In the past, customers were only able to purchase goods and services via a slim set of channels. However, thanks to the internet there are now more sales conduits than there have ever been before. These include websites, as well as social media and mobile channels. This can make the task of gathering customer insights and analyzing customer data extremely difficult due to the sheer number of customer data silos, and the fact they can and do differ in structure considerably.
The Importance of Predictability in CEM
Human beings like predictability. How many times have you got into your car, turned the key and the engines starts within the first couple of turns? It feels familiar, it is predictable. How do you feel when the engine does not catch in those first couple of revolutions? Most people feel shock, fear that the car is malfunctioning, even if it does start eventually.
Unpredictable events are unsettling. Predictability of the customer experience is vital to effective CEM. Examples of unpredictability within the enterprise include badly trained staff, offering different levels of product knowledge to consumers, products which lack an intuitive mode of operation and irregular fluctuations in the quality of the customer experience.
No matter what industry sector your business works within, you will have developed a fundamental set of process which are repeatedly applied to customer projects and problems. This form of standardized working practice is one of the measures of how professional a business is. You will also have an advanced level of expertise and a wide skill set in your specialized service sector.
More than ever it is obviously a challenge to help mindsets evolve and embrace the new vision of the customer that is embedded within CEM.
As I move in educating & working along with customers, students & peers I have come to understand and identify the main reasons why CEM is yet to be entirely accepted as major breakthrough in marketing & organizational strategies.
What is Customer Experience Management and how to integrate the main process with a Voice of the Customer (VoC) program? What kind of business benefits the process can delivers to a business?
Social media is becoming one of the most powerful tools for improving the relationship between the business and its consumers. Since the inception of the internet, companies have been seeking ways to exploit it as a channel to improve the customer experience.
A look at CEM for Airlines
Very few airlines operated a fully customer centric approach to the way they interface with consumers. This is primarily due to the fact that most Airlines are almost entirely disconnected from their customers across all touchpoints. Below we will discuss the root causes of poor loyalty and customer dissatisfaction which many airlines exhibit.
by Andrew Griffith
Customer-inspired change: Does this strike you as a lofty ambition? Is customer loyalty and retention a challenge faced in your business? I’d like to share some observations on what underpins a sustainable change programme, based on listening to customers. What could be more important than ensuring that your customers remain with you and would even be prepared to advocate for your brand? Imagine a sales force that you don’t have to employ and, provided you give them the experience they need, will ‘pay’ you to sell on your behalf? Brilliant!
There are major differences between the customer experience of a retail company and those companies which rely upon the customer lifecycle such as Telcos, insurance providers and banks.
Retail sales are driven by the desire of the customer to make a purchase, either on impulse or to fill a need. Consider a retail business such as Starbucks. The entire customer experience is almost entirely driven by physical touchpoints. These include both at a glance touchpoints such as logo and color scheme, as well as more physical touchpoints such as the actual smell of the coffee as the customer enters the store. Retail is also affected more by word of mouth and mass media advertising.
