Keeping Pace With Customers Multichannel Preferences

8/7/2019 Keeping Pace With Customers Multichannel Preferences

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any marketers dont ully appreciate what multichannel means to customers.

Organizations may have multiple channels to serve their customersand those

companies may send messages via direct mail, email, mobile, and socialbut that

doesnt make them multichannel. Interacting through multiple channels is not enough.

True multichannel means using all channels seamlessly in one platorm to create a mul-

tithreaded dialogue that matches customers behaviors across channels.

In this 1to1 Executive Dialogue, industry thought leaders Don Peppers, Founding

Partner o Peppers & Rogers Group, and Richard Burdge, CMO o Thunderhead, will

dene the optimal multichannel approach, discuss why its essential today, and explain

how to create a multithreaded dialogue.

Why is it so important to interact with customers seamlessly across multiple channels?

Richard Burdge: Businesses must embrace the act that consumers are now empowered. In

the past, brands used to be able to control and manage the message. But now that consum-

ers are engaging with one another to give their opinions on brands, brands have really lost

that control. So companies have to deliver what the customer wants.

Its time to examine, build, and execute strategies that create a strong and customer-cen-

tric presence in the marketplace. This might mean that brands need to look at their engage-

ment with customers and reprioritize.

Ill give you a good example. I have a son whos 12 years old. When I come home rom

work hes on the Web. But hes not looking at websites. Hes engaged in social games acrossthe Web with his riends rom school, or hes discussing his math homework, or example.

He never picks up the phone and makes a paid call, and he rarely looks at websites.

I recently shared this with a group o insurance executives. Then I asked, How are you

going to serve my son in 12 years time when he becomes an early-stage customer that youll

want to acquire? He may be looking or auto insurance at that stage, and they may have

inrastructure that wont serve him in the social environment.

It doesnt just apply to young people. One o Facebooks astest growing communities is

women over 55. Brands are going to have to interact with them in those environments, as well.

Lastly, when we examine emerging markets, we nd that people are now using social

banking across mobile phones. Micro nancing and commerce are taking place in an entirely

mConsumers use multiple channels interchangeably; companies must create amultithreaded dialog that maps to customers movement across channels.

ExecutiveDialogue

Featuring Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

MultichannelPreferences

Keeping Pace with Customers

focus:Communications

Richard Burdge is Chie Marketing

Ocer. With 20+ years market-

ing strategy, communications and

CRM experience in B2B and B2C,

Richard has a successul track

record o driving protable market-

ing programs that deliver growth

and enhance shareholder value.

Beore joining Thunderhead in

January 2010, Richard worked with

organizations including Sky, HP

and Vodaone, on client and agency

sides o the ence. Richards spe-

cialities include digital marketing,

e-commerce and social networking.

Richard Burdge

Recognized or over a decade as

one o the leading authorities on

customer- ocused business strat-

egy, Don Peppers is an acclaimed

author and a ounding partner

o Peppers & Rogers Group, the

worlds premier customer-centric

management consulting rm that

provides clients with world-class

customer strategy, fawlessly ex-

ecuted, or bottom-line impact.

Don Peppers


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2011 Peppers & Rogers Group. All rights reserved. 1to1 Media is a division of Peppers & Rogers Group. 2

ExecutiveDialogue


dierent manner where, in some countries,

a text message becomes a contract.

Don Peppers: The interaction that consum-

ers have with other consumers has led to

rising customer expectations. People have a

richer and more ecient experience in their

online dealings with other people, as well as

with organizations and companies, and so

their expectations are that companies will

be able to keep track o the conversation.

Imagine being on Facebook and com-

municating with someone, and then you call

them on the phone and they have no idea

what you said on Facebook. That would be a

totally nonsensical experience when youre

dealing with a human being. Increasingly, to

customers, its nonsensical i thats the reac-

tion they get rom companies they deal with.

What are the possible repercussions or

businesses that are not agile enough

to have multithreaded discussions with

their customers?

Don Peppers: I think it goes to the question

o whether the customer actually trusts thecompany.

Two requirements must be met beore

I will be willing to trust someone. First, I

have to trust their intent to act in my inter-

est and not abuse me or abuse my privacy.

But second, I have to be condent that

theyre competent to carry out that intent.

I theyre not competent, it doesnt matter

how good their intention is -- I still cant

trust them. I a business is not competent

enough to recognize me when Im online

as the same person whos ID number wasin use at the call center the other day; or

i you cant call up the receipt at the retail

store or the products I bought online that

Im trying to exchange, thats going to

destroy my condence in you.

Richard Burdge: Dons right, there has to

be trust. I that trust breaks down simply

because an organization cant commu-

nicate in a multichannel way, then the

relationship breaks down.

Were seeing businesses look more and

more to acquire customers through recom-

mendations or advocacy rom their exist-

ing customers. An acquisition wont work

unless the promise is ullled, and that is

reinorced by the advocacy that is coming

rom existing customers.

