Peter Friedman, Editor in Chief
I’m Editor of ReplyResearch, an independent publication exploring one of the most overlooked problems in modern organisations: what happens after someone tries to get in touch.
For more than 30 years I’ve worked at the intersection of communication, user experience and digital design. During that time I’ve watched organisations become exceptionally good at outbound communication = marketing, branding, campaigns and customer acquisition – while often becoming surprisingly difficult to reach once the conversation starts flowing the other way.
That imbalance fascinates me.
Too often, the investment goes into attracting attention, while responsiveness, reachability and contactability are treated as operational costs to be minimised. Automation is frequently presented as improving customer choice, freedom and self-service, yet many people experience something quite different: silence, dead ends, endless deflection and the feeling that organisations would rather not hear from them at all.
ReplyResearch exists to investigate that gap.
As Editor, I set the publication’s editorial strategy and research agenda, drawing attention to academic research, industry studies and real-world evidence that expose failures in responsiveness across both the public and private sectors. Much of this evidence deserves a far wider audience than it currently receives.
My goal is simple: to help make responsiveness a subject organisations measure, discuss and improve-not merely assume.
If you’re interested in customer experience, digital communication, UX, service design, AI, or organisational responsiveness, I’d be delighted to connect.
linkedin.com/in/peterfriedmaninnovation
Jonathan Friedman, Author
I’m interested in the revealing moments when enterprises, institutions, government bodies and other organisations meet the people they hope to serve – especially what happens after someone presses “send.” At ReplyResearch, I explore how they respond to genuine-looking enquiries: whether anyone answers, how quickly they do so, and whether the reply feels thoughtful, useful and human.
My work is informed by NokNok, the digital mystery-shopping company I founded to examine the gap between the experience organisations promise and the one their inboxes actually deliver. That perspective has made me curious about unanswered enquiries, automated language, institutional responsiveness and the quiet ways revenue, trust and public confidence are lost.
I’m also interested in whether examining these interactions can change them. The relationship between humans, AI and our digital front doors – across business, government, education, healthcare and the third sector – is much discussed but rarely observed or tested in practice. I want to understand which small interventions can nudge better judgement, responsiveness and performance, and how those measurable improvements might create lasting commercial or public value.
I write about the people, systems and habits behind digital communication, drawing on real-world testing rather than polished claims. I’m less interested in catching organisations out than in uncovering what their replies reveal – and recognising the individuals and teams who respond well when nobody has warned them they are being observed.
