Were you aware that bathrooms affect the retail experience? A clean bathroom encourages shoppers to linger and return whereas a lousy one repels them. And, depending on the business, the lousier the state of the bathroom, the more lethal the consequences.

How satisfied are your customers? Do you know or, do you simply assume that customer satisfaction with you is high? Does it surprise you to learn that true experts ask? 

Have you noticed references to #persuasion around you? I have and decided on tallying up several of these resources to become more attuned to persuasive content marketing.

Consider this a reference of sorts. You'll find below a recap of highlights from these 7 persuasion resources. I encourage you to visit them directly as each includes examples and visuals worth experiencing.

Is your customer experience driven to delight customers the Mercedes-Benz way? In other words, is every aspect of your organization built around your customers?

In Driven to Delight, author Joseph Michelli, PhD, CSP, describes the journey Mercedes-Benz USA took to transform the organization into one committed to delivering world-class service to all its customers. 

I recently caught up with Joseph to ask him about his latest book, Driven to Delight, which was released in December 2015.

Persuasion matters in business. How effective we are at it reflects how well we understand the needs of others and communicate that understanding. As marketing communications shift online, knowing how to create persuasive email marketing becomes critical for business success.

Nancy Harhut, whose insights inspired How To Write A Persuasive Email, is an award-winning marketing and advertising executive and persuasion expert. She knows firsthand the benefits of applying the science of human behavior to online marketing.

Nancy shares her expertise in this blog interview.

If you are grappling with how to build your brand so you can create truly extraordinary experiences for your customers, you're in luck.

Brand building expert Denise Lee Yohn has released her second book titled Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do. It will inspire and guide you onto a path for transforming your brand into one that builds and sustains your business.

Denise shared an advance copy of her book with me; I really enjoyed the seven case studies detailed and how each illustrates a brand-building principle from her first book, including specific recommendations on how to focus on that principle for your business. You will, too.

(See What Great Brands Do By Denise Lee Yohn for perspective on Denise's first book.)

When you're in a relationship, thoughtfulness indicates that love's involved. Assuming you love your customers, how does your customer experience express that love and thoughtfulness?

A Thoughtful Customer Experiences Seems Like a No-Brainer, No?

If you're paying attention to your business, you're aware that things are different. Customers are more knowledgeable, more demanding, less trusting and have higher expectations of their overall customer experience. For many decisions, they have more choices (including doing nothing). Being thoughtful is definitely a point of business differentiation - especially now in the world of ZMOT.