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Who's doing it right: 2008 Copernican Award finalists
Apr 15, 2008
This is my annual list of companies that are "doing it right" by investing in the unassailable competitive advantage of a good customer experience.
Every year, the members of the Councils (a cross-industry, peer-learning network run by my consulting firm, Creative Good) nominate, then vote on, companies they think best exemplify the main idea of customer-centered business: the organization revolves around the customer, not the other way around. (See more about the Councils.)
Winners of the vote get the appropriately named Copernican Award, for "companies that put the customer at the center of their business universe."
This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list (especially since many outstanding companies have been spotlighted in previous years), but rather a set of just a few exemplary companies that Council members have noticed in the past year.
Winners will be announced tomorrow in New York City, but for the moment, here are the finalists of the 2008 Copernican Awards:
2008 Copernican Award Finalists
LARGE category finalists (a billion or more in revenue):
• Apple: Succeeding with user-friendly products: Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, the Apple Store (both online and the wildly successful retail locations), and iTunes.
• Carmax: Yes, a good experience in used-car buying. No-haggle pricing, fixed commissions, competing financing, and a quality guarantee.
• The New York Times: The #1 newspaper website invests in the user experience - the 30+ person UX team is constantly testing and refining the site.
...
MEDIUM category (a hundred million or more in revenue):
• Facebook: The popular social utility connects more than 63 million active users and is served by a UX and Design team.
• Fresh Direct: Online grocer with home delivery has one of the best ecommerce sites around, a Voice of the Customer role, and almost a quarter billion in sales.
• kayak.com: This award-winning travel search engine displays listings with objectivity, then links travelers directly to suppliers, avoiding high service fees.
• Zappos: A leader in online shoe and handbag sales, it boasts a Customer Loyalty Team of over a thousand specially trained people.
...
SMALL category (less than a hundred million in revenue):
• SurveyMonkey.com: Easy-to-setup surveys, now used by 80% of the Fortune 100, with an organizational focus on customer feedback.
• Violet.com: Online gift store sells "meaningful gifts" organized by taste, traits, and life events.
• Zipcar.com: Rent cars by the hour or day in 25 North American states and provinces. Greener alternative to car ownership.
...
These are all companies that are succeeding by focusing on the customer experience. Next time you need an example or two to show someone "who's doing it right," check out these, and past years', Copernican finalists (see 2007, 2006, and 2005 winners).
Finally, a question. Who would you have voted for? Post a comment below.
Personally, I would have voted for Mary Kay Cosmetics (www.marykay.com). Their site is awesome, it changes regularly, there are so many things a customer can do - it's great!
Apple makes some great products, but the store experience has never been a good one for me.
Zipcars are often dirty and/or late, and equal to or more expensive than renting from an ordinary car rental agency. Looking below the surface, I've never felt they were truly customer-oriented.
Violet.com is not only an online gift store, its an online experience! Such beautifully presented things (at a wide range of prices) that arrive so beautifully packaged. I hope it won the prize!
Just bought a car from Carmax! While we love the car, the young lady who helped us was a bit of a ditz (I had to call HER, for example). But you're going to run into ditzes everywhere. What we enjoyed most was that we found exactly the perfect car, in another city, and they transferred it for free. The 30 day warranty was a plus.