I am the first to tell people I’m right-brained…mostly. I can geek out with the best of them when it comes to awesome statistical analysis or metrics, but I like right-brained, creative and emotional activities more. I’ve also found this to be an invaluable trait when reviewing, analyzing and improving customer experiences.

A statistical analysis, properly conducted, is a delicate dissection of uncertainties, a surgery of suppositions.  ~M.J. Moroney

If statistics are so great, why do some of my notes from reviewing them tend to look like this:

Why?

No matter how many processes, systems or auto-responders you have in place, people like people. We not only like people, we forgive them. We don’t always understand them, sure, but we forgive them faster than we forgive processes.

Statistics can only get you so far. If you don’t connect the dots within the numbers, it lacks a tremendous amount of meaning. It’s vital to use real-world situations and analysis to determine what ACTIONS to take to work through your customer experience issues. For example, 98% of your customers may say they’re loyal, but only because they don’t believe there is a better option in the marketplace TODAY. An upstart competitor may take away your loyalists if you aren’t paying attention to nuance.

Make it a habit to not only rely on your head but your heart when dealing with customers. They’re making decisions based on lots of emotion and some logic – don’t get swept up in the linear and objective and forget about the often messy and emotional side of things.

I abhor averages.  I like the individual case.  A man may have six meals one day and none the next, making an average of three meals per day, but that is not a good way to live.  ~Louis D. Brandeis