Social Media has emphasised the importance of the customer’s voice to  businesses of all sizes. The study of the sales & marketing impact of customer comments and ratings has advanced to a more involved debate concerning the presence of the customer within the business’ entire operation.

Much has been written on this topic recently by social strategists, but for the vast majority of businesses it has been nothing more than lip service.Sure there is the well-worn example of the Starbuck’s My Idea initiative but how many others can you reference that have embraced the customer at the corporation’s boardroom table?

In this series, I’ve been challenging business leaders to compete by changing the rules of the game instead of trying to be the best player at the game. Doing so requires breaking free of industry best practices and radically rethinking your business. In this post, I’m asking you to answer how standard customer service measurements enable those game changing strategies?

To change the rules of the game, your business must stand for a great idea, not just a great product. Anyone can sell a great product but it requires truly empowered and insightful employees to convey a great idea.

Retailers are currently experiencing the perfect storm and their ships may not be up for the challenge. It should come as no surprise that the classic retail model is undergoing tremendous change.