Category: Business Vision & Strategy

The Essential Customer-Centric Mission Statement for Achieving Success

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

A customer-centric mission statement is a fundamental component for driving success in any organisation wanting to grow more profitably.

It provides a clear direction and purpose, uniting the team towards shared objectives and fostering a sense of belonging. By guiding decision-making processes, it ensures that all actions align with the organization’s dedication to customer satisfaction, thereby setting expectations for employees and customers.

In a competitive business landscape, a mission statement serves as a strategic compass, ensuring that all efforts are focused on achieving customer success and building long-term relationships. A commitment to customer-centric values helps establish trust and loyalty, which are crucial for sustained growth and success.

Additionally, a well-crafted mission statement motivates employees to prioritize customer needs and deliver exceptional service consistently.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

 

Essential Elements of a Customer-Centric Mission Statement

A mission statement is a strategic tool that defines a company’s approach to customer success. It sets the framework for the company’s actions and decisions, influencing the customer experience. Here, we outline the critical elements of an effective customer-centric mission statement, emphasizing its customer focus, clear and concise language, specific goals and objectives, and alignment with company values.

1. Emphasizing Customer-Centricity

A customer-centric mission statement must be deeply rooted in customer delight to resonate with and meet their expectations. This involves:

  • Understanding Customer Needs: While this is the heart of every successful business, it is essential when customers are mentioned in its mission statement. Therefore, conducting surveys, interviews, and data analyses is important to gain insights into customer pain points and priorities.
  • Crafting Customer-Focused Language: Use language that underscores the importance of customer value and satisfaction.
  • Aligning with Customer Success Metrics: Ensure the mission statement is in sync with key performance indicators related to customer success, driving positive outcomes.

By prioritizing customer-centricity, the organization consistently considers the customer perspective and strives to exceed their expectations.

2. Communicating with Clarity and Precision

A mission statement should be clear and concise, ensuring it is easily understood and memorable. Key considerations include:

  • Defining Purpose and Audience: Identify the mission statement’s target audience and intended purpose.
  • Using Plain Language: Avoid technical jargon and ambiguity to enhance accessibility.
  • Regular Refinement: Continuously review and refine the mission statement to maintain its brevity and clarity.

Clear communication ensures the mission statement effectively conveys the company’s commitment to customer success and resonates with all stakeholders.

3. Setting Specific Goals and Objectives

A mission statement should outline specific, measurable goals and objectives to provide clear direction and focus. This involves:

  • Tailoring Goals to Customer Needs: Define goals that directly address customer expectations and requirements.
  • Establishing Measurable Targets: Set quantifiable targets to track progress and success in customer-related initiatives.
  • Developing Strategic Plans: Formulate actionable strategies to achieve the defined goals and objectives.

Specific goals and objectives ensure the organization has a well-defined path to follow, facilitating measurable progress in customer success.

4. Aligning with Core Company

… Click to continue reading

How to Triumph Over Budget Cuts and Prove Your Marketing ROI

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

As we all know and, unfortunately, have probably also experienced, every dollar in our marketing expenditure must be justified, and we have to prove our marketing ROI or risk budget cuts!

Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) face the dual challenges of managing budget constraints while also demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing initiatives.

The rapid evolution of today’s digital landscape only compounds these challenges, demanding strategic agility and an analytical mindset from today’s marketing leaders.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

 

Marketing Budget Allocation

Gartner’s most recent  (2023) CMO Spend Survey reported that marketing budgets fell from 9.5% of company revenue to 9.1% in 2023. This confirms the constant pressure on marketing to do more with less.

As a result, most have readjusted their commitments to marketing channels, resources, and programs, and a similar proportion say they are facing significant pressure to cut martech spending.

Gartners' CMO spend report 2023

ROI on Marketing and Digital Specifically

The rule of thumb for marketing ROI is typically a 5:1 ratio, with exceptional ROI being considered at around a 10:1 ratio. Anything below a 2:1 ratio is considered not profitable, as the costs to produce and distribute goods/services often mean organizations will break even with their spend and returns.

