Customer.io Blog

What’s the most important characteristic to convey to new and prospective customers? Let’s start by examining the two main traits that form first impressions — confidence and trustworthiness. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy explains what goes on in your head upon meeting someone new: We’re judgi…

Sales don’t happen in an instant. Yet there’s a common misconception that sales works like a chain reaction or an impulse buy. That candy bar you pick up while waiting in line at the grocery store? See – want – add to basket – pay – done! Selling, especially in this modern age, isn’t so simplisti…

I lugged around a 3-shelf bookcase from IKEA through multiple years of moves, through three different states. Despite the fact that these bookcases often go for as little as $10 or for free on Craigslist, I could never bring myself to sell mine for that low a price. I knew this affection for a pa…

As I looked at my monthly credit card bills, I knew what had to be done. I had to turn off 1-Click ordering on Amazon. The conventional rule of creating a great product is to remove all the friction in the user experience. Make it easier to get stuff done at a push of a button. Friction, bad! Fas…

The beginning of a new habit or practice is always the toughest stage. If you’re like me, starting a new habit at the gym can be a stage of personal hell. Wanting to exercise more, I ended up in a new fitness class, with an instructor whose enthusiasm and pep didn’t extend to explaining near-impo…

The dating site OkCupid provides a fascinating window into humanity. One of the most surprising facts I discovered about this humanity is that its greatest love is reserved for an object. Routinely listed as one of the “6 things I could never do without”? The iPhone. Yes, Apple is superior at cap…

I have a soft spot for the New York restaurant, Mermaid Inn. They have lovely oysters and a comfy atmosphere — but what really won them a place on my go-to list isn’t even on their menu. At the end of your meal, they give you a complimentary cup of chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream. Sti…

I feel uneasy asking people to keep an eye on my belongings at coffeeshops. But nature will call as I inevitably consume many-a-latte, and risking the loss of valuable cafe real estate often overpowers my caution. So I’ll lean over to a table neighbor and ask, “Could you watch my laptop while I g…

Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton and author of the bestseller Give and Take, is a busy guy. Yet he’s incredibly responsive to email. In fact, he’s famous for his inbox superpowers, described in a New York Times profile as someone who doesn’t say no in the face of hundreds of emails a day and is…

If you’re good at what you do, you don’t start from scratch with every single project. Great work springs from what has come before it. As Mark Twain put it: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope….