Customer relationship orchestration..managing new customer journeys

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Modern marketing engagements are a much more deep, meaningful and mutually rewarding affair than previous “ooh-look-at-this shiny-thing-you-must-have’ styles of Marketing. Modern CX organisations have a clear long term vision and a commitment to developing relationships that involve a deep understanding of a customers lifestyle needs and wants and a regular dialogue that extends far beyond any short term transaction

At the heart of this is Marketing Orchestration…in much the same way a composer or conductor will bring together many sounds and instruments to make music, modern marketers use a blend of channels and messages, each executed at the right time to develop deep and meaningful relationships that is more than a well executed jingle…but more of an aria intended to guide the customer through their journey with a brand or organisation

This post from Responsys looks at how marketing orchestration is redefining the customer relationship and what orchestrated marketing teams need to do to make the shift

Customer Loyalty Is Dead. Long Live Engagement!

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Customer Loyalty is often synonymous with loyalty schemes that offer rewards or discounts for repeat business but that can cheapen a brand rather than enhance its value.

Mature customer focussed organisations look to build loyalty through email marketing, personalisation and tailored product selections. However, they focus mainly on attracting repeat business rather than overall brand experience and, unless done well, can be seen as intrusive, spamming customers with ‘tailored offers’ whether they want them or not

 
This article from OracleVoice on Forbes explains why Customer Engagement and not Customer Loyalty is the new measure by which organisations measure how Customers value a brand.
 
What this proposes is that they key to Customer success and to real customer loyalty is determined by how much Customers are prepared to invest their own time (and dollars) in your brand. 
 
Regardless of whether there is a sale for an organisation or if the Customer will get additional material value, if Customers are prepared to engage with an organisation to advocate products, share experiences or propose new features then they are sufficiently engaged and loyal. After all, most people would not want to risk their reputation by advocating a brand or product they don’t feel their friends will enjoy
 
Furthermore, by engaging in this way, organisations can analyse buying signals at a much more granular level and introduce the right content, messages and products at the right time
 
For example, a runner who has bought runners/sneakers/trainers (depending on your geo-slang) from you in the past and who is engaged on your forum discussing upcoming races in cold climates may welcome info on wind cheaters for such races.
 
It sounds simple, but organisations that engage with Customers in conversations, regardless of whats in it for them will learn a lot more about what and how to generate real customer loyalty and advocacy
 
After all, there is a reason we are born with two ears and one mouth (to paraphrase Epictetus)

Content Marketing Is Commitment Marketing

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Content marketing is king when it comes to keeping audiences (both current and potential customers) coming back to your website and engaging with you.

The flashy, ‘wham-bam’ ‘look-at-me’ ads that organisations post on their own sites and on social media won’t fool anyone in the long term in convincing them to buy or engage if the underlying information across digital channels is superficial and very much ‘buy me’ focussed

Good content marketing, much like good customer service, provides the right information to the right person (or persona) at the right time

This post underlines this message and provides some high level guidelines in terms of how committing to a solid content marketing plan can lead to long term audience engagement

 

 

It’s Not Just Marketing’s Job: Why All Departments Must Engage on Social Media

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Without a doubt “Social” has broken the bounds of Marketings’ responsibility to become part of the culture and behaviour across any organisation. Whether they like it or not, someone, somewhere has either commented on, searched for or spoken about an organisations products and services. It’s therefore vital that all organisations understand how to listen, respond and tap into social media as a means to understand customers and develop deeper customer experiences.

That’s basically the elevator pitch for social media

However, “social’ can mean so much more if incorporated as part of an organisations DNA. This post looks at how the same social media skills of listening analysing and responding can be applied across all functions of an organisation in order to develop a social facing culture and customer experience

At Your Service…What Modern CX is really all about

There is no doubt Customer Service has and needed to evolve. From ‘Ye Olde Call Centre’ environments of the past, Customer Service functions are now digital, social, always available and a vital channel for Sales and Marketing.

Modern CX organisations recognise this and build powerful multi-channel knowledge-driven platforms that attract, inform, serve and delight prospects and customers

This post looks at how we need to redefine what customer service means in the context of modern CX and how organisations can develop customer service that meets these challenges and opportunities

What is the next big thing in CX and why it may not matter?

First and foremost I have to admit I love technology….I work for a technology company, spend more money than I should on gadgets and tech toys and see technology as a means to accelarate the future

However, when it comes to customer experience, I feel technology should always take a back seat and be an enabler and not a replacement to good quality interactions and solid CX strategy.

This article from smith+co looks at what the next big things in CX technology are/were/will be and argues that technology will not create value if not balanced against what it adds to the customer experience

My view is that whatever the next big thing in CX that an organisation wants to consider it will not matter unless the following is considered:

1: How will new CX technology enhance the customer experience? Not just in terms of quicker/cheaper but also in terms of value/service?

2: How will I apply new CX technology to different customers? New Gen X customers may warm well to new social/digital/online channels/Existing Gen Y customers may still prefer the personal and direct touch

3: How quickly can I change course? CX technology needs to be adaptable and agile as organisations learn how best to serve customers…..think weeks not months to introduce change

Measure and Maximise Customer Lifetime Value

Modern CX strategies do not just involve customer acquisition. CX also needs to involve all after sale touchpoints a customer has with an organisation as this is where brand value and customer equity is generated. If a customer gets a great product at a great price but then gets no support and feels cheated by an organisation how likely are they to buy again?

Organisations that focus on customer service and support reap the benefits in 2 ways:

1) Happy customers buy again as they know they will get great service

2) Happy customers will refer new customers to you as they trust these customers will be as happy as they are

This article and report from econsultancy outlines some key tactics and strategies in terms of how to measure and maximise customer lifetime value to keep customers happy including

  • Get Customers to register so you can continually learn about the, and personalise their experience
  • Drop return fees…why make a negative experience worse for the cost of an envelope?
  • Add value to the experience….a free mobile or online app to supplement the purchase with support, advice or games will add to the customers ‘good vibes’ about you or..at the very least mitigate any poor experience

 

 

Let’s Talk About CX

Without a doubt modern organisations face increasing challenges in attracting and retaining customers. Whilst many organisations believe cutting cost and dropping prices is the key to win customers, modern customer-led organisations know that a superior customer experience is the only way to attract loyal customers and build a profitable brand

Here is my first article in what will be a series of articles on what customer experience means and how organisations can use modern customer thinking to build customer equity and a profitable, sustainable brand