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Type: Blog
Topic: Customer Experience
Too many marketers assume that their strategies and offers are engaging their customers. This assumption is often wrong. Unless you are engaged in two-way dialogue and providing value-added communications…you have NO idea what customers think about your business and your marketing tactics.
We just completed VoC research for a major up and coming brand. A key competitive differentiator cited by customers was that the company provides ongoing opportunities for feedback in all communications and sends friendly, engaging surveys and then acts on the suggestions from customers! That makes customers feel included and valued.
Additional findings from our 16,000 plus hours of VoC interviews indicate that there is a dangerous chasm between the CX fantasies of brands versus the disappointing CX realities of most consumers.
Here are 3 Tips to help you get it right.
It is now the norm to hear from BtoB and BtoC customers of client brands such as IBM, HP, QVC, Gilt and Shinola, that they have higher and higher expectations for CX excellence, and that this is becoming a core expectation! Due to many smart competitors and more screens and options to choose from, customers are feeling entitled to demand the best or go elsewhere!
INSIGHTS FOR YOU:
Too often, marketers “spray and pray.” This is a useless and brand damaging activity. In our VoC research, consumers consistently explain that they either want communications and experiences that address their individual needs or, just don’t communicate with them! They view generic messaging as a waste of time and emphatically state that it reduces the likelihood that they will open future emails from that company.
INSIGHTS FOR YOU:
True engagement is rooted in the ability to forge strong relationships. This serves as the “grace account” upon which to draw when there is the inevitable problem or temptation from the competition.
INSIGHTS FOR YOU:
When it comes to cultivating valuable and long-term relationships with customers, don’t make any assumptions! And, don’t make your sole focus the next sale. Instead, take time to nurture the relationship by demonstrating that you are caring and trustworthy.
You cannot get to the next sale without developing a foundation that supports the previous sale. Customers will be loyal based on how you treat them and engage them with compelling, value-driven content. Nothing less.
About the Author:
Ernan Roman Direct Marketing’s Customer Experience strategies achieve consistent double-digit increases in response and revenue for their clients, which include IBM, MassMutual, QVC, Microsoft, and Symantec Corp.
As a leader in providing Voice of Customer research-based guidance, ERDM has conducted over 10,000 hours of interviews with their clients’ customers and prospects, to gain an in-depth understanding of their expectations for high-value relationships.
The results achieved by ERDM’s VoC-based strategies earned Ernan Roman induction into the Marketing Hall of Fame.
Visit his blog at: http://ernanroman.blogspot.com/