Change is inevitable. Change is constant. But what we now realize is that the changes we encounter in today’s world are far more swift and complex.
Industry boundaries are now easily breached and many top-flight companies now enter adjacent markets with ease, bringing in faster innovation with products and services that are not only cheaper but of better quality.
The virtual landscape also plays its part, the Web 2.0 era has provided consumers with the ability to obtain comprehensive information about companies and products in an instant leading to more demands on the level of service.
In the past, a bank may only have to bear comparison with its own local competitors, but now customers are looking for the same standard of service that they may perhaps receive from Amazon.com.
With this, companies are increasingly searching for new opportunities to stand out and be able to retain customers for the longer term.
One of the key concepts being progressively mentioned in this context is Customer Experience Management, which is defined as the active and successful management of customer experiences — these experiences are mainly referred to as “touchpoints,” i.e. points at which the customer comes into direct contact with a company. These are not only the supplier’s hotlines, business premises or web sites. The use of products, for example, is also an important contact point for customers. The challenge is to be able to successfully manage multiple interfaces with customers by providing positive and more importantly consistent experiences with the brand.
Customer Experience Management (CEM) is not the same as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The main focus of most CRM initiatives over the years has been to collect comprehensive information on customers and store it in massive databases. This information is then used by companies for cross-selling and up-selling amongst individual customers usually as a part of direct marketing initiatives. CEM on the other hand aims to offer customers an outstanding and, above all, reliable customer experience that will tie them emotionally, and thus permanently and profitably to the company.
CEM should be viewed as a holistic strategy, perhaps even a part of the corporate culture (customer-centred organization).
For companies, it is a question of building a relationship in which customers continue to trust the company in the long term. This can only succeed if companies are able to create positive customer experiences by keeping product and service promises that they make.
Market research provides a view of the company’s products, services, processes and touchpoints — particularly from the customer’s perspective.
At a strategic level, companies are provided with a general view of all products and processes relevant to their customers. Companies are able to identify important drivers for customer retention, isolate weak points that act as barriers and set priorities for targeted investments that will aid them in meeting customer expectations.
At a more tactical level, individually important processes and customer interfaces are generally picked out and analyzed in detail. Research solutions aim to recognize key drivers of the consumer experience including how well a product and product mix perform on these factors. They find out how competitive products perform and which attributes differentiate each product in the marketplace. Lastly, they categorize which actions a company should prioritise to improve customer experience and ensure customer retention.
Today, competitive advantages built over time are diminishing at a rapid rate. As mass marketing turns to niche marketing, Customer Experience Management may well be the new concept that will help companies develop multi-niche strategies that will ensure a consistent and positive experience for each and every customer.
The author has been with the pharmaceutical industry for more than 12 years and is currently a Senior Research Manager for Healthcare with TNS, a Kantar Group Co. He is a student in the Doctor of Business Administration program of the De La Salle University-Ramon V. Del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business. He welcomes comments at enrique_reyes@dlsu.edu.ph.
from Managing for Society Column Manila Times (Print & Web Editions), August 18, 2009 Enrique Antonio B. Reyes, RPh, MBA
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