C3Centricity Podcasts

Measuring Customer centricity when adopting a customer-first strategy is essential today but how to do it? This post shares some learnings from an analysis of Google searches around the customer.

The best way to understand your customers is to watch & listen to them. Customer observation & listening are powerful but often underutilised marketing tools., and are often wrongly carried out. Here are the ffive rules to getting observation and listening right every time, so you get maximum benefit from every session.

A Head of Marketing (CMO) has a less than 4-year tenure on average, and far less in CPG. How can you keep your job when others are struggling? This podcast is filled with useful ideas and statistics, as well as a 5-step process to help you to answer the ever-increasing demands and risks of a head of marketing job.

Local brand successes do not automatically guarantee global success. Consider these 5 rules before rolling out your local brand regionally or globally

The world is filled with smart things, but are they really smart or is it just smart marketing? Smart things use big data but it is the smart people who analyse it that makes it smart. This podcast shares ideas about what smart marketing is and what AI and ML can do to support it. If you prefer to read the post then click the link: https://c3centricity.com/are-smart-things-really-smart/

Understanding the category in which you are competing is as important as knowing your target customers. Your actual, real category may surprise you. This podcast shares the five most important steps so you can do it for yourself:

Whether it's 60% of new product launches fail, or it's 80% or 95%+, successful innovation is rare. Listen for ideas on the reasons & some simple solutions, as well as inspiring examples from around the world.

To transform your business into a successful powerhouse, use these 7 Essential Steps to Successful Business Projects for greater profitability.

If you're in the planning phase of your business, then you're looking for ways to beat the competition. Here are some useful tactics for profitable growth.

Are you as shocked as I am, to think that there is a free communication channel which most marketers are not using effectively today? So what is this incredible channel? The Internet? No. Social Media? No. It's Packaging!

With the move of most major supermarket chains to offer online stores too, plus a few successful online only stores, such as Amazon in the US and Ocado in the U.K. manufacturers are now reconsidering just how big they could or should grow their online business. Today, supermarkets are scrambling to catch up as start-ups in many developed countries are giving this new type of freedom to consumers. The case for bricks & mortar stores Customers will always need to see and try before they buy in numerous categories. Offering free returns may work for apparel but not for electronics. Several home improvement brands and stores are already offering apps which allow customers to see their potential purchases in their homes. Or their paint and fabric choices "in situ" but actually virtually. The future of retail I decided to summarise some of the key changes which I believe are essential to answer customers needs already today, not just in the future: Convenience: customers have busy lives and prefer less and less to go for the large weekly shop in out-of-town shopping malls and hypermarkets. This is why smaller stores in strategic localities will develop faster in developed markets. There will also be a clear differentiation by category. Experience: while some shopping malls are in decline, especially in the US, those that survive will shift the emphasis from purchasing to experience. By incorporating cinemas, bowling alleys, cafes and restaurants, malls are hoping to attract customers by differentiating themselves and driving more traffic to them. However, the retailers themselves also need to start selling differently. Apple, Nike and a few others have already done this. But most outlets appear to be oblivious to the change in their customers' desires for experiential connections with brands. Delivery: Whether we buy online or in-store, one thing is clear; we want it NOW! Fast these days is two-day or same-day delivery. In the near future, we will want our purchase to be waiting for us when we get home. Already a quarter of shoppers, according to some L2 research said they would abandon their cart if same-day delivery was unavailable. Choice: We all know what is available around the world, thanks to the internet. Our desires are no longer limited by what is available in-store or even in our own country. We want to have the choices that others have, wherever in the world they live. According to research conducted by Walker, by the year 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Values: Millenials, in particular, are basing their choice of brands on things such as social responsibility, sustainability, transparency and authenticity. Corporate reputation is being scrutinised and evaluated at each mention in the press or on social media. Organisations that don't walk their talk will be rapidly found out and publically discredited. Conclusion Retail has always been about making sure that "the right product is in the right place at the right time at the right price.” The right place at the right time appears to be gaining ground over the other two. What do you think?

Whether you believe that 60% of new product launches fail, or the number is 80% or 95%+, the truth is that successful innovation is rare. Why is this? Here are some solutions. Start with the Category rather than (just) the Customer Every customer-centric organisation should start their processes with a review of the customers they are looking to please. However, in order to do this, the actual first step to both insight development and successful innovation is to identify the category in which you are, or want to compete. Another practice I use is to zoom in or out when looking at a category, in order to identify new opportunities. Your business is or will change - fast - so don't depend on your skills alone Many industries have been cloned into totally new businesses as a result of technology and new customer priorities. As just one example of this, Food companies must now adapt to delivering family time, not just ready-made meals. There has therefore been an explosion in meal kits because families want to eat better and even prepare together. The future of the future Google has gone from Internet-related products and services to hardware such as Pixel smartphones and Google Home, an Amazon Echo-like device. It has also expanded into energy, AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and eye-tracking. Virgin has gone from airlines, media and entertainment, to travel, health and aerospace. Amazon has gone from an online bookstore to the general retail of a vast selection of products. Facebook started as a social media and networking service. One year ago, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed his ten-year vision, centred around artificial intelligence, global connectivity, VR and AR. Tesla started in the automotive industry but has since moved into energy storage and residential solar panels. Today it is advancing into underground high-speed transport and space travel. All these examples show the importance of preparing to adapt to fast innovation change impacting many industries at lightning speed. Your next steps to future-proofing your innovation #1. Working with new innovation levers As already mentioned, most organisations start innovating from their past successes and current skills. While this is certainly quick, it is unlikely to lead to successful innovations. Why not challenge yourself to look at your business from a new perspective? A personally adapted and developed wheel is a powerful tool to get people to think differently about their brand, category or offer. What all successes have in common is a deep understanding of both their customers and their own brand image. #2. Zooming out for brands and categories When you are successful in one category, it can be tempting to extend into others. However, this needs to be done after careful thought. Go too far from the parent brand, as the above examples did and you'll be doomed to failure. Stay too close and you'll not benefit from anything more than a mere renovation. #3. Zooming into a category niche It is possible to innovate by zooming in rather than out of the category in which you are in. There are again many examples of this since, in theory at least, it is simpler because you already know the category customers and can segment to appeal more strongly to certain groups of them. Food manufacturers use this strategy a lot. They often extend into low calorie or low fat, and more recently into gluten-free, OMG-free or lactose-free offerings. Online marketers depend a lot upon finding the right niche for their product or service offer. They have the advantage over bricks-and-mortar stores of collecting a wealth of personalised information. Together with machine learning, they can quickly develop algorithms to precisely target each person with relevant offers. I don't believe that offline retail will ever catch up, however long they collect data - unless they have an online sales strategy too of course.

All marketers know their 5Ps, but do you know what a customer first strategy looks like in each of them? People In addition to knowing and describing your target customers in detail, the other tip I give my clients is to start and end every meeting by asking what your customers would think of the decision you are about to make/have just made. This one simple idea is incredibly powerful in identifying actions which are not customer centric. A customer-centric approach to your customers is both thinking about them in every action you take, as well as knowing them as deeply as you can and keeping this knowledge constantly updated. Product This is often seen as the most important “P” for many businesses. In fact, it is usually the one they think about day in and day out. But it’s not the most important in a customer centric organisation. Think about it. Without knowing the P for people in great detail, you won’t be able to optimise your offer in terms of the other four Ps. That’s why it’s a customer first strategy that works. A customer-centric approach to product is therefore once again thinking about your customers and involving them in your decision-making whenever possible. Price People estimate the value of products and services they purchase, based in part upon its price. Research shows that customers value a better experience above price. Retailers like Aldi and Lidl have used their pricing strategies to position themselves against more traditional competitors. In these new super-discounters, consumers accept limited choice for the sake of rock bottom prices.. Consumer goods companies, in particular, have for too long relied primarily on price promotions to meet their sales targets. Amazon has forced pricing down in most other categories because people now check online before buying in many categories. A customer centric pricing strategy will enable businesses to continue to grow, by understanding how to fix pricing levels more carefully. Knowing the value of what you offer and the importance of brand or service will enable retailers and manufacturers alike to continue to thrive. Place The more variants you have the more difficult it usually is to gain a wide distribution. If you know your customers as deeply as you should, then you will be able to identify their differences by region. Since most retailers provide limited shelf space to each manufacturer, it is best used by showcasing your top selling variants in that area, plus eventual new offers to test their acceptance. Another “place” that it is important to understand today is social media. Ideally, you should know both where your customers are and when. This P is relatively easy for a brand to be customer centric. You just have to offer what your customers need, where and when they need it. Promotion As with place, knowing what messages your customers are interested in receiving from you and even more importantly where and when are one of the keys to successful communications. An organisation which makes it difficult for customers to connect using their preferred channel is not customer-centric. Take a look at your own website contact page. Does it include email, postal and street addresses? Does it have a telephone number or live chat option? It should. Another related area of promoting your brands is PR. Quickly own up when you’ve made a mistake, rather than trying to hide it. This builds trust and customers will even forgive companies that do this. A customer-centric organisation provides their customers with valuable information where and when they need it. They also communicate in ways which enhance their relationship and shows they value their business.