However, according to a recent Data & Marketing Association (DMA) study, the average ROI for digital (email) marketing in 2022 was $36 for every $1 spent.

Of course, this figure varies by industry, with retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods companies often seeing higher returns thanks to direct purchase links in their emails.

While B2B companies have a slightly lower ROI, they benefit from the long-term value of relationship building and lead nurturing through email.

These numbers are a testament to the effectiveness of well-executed marketing strategies and the ROI of email. It’s clear that email marketing is thriving in the digital era.

 

A Strategic Approach to Navigating Budget Constraints

Reassess and Reprioritize Marketing Channels

In times of budgetary pressure, the first step for CMOs is to conduct a thorough reassessment of existing marketing channels. This involves analyzing each channel’s performance against key metrics to identify areas where spending can be optimized.

The goal is to allocate resources more effectively, focusing on high-performing channels that promise better engagement and conversion rates.

Embrace Cost-Effective Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing offers a plethora of cost-effective strategies that CMOs can leverage.

Content marketing, email marketing, and social media platforms provide avenues for reaching large audiences at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.

By creating valuable content that resonates with their target audience, brands can foster engagement, build community, and drive conversions without hefty ad spending.

Foster Creativity and Innovation

It’s not all bad news! Budget constraints can actually serve as a catalyst for creativity and innovation within the marketing team.

Encouraging team members to think outside the box and develop unconventional ideas can lead to cost-effective marketing solutions that drive significant impact.

Whether it’s … Click to continue reading

How to Power up Your B2C Marketing Strategies with Surprising B2B Secrets

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

As has been claimed for decades, there are differences between B2C marketing strategies and business-to-business (B2B) strategies.

However, as companies continue to evolve in an increasingly digital landscape, these disparities, while significant, share the underlying goal of establishing meaningful connections with the people who buy their products and services. 

As companies strive to navigate the complexities of their respective markets, the lessons learned from examining the nuances of B2B and B2C marketing become self-evident.

This is why I decided this week to examine not only the unique challenges and opportunities inherent to each industry but also to reveal the transformative insights one sector can adopt from the other.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

 

Understanding the Landscape of B2B vs. B2C Marketing

At the heart of all effective marketing strategies lies the principle of satisfaction and connection. It involves understanding the needs, desires, and behaviours of your customers/consumers/clients (C³ – now you know where our company name comes from!)  and then composing messages that resonate with them. However, the path to achieving this relationship differs significantly between B2B and B2C marketing.

B2B Marketing: The Complex Web of Decision-Making

B2B marketing focuses on addressing the needs, interests, and challenges of the decision-makers who purchase on their organisations’ behalf. This realm is characterized by:

Longer Sales Cycles: B2B transactions often involve substantial investments, necessitating a more extended period of deliberation, approval, and procurement processes.

A study by Gartner highlighted that 77% of B2B buyers stated their latest purchase was very complex or difficult. B2B transactions, such as IBM’s enterprise software solutions or Caterpillar’s heavy machinery, involve substantial investments and can extend for months or even years. This complexity necessitates marketers to engage in continuous nurturing strategies, educational content provision, and stakeholder management to guide decision-making.

Rational Decision-Making: Decisions are driven by logic, return on investment (ROI), and efficiency gains, requiring marketers to focus on the value proposition and detailed product information.

B2B decisions are driven by logic and ROI. For instance, Salesforce markets its CRM solutions by highlighting efficiency gains, scalability, and improved sales metrics, appealing directly to organizational goals and the bottom line.

Relationship Building: Given the smaller target market and higher stakes, forging strong, long-term client relationships is paramount.

The emphasis on cultivating long-term relationships is exemplified by the account-based marketing (ABM) approach, where companies like Adobe focus on individual client accounts as markets in their own right, customizing their marketing efforts to each account’s specific needs and history with the brand.

