Archive for the ‘customer centricity’ tag
Big data: hoe pas je het toe?
“It is not the size that matters, but what you do with it.” Big Data is een veelbesproken topic op de marketingagenda. Bedrijven als Google, IBM en Facebook zijn in staat geweest om succesvolle…
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From Z.E.R.O. to Hero via Kickstarter
It's hard to resist making this a looooooooooooong post, so instead I'll do my best to be as brief and succinct as possible, so here goes…
My good friend and ex-client, Maarten Albarda and I are co-authoring a book together. It's my 4th book (after Life after the 30-second spot, Join the Conversation and Flip the Funnel) and Maarten's first. Besides sharing the same vision and passion for the subject, we're bringing a 1-2 punch to the table in the form of advertising-agency perspective on the giant elephant in the room: media or rather paid media.
The book is called z.e.r.o. and the sub-title, "zero paid media as the new marketing model" kind of says it all (and in less than 140 characters).
The book posits that in a perfect world, your paid media budget would be z.e.r.o. – literally, but also figuratively in the form of an acronym which stands for Zealots (advocacy), Entrepreneurship (innovation), Retention (customer centricity) and Owned Assets (moving from tenant to landlord)
On one hand, it's me returning to my "Life after" roots, but on the other other (and more poignantly), it's our set up of our premonition of a perfect storm approaching in marketing; one in which the bottom could conceivably fall out of the media model. Fortunately, the world is not perfect and change takes longer than we expect, but then again…just look at how your world has changed in the past few years to validate the fact that sitting and doing nothing is not a viable solution.
For me, it's a bold move for two reasons:
- I've made the move from being a 3-time published author to self-publishing (thanks to Richard @ Wiley for everything to get me this far and props to my new home, Archway Publishing)
- We're kickstarting this revolution and here's how you can play a key role.
Kickstarter component:
- Go to Kickstarter and visit our page or just search Kickstarter for Z.E.R.O. or zero
- Check out the video and the overview of the book
- Review the various pledge rewards and become a backer. We've named them after famous misers.
- From the Hetty Green and Warren Buffet (digital and hardcover copies respectively) to the maximum reward, which delivers 10 autographed books and an in-person keynote from either Maarten or myself (only 2 available per person)
- The no-brainer and value rewards are the Mr Burns and Mr Krabs respectively, that also include a 140-character acknowledgement (plug) in the book itself
We just pre-launched the book and Kickstarter campaign at the Festival of Media in Montreux, but here's the crazy part…in just over 24 hours after I hit the publish button (in stealth mode), we've almost hit our initial funding goal of $10,000. With your help, we'll push this over the edge and see how far we can take it.
The wild thing is that the book will become it's own case study insofar that it will demonstrate how we were able to self-publish our book for "z.e.r.o." by tapping into our advocates and leveraging our owned assets. It's U.N.M.2.P.N.M. circa 2005 retooled for 2013.
So…if you're part of my community and/or appreciate my content, show your support on Kickstarter with the pledge amount (or more if your heart desires). I will post regular updates over the 6 week period to acknowledge my backers (which would be you)
And all things being equal, Z.E.R.O. will launch in September of 2013 and will contain the 10-point action plan towards implementing this bold vision towards helping marketing evolve, normalize and allocate scarce resources to a re-prioritized hierarchy of connection points.
Ontdek hoe customer centric jouw organisatie is
Adv – Iedereen wil zijn klant centraal zetten, maar hoe je dat doet verschilt van bedrijf tot bedrijf. SAS (i.s.m. InSites Consulting) gaat na hoe bedrijven omgaan met customer centricity. Ben je benieuwd hoe goed jouw bedrijf scoort? Doe mee aan dit online onderzoek en lees de resultaten binnenkort op Frankwatching. Naar het onderzoek
Customer Centricity onderzocht
Iedereen wil zijn klant centraal zetten, hoe je dat doet verschilt echter van bedrijf tot bedrijf. Dit blijkt uit kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd door InSites Consulting, in opdracht van SAS.
Hoe customer centric is jouw organisatie?
