the Agile methodologies, start with us. Here are some reasons why:

  • Our developers and consultants are Agile people to the core. We believe that if we’re not agile ourselves, we cannot bring a life-changing impact to you – our users and clients.
  • We highly value your time, money and effort. Thus, we guarantee that your partnership with us is worth your trust and investment.
  • We provide state of the art products and services that are strongly grounded in the philosophy and principles of Agile methodology:
    • TaskSpur – a smart, easy-to-use time management tool
    • ARI – our fun Intelligent Assistant
    • Agile Coaching Services – Agile mentoring and certifications

Agile Mind is the Key

Life Intelligence Group has been helping individuals and companies in harnessing their Agile Mindset to improve their stress-management, personality development, teamwork and collaboration, strategic thinking and leadership abilities.

Our Agile mindset is evident in the products and services we offer.  Discover our Agile tools and services, and be one of our happy, successful clients today! Visit https://www.lifeintelligencegroup.com/ to learn more. 

The power is in your hands to make impossible things possible.

Be Agile. Live Agile.

https://cms.lifeintelligencegroup.com/blog/why-customers-should-be-your-top-priority/

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A recent study from CB Insights found that seventy percent of start-up tech companies fail. How did this happen? 

Although there are so many reasons why these companies shutter, the analysts noted that 9 of the top 20 reasons for start-up failures were customer-related: not meeting customers’ demands or even ignoring them.

As defined by Business Dictionary, a customer is “a party that receives or consumes products and has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers”. Customers can jump from one brand to another or from one company to another. They have all this freedom in the world. But what can make them really stay with a company? It’s when they know that they are being heard, understood, and prioritised.  

Loyal Customers Are Crucial 

“Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart-the centre of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it-and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.” – Maurice Franks

Did you know that loyal customers are worth 10x as much as their first purchase? 

Think of your customers like your best assets, your indestructible foundation. Without them, a company would be nothing! Loyal customers are crucial to the success of any business, big or small.

If you want your customers to repurchase again and again for over a long period of time, give them what they want and make them feel appreciated. And how do you do this? Make sure you care about them, you address their needs, and you deliver your promises.

According to Microsoft, 96% of consumers worldwide say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand. Also, some research says that acquiring a new customer is 6 to 7 times more expensive than it is to keep an existing one. So if you want to obtain lifetime customers, do all your best to look after them and don’t get tired in satisfying their needs.

Poor Customer Service Can Negatively Impact the Business 

“Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution.” – Rick Tate

First impression lasts. This is absolutely true with customers who had previous good or bad experiences with a certain product or company. Customer service experiences have a long-lasting effect, and the more negative the experience is, the longer it will stay to a person’s memory and share the story with other people. 

So, if you think poor customer service won’t greatly affect your business, think again! Here are some customer service statistics you can’t afford to ignore:

  • Customers with past good experiences are 3.5x more likely to repurchase and 5x more likely to recommend the company to other people than if they have previous bad experiences. (Temkin, 2018)
  • 95% of customers tell their friends or relatives about a past negative experience and 87% share positive experiences. (Zendesk, 2013)
  • 89% of consumers switch to a competitor because of a poor customer service experience.  (Harris Interactive)
  • Globally, 59% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company following a poor customer service experience. (Microsoft, 2017)

With the information above, it’s easy to see why customer service experience can make or break your business. With an amazing experience, customers will stick with you no matter what. But with a poor one, you can lose them in a snap of a finger. 

Difficult Customers Hones Customer Service Skills

In business, encountering a problematic customer can happen anytime. Every customer is different, and this is expected. Some are understanding while others are just, let’s face it, rude and very hard to please.  

Whether the customer is angry or rude, the company should not ignore them.  Solve the issue in a timely and appropriate manner to avoid damaging backlash. Know that unhappy customers can spread negative reviews in just one click of the mouse and damage the company’s reputation.

The good news is that company owners and leaders can take advantage of the situation and use it as an inspiration to improve their customer service department. As Bill Gates said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” 

Customer Satisfaction is a Competitive Advantage

Recent surveys of top managers show that customer satisfaction is the number one priority, with 89% of company leaders seeing customer experience as a key competitive differentiator. Customer Expert Prof. Steven Van Belleghem noted that business leaders must view customer relationships as a fundamental factor in their company’s future success. 

According to the management consulting firm CX Solutions, the formula for achieving customer satisfaction is:

Doing the job right the first time + Effective Customer Service = Satisfaction

Doing the job right the first time is only achievable when you know what your customers want in the first place. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by creating a detailed buyer persona. A persona is a fictional representation of your ideal target buyer, which includes thorough research, online surveys and customer interviews. This helps you analyse what your customers are looking for in your product/company and what areas need to be improved. 