A customer first strategy is not hard. Just think customer first in everything you do. So how come most businesses get it spectacularly wrong? I think the reason is because they don't see the immediate return. Reasons for having a customer-first strategy There has been enough research done to prove that the return on a customer first strategy is significant: • 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. But only 1% feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations. • 89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service. • By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. • 10% increase in customer retention levels result in a 30% increase in value of a company. Those are numbers that would make any CEO sit up and take notice! But will it make them act? Marketing are too busy building brands With so much information available today, marketing is being challenged to demonstrate its ROI. This might explain why they are still putting their efforts into brand building, sometimes to the detriment of their customers, consumers and clients. An analysis by IBM on UK research by Callcredit Information Group gives a different reason. They found that the majority of marketers is feeling overwhelmed by all this data. Their explanation for this is that "only 29% of marketers believe they have the necessary skills to analyse data, with 44% planning on investing in further training over the next two years to boost confidence within their organisations around the handling of information." Big data has actually done customer understanding a disfavour. Organisations are hardly increasing their spend on market research. The industry grew 2.2% compared to over 4% for ad spend. Market research is seen as a cost, not an investment Companies still need market research to understand their customers. That's why market research needs to provide more "why" answers and not just the mere statistics. I believe that (a large?) part of the issue is also the researchers themselves. They're not sociable, speak a language others don't understand and seem afraid to voice their own opinion let alone make recommendations. Customer services are seen as complaint handlers The customer care centre is often seen as mere complaint handlers. Their image is of a group of women who spend their days on the phone talking to other women! You only have to take a look at companies which excel at customer care to realise the business benefits of putting the customer first. Forrester report’s key findings from the 2016 report: • In all five sectors covered, companies with higher customer experience (CX) scores outperformed rivals in revenue growth • CX leaders’ annual growth rate is 17% compared to just 3% for others. • Cable and retail industries beat the field in CX by 24% and 26%, which is a huge boost to the bottom line. • Even in the sector with the smallest range (airlines), there was a 5% difference between companies. • This also translated into subscriber growth – in the cable industry leaders grew internet subscribers by 23.9% more than others and video subscribers by 13.9% Along with the previously mentioned statistics, I can see no reason for a company not to invest in a customer-first strategy. A customer first strategy needs an organisation to recenter itself behind this company-wide objective. It can make a real difference in terms of both sales & profits to those who follow this direction. But it is essential to have executive support and true commitment from every employee to think customer first. It will take skill upgrades for both marketing & market research departments to translate the data & information gathered into actionable insights. And it will mean every employee having the chance to get close up and personal with customers. This is the only way for them to understand the role they play in satisfying and delighting them.

What habits have you become so comfortable with that you don’t even notice or question them? These 13 marketing quotes are amongst my all time favourites. 1. “There may be Customers without Brands, but there are no Brands without Customers.” Anon Brands depend on customers and if companies remember this, then they can only succeed. 2. “Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets.” Nido Qubein One of the biggest mistakes marketing can make is to not appropriately define its target audience. 3. “The more you engage with customers the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.” John Russell, President, Harley-Davidson Every employee should have regular customer connections added to their annual objectives. Customer connections inspire new thinking, can identify previously unknown issues and excite everyone to think customer first. 4. “If you use standard research methods you will have the same insights as everyone else.” David Nichols The methods you use to observe, understand and eventually delight your customers should be moving as fast, if not even faster than the market. 5. “The structure will automatically provide the pattern for the action which follows.” Donald Curtis Perhaps it is time for your organisation to review its structure and see if it is still optimal for the business of today, as well as of tomorrow. 6. “Customer Service shouldn’t be a department, it should be the entire company.” Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos Zappos have an integration program for all new hires that incorporates time at their call centre answering customer queries. What a great way to show a new person what the company is really about. 7. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust Instead of forcing your marketing and R&D to meet certain percentage targets of new launches, why not review your current offers with the customers’ eyes? 8. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” Jeff Bezos As consumers become interested in knowing and adhering to the policies of the companies behind the brands they buy, it is vital to manage your image from both perspectives. 9. “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” Chinese Proverb Today’s customers often have more complex paths to purchase in many categories than they did in the past, so thinking of the simple awareness to loyalty funnel becomes less relevant. 10. “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill Review last year’s business results in comparison to the metrics you have been following. Were you correctly assessing the environment, the market and customer behaviour? 11. “The fear of being wrong is the prime inhibitor of the creative process.” Jean Bryant Do you embrace entrepreneurship in your organisation? What happens when someone fails whilst trying something new? The more accepting you are of relevant trial and error, the more likely it will be that your employees will share their more creative ideas. 12. “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information.” T S Eliot Do you ever take decisions based on information alone? If so then perhaps you should reconsider your insight development process. It is only when you have integrated everything you know and understand about them, that you can begin to develop insight. 13. “If you can’t sum up the story in a sentence, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Garr Reynolds Taking the decision to share understanding in a new way through storytelling, will have a profound impact on the way your employees think and remember the essential understandings of your customers. Before every presentation ask yourself what is the one sentence that sums up everything you want to share.

How can I innovate more successfully? According to Harvard Professor Dr Srini Pillay, "Humans have a natural aversion to innovation because it involves a healthy dose of uncertainty and risk." Unfortunately, we try to reduce this risk by referencing past events to help us to predict the probability of our future success. This is why the customer is the answer! It is only by getting closer to our customers and remaining curious, that we have any chance of increasing our success in satisfying them. Therefore, it makes sense that we involve our customers in helping us innovate. Not as a judge of concepts; we know that consumers don't know what they want, at least not until they see it. However, they do know what their pains are; what is wrong with a product or service and what they would rather have. Another article in the HBR from McKinsey concludes it takes many skills and cultural changes for most organisations to become more innovative: Where do I find out what issues my brand has? The health of your brand and a good estimate of at least its short-term future comes from your work with customers. From brand image and equity to co-creation and observation, your answer is always the customer. There is an additional bonus in following your brand image and that is that it acts as an early-warning signal. This is because it almost always starts to decline before your sales do! We tend to continue with the same products and services until something important happens. Important in the eye of the customer that is. It may be a new brand introduction, a price promotion, bad publicity or negative comments on social media. If these are important enough to customers then they may decide to change brands. And if this impacts a lot of customers, the sales decline can be fast and significant. Better therefore to follow your image as well as comments on social media. Social media platforms can provide a wealth of information about your brand. Pew Research ran a useful analysis in their Social Media Update 2016 of the demographic similarities and differences of channels in the US. Another good source is from Smart Insights. Their "Global social media research summary 2017" which combines information from numerous sources and provides a global perspective. Observation and listening in person can provide extra benefits that social media can't. The two information sources are thus complementary. How can I grow my brand more profitably? As you know there are basically only three ways to grow your business: get more customers to buy, to buy more, or to buy more frequently You will see that all three ways involve the customer. A better way to grow more profitably is to understand the value that you offer to your customers. Whether your price is too high or too low, you're leaving money on the table and could be more profitable. Why is market research not enough to understand my customers? There are so many reasons why running market research is insufficient to really know and understand your customers and your business. I don't know where to start. Now don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of market research. BUT done by experts. The biggest issue is that understanding takes more information than any single market research project can provide. Yes, it may deliver certain answers to a finite number of questions, but to understand your customer you need to get intimate. Why are customers the answer? Here are a few statistics to convince you - and your bosses - of their importance: • Customer centric organisations are 60% more profitable. (Source) • The average revenue growth of Customer Experience Leaders is 14% points higher than that of the laggards. (Source) • 64% of people think that customer experience is more important than price in their choice of brand. (Source) I don't think anyone can read those numbers and not be excited by the potential for growth. So what are you waiting for?