B2C Marketing: The Emotional Journey

In contrast, B2C marketing targets individual consumers, tailoring strategies to meet their preferences and behaviours. This sector is typified by:

Shorter Sales Cycles: Purchases are often impulsive or based on immediate needs, leading to quicker decision-making.

B2C purchases, from impulse buys like a new pair of Nike sneakers to more considered purchases like a Peloton bike, often involve shorter decision times. Nike excels in creating an emotional appeal

… Click to continue reading

The New Strategic Growth Blueprint for Successfully Reimagining Market Research

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

It is a well-known fact that when budgets are tight, marketing is usually one of the first departments to suffer cuts, and market research in particular!

Why is this? I believe it is because their ROI is longer-term and often difficult to prove. They therefore make the perfect target for sweeping reductions. What they all need is a strategic growth blueprint.

A few years ago, I was asked to talk on this topic at the Planung&Analyse conference in Frankfurt. Despite rave reviews of the talk itself, many commented that they would have liked me to propose some sort of formula to help them to better defend themselves. So I decided to do just that with this post, but first a warning; customer understanding is being lost!

According to research by BurtchWorks, 20.7% of researchers changed jobs after an average of 3.1 years in their position. However, those with over ten years experience showed slightly lower levels of churn (17.8% and 3.4 years)

A study from Spencer Stuart among CMOs of Fortune 500 companies found that the average tenure is 4.2 years, roughly on par with the rest of the C-suite (4.4 years), with B2B companies (4.4 years) slightly better off than B2C (4.1 years).

These numbers made me realise that customer understanding risks being forgotten and then constantly reinvented by newly hired people in marketing and market research positions. What a waste of resources!

But there is something that you can do to increase the ROI of your spending, which is something the C-suite has long demanded of marketing departments.

And that is to develop a CMO Strategic Growth Blueprint that includes reimagining market research and how data and information are used.

Here’s how.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The ROI of Market Research

The challenge of proving the value of market research (MR) has also been a hot topic for more than a decade. And yet we didn’t seem to be any closer to solving it, at least until recently. I think that this is because all the studies I have seen on the topic concentrate on identifying what is wrong, but rarely offer help in what to change to provide more visible value to their companies. I want to put this right.

The CEB / Gartner Analysis: This analysis concludes that MR provides two types of value. Firstly from new projects and secondly from accumulated knowledge over time. By plotting these two, they came out with a three-phase progression of how MR can add value to an organisation. (see below)

CEB / Gartner MR Value

However, with both marketers and market researchers changing jobs (too) frequently, there is far less accumulated knowledge than previously. But don’t worry I have the solution in the form of a new model of CX, which I will explain in a moment.

 

The BCG Analysis: A few years after the CEB study, BCG (Boston Consulting Group) updated their own … Click to continue reading

The Power of Atomic Change to Unlock Quantum Growth in Any Business

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Organizations must be agile and adaptable to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. This is why atomic change is more effective than quantum disruption.

The traditional approach to turbulent times has always been a monumental, top-down transformation. But this is no longer the only path to success and is certainly not the most effective.

Today, many companies are turning to a more nuanced strategy: atomic change. Atomic change is the father of agility and clarifies what is needed to meet our ever-changing world.

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The Nature of Atomic Change

Atomic changes, also known as incremental or small-scale changes, involve making discrete adjustments to various aspects of a business. These changes are often gradual but collectively lead to significant transformation over time.

Let’s explore the key advantages of this approach:

1. Reduced Resistance: Atomic changes are met with less resistance from employees since they are usually less dramatic. A Gartner survey found that employees’ willingness to support enterprise change fell from 74% in 2016 to just 43% in 2022. So clearly atomic changes are the way to go.

Another survey, this time from Wharton, found that 70% of employees are more likely to embrace smaller, incremental changes compared to large-scale transformations. And McKinsey found that companies which failed their transformation programs identified employee resistance or management behaviour as the major barrier (72%) to success.

