Customer Experience - The New Conversation

Every customer experience or touchpoint is an Ask, Listen and Learn Opportunity

The Wikipedia entry defines customer experience as
'the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier. From awareness, discovery, attraction, interaction, purchase, use, cultivation and advocacy. It can also be used to mean an individual experience over one transaction; the distinction is usually clear in context.'


And to be honest I'm not going to argue with that. That seems to cover all the aspects of actually communicating with the company, the buying experience, using the product, service across all channels both off and on line.


Where I slightly disagree with the article is that it seems to suggest that Customer Experience (CX), seems to be at odds with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) which is defined as


'a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments.Measuring and valuing customer relationships is critical to implementing this strategy'


Phew! Quite a mouthful


This contrasts with the definition I have been using recently with my clients. that CRM is


'CRM is a business philosophy to strengthen the connection between the brand and the consumer. The relationship has to be mutually beneficial and consumers shape how they want to engage.


This to me is closer to the truth. In particular the area around being 'mutually beneficial'. And combining this with the definition of CX we start to get back to basics. This is all about Marketing.


In the Good? Bad ? old days we used to look at Marketing as being all about the 4 P's ( I know sometimes it's 6 or 7)

The 4 P's of Marketing

These consist of the following:

• Product - A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. and we want to sell it

• Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product and we are willing to sell at.

• Promotion - represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. 

• Place - refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access. 

The 4 P's are still with us, it's just that they are a little more complicated in today's interactive, socially charged, real time world.

• Product - Is now more often than not more than the tangible product itself but the whole customer experience around it

• Price – The price is less of a constant than it used to be. With consumers today being able to in most cases get it cheaper elsewhere what differentiates a brand is the customer experience

• Promotion -It's not longer just brand to consumer messaging but also consumer to consumer and even manufacturer to consumer

• Place - Well that can now mean anytime anyplace anytime anyhow

CRM and Customer Experience run hand in hand with each other to deliver the 4 P's today

Ask Listen Learn 

Whats important to us as Marketers hoping to influence the 4 P's ( we do want to do that don't we?), is that actually every customer touch-point and experience is an opportunity to Ask, Listen and Learn, with a view to improving the customer experience


Of course I don't mean actually ask, but everything we present to a customer - email, price, shelf layout - is actually a question ' do you like what you see?'


Which obviously means that every reaction from the customer should be listened too and observed, with a view to learning what works and what doesn't.


It really isn't more complicated than understanding that interaction, engagement..or conversation

Customer Experience -The New Conversation

Every customer experience or touchpoint is an Ask, Listen and Learn Opportunity

The Wikipedia entry defines customer experience as
'the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier. From awareness, discovery, attraction, interaction, purchase, use, cultivation and advocacy. It can also be used to mean an individual experience over one transaction; the distinction is usually clear in context.'


And to be honest I'm not going to argue with that. That seems to cover all the aspects of actually communicating with the company, the buying experience, using the product, service across all channels both off and on line.


Where I slightly disagree with the article is that it seems to suggest that Customer Experience (CX), seems to be at odds with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) which is defined as


'a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments.Measuring and valuing customer relationships is critical to implementing this strategy'


Phew! Quite a mouthful.


This contrasts with the definition I have been using recently with my clients. that CRM is


'CRM is a business philosophy to strengthen the connection between the brand and the consumer. The relationship has to be mutually beneficial and consumers shape how they want to engage.


This to me is closer to the truth. In particular the area around being 'mutually beneficial'. And combining this with the definition of CX we start to get back to basics. This is all about Marketing.


In the Good? Bad ? old days we used to look at Marketing as being all about the 4 P's ( I know sometimes it's 6 or 7)


Price Promotion Product Place


These consist of the following:

• Product - A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. and we want to sell it

• Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product and we are willing to sell at.

• Promotion - represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. 

• Place - refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access. 

The 4 P's are still with us, it's just that they are a little more complicated in today's interactive, socially charged, real time world.

• Product - Is now more often than not more than the tangible product itself but the whole customer experience around it

• Price – The price is less of a constant than it used to be. With consumers today being able to in most cases get it cheaper elsewhere what differentiates a brand is the customer experience

• Promotion -It's not longer just brand to consumer messaging but also consumer to consumer and even manufacturer to consumer

• Place - Well that can now mean anytime anyplace anytime anyhow

CRM and Customer Experience run hand in hand with each other to deliver the 4 P's today


Whats important to us as Marketers hoping to influence the 4 P's ( we do want to do that don't we), is that actually every customer touch-point and experience is an opportunity to Ask, Listen and Learn, with a view to improving the customer experience


Of course I don't mean actually ask, but everything we present to a customer - email, price, shelf layout - is actually a question ' do you like what you see?'


Which obviously means that every reaction from the customer should be listened too and observed, with a view to learning what works and what doesn't.


It really isn't more complicated than understanding that conversation

Give Us our Daily Bread ..2

Following on from Give Us our Daily Bread, and having spent a few hours in Belgium last week moderating the

Customer-Centric and Multi-Channel Conversion Success panel at Fusion Marketing Experience in Antwerp, I saw this at Antwerp Central Railway Station.

Yes, that's right a Sliced Bread Vending Machine. 

I'm getting the impression that bread is important to the French and the Belgians.

Customer Experience - The CEO's Perspective

It was interesting to hear John Browett, CEO of Dixons, this morning on Radio 5.


He talked about the importance of customer experience in the decision making process and as this was the theme of my presentation at the idio Content Marketing Breakfast yesterday, I thought I'd say just a few words.


Mr. Browett is spot on when he suggests that the customer experience is key when choosing ,in particular, expensive items such as laptops, camcorders, televisions etc. We are often attracted by the low prices we can get on the web, but really want to have a play with the gaming console first, or see the quality of the TV picture in real life. So obviously experiencing the Product is important as well as Price.


And so is the retailers high street or retail park shop. When we go there to 'trial' the product, we don't really want to be bombarded with sales patter but do what expert, unbiased help when we ask for it. 


Now if I find the right Product in the right Place at the right Price, I'm going to buy. But I might still be tempted to go away and do a bit more research and check out the price again before maybe buying on line. Mr Browett said this morning that about 16% of their sales are online. But I wonder how many of those sales follwoed that customer journey of

Research - Store Visit - Further Research and Price Validation - Buy Online

And actually how many of those at the end of the day went on to buy elsewhere online because of price or advice given from another retailer.

A recent post of mine talked about this example from Best Buy on how they have been trying to continue the conversation / relationship / connection / sales cycle once the potential customer leaves the store. Email address captured and the information researched in store is sent on- hopefully immediately!


Of course, the potential customer then might also want further 'Tecchie' advice.  And sorry to mention Best Buy again but this is exactly what Twelpforce is all about..

I know that Debenhams tried The Spectacular Twitter Experiment where Tweeting in store for help would result in a Twitter Assistant turning up if required - but I'm not sure where that went.

Anyway, I digress a little.

What we are seeing is some retailers really understanding that it is the whole customer experience that really matters. And that to me is what CRM is all about. Creating Brand Worlds ( yes I know I mention the Brand word when talking about CRM ) that are focussed on the 4, 5 or 7 Ps of Marketing. Remember those?

The original 4 being Product, Price, Promotion, Place.

Good CRM is about putting the customer at the centre of these and creating relevant, engaging and rewarding experiences for them

Want to know more? come see me present at Emerce Connect in Amsterdam December 13th or get in touch - gianfranco@cuzziol.com