I've been a customer champion for most of my career. But with the likes of Richard Branson saying it's employees first, customers second, my confidence was beginning to slide a little. Thank goodness, therefore, for some new research from Global RepTrak® that has finally confirmed what I have always believed. Customers care about themselves first and foremost! It was a chart I first saw on MarketingCharts.com that alerted me to this work by RepTrak™. I wanted to take a look behind these numbers and try to understand why some influencers have been pushing employee centricity. Products And Services Are Key The first four factors of reputation are all product related. Therefore it's clear that customers think about themselves first. Great customer service won't make up for a terrible product or service offer. So every organisation needs to ensure that what they propose is the very best they possibly can. However, it is also true that the quality and value you offer depend to a large extent on the quality of your employees in delivering it. If employees are not motivated to give their best, then what they deliver will be sub-optimal. This is why it is essential that everyone within a company understands their role in satisfying the customer. One of the quickest ways I have found to achieve this is by providing regular access to the customer. Once an employee sees and understands what they can do to increase satisfaction, they are much more likely to do it. Employees Are An Important Touchpoint It was P&G who coined the phrase "the first moment of truth" in referring to the shopping experience. I would add employees, at least in retail and other consumer-facing industries, as a close second. However, the vast majority of products are made by companies that rarely, if ever, come into direct contact with their customers. Now it's true that in the service industry employees matter to the customers, but I am still not convinced they come first. I think customers will judge a hotel, a restaurant or an airline based primarily on the product and value, just like in any other industry. However, it is obvious that loyalty is impacted by and depends upon the service offered. Shep Hyken wrote a great piece last week on this topic called "Customer Service Means Never Saying Never (But If You Must, Say It In A Different Way)". In it, he talks about the customer NOT always being right. As he says "You really can’t win an argument with a customer. If you “win,” it means the customer has “lost,” and you could end up losing the customer." Companies Should Be Ethical Going back to the RepTrack report, it is interesting to see that ethical and fair practices score above average, yet treating employees fairly and rewarding them appropriately score well below average. Again this confirms that it is what directly impacts the customer that matters most to them. An organisation's impact on society matters more to customers than their fairness to their employees. In other words, it's the higher order practices of corporate social responsibility that enable the customer to feel good about spending their money with the company. Employees Are Still Important Coming back to Branson's position about the importance of employees, there is one of his comments that I do support. He said in an Inc interview that “Unhappy employees can ruin the brand experience for numerous customers.” Clearly, this is an extreme situation and management should do everything to treat their employees well; that just makes good business sense. Unhappy employees will impact your product quality and the motivation of others, not just that of your customers. However, why don't employees ever ask the question about the impact of their behaviour on the customers? And if that customer was their wife, daughter, family member or friend, would that make a difference? Perhaps, but it shouldn't; as human beings, we should want to treat every other person fairly. At least that's what I think.