When Microsoft implemented its move from Windows 8 to Windows 10, they initially faced resistance from users who were accustomed to the older operating system. To address this, Microsoft introduced a series of atomic changes through regular updates and improvements to Windows 10. Over time, users began to appreciate the gradual enhancements, resulting in a higher acceptance rate and reduced resistance.

2. Faster Implementation: Another research study from McKinsey indicates that atomic changes can be implemented 30% faster, on average, than large-scale transformations. This seems obvious, but it is good to keep in mind in today’s dynamic business environment.

Amazon, known for its agile approach, continuously makes atomic changes to its e-commerce platform. They frequently implement small updates and new features, allowing them to respond swiftly to market demands. This rapid deployment strategy enables Amazon to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced online retail industry. It also allows them to identify winning concepts while highlighting and quickly removing those which don’t resonate with customers.

Join our Ultimate 60-mins CX Makeover to discover new ways to implement atomic change in your own organisation.

Statistics That Speak Volumes

The effectiveness of atomic change is not just anecdotal; it is backed by compelling statistics:


1. Employee Engagement: A Gallup poll revealed that organizations that frequently implement small, incremental changes report 25% higher employee engagement levels than those relying solely on large-scale transformations.

Google’s “20% Time” policy is a famous example of fostering employee engagement through atomic changes. Google encourages its employees to spend 20% … Click to continue reading

Feedback Fuelled Success: The Dynamic Duo of Continuous Improvement and Customer Insights

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Last week, I spoke about the importance of actioning customer feedback, so I would now like to focus on continuous improvement by using the information to optimise your brands and services.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The Customer’s Need for Continuous Improvement

The only constant in business today is change! And customers expect businesses to be constantly adapting and preparing for their future needs.

A survey by Salesforce reported that 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations.

Thriving in this dynamic environment requires a commitment to continuous improvement and a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences.

Businesses that embrace these practices enhance their products and services and craft exceptional customer experiences, setting themselves apart from the competition.

This blog looks at the critical role of continuous improvement and customer feedback, offering insights and strategies to help organizations stay ahead and resonate with their market.

 

The Value of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is not just a strategy; it’s a mindset that drives business growth and success. In a world where customer expectations are continually evolving, companies that prioritize ongoing improvement can adapt, innovate, and remain competitive.

For instance, Toyota, through its Kaizen philosophy, has seen a significant reduction in production costs and an increase in vehicle quality.

1.1 The Concept of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement, a philosophy embodied by concepts like Kaizen and lean management, is about making small, incremental changes that collectively lead to significant enhancements.

This approach is not just about streamlining processes; it’s about fostering a culture where every team member is empowered and encouraged to seek out ways to enhance performance and productivity.

A study by Bain & Company revealed that companies embracing lean management and continuous improvement techniques saw a 20% increase in customer satisfaction and a 35% growth in financial performance.

1.2 Benefits of Continuous Improvement

The benefits of continuous improvement extend beyond operational efficiency. It’s about nurturing a proactive culture that anticipates and responds to changes swiftly.

Organisations that adopt this approach witness improved productivity, heightened customer satisfaction, and a robust capacity for innovation. It’s not just about doing things right; it’s about doing the right things, continually.

For example, Motorola’s Six Sigma program has reportedly saved the company over $17 billion over the years.

 

Leveraging Customer Feedback for Improvement

Customer feedback is an invaluable resource, offering direct insights into what’s working and what’s not.

Microsoft’s decision to reintroduce the Start menu in Windows, following widespread customer feedback, significantly improved user satisfaction and acceptance.

2.1 Listening to Customer Voice

Customers interact with businesses through various channels, each offering unique insights. From surveys to social media interactions and direct customer service engagements, understanding how to collect and leverage these interactions is crucial.

Each channel provides a different perspective, collectively offering a comprehensive view of customer sentiment and experience.

Adobe’s Digital Trends Report highlighted that companies with strong omnichannel customer

… Click to continue reading

A New Breakthrough Model of Customer Experience – Quantum Customer Centricity (QