Do your marketing efforts feel like a shot in the dark? It doesn’t have to be that way. With the power of today’s abundance of data, brands can use a measured and data-driven approach to build an agile and compelling customer experience. According to Tiffany Perkins-Munn, Head of Data and Analytics at J.P. Morgan Chase, this isn’t the old way of marketing. Data-driven marketing starts with collaboration and cohesion between all areas of the company, including marketing, sales, and operations. Combining these capabilities through the lens of innovation ensures companies deliver the best experiences to their customers. Data-driven marketing isn’t just about acquiring new customers but also expanding the relationship with existing customers. For both groups, data creates a holistic view of customer expectations and how they want to engage with the brand, which helps move towards a personalized and relevant customer experience. In today’s world, brands have access to an incredible amount of data. The question is how to manage and aggregate that data to understand customers’ needs better and get ahead with proactive offers. But with so much data, it’s easy for brands to get overwhelmed. Perkins-Munn says to start small. Basic questions, such as identifying your customers, their needs, and their behaviors, can direct companies towards the most relevant data and provide a complete view of their customers. With that basic level of understanding, companies can then create automated processes. This streamlined, data-driven decision-making allows marketers to understand customers in a meaningful way and offer products that are personalized to their needs. To get there, start with the data and think through the customer data to make the journey more impactful and meaningful. Perkins-Munn leads her team in a connected customer experience by capturing all interactions along the customer journey, including every contact with an agent, how it was resolved, and what impact it has on the overall experience. Those touchpoints allow marketers to adapt and improve so that the experience is constantly being refined to best connect with customers. If data-driven marketing seems too difficult, start small. Pick a group of customers and aim to understand who they are. What data do you need to understand who they are and how you can deliver a better experience to them? Then talk to the people who own that data so you can stitch together helpful information. Eventually, you’ll be able to break down silos, understand customers, and distill the most critical data to streamline and automate marketing. Data-driven marketing is a process that requires continual evaluation. Start small and upgrade to more sophisticated insights and programs with time. The data is right in front of you. Leveraging the power of information can take your marketing efforts from a shot in the dark to a home run. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
When most people think of customer service artificial intelligence, they think of chatbots. But the power and potential of AI in customer service extend far beyond chatbots, which Forethought CEO Deon Nicholas says tend to be very artificial and not very intelligent. Truly leveraging the power of AI allows brands to create super-human customer service. Reaching that level requires using human-centered AI that augments human employees and contact center agents instead of replacing them. Nicholas compares the new technology to financial spreadsheets. Years ago, people thought spreadsheets would put accountants out of a job. But it’s now the most important tool in finance to get work done. AI in customer service has the same potential. In our data-driven world, a company’s contact center is really its intelligence center. AI can connect data more efficiently than humans, leading to stronger insights. An integrated AI and human system listens to customer feedback and questions to help companies know what products to build and refine. This ultimately helps renew and retain customers instead of having to find new ones. Instead of information being siloed in various departments or only in the minds of individual agents, AI allows for collaboration and data sharing, which creates a more unified and seamless customer experience. By bringing employees to the problems, AI allows humans to focus on the human areas of the business that require empathy and understanding. In a human-centric AI contact center, AI can sort through customer calls and chats to resolve their information faster while providing employees with relevant information and giving them more time to spend on complicated issues. Insights from an AI-powered contact center benefit the entire organization, from helping the Product and Development teams know what issues to fix to showing the Marketing department how to best connect with customers. Nicholas firmly believes that customer service should never be an afterthought but is central to creating a scalable and human-centered organization. Businesses today have to do a lot more with less. And that includes retaining customers and providing amazing experiences. At the core of a solid customer experience strategy is customer service and creating super-human service with the help of AI. *Sponsored by Forethought ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
The B2B buyer journey is changing, and companies that can match changing demands with technology, personalization and flexibility will succeed. Plenty of research shows that B2B buyers get 50%-60% down the buying journey before they engage with a salesperson. But Mike Marcellin, Chief Marketing Officer at Juniper Networks, says that the buying journey isn’t linear. Buyers don’t connect with a company as soon as they hit a certain point in the journey. Throughout the buying process, buyers get information online and from peers, analysts and other sources. Companies can no longer control the buyer journey. Instead, they need to be ready to engage with the right information through the right channels when the buyer is ready. A customer might reach out early for preliminary research or wait until they are ready to purchase to connect with the brand. For Juniper, the new approach looks like transforming the online experience to provide buyers with a variety of content types, such as video or thought leadership sheets depending on where they are in the journey. The new buyer journey doesn’t happen exclusively online or in person, but as buyers move back and forth between researching and communicating online and talking with salespeople offline. A seamless journey requires knowing the whole picture of the customer’s experience to keep them moving