Here at C3Centricity, we have been measuring marketing priorities with our blog followers for several years. So here are this year's top marketing needs. Insight Development Insight development has moved from fourth position last year to first place this year. Even though we’ve been talking about it for decades most marketers are still struggling to find insights in their information. Insight development takes time & far more information than just market research. Major CPG companies spend weeks or months with a team of experts from different specialities including psychology. Don't leave it to just marketers and marketer researchers to work out. Understanding the Category and its Users These are the foundations of marketing, so it may come as a surprise to you to see them in the top five priorities for this year. Not to me. Our customers are changing dramatically, as we ourselves are too. Regularly update your brand personas & follow the changes in your customers as closely as you can. Also, don't forget that your competitors may also be changing and new ones are emerging as a result of these trends: • From ownership to sharing / rental • From service to data • From curing illness to prevention and wellness Therefore it is vital to understand what business you are in today & how your industry is likely to change in the future. Whether changes will happen because of consumer preferences or technical innovation, the time to prepare is now. How to be More Customer Centric Almost everyone understands the importance of customer centricity today and most companies have it as an objective. Why not decide now that this will be the year you put your customers at the heart of everything you do? Every time you take a decision ask yourself this killer question: "What would our customers think of the decision we've just taken If you need to convince management or your boss about the importance of customer centricity, here are a few statistics: • Customer centric organisations are 60% more profitable • The average revenue growth of Customer Experience Leaders is 14% points higher than that of laggards • 64% of people think that customer experience is more important than price in their choice of brand Increasing my Impact on the Business I love this priority because I believe we all dream of having more impact in our organisations. In particular, marketing and market research professionals feel the most pressure. The average tenure of a CMO in leading U.S. CPG companies has dropped from 48 months to just 44 months. In comparison, market researchers often complain that they have too few opportunities to get promoted. As a result, businesses often have relatively inexperienced professionals in the department as more senior personnel move into marketing or sales. The majority of MR departments also still report into the CMO, despite having a larger role to play in this information-rich age. Millward Brown Vermeer's Insight2020 research clearly demonstrated that over performing organisations had insights and analytics managers leading the business in customer centricity. This is a huge opportunity for the market research and insights professionals to finally get the business impact they crave. Innovation and Business Growth Despite the continued abysmal success rates of new product launches in many industries, companies continue to regularly launch them. They hope that their next initiative will be the one. According to HBR "Less than 3% of new consumer packaged goods exceed first-year sales of $50 million—considered the benchmark of a highly successful launch." I suppose that is why innovation and business growth remain top marketing priorities. After all, they are intimately connected. Business growth and the success of innovation rely heavily on the previous priorities of category and user understanding and insight development. You are unlikely to succeed with new product development if you don't have these basics primed.

Brand image is expressed in many ways, which can also help brand recognition. Which of them have a face, a voice, an aroma, a unique packaging, a slogan or a sound that immediately identifies them? If they do, what does it bring in addition to the brand in terms of brand recognition? Face One of the first faces I think of for a brand is Flo from Progressive. She has won the hearts of Americans over the years, with her helpful but quirky discussions with potential customers. George Clooney has been the face of Nespresso for many years now. He started as smooth and superior, but over the years he has become more approachable, even funny. There are many other examples of "faces" that we now immediately recognise and associate with their brands. Even if some have been dropped over the years, they still maintain their strong connection: SC Johnson's Mr Clean and the muscle man Quaker Oats and the Quaker. Coca-Cola and the Polar Bear Marlboro and the Cowboy - Darrell Duracell / Energiser and the Pink Bunny Sound / Voice / Tone Besides the faces of celebrities, some brands have adopted a very individual voice or sound. These can be actual voices, such as the infamous Budweiser's Wassup campaign, or the tones used in print advertising, which has become even more important with social media. George Clooney is definitely a smooth talker, at least he was in the first ads he did for Nespresso. With time, he has become more self-deprecating and funny. Both Coke and Pepsi use sound to great effect. Kellogg's believed that the reason for their success was the sound their cornflakes made when they were eaten. Unilever's Magnum is another brand with a distinctive sound. Moving on to the tone of voice on social media: Innocent: Instead of simply advertising its juice products, Innocent posts chuckle-inducing, highly relatable content. Tiffany: mixes product images with thoughtful. It continues its elegant, cool sophistication of its physical presence admirably. Old Spice: Having been successfully relaunched with its "Man your man could smell like" campaign, which was directed at females, it recently moved to a more irreverent and fun tone which is particularly appealing to younger men. Aroma Smell is the only one of the five senses which connects with the right-hand side of the brain. This is where creativity, emotion and hunger are processed, and memories of pleasurable experiences are stored. Branding is about creating an emotional connection with users and therefore aroma is a powerful ally in doing this. There is little logic involved in impulse purchases! For this reason, aroma is being increasingly used to build brand recognition even further. Aroma is so powerful, that some brands have been created or relaunched using it as their USP. Think Herbal Essences as one example. Packaging Colour and shape are important elements of recognition. But packaging goes way beyond this today. A pack can become a brand's signature, whether through its unique form, touch or sound. When thinking shape, Coke obviously springs to mind first, but Toblerone chocolate, Perrier water and Pringles chips also have distinctive packs. Shape can also be used as a differentiator in providing additional benefits. Think about the Heinz Ketchup squeeze bottle or the pump dispensers offered on products from cosmetics to liquid hand wash. Branding is becoming ever more challenging with the explosion of products and new product offers being launched each year. Therefore to stand out from the competition, a brand needs more elements to identify its image and personality. As I have shared, its face, voice, sound, tone, aroma and pack all increase its differentiation and enhance brand recognition. In addition, research shows that stimulating more of a user's senses significantly increase loyalty. It has been estimated that senses account for 25-30% of a brand's revenue! So what are you waiting for?

