View detailed video discussions with Jeffrey Rayport and Bernard Jaworski of key themes in Best Face Forward.

What is revolutionary about the book?
Jeffrey explains why front office reengineering is the most critical idea of the book and why he also refers to it as the reengineering of the service sector. Front-office reengineering involves the radical redefinition of front-office labor in light of the contributions of machines, and is totally changing how companies organize work, relate to customers and markets, and establish competitive advantage.
(2:19) Broadband | Dial-Up

Why is this the time for the front-office revolution?
Jeffrey summarizes the four trends that result in new possibilities for the role technology can play in managing customer interactions for companies. The trends are: the proliferation of smart devices, the rising intelligence and interactivity of those devices, increasingly affective appeal of devices, and the synaptic connectivity that links such devices to other devices and networks.
(1:56) Broadband | Dial-Up

How is this new reengineering different from traditional reengineering which unfolded in the 1980s / early 1990s?
Bernie explains that the reengineering revolution of the late '80s through the mid '90s related to back-office activities like supply chain management, order fulfillment, and manufacturing and operations, while front office reengineering is all about how companies touch customers and how they improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of those customer interactions.
(2:23) Broadband | Dial-Up

What is the next frontier of competitive advantage?
Bernie talks about the increased commoditization of products and services and a new source of competitive advantage. The problem companies now face is that given the evolution of technology, given the evolution of manufacturing, and given the evolution of engineering, differentiation of products and services is more difficult to achieve. Bernie suggests that true differentiation is going to come more from what is wrapped around the core product (the quality and nature of the service that's being provided) rather than from the core product itself.
(1:38) Broadband | Dial-Up

Why is commoditization the big challenge for companies today?
Jeffrey talks about the increased commoditization of products and services and a new frontier of competitive advantage. He argues that given more competition, more capacity, and more rapid product lifecycles, we live in an era of total commoditization. Jeffrey suggests that it is not what you sell that creates advantage, but how you sell it, and that the new frontier of competitive advantage will be based on how companies manage interactions and relationships with their customers.
(3:21) Broadband | Dial-Up

What is an interface and what role do interface systems play in achieving competitive advantage?
Jeffrey defines an interface and provides examples of single interfaces. Then he talks about the interface system and illustrates it with an example of a retail company that has five different interfaces, including stores, call centers, kiosks, a catalog, and a website to conduct their business. The key question: does the company have the right interfaces in the market in the right places at the right time using the right combination of people and technology?
(2:50) Broadband | Dial-Up

What are the key interface archetypes that are described in the book?
Jeffrey takes a closer look at the building blocks of interface systems, outlining the three interface archetypes - humans, machines and hybrids (combinations of humans and machines). First, he examines the traditional interface through which companies have delivered services throughout history - the pure human interface. He then examines the automated interface that has begun to appear as more and more smart devices are tied to networks and become compelling interfaces for connecting customers and companies. Finally, he talks about hybrid interfaces that put together people and machines in a variety of innovative combinations.
(2:08) Broadband | Dial-Up

Retail Reengineering Example - Borders
Jeffrey discusses Borders as an example of a firm that has improved its performance as a result of using multiple interfaces. He explains how the Title Sleuth kiosks in Border's stores have boosted revenues and improved customer experience. In order to illustrate cost efficiencies, he also mentions the retail banking revolution that was rolled out with the implementation of the automated teller machines.
(3:37) Broadband | Dial-Up

Retail Reengineering Example - REI
Jeffrey discusses REI as an example of a firm that has boosted revenues as a result of placing kiosks into their stores that allow either sales people or customers to find and then to use data rich product information.
(2:10) Broadband | Dial-Up

How does Texas Instruments manage multiple interfaces?
Bernie illustrates how complex it is to manage multiple interfaces. He talks about the different interfaces that Texas Instruments uses to go to market, including their sales force, call centers, TI.com, channel distributors and third-party sites. The problem: each channel is managed individually and executives do not manage all interfaces as a system. The challenge: How does Texas Instruments combine these interfaces to create competitive advantage?
(3:30) Broadband | Dial-Up

Given the complexity of interface systems, how should managers approach system management? The clip draws on an example of a financial services company.
Using an example of a financial services company, Bernie talks about the management of multiple interfaces in order to increase revenues and improve customer experience. The example includes an illustration of how customers move through the buying process, what paths and interfaces they choose to interact with the company, and where in the buying process the company loses customers.
(2:47) Broadband | Dial-Up

Why are firms having so many difficulties in creating and managing interface systems? What is the relationship between interface systems and customer experience?
Jeffrey illustrates the importance of meeting and exceeding customer needs and expectations. While companies invest in multiple interfaces to please their customers, each new channel or function is managed individually. With organizations typically siloed around functions, there is limited effort and ability to put these interfaces together. As a result, companies struggle to create and manage efficient and effective interface systems and meet customer needs at the same time.
(3:17) Broadband | Dial-Up

What is the difference between CRM as the software industry has defined it and customer interaction management as described in the book?
Bernie defines CRM and explains that customer interaction management as described in the book covers the broader design of a system of multiple interfaces employing different technologies in order to maximize the interactions with customers over many months or years.
(2:48) Broadband | Dial-Up

Can companies mandate great customer experience?
Jeffrey emphasizes the importance of quality in the overall customer experience. Customer experience represents the total set of interactions with a firm or its brand. Even though companies cannot mandate that each customer experience will be great, they can control the system of interactions and thereby build strong relationships with customers that result in a coherent and positive overall customer experience.
(1:54) Broadband | Dial-Up

What is your point of view on outsourcing?
Jeffrey argues that the reality is that outsourcing is a fact of life companies will need to deal with as a result of wider global economic changes. Companies need to think about how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by moving different parts of their operations to different geographies, and they should focus on how to make the customer experience better as a result of these shifts.
(3:11) Broadband | Dial-Up

New Division of Labor
While much has been made of a gloomy future in which people are mindlessly replaced by machines, Jeffrey offers a brighter view of the possibilities of what he calls a new division of labor in which each - people and machines - perform the functions they do best.
(1:18) Broadband | Dial-Up

How do concepts of this book relate to the traditional academic literature? Can the book be used in a particular course or in a particular curriculum?
According to Bernie, the book fits into the customer focused or market focused literature and the services marketing or services management literature. From a teaching perspective, the book may be used effectively in a number of different courses, including classes on services management, services marketing, or building the customer focused or market focused organization. It may also be used in an IT, MIS, or information-oriented focused business school curriculum.
(3:33) Broadband | Dial-Up

Why is this the time for the front-office revolution? What are the four trends in technology evolution?
Jeffrey explains why the front-office revolution is unfolding now and examines the rapid growth of and sophistication in the use of technology-mediated interfaces. He introduces the four trends in technology evolution that result in new possibilities for the role technology can play in managing customer interactions for companies. The trends are: the proliferation of smart devices, the rising intelligence and interactivity of those devices, increasingly affective appeal of devices, and the synaptic connectivity that links such devices to other devices and networks
(7:33) Broadband | Dial-Up