forward instead of being repetitive or irrelevant as they transition between channels. Marcellin says the journey has to be flexible with how customers want to engage with the company at any moment. He says the blended buyer journey relies on two key elements: Data. Companies today have access to incredible amounts of data, but that data is worthless if you can’t harness it. A blended buyer journey requires getting grounded in data to truly understand buyers and their changing needs. MarTech. The tech stack a company uses can make or break the buyer journey. Companies must find the tools that work to get a full view of their customers, especially as buyers change direction and move between channels. Transforming the B2B buyer journey to create a blended approach means giving up control and letting customers guide their experience. But to be successful, B2B companies must understand their customers deeply and provide the right resources so buyers have options and can connect with the brand seamlessly at any time for a personalized experience. The changing B2B buyer journey creates amazing opportunities for companies to connect with buyers like never before. But to be ready, companies must invest in the resources and mindset to put customers first. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
It’s not every day you see a CEO dancing on TikTok. But being vulnerable and transparent is one of the reasons Ali Bonar has seen incredible growth and success with her company, Oat Haus. Consumers are moving more towards sharing real experiences and less about hiding behind the perfect filter. Customers crave connection and want to build relationships with transparent leaders—even if that means showing off their dance moves. Ali started sharing her journey online long before she ever considered being an entrepreneur. As she recovered from an eating disorder, she shared the ups and downs of her physical and mental health and began to grow a following. Ali’s journey led her to create granola butter, and Oat Haus was born. But in her new role as a founder and CEO, it was only natural for Ali to continue sharing a behind-the-scenes view of the business. As Oat Haus grows, Ali shares authentic updates along the way, including everything from dancing in her living room to an inside look at creating new products. Ali strongly believes that sharing helps customers feel like part of the journey. It’s refreshing to see a business that isn’t hiding behind a façade or trying to come across like it has everything together. Ali’s goal is to take customers along for the ride and make them feel so involved that no matter when they see her content, they feel like they’ve been there from day one. But sharing online doesn’t come easily to everyone. Ali recommends starting where you’re comfortable, even if that means photos without video to start. A good starting point is simply filming what you do throughout the day. Take people through your life as a business leader and show what life is like behind the curtains. As your comfort level grows, Ali recommends planning content for the entire week to hit different topics, including informational videos about your company, stories about what it’s like to be a leader and fun content. A variety of content builds strong connections and resonates with a variety of customers. Even planning and great content don’t lead to overnight social media success. It takes time to grow a following, and a lot of how a post or video performs is based on the Instagram or TikTok algorithms. Even then, it’s hard to see the ROI of social and a direct connection between storytelling and sales. But it’s all about building the brand, showcasing the human side to the business and establishing your company and yourself as a leader who cares about people and wants to share. The moments you’re the most scared of sharing are often the most worthwhile things to share that resonate with your people. In the end, Ali says not to overthink it. Just be yourself and feel comfortable bringing your whole self to work and your community. You’ll naturally develop strong customer relationships as you share your authentic self and brand. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
Investing in customer experience is just that—an investment. Being able to prove the return and value of that investment is crucial for all companies, especially startups and those looking to get new customers on board. In the early days of CampusLogic, President and COO Chris Chumley used ROI as a tool to gain new customers and establish credibility. Prospective university clients agreed that the student experience was important, but many weren’t willing to spend money on it. By demonstrating the ROI of CX and how it would eliminate pain points and create a better experience for customers, students, and employees, Chumley could connect with potential customers and grow his business. Chumley says illustrating ROI starts by identifying the pain point. Where do customers face friction? What areas of the experience could be improved? Where is the frustration for customers and employees? The pain point for CampusLogic’s university customers was often paper-heavy financial aid systems. Chumley says to work side by side with customers to put a number to that pain using the customer’s metrics. The pain point could be impacting sales, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, or a host of other things. If the company can move that number, CX has value. For potential CampusLogic customers, Chumley often tied ROI to reducing costs and increasing financial aid completion rates—two metrics that are crucial for universities. Tying ROI to metrics that customers care about makes ROI more impactful. The personalized approach shows the value of CX for each unique customer and becomes more applicable and accessible. Chumley says the key to a successful ROI model is to involve customers. Cooperatively building ROI helps customers catch the vision of how CX can solve their pain points. Instead of simply telling customers the ROI, Chumley uses each customer’s numbers to build the solution with them and showcase the value. That means each ROI model is unique to the customer using metrics they already track and are familiar with. Numbers don’t lie. Building a strong ROI model for CX creates a compelling case for its value and can be crucial in getting new customers and creating customer-centric companies. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
One bad experience and the click of a mouse. That’s all it takes for a customer or employee to go somewhere else. As life and work have become digitized in the last two years, the switching cost has decreased to almost zero. It’s never been easier for people to change their company loyalty. Experience management has never been more important. But creating those great experiences that resonate with customers and employees requires paying attention to customer feedback and insights. In times of uncertainty, organizations aim to consolidate the number of ways they listen to understand the cause and drivers of the experience, says Brad Anderson, President of Products & Services at Qualtrics. Turning customer feedback into actionable insights requires continuous listening, finding areas to improve and driving those improvements. Those insights direct organizations to the next best step for the individual and the group and can be adjusted in real time. Organizations need to pay attention and understand the emotions people feel as they interact with the organization, both as customers and employees. Understanding those emotions helps brands identify what is and isn’t working. Anderson says call centers are a gold mine of information that doesn’t even require asking for new feedback. By listening to conversations that are already happening with the help of AI, companies can understand what experiences need to be improved and the next best action for individuals and groups. Listening to customers helps pinpoint areas of friction within the experience that can be improved. Anderson recommends paying attention to the emotions behind the experiences. People are often willing to share good and bad experiences, but organizations and leaders need to listen to their feelings to drive improvement. As companies listen, experience management programs create memories of every experience a customer or employee has had. As technology advances, brands can recall those experiences in real time to provide personalized insights into the next right step for every person. Experience matters now more than ever. And the key to delivering great experiences to customers and employees is listening, finding areas to improve and continually driving improvements. *Sponsored by Qualtrics ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
Customer success and customer service may sound similar. But what’s the difference between these two important disciplines? Emilia M. D'Anzica, founder of GrowthMolecules and author of Pressing On as a Tech Mom, has consulted companies across numerous industries on customer success. She says one of the core differences is being proactive versus being reactive. Customer success is proactively engaging with customers to help them get the most out of their investment. The goal is to help customers find lasting impact and value from the product to drive loyalty and long-term contract renewal. When customers don’t see value, they’ll switch to the competition. Customer success requires building relationships with customers to know where they want to be a year from now and proactively helping them reach their goals. CS leaders and CSMs aim to be continual partners with their customers to help them get the most out of the product and stick with the company. And while CS is often connected with B2B software, D'Anzica points out that companies in numerous industries have robust customer success programs. Customer success efforts are directly linked to a business’s operations and should be part of the go-to-market strategy. Customer success impacts the entire customer journey because it helps customers reach their goals and get the most out of the product. On the other hand, customer service helps customers when they get stuck. This service takes many forms, including in-app support, a knowledge base or a contact center customers can contact when they need help at the moment. Customer service exists to answer questions and solve problems and applies to every industry and type of company. While customer success relies on relationships, customer service tends to have more one-off interactions. A customer doesn’t contact the service department unless they have an issue to resolve. But customer service is also crucial to being there when customers need it and has a strong influence on how customers view the company. Both customer success and customer service are focused on improving customer loyalty and helping customers find value in the product or service. Companies with a customer success team also likely have a customer service team to address different issues. Although their methods and focuses differ, both customer success and customer service are critical to creating the overall customer experience. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
Many consumers want to follow a healthy diet, but do they really know what they’re consuming? That question was the driving force behind Spindrift, a sparkling beverage focused on ingredient simplicity and transparency. For founder Bill Creelman, the idea was simple: people should know what they’re drinking. That customer-first mindset is at the core of Spindrift, from the products that are created to the messages that are shared. Here are three ways Bill Creelman practices customer-centric leadership: 1 . He leverages a core group of passionate customers. When Creelman first started Spindrift, he spent two years running the business from his house and traveling the country talking to customers about drinks. He realized there was a passionate group of people who loved sparkling beverages but weren’t happy with the current options. That group turned into Spindrift’s “Drifter” community, which now has more than 800,000 members and serves as a powerful sounding board for the company. Creelman leads the charge to stay in contact with these customers, listen to their ideas and feedback and even have them test new flavors. He set the stage for embracing one-on-one customer relationships and prioritizing listening to each individual. 2 . He unites employees around the mission of the brand. Taking on established beverage companies is a tall order. But Creelman unites his 100-plus passionate employees around the mission of using real ingredients and innovating the beverage industry. Every employee sees the value of their work to increase transparency and create a great product. Creelman says the team doesn’t think of what they do as selling sparkling water but about converting people to a better alternative. That mission to be transparent and use real ingredients acts as a guiding force for employees and keeps them focused on customers in everything they do. 3 . He builds trust and transparency. Creelman’s conversations with customers and employees revealed the importance of trust. Customers want to trust a brand and know what they are drinking, and employees want to trust the company they are working for. Creelman built Spindrift to deliver in both of those areas with transparency. Spindrift puts all of its ingredients right on the front of its cans—no jargon or buzzwords, just the truth about what is in each product. Creelman says it feels distrustful to build relationships with customers without really telling them what’s in the product. Being open and honest with customers shows employees the importance of authenticity and encourages them to be their true selves at work as they interact with customers. Bill Creelman sets the tone for CX and has grown Spindrift into a customer-centric company that delivers great products and strong relationships. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