My seven learnings about excellence in customer experience: 1. Introduce yourself In business, we often forget to introduce people in meetings and when we do, we don't explain their responsibilities. Perhaps if we did this, there would be far fewer people in meetings, as only those with a real reason to be there would attend! Direct contacts with customers, whether by phone, email, chat, social media or in person, deserve the same detailed introduction. This moves the connection from a somewhat cold, professional exchange, to something far more friendly and personal, if not actually personalised. 2. Confirm that you know me Most businesses could benefit from confirming who their customers are. Whether by careful targeting for marketing purposes or by reviewing notes of previous interactions with customer services, a company needs to immediately recognise a (returning) customer Personalisation has become essential in all engagements between companies and their customers. In fact, this is one of the most important uses of Big Data, both now and for the foreseeable future. 3. Ask if I am happy/comfortable Do you encourage critique of your ideas from your colleagues? It takes a strong and confident person to constantly put themselves up for criticism. Too many people look (only) for positive support when asking for opinions, rather than a truly constructive assessment. And what about your customers? Do you encourage them to share complaints and ideas? Why not? It's much better to know what's wrong and put it right quickly than to continue in blissful ignorance until your customers leave. 4. Ask if you can do more Business can no longer afford to merely satisfy their customers, they need to delight them. Do you ask both yourself and your customers what more you can do for them? If you do, you might just find a new product or service concept that answers their desires and get ahead of the competition. 5. Don't stop before the end Entrepreneurship is very popular today for both individuals and even within large corporations. However so many entrepreneurs try an idea and when it doesn't immediately work, they give it up for a different one. Today's world is one of constant change, so don't forget to be flexible and adapt to the changing circumstances of the market or your brand. But don't give up either. Just because one part of the plan didn't work doesn't warrant throwing out the whole thing. 6. Don't wait until it's urgent So many adjustments in business involve making significant changes, whether cultural or process-wise. Therefore when introducing large changes within your organisation, break them down into more "humanly" manageable steps. Want to make a radical change in one of your processes? Then it is often more effective to start by modifying the beginning and the end of the process. The middle steps then adapt automatically as new needs are identified. For example, in updating your innovation process, start with better identifying the target customers and their needs. Then look how the launch will be rolled out and monitored. You will then realise that brainstorming in a vacuum or testing multiple concepts just before launch is no longer effective. These parts of the process will then be adapted to the new demands. 7. It all starts and ends with the customer Take a look at your website, your communications, your plans; do they all start and end with the customer? Do you publish content your customers want to read, or just what you want to tell them? Does your contact information include every possible way a customer can connect with you or just a static form and drop-down menu? Are your communications relevant and emotionally validating for your customers? Do your plans mention the customer as often as the brand? Do they also show images of customers and include extensive knowledge and understanding about them?

Review of the top 2016 marketing posts on customer understanding, connection and engagement. These highly popular posts confirm their value & topic importance. A must-listen podcast for all marketers, brand builders and customer centricity champions. Filled with ideas, tips and cheak-lists to optimise your business in 2017.

