Marketing makes the promise, and Customer Experience delivers on the promise. Well, that’s how it is today. As a professional marketeer, I foresee a fundamental shift in the relationship, strategy and execution of marketing and customer experience writes Louise McKeown Doogan,Marketing Director, Enterprise & Commercial Operations Director, Magnet+.
Marketing and CX
I like to consume everything there is to know about what’s next in the marketing sphere and think about how I am going to create brilliant marketing strategies that engage the customer of the future and continue to develop professionally.
However, in early 2021 as I prepared for a re-brand which included the merging of two independent brands, I was stopped in my tracks by the number of articles, posts and research papers talking about ‘customer experience’ or ‘CX’ as we know it today.
In all honesty, I skimmed over the first few as I thought I knew what there was to know about customer experience – treat customers right; they will stay and come back for more, right? Turns out that not only was I wrong, but I was also way behind in appreciating the impact a strong CX strategy can have on my business’s growth and brand equity.
The prevailing school of thought is that marketing and CX should be two defined functions within a business however, that’s what I want to challenge.
Louise McKeown Doogan of Magnet+
“I didn’t realise how involved marketing is in everything this business does.” These are the words of a 19-year-old intern who worked with my department in 2021.
Marketeers influence far more in business operations than most people appreciate – think about it.
Marketing interacts with sales, developing pitch decks, collateral and merchandise. With billing on bill layout and communications. With customer support developing how-to videos, installation manuals and engineer branded uniforms. With the look of your building. How do customers feel when they walk in the door. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Marketing effectively touches every stage of the customer’s journey with our brand – yep, CX.
The Chief Experience and Marketing Officer
It’s time for the convergence of marketing and customer experience, and it’s time to say hello to the era of the CXMO, the Chief Experience and Marketing Officer. A converged role responsible for making and delivering on the promise of your business — keeping the customer at the centre of every single interaction.
How can a CXMO elevate a business from being good to being the best?
Let’s start with listening to customers; as humans, most of us like to have our opinions heard. I am not talking about a survey at the end of a transaction. Get down to the nitty-gritty, truly listen and find out the pain points a customer had doing business with your brand and ACT — turn the pain point into a Wow Moment.
Understand CX, and I mean really understand the experience you are actually delivering versus what you think your are delivering (perceptual alignment) – seek out the experts, lift the hood on your business operations, use the feedback from the horse’s mouth (your customers), walk in their shoes, map out their entire journey, understand how it feels to be your customer and find a way to Wow at every stage. Intentionally design the dream experience.
Wow Moments
Shifting mindset from channel metrics to customer-centric metrics, Deloitte research found that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than those that aren’t. Customer-centricity means you put a premium on customer conversations, and who better to be the custodian of these conversations and what the insights of these conversations could lead to for your business than a CXMO.
With a CXMO in place, elevate your CXM strategy with data-driven decisions. One significant advantage with data is establishing predictive customer insights – let data show you what your customer is going to do before they do it so you can get ahead.
Imagine this:
You’re an airline, and the flight is delayed. Sending a voucher for lunch or even a coffee to a customer may create that Wow Moment and take the sting out of the instant disappointment of a delayed flight. It doesn’t hurt to show the human side of your brand!
Make Wow moments memorable and repeatable, a Wow Moment doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. It can be a simple gesture that makes your brand a legend in your customer’s eyes.
Ultimately creating memorable moments to encourage loyalty and help your business become favoured or chosen because of how you make your customers feel.
Finally, let your customers tell your story their way. Remember the last time you were considering a purchase – did you check out customer reviews? Did they influence your decision? Combining genuine, human conversations with your customers who share their experience with your brand will undoubtedly influence future customers.
So, is it time to converge Marketing and Customer Experience in your business? If you are interested to know more, I cannot recommend these two companies enough – they changed my view and no doubt my future career! https://www.anthrolytics.io and https://www.excott.com/
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