Jeff Rajeck says, “As marketers, it’s our job to understand the journey that our customers take from discovery to purchase. How is that going? Not very well, according to a recent Econsultancy report. In our 2016 survey, Customer Experience Maturity in Australia and New Zealand, half of respondents (50%) said that there are a ‘lot of missing parts’ of the customer journey andonly 5% have ‘a coordinated approach across online and offline’ parts of their business. So only one marketer in 20 feels like they have connected the online and offline customer journey.... [...]

Maeve Hosea says, “Customer relationship management (CRM) is more complex than ever as marketing channels allow for ever-more sophisticated targeting and content delivery. So what are the challenges facing CRM marketers? I spoke to a couple of people in the industry and here list a mere 10 challenges we discussed. 1. Too much data, not enough action? In 2015, Econsultancy’s Measurement and Analytics report showed that 40% of executives found more than half of their collated analytics data was useful for decision-making. That proportion of marketers dropped to 33% in the recent 2016... [...]

Loretta Jones says, “Creative professionals love to innovate and ideate. However, it can be a challenge to bring the same drive to project management. In order to balance the creative and business sides of a company, creatives need to keep the sales funnel moving and projects on track to meet deadlines — which tends to be easier said than done. Recently, Insightly (my employer), worked with TechValidate, an independent third party, to conduct a survey of creative professionals, freelancers and business owners in marketing, communication, design, advertising, media and agencies to uncover... [...]

Bart Mroz says, “By focusing on the customer experience rather than sales, smaller brands and retailers can effectively compete with their largest competitors. A great example of this comes from flower delivery service UrbanStems. Over $4 billion is spent each year on online flower purchases for occasions such as birthdays, celebrations, graduations and more. While gifting flowers can bring great happiness to those receiving them, shopping for them can be a tedious process. UrbanStems is a relatively new online flower startup, and is changing the way consumers purchase flowers online by delivering... [...]

Shaun Haase says, “CRMs are meant to be much more than a glorified contact management system, and if used correctly, can greatly increase business productivity and effectiveness. CRM software often have a multitude of features, many of which are rarely used by sales teams. Here, we’ll take a look at three ways you can start getting the most out of your CRM, from automating actions to utilizing sales pipeline functionality for managing customer support. While some features are overly complex or not fit for every business, there are key components that can deliver tremendous value if you... [...]

Shaun Haase says, “CRMs are meant to be much more than a glorified contact management system, and if used correctly, can greatly increase business productivity and effectiveness. CRM software often have a multitude of features, many of which are rarely used by sales teams. Here, we’ll take a look at three ways you can start getting the most out of your CRM, from automating actions to utilizing sales pipeline functionality for managing customer support. While some features are overly complex or not fit for every business, there are key components that can deliver tremendous value if you... [...]

Jeff Rajeck says, “In a recent Econsultancy report, marketers rated ‘increased customer lifetime value and loyalty’ as the most important benefit derived from understanding the customer journey. But how does this work in practice? What are brands doing in the real world to increase customer loyalty? To find out, Econsultancy invited dozens of client-side marketers in Shanghai to discuss this and other customer experience (CX) topics over roundtable discussions. The roundtables were moderated by volunteer client-side marketers and subject matter experts from Econsultancy and our... [...]

Ben Davis says, “Improving customer experience is often a balance of science and art – design thinking combined with technology-led insight. We use analytics to identify pain points in a customer journey and confirm or confound our instincts. What can often be missed is an empathetic view of design. Are we truly designing with the customer’s feelings in mind or are we improving an existing flawed model? In a previous post I discussed some of Daniel Kahneman’s ideas about positive psychology, specifically the Peak End Rule (as told by Paul Marsden at Syzygy’s Digital Innovation... [...]

Ben Davis says, “At Syzygy’s Digital Innovation Day, Paul Marsden discussed customer experience and the ‘Peak End Rule’, the idea that ‘finishing strong’ leaves a lasting impression. To demonstrate this he used the example of a colonoscopy, and a study by Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow. Consider the graphs below. Patient A has a 10 minute colonoscopy, with a pain peak in the middle and at the end, but otherwise endurable. Patient B has a much longer colonoscopy (25 minutes) and has a higher average level of pain throughout. He/she also experiences a large... [...]

James McQuivey says, “It’s the age of the customer and only the leaders who know how to lead their organizations to increased customer obsession will be able to keep up with hyperadoptive consumers. Those consumers already expect to get what they want, when, where, and how they want it. The only question will be who will give it to them? Will it be you? It’s a question I asked today on stage at Forrester’s Marketing Europe leadership forum in London. I shared with them an overview of my recent report, “Leadership in the Age of the Customer,” a months-long project... [...]