What does a business need to do to increase their customers’ satisfaction? There are seven facts that become apparent from this podcast: 1. Businesses should always provide a positive customer experience and do whatever it takes to satisfy, but ideally delight. 2. Companies need to go beyond the mere process of customer centricity, to truly put their customers at the heart of the organisation. 3. Customer centricity adds demonstrated value to a company; it should be a no-brainer. 4. Customer centric improvements are happening too slowly in most industries, especially when customers are becoming increasingly demanding. 5. Providing customer service doesn’t guarantee customer satisfaction. 6. A positive customer experience increases loyalty and advocacy. 7. Excellent customer service enables differentiation and even higher prices. In summary, people want businesses to listen and understand them. Learn how in this podcast.

Businesses often make the mistake of trying to sell more to everyone. Why is this a mistake? Well, if you try to please everyone you end up delighting no-one. This is why best-in-class marketing works with best-practice segmentation. Whatever method you use for segmenting and choosing your target customers, the results of your exercise of customer grouping needs to meet the following five conditions, known collectively as the MIDAS touch. Measurable: The individual groups need to be clearly defined and quantifiable using KPI’s such as size, market share, value share. Identifiable: Each segment must have a distinct profile and each customer must be attributed to only one segment. Definable: Every cluster must be easy to describe and share with others so that you have a mutual understanding of each of them. Actionable: The groups must be easy to identify, in order to be able to target your actions and communications to them. Substantial: The chosen segment must be financially viable to target, which means that it should, in general, be stable or growing, and durable over the long term. Once you have identified the different types of users you are attracting, you can then decide which is the most important group to you, using what is often referred to as the Boston Matrix. This analysis was first developed in the 70’s by the Boston Consulting Group. At the time, the matrix was created to help corporations analyse their business units and was based on market growth and relative market share. Today this scatter plot is created using various elements to make up the two axes. Whilst the criteria you use for each axis can vary, this simple analysis has the advantage of being able to be further refined over time, as you get more information. All businesses want to sell more. They also want as many customers as possible. However trying to sell to everyone is unlikely to meet with the success you hoped. Choosing the right group of customers to attract with your product or service is essential. But so is doing everything you can to then understand your chosen segment as deeply as possible. Truly customer centric organisations excel at doing both; do you? Need help in segmenting, identifying or understanding your target customers? Let us help you catalyse your customer centricity. Contact us here or check out our forthcoming Webinar “Customer Centricity Champions“. You’ll learn far more about segmentation, how to use the Boston Matrix and a whole lot more. Reserve your slot before it’s too late!

Peru is a remarkable country whose image is dominated by Machu Picchu. But it deserves so much more. This post uses examples experienced by Denyse Drummond-Dunn during her visit, to show how Peruvians are experts in customer delight! It includes how Peruvians welcome and truly value the business of its guests. From travelling in the luxurious coaches between cities to the excellent, if sadly old-fashioned service on the Andean Explorer, Denyse shares the inspiring customer centricity she witnessed everywhere. The examples will inspire every listener to improve how they treat their customers with examples to steal with pride.

There are many articles on advertising testing, but this one answers IF you should be testing at all! It covers the when, what & how of ad testing. In summary when it comes to testing your advertising: 1. Know with whom you want to communicate. 2. Know what your target audience wants to hear. 3. Know why you are communicating, what the message is that you want to send. 4. Know which concept(s) or ideas have the most resonance with both your target audience and objectives, and why. 5. Know how the concept(s) will develop into a campaign across media. 6. Know how you are going to communicate, the most relevant medium and channels for your target audience.

Checking a website is often the first step a customer makes when they are interested in a brand or manufacturer. Therefore we should ensure ours responds to their needs, whatever the reason for their visit. This podcast shares the nine essential elements of a customer centric website.

Many companies create great new products and services – from their perspective – but they fail! In such a situation, it is almost always due to an outdated innovation process, in which the customer has not been involved. I know it can be difficult to innovate in this new age of technology, but it remains vital for growth. This podcast shares some of the latest ways to improve your innovation success rate.

Have you been working with the marketing 5Ps but still don't seem to know your customers any better? Try these 7Qs and see a real difference! This post gives you the questions to ask yourself and the actions to take to build your brand.