Iedereen wil zijn klant centraal zetten, hoe je dat doet verschilt van bedrijf tot bedrijf. Dit blijkt uit een kwalitatief vooronderzoek uitgevoerd door InSites Consulting in opdracht van SAS. In een reeks interviews met marketingverantwoordelijken werd gekeken naar de invulling van customer centricity. Bekeken over drie assen: Customer Value, Customer Experience en Customer Life Cycle en de rol van data hierbij. Lees meer
Customer centricity: webshops scoren beter dan fysieke winkels
De klant heeft in een online shop meer het gevoel dat hij echt centraal staat dan wanneer hij een fysieke winkel bezoekt. Webshops scoren hoger op customer centricity dan offline retailers. Dit leren we uit het Customer Centric DNA (CC DNA) onderzoek. Het CCDNA-onderzoek werd dit jaar voor de tweede keer uitgevoerd. De categorie online retail werd voor het eerst in het onderzoek meegenomen, en wat blijkt? Online retailers scoren hoger op aspecten die betrekking hebben op klantcontact dan offline retailers.
E-tail vs. retail: 6 tips voor customer centricity
De laatste twaalf maanden hebben Nederlandse bedrijven hun klanten meer centraal gesteld. Dit blijkt uit het onderzoek dat TNS NIPO uitvoerde in het kader van de Customer Centric DNA Awards 2012. In totaal werden ruim 9.000 consumenten ondervraagd over hun ervaringen met bijna 90 bedrijven in maar liefst tien sectoren. Er is gekeken naar zes pijlers: de medewerkers, de processen, de consistentie tussen beiden over kanalen en door de tijd, aanbeveling, vertrouwen en de ervaring met webcare.
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B2B Marketing: Evolving or Stuck in the Mud?
There are a few things bugging me that I'd like to air out. Over the last few months, I've seen and experienced some things that make me wonder if B2B marketing is evolving or stuck in the mud and applying old thinking that no longer works in a new context.
Here are some examples:
- Marketing speakers who still lead with a 5 minute "About my company and products" intro. Snooze.
- "Experts" who have presented the same framework for years but talk about how the market environment is continuously changing. Disconnect.
- Contests to gain followers or Likes. Is the guy who wants the Kindle Fire really a potential customer for a B2B complex sale? Wrong goal.
- Exhibitors more focused on scanning badges than engaging people. Does it make more sense to try and build engagement later via email, or while the person is standing in front of you? Missing the point.
- Presentations that mention the buyer once or twice but are predicated on the concept of customer centricity. Misdirect.
- Survey reports with responses that contradict the responses to other questions in the survey. One example I can think of is a report I saw where the majority of marketers said they understand their buyers very well but responded that their top challenge is targeting the right people at the right company. Seriously?
- Speakers who say outloud – "I'm not sure how I got here." Credibility.
- Debating the labels and placing more importance on them than on the concepts and processes they represent. Distracting.
- Fake personalization in emails that start off with statements such as, "I viewed your website and see that you would be interested in X" – when that's obviously bogus since X doesn't align with anything related to your website content. Fail.
- Presenting takeaways that can help prospects take action. Too few.
- Follow-up calls to white paper downloads as if responding to a qualified lead. Time sink.
- Answering attendee questions with what you want to talk about rather than providing a direct and useful answer. Frustrating.
- Compiling thought leadership from others and branding it as yours with a page at the beginning or end that thanks a list of contributors without indicating which ideas came from whom. Misappropriating.
- Rehashing the same topics in blog posts again, and again, and again without adding anything new. Boring.
- Jumping on the latest shiny tool, app, widget, network without taking the time to listen and evaluate the value it may (or may not) add as a component of your marketing mix. Irrational.
Here's what I'm rooting for to power B2B marketing evolution:
- New ideas
- Possibilities
- Excitement
- Commitment
- Integrity
- Focus on the attendees, prospects, customers, whoever your audience is – as long as its not you, your company.
B2B Marketing is at a more innovative stage than has ever been possible before. Marketers have the opportunity to impact the buying experience from end-to-end. It's time to develop new skills and commit to learning what it takes to walk the talk. Success is well within reach if marketers want to go after it. That's why I get fired up about this stuff. Endless opportunities exist around every corner.
There. I've aired it out. Thanks for listening. What do you think? What gets you fired up about marketing?
Sorry, We’re Closed: The Rise of Digital Darwinism
I am not a social media expert and my new book, The End of Business as Usual, is not about Social Media. If you’re looking for the Top 10 ways your business can succeed on Facebook or Twitter, secrets to attracting more followers or likes, creating viral videos, or the best practices for creating infographics that over simplify the complex world of business, save your money. There are no shortage useful books and resources out there.
Don’t get me wrong. While important, social media only plays a part in this (r)evolution. The customer journey is evolving. How businesses react and ultimately lead the enhancement of relationships is not determined by technology. To get closer to customers takes a culture of customer-centricity, a culture of empowerment, and a culture of innovation. But that’s hardly enough to convince business leaders that the customer revolution they hear about is literally steps away from their front door. Someone has to make the case however.
