Click here to see, More in This Category

Cut the Cord and Think Outside the (Cable) Box

Headshot of Jim Mckweon
By Jim McKeown
Vice President, Customer Experience Mobility

I have always thought that my father, now 85, witnessed the largest evolution in technology that our world would undergo. He saw the launch of personal computers, the World Wide Web, mobile phones and so much more. He will happily recount stories of rushing home from school to put the block of delivered ice into his family’s icebox. With the introduction of electricity into homes, that icebox was replaced with a refrigerator, which satisfied peoples’ need to be able to store larger quantities of food for longer periods of time.

The Cable Box and the Cord

For me, the cable box was an invention that not only influenced my childhood but also impacted my professional outlook. Like many adults, I was my parents’ human remote control growing up – “Jimmy, put on Channel 5” still rings in my ears. When the cable box became available, it gave us more channels but still didn’t provide a cord long enough to extend from the TV cable box to the sofa. Cable television taught me an important lesson that has stayed with me throughout my career – no matter the industry, every company has something to learn from one another, especially about the importance of listening to their customers.

Did the countless number of people who worked on the creation of the cable box evaluate the holistic TV viewing experience and truly strive to understand everything TV viewers wanted? Did they know that while it was great to have more channels to choose from, the ability to flip through them without getting up would have been even better? It was their job to listen and deliver. When companies don’t do this, consumers look elsewhere, which can negatively impact market share and consumer loyalty. I grew loyal to Radio Shack because it solved my TV viewing needs, starting with an adapter that could extend the cable cord to reach from the TV to my dad’s recliner.

Is the insurance industry truly listening?

When we consider that approximately half of the super-regional property and casualty carriers that Selective Insurance analyzed do not have a mobile app to support their business customers, it seems amazing (and unbelievable) that this can be true. Do their customers not want to pay bills online, or view Certificates of Insurance from the convenience of their mobile devices? Of course they want these conveniences.

We can’t be afraid to ask ourselves the tough questions. Why are we working on certain projects? Are we delivering the best customer experience where we can? Are we just following the industry’s lead or are we leading with our own solutions to fill the gaps? It takes time to go from a block of ice to a refrigerator, but it doesn’t take long to go from a 3-foot cord to a 20-foot cord, and then to eventually cut the cord with a wireless remote.

Is innovation just advancements in technology, the response to “listening” to what people want, or the point where these two things come together?

There really is no right or wrong answer, but a lot of magic happens at this point of intersection.

Companies need to ensure they are always listening to their customers, reading between the lines, thinking forward and providing valuable solutions. Future generations will see driverless cars, drone deliveries, and who knows what else. With the rocket fast evolution of customer experience, it is beyond evident that we need to ask our customers what they want, be a visionary for change and marry this information and vision with our capacity to innovate and build. Now is the time to make your customers (and my father) proud by listening, innovating and giving them what they want before they need it – in a nutshell, think outside the (cable) box.

Getting Unique Perspectives

Are you a publication looking for a unique perspective from one of our contributors? Contact us for further details.