Just like every company is unique, so are its customers. Lifestyle and tech company Skullcandy’s sweet spot is young adventurers who love great music and extreme activities like skating and snowboarding. With that target market, a run-of-the-mill marketing approach won’t land. Skullcandy has created an impressive (and growing) company with its outstanding products and customer-focused marketing strategy. CMO Jessica Klodnicki involves the entire company in creating engaging content that resonates with its unique customer base. Here are three lessons for all companies: Create Cross-Departmental Teams A customer-focused marketing strategy involves the entire company. Klodnicki says that marketers have long relied on algorithms to segment their messages. But that approach can't keep up with customers' rapidly evolving demands. Instead, Skullcandy takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to put customers first. The company Klodnicki brings together representatives from departments including marketing, product, R&D, social and more to report on their metrics in a regular digital health meeting. By collaborating and sharing information, the team can see patterns and trends to adjust their strategies in real time. The cross-departmental digital health team helps Skullcandy address issues quickly to stay relevant while also breaking down silos to ensure the entire company is focused on customers. Remind Employees About Customer Focus A customer-centric culture doesn't do any good if employees don't remember it. At Skullcandy, every meeting starts by talking about the company's customer-focused mission and values. Those values are repeated and considered early in the decision-making process and become central to every product, partnership and campaign. Klodnicki says that every Skullcandy employee, no matter their seniority or department, knows the primary consumer and the key targets. Putting those customers front of mind for every decision keeps the entire company customer-focused. Listen to Customers Klodnicki admits that Skullcandy used to make many decisions based on gut feel and instinct instead of leveraging data. But connecting with customers and growing the brand requires a data analytics team that connects the company's culture to data. Every department in the company is trained to read customer data and make decisions accordingly. Empowering employees to understand customers ensures feedback doesn't hit a wall but is instead integrated into the company's products. One example of listening to customers comes in Skullcandy's sustainability focus. While talking to customers, the company realized how much they care about giving back. So Skullcandy is making a huge environmental push towards recycled packaging, eliminating e-waste and designing sustainable products. Effective marketing requires a true customer focus. Skullcandy shows that the best customer-centric marketing approach involves the entire company creating products and campaigns that resonate with customers. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
Digital transformation is critical for all businesses today—but it isn’t something brands need to take on alone. Especially in the B2B world, involving customers in the transformation and making them valuable partners can lead to long-term success for the company, its B2B clients and their end-user customers. Transformation Requires Relationships Didem Cataloglu, President & CEO of DIREXYON Technologies, says companies must realize that customer experience is a journey and that many companies, especially in the utilities and energy industries that DIREXYON serves, are facing lots of changes. In a digital transformation, Cataloglu says that technology is just 20% of the solution. The other 80% is about the people. When going through a digital transformation, she recommends looking at it from the perspective of humans and how it impacts and changes their work and processes. Instead of immediately jumping to the newest or fastest new technology, consider the solutions from a human point of view. As a technology company, DIREXYON provides technology. But Cataloglu says success comes from bridging the gap between technology and people. The brand’s main priority is connecting with customers, understanding their business needs and bringing them the best technology solution. Success Comes From Providing Value Involving customers in a digital transformation requires including them in conversations early on. The goal is to understand how the technology will improve their lives, but that’s only possible when companies know their customers and understand their processes and values. Companies can then advise customers on what’s coming and prepare them for the transition. Each journey and transformation is different, but becoming a trusted partner to customers means guiding them through the process and providing individual results. Cataloglu says the ultimate goal of a digital transformation is to create value for customers. And that value will change based on the individual needs of each customer and their end-users. Set goals at the beginning of how they will reach that value and check in with that goal throughout the process. Providing value should be the guiding force throughout the entire transformation. Digital transformation isn’t a one-time thing. It requires continual adoption and evolution, which means companies and their B2B customers must have dynamic relationships to progress together continually. Cataloglu’s best advice is to get closer to customers and listen to them. Use those insights in your strategic planning to create personalized digital solutions. Transformation and providing value to customers isn’t easy, but it gets easier with technology. ________ Blake Morganis a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling bookThe Customer Of The Future.For regular updates on customer experience,sign up for her weekly newsletter here.