Youve got to look at your customers and

believe that you can make them advocates

o your service through dierentiation

o the dialogue that you have with them,

make it much more personal, and make

it related to how they behave. I you can

drive that advocacy in your customers,

thats going to uel your acquisitions.

What are the frst steps companies need

to take to create multithreaded dialogues

with customers?

Don Peppers: It really depends on what your

current situation is. For instance, i you

dont have any level o integration among

your various communication channels,

then your rst step has to be to design the

systems and processes that integrate your

actions so that the people at the contactcenter actually have access to inormation

about what happened at the point o sale

or through another channel.

I you have at least some level o system

integration and inormation integration,

then the next step is probably going to be to

break down organizational silos. These silos

grow up naturally in every organization be-

cause whenever you put a unction in place,

you have to put somebody in charge o that

unction, and that helps create a silo.

Once the systems can communicate with

each other, then you need people to commu

nicate with each other inside your company.

What are the key challenges that deci-

sion makers must overcome to achieve

success in providing seamless multi-

channel interactions with customers?

Richard Burdge: As Don said, all businesses

grow up with silos inside them, and those

silos o inormation, people and data tend

to serve consumers o one particular chan-

nel. So youll get the email group, the Web

group and the mobile group.

But the trouble is, thats not how con-

sumers and customers see themselves. I

dont see mysel as an email customer or

as a Web customer o a particular brand.

I just see mysel as a customer. As a

customer, I just want that experience and

that dialogue to be continuous across all o

those channels seamlessly because Im thecustomer and thats how I behave.

Given the range o devices out there,

this will make it dicult to track audiences.

Marketers need some kind o intelligence in

a single platorm that can understand where

their customers are, what their customers

want, and how they want to be served in

a multichannel way, all while maintaining

management o the brand and compliance

o standards and quality in serving that

customer.

Don Peppers: Another critical area isthe orientation o the business. Orienta-

tion goes to the heart o the attitudes o

the people are who are responsible or

carrying out the processes. Think about it:

You cant write a line o code or a business

rule that ensures employees always try to

delight the customer; your employees have

to wantto delight the customer.

I dont see myself as an email

customer or as a Web customer

of a particular brand.

Richard Burdge,

Chie Marketing Ofcer, Thunderhead



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ExecutiveDialogue


How can companies leverage technolo-

gies to help close communication gaps

across siloed unctions and channels,

such as CRM and email systems?

Richard Burdge: The customer really doesnt

care i their data or their inormation is

held in a number o silos or dierent

systems. What they really care about is

how theyre communicated with. So even i

companies have silos, and CRM is oper-

ated separately rom email, or example,

they can layer technology over the top to

close that communication gap and give a

much richer experience to the customer.

A combination o technology, behavioral,

and people change can achieve this, and

this will move responsibility closer to the

ront line and empower customer-acing

sta to become customer heroes. Thats

what the customers want them to be, some-

body who goes that extra mile to deliver ex-

actly what they wantand that means being

supported by a single platorm capability to

deliver that dialogue and service.

How do you manage the compliance

and security aspects?

Richard Burdge: From compliance stand-

point, having the ability to record pertinent

inormation on what companies have

communicated, right down to the para-

graph or sentence with their customers, is

a powerul tool. Having a single platorm

to handle all o these dierent communica-

tion channels or compliance can save your

organization dramatic amounts o time.Don Peppers: I saw a survey the other

day rom a research rm that looked at

call centers in the United States, and it

compiled the national, state, industry, and

union regulations that they needed to com-

ply with. Over 50 percent had to comply

with the Do Not Call laws, 32 percent with

Sarbanes-Oxley, 27 percent with HIPAA,

plus a slew o other regulations. This is a

major task, just being competent enough

to interact with your customers in a way

that doesnt violate regulatory restrictions.

Is there a ormula or achieving the right

balance in company customer communi-

cations between various channels?

Don Peppers: When a customer is par-

ticipating in an integrated conversation,

whats important to you is the customers

impression o the conversation. The con-

versation is not integrated i the customer

doesnt think its integrated. Its in the eyes

o the beholder, and the beholder in this

case is your customer.

The single most important issue is putting

yoursel in the place o the customer, tryingto see your business and all the interactions

that a customer will have through the eyes

o the customers themselves. The more cus-

tomer insight you have, the better prepared

youll be to adopt this customer-oriented

perspective. There is no magic ormula.

What are some recommended best prac-

tices in multichannel communications

with customers?

Richard Burdge: The challenge or organiza-tions will be to integrate social media with

their existing traditional capabilities into

all acets o their business. Businesses will

need to harvest the knowledge gleaned

rom customers through these networks

to deliver customer-ocused communica-

tions, providing relevant inormation and

support where customers want it; the right

message, at the right time and in the right

ormat-over the right channel.

Ill give you a good example. I was talking

to somebody the other day whod purchased

some sotware on-line. They received a

thank you note that read, Were really inter-

ested to hear how you get on with it.

And they thought that the language and

the tonality used to communicate back to the

buyer were interesting. Also, the message

had actually come in a text ormat rather

than through email or direct mail. This

provider had an understanding that the cus-

tomer used multiple channels and behaved

in a multithreaded way. The company also

wanted to ensure it conveyed that they wel-

comed eedback on the users experience.

I think this demonstrates that companies

will have to become increasingly social and

connected with their customers instead o

pushing inormation towards them.

How can companies measure success?

Don Peppers: Customers create all the value

associated with a business. Fundamentallywhen youre trying to measure your suc-

cess, youre trying to measure how much

value your customers are creating.

Customers create value in two dierent

ways. Customers, unlike products, have

memories. They remember you rom event

to event. So how you treat a customer in

one interaction is going to have a direct

infuence on the amount o value the

customer creates, not just in that interac-

tion, but in all uture interactions. So when

you go to measure success, you have to tieyour metrics into your analytics.

And to the extent possible, you have to

try to measure how much their lietime

values are going up or going down on the

basis o the days activities.

Who is doing multichannel well?

Richard Burdge: Best Buy has a really suc-

Customers create all the value

associated with a business.

Don Peppers, ounding partner,Peppers & Rogers Group



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cessul social media listening program that

takes that critical next step and engages

with the customer.

But it also provides options or custom-

ers to email or call to interact with the

company in whatever manner necessary

to resolve a concern. Its not enough just to

have the interaction. You then have to ol-

low through with the response. And thats

the real ulllment o genuine customer en-

gagements in a multichannel best practice.

In Forresters 2010 Voice o the Customer

Awards, American Express and Dell were

both cited or their active use o customer

data they collect and act on to drive that

real-time customer experience.

Amex increases customer loyalty and cus-

tomer spend by highlighting valuable things

like unused card benets rather than hiding

them away. Theyre not trying to sell custom-

ers up to the next card.

Dell uses its online communitys ratings.

They have an open policy o reviewing all

that inormation and identiying unmet

customer needs. This is eedback or the

business. It generates innovation and ideas

that Dell can respond to en masse, but it

also makes the customers eel that theyre

really being responded to regarding their

individual issues.

Don Peppers: JetBlue has a airly sub-

stantial Twitter ollowing, and when theres

a weather problem or a fight delay, its not

just the deals and one-day ares that go on its

Twitter announcements. The airline announc-

es to the world its delays, and i youre on a

connection to Albuquerque or Long Beach or

wherever, youre going to nd out quickly.

That give and take with customers is

particularly powerul or service companies,

and even more critical or companies that

may have problematic service reputations.

Carphone Warehouse is an independent

phone dealer based in Europe that had a ter-

rible reputation or service. So the company

launched a program called (CPW Cares),

Carphone Warehouse Caresbasically, to

monitor the Twitter space.

Lets say a customer has a bad experi-

ence. She might blog about it, but then

shell tweet out the blog, and its the tweet

that gets picked up very quickly i youre

monitoring the space. And so CPW will

reach out to them and try to solve the prob-

lem. The CPW Cares team has dramatically

reversed what was a terrible reputation.

Its becoming much better, and CPW is

becoming known as a social mediaaware

company, a cutting-edge type company

when it comes to customer eedback.

This is the new marketing, where you

take the perspective o the customer and

where the company is proactively trustwor-

thy. Its proactively protecting the customer

rom making mistakes, or example, and

that is going to be a central element o

customer service in the next decade

proactive trustworthiness, or what Martha

Rogers and I call trustability.n

ExecutiveDialogue



Thunderheadchanges the way companies engage with their customers, enabling mea-surement and learning rom every interaction to drive greater loyalty and protability.

Our innovative business user-driven sotware, Thunderhead NOW, delivers new levels o

personalization, context and compliance with true multi-channel capabilitythe right inormation, to the right person, at the

right time, in the right ormat. Founded in 2001, Thunderhead now has insurance, retail banking, government and capital market

customers on three continents. They optimize their customer engagementwe help them make every communication count.

For more inormation, please contact: http://www.thunderhead.com/home.php.

Peppers & Rogers Group is dedicated to helping its clients improve busi-

ness perormance by acquiring, retaining, and growing protable custom-

ers. As products become commodities and globalization picks up speed, customers have become the scarcest resource in business.

They hold the keys to higher prot today and stronger enterprise value tomorrow. We help clients achieve these goals by building the

right relationships with the right customers over the right channels. We earn our keep by solving the business problems o our cli-

ents. By delivering a superior 1to1 Strategy, we remove the operational and organizational barriers that stand in the way o protable

customer relationships. We show clients where to ocus customer-acing resources to improve the perormance o their marketing,

sales, and service initiatives.

For more inormation, please visit: www.peppersandrogersgroup.com.

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Keeping Pace With Customers Multichannel Preferences