To learn more about creating your Buyer Persona, READ: Why Personas Are Important to Your Products

Effective Customer Service results from addressing customers’ needs and providing them with useful information or recommendations for new products and services. CX Solutions added that once this is achieved, it can have a huge impact on the customer’s overall service experience. 

When these two factors are successfully combined and implemented, you can expect more new customers to come as old ones continue to stick around. Your support team is happy. Customers are happy. Everything is doing well.

Strengthening Customer Relationships is Key to a Successful Business

Customer-centric companies stand out in competitive industries. Do you know why? It’s because they go above and beyond to identify and fulfill the needs of their customers with the products and services they offer. They excel in providing great customer care and service. For these companies, customers are the heart and soul of their business. This isn’t part of a strategy, it’s a culture. 

Your business can also do the same!

If you want to improve your customer care knowledge, we at Life Intelligence Group can help. We use advanced Agile techniques to help you identify the best strategies to achieve great customer experience and satisfaction. Visit our website: https://www.lifeintelligencegroup.com/ to learn more!

Why Competition is Good for You and for the Business

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Competition is human nature and is part of our daily lives. It can occur anytime and anywhere – at school, in your workplace, across companies or even within your family.

But is competition beneficial? The answer is yes! Healthy competition has many benefits. It motivates the person to develop their personal and professional skills. Being competitive also pushes companies to think out of the box and create ground-breaking products.

Competition encourages innovation, creativity, goal-setting, and purposeful living. But in what ways? Read on to find out more about the amazing benefits of being competitive in a professional and reasonable way. 

Competition is Good for You

Inspires Goal-setting

In sports, setting goals is a powerful motivator in an athlete’s performance. Goals help players and teams to identify what strategies they need to win the game against their opponents.  If you are aspiring to pass all your examinations, wanting to be an employee of the month or aiming to be one of the most recommended stores in your area, the first thing you need to do is to set personal goals. From here, you can start planning the necessary steps to help you hit your objectives. 

Promotes Continuous Learning

Competition encourages you to never settle for less. When you are good at something and you decided to stop learning, you will no longer find the motivation to continue what you have started.  If you want to hone your skills and be an expert in a certain field such as in writing, public speaking or painting, then find ways to achieve this. You can enroll in workshops, read books, do thorough research online, or talk to experts. Whatever your passion is, never stop learning and always be hungry for knowledge. This is one of the characteristics of having a Growth Mindset. 

Gives you a Sense of Purpose

Competition shakes off an aimless and boring life by giving you a sense of purpose. You work hard for something because you know you will earn something great at the end – this is the purpose. You wake up each day with your objectives in mind and the energy to strive for the best. When you focus on your tasks and objectives, you know that your efforts are not wasted. You know that your contribution to the company matters and that your abilities make you an integral part of the team. Every step closer to fulfilling your purpose will make you feel accomplished, alive and happy.

Competition is Good for the Business

Leads to Innovation

Your competitor is a great reminder that you are not the only business existing. There could be hundreds of establishments out there with the same industry as yours. If you are not competitive and strategic enough, you could potentially lose your prospects. To stay ahead of the game, you need to be innovative. Innovation is key to a successful business. 

Know that customers are always looking for products and services that are worth their time, money and effort. Companies compete to meet these qualifications by providing customers with better options, reasonable prices, and high-quality items. A healthy competition will help you to become more creative and generate ideas that will distinguish your products from your competitors.

It is much harder to acquire a new customer than to keep your existing customers. So innovate to show that you are a market leader and your existing customer will give you 10 times more.   

Improves Customer Service

In every business, the goal is to attract and retain customers. No customers, no business. And no matter how beautiful your ads are or the products you’re selling, if you have poor customer service, you might lose your clients. This can truly hurt your entire business. Always remember that you are not just competing for sales but also for your loyal customers. Aside from offering better quality products, be mindful of providing your customers with great experience because. This can be your edge. 

Avoids Complacency

Competition is like the fuel that keeps the car engine running. It makes people and companies productive, driven, goal-oriented and focused. Because of the tight competition in the business industry, companies are compelled to level up their customer service and to continue making useful products. They should innovate more for continuous improvement and unique ideas. When companies are committed to healthy competition, they are also encouraging their employees to go for the extra mile and put their best foot forward.

Conclusion

Once in our life, we experience competing with other people, and this is totally fine. We just have to understand that if we commit to healthy competition, we become a better version of ourselves. We tend to realise our weaknesses and our strengths, but most of all we got to discover what other amazing things we can actually do but never expected to. Competition is part of humanity and in every industry. If ever you lose the game, remember that it’s just a competition. Embrace the lessons learned and use them for your next challenge.

Stay at the top of your game! Learn more about the advantages of healthy competition and how it can help you become a smarter, productive person at work and in life. Contact Life Intelligence Group today! Visit our website: https://lifeintelligencegroup.com/ for more info.