Touchpoint Insights, May 2010: CEX, Satisfied Customers

Insights and Influence in 140 Characters or Less…

Strategy, communication, reliability, intelligence (both the spy kind and the opposite of dumb kind)...we're feeling very mature this issue.

It’s not that we don’t know how to have fun, but you linked on the smart and savvy items this month, and we’re right there with you. It warms our heart to see marketers getting so substantive these days. A great ad campaign is still a thing of beauty, but knowing how to please your customers is more than skin deep.

1.) Customer service is an important part of customer experience. Don't be misled into believing it's the only part. http://ow.ly/1NcTC
We all know this...don’t we? That the term Customer Experience wasn’t just coined so that “CEX” could serve as a cool acronym for “Customer Service”? It’s actually an evolved understanding of the full depth and breadth of client / company relationships and their ramifications. Though this will just get your toes wet, it addresses concepts critical to all marketers. (Tweet Score: 60)

2.) 5 great questions from Roger Martin on how to develop a strategy (and how it's different from a tactic). http://ow.ly/1QIIW
Aspirations and goals, where to play, how to win, and management systems to operate: there, I’ve just given away the punch line. But the full article is no joke and a smart, quick, inspiring read. (I loved the fact that “iterating” instead of a top down or bottom up process is something we’ve done at MCorp Consulting for years without ever having quantified it as a process.) (Tweet Score: 58)

3.) If ever there's a way to destroy a brand quickly, organisational discord may well be the key. http://ow.ly/1P7SB
Whoppers are being lobbed like grenades over in the land of milkshakes and ketchup, as corporate and franchisees duke it out at Burger King. (Clearly, I'm not their demographic, but does their plastic-faced king ad campaign mystify you, too?) Even as sales improve, lawsuits, public letters of complaint and corporate policy being relayed by mass voicemails are ruling the kingdom. Now really, BK, is that how you want your brand to be known?
(Tweet Score: 48)

4.) Reading: ‘Undercover Boss’ – The Key to Becoming an Outside-Inner? http://ow.ly/1DNj5
If reading “IT management” and “satisfied customer” in the same sentence makes you bark with laughter / disbelief, this link’s for you. Paragraph two: print it out. Frame it. How does one reach this mythical land of satisfied customers who don’t even know “...the extent to which they were helped by technology, or their service provider”? Start by going undercover to the client’s, says Clayton. I’m picturing Wild Kingdom at the water cooler. (Tweet Score: 46)

5.) Reading: "Experience design 201: Profiling for Maximum Sales" http://ow.ly/1Me6B #cex
All this talk of customer experience, strategy and undercover analysis is making me hungry for some instant gratification, and Kelly Erickson serves it up hot ‘n fresh. Whether you have an actual retail space or your “store” is your website, here are the reminders we all need on how to talk directly to a few customer types. Read all three buyer “types”...they’re linked and easy to follow. (Tweet Score: 45)

6.) What a novel idea. Communicate your brand's marketing/advertising philosophy to your customers. http://ow.ly/1HpCx
We’re suspicious of advertisers, don’t get enough backstory to our news, and trust word of mouth. I can’t honestly say you’ll read anything here you didn’t already know, but it’s always nice to be reinforced by the AP, Forrester and Nielson. And since we’ve gone a whole half issue without invoking the value of Facebook and Twitter...well...here you go. (Tweet Score: 44)

7.) The first step is admitting you have a problem. http://ow.ly/1DMym
The first thing I did upon reading this PC World article and survey of 45,000 readers, was send a link to an employee who’s been dithering between a PC and a Mac laptop for months now. (Though Toshiba’s making gains, just buy the damn Mac already.) The second thing I did was open every one of their charts, sorted by laptop, camera, tv, etc. Whether you’re shopping for electronics or thinking about your own product’s reliability / helpdesk, you’ll want to read this honest self-assessment. (Tweet Score: 41)

8.) If you don't know who you are [have a clear #brand identity], how can anyone else? http://ow.ly/1QlaG (Not exclusive to Chinese companies.)
“Branding is not for the faint of heart.” Amen brother! While written about Chinese marketing / agencies / branding specifically, and very interesting for that reason, this piece by Ogilvy China’s chairman has advice for us all. Stability, longevity and some agency tenure--do I detect a theme here?--can lead to real strategy, a wider reach and a deeper connection. (Note: Requires sign in) (Tweet Score: 39)

9.) With a tagline like "unthink", they've already told you what to do. What did they expect? http://ow.ly/1P7EI
Aaaaand we’re back to fast food. But we’re “Unthinking” burgers and heading into chicken territory with KFC’s unmemorable tagline. Let’s face it, it’s tough to find the next, great “plop plop fizz fizz.” Even Alka Seltzer can’t do it. And “finger lickin’ good” is just as deeply embedded. (Tweet Score: 36)

10.) When was the last time you thought about your customers' customers experience? http://ow.ly/1Jb15 #cex.
Whether it’s Intel or pearlescent suspension bubbles inside, B2B companies that sell “intact” services need to think about appealing to their customers’ customers, as well as their customers. This can lead to 2x the fun in a Touchpoint exercise, but also to greater opportunities. (Tweet Score: 34)