The reality is that most executives don’t use social networks. And, to be honest, most don’t read their own emails. Many won’t ever see this post. Trying to convince decision makers that this is a war fought on the battleground of social networks is in of itself fighting a losing battle. That’s because the future of business isn’t tied to the permeation of Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, tablets or real-time geo-location check-ins. The future of business comes down to relevance and the ability to understand how technology affects decision making and behavior to the point where the recognition of new opportunities and the ability to strategically adapt to them becomes a competitive advantage.
But make no mistake, this is as much a technology revolution as it is a series of real world revolutions that have and will continue to spring up in front of governments, businesses, and anywhere else it takes to be heard and bring about change.
Occupy: Madrid, Spain
A recent advertisement produced by Babson College cited a rather humbling statistic: “Over 40 percent of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500 in 2000 were no longer there in 2010.” As we’re often painfully reminded, history has a way of repeating itself. Forbes published an article in early 2011 that served as a harbinger for the turbulent and transformative times that lie ahead. The opening line read, “The End is Near: Why 70% of the Fortune 1000 Will Be Replaced in a Few Years.” Startling and sensational yes. But far-fetched? No.
The author cited a study published in the book Built to Change by Edward E. Lawler and Christopher G. Worley. The study found that between 1973 and 1983, 35 percent of the top companies in the Fortune 1000 companies were new to the list. Over the next decade from 1983 to 1993, churn jumped to 45 percent, and then soared again to an astounding 60 percent between 1993 and 2003. If the current trend continues, over 70 percent of Fortune 1000 companies will turnover from 2003 to 2013. As the author observes, “In other words, over 3/4ths of the existing captains of industry will fall from their throne.”
This is about Digital Darwinism, when technology and society evolve faster than the ability to adapt.
In this video alone, try to count the number of companies that you’ve supported over the years. The number of companies no longer here or on the verge of obsolescence is unsettling. There were so many in fact, that not all could make the cut.
This a about the survival of both the fittest and the fitting. And it take more than a presence in new channels to improve customer experiences and relationships. It takes courage. It takes persistence to break through resistance. Everything starts with articulating a vision for how your business will invest in customer relationships and experiences. From there, technology, processes, and systems will serve as enablers for that vision. In the end however, it is leadership and an empowered culture that will bring about transformation.
Many follow, but very few lead.
Many compete to survive, but few compete for relevance.
Do we listen to our customers? Do we truly understand them?
Do we create experiences or do we simply react?
The future of business comes down to one word…change.
This is a new era that redefines everything.
An era of empowered consumers and employees.
Will we fall to natural selection or will we rise to lead the revolution.
This is our time to make business relevant.
Because people, after all, are everything.
#AdaptorDie
Order The End of Business as Usual today…
How Social Customer Service is Changing the Culture at Comcast
Comcast and service are two words that have been closely aligned and analyzed since Frank Eliason initiated the @ComcastCares program on Twitter. Eliason built a new channel for engaging customers to solve their problems. More importantly, he also developed a new infrastructure at Comcast to learn from their experiences. Frank has since joined CITI, but before his departure, he solidified the future of @ComcastCares by placing it in the hands of Bill Gerth and Kip Wetzel. Under the direction of Gerth and Wetzel, Comcast’s social customer service program continues to develop a culture of customer-centricity. At the same time, the team is leading internal efforts to transform products, processes, and services to not just respond to negative experiences, but also improve them to eliminate problems in the future.
Kip Wetzel, Sr. Director Social Media Servicing & Strategy, Comcast joins (R)evolution to share Comcast’s vision for service and why customer service becomes a key that unlocks a new generation of customer relationships.
This episode was recorded during the SalesForce Social Advisory Board meeting in San Francisco. Participants included brand managers from the likes of Disney, Livingsocial, P&G, Nissan, SunTrust, Dunkin Donuts, Get Satisfaction, and VW, we address the need for businesses to not only react to conversations but also lead them.
Please take some time to watch the episode and share your thoughts with us…
Season 2 – Episode 10
Season Two:
S2E1: How Mercedes Benz Successfully Uses Social Media to Engage
S2E2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
S2E3: Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Enchantment
S2E4: Adly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh on the Social Era of Celebrity Endorsements
S2E5: Filmmaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain
S2E6: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 1 of 2
S2E7: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 2 of 2
S2E8: Marcel LeBrun of Salesforce Radian6 on the Future of Social Media Monitoring
S2E9: Our Digital Society in the Next 30 Years: An Interview with John Battelle
Watch Season One on YouTube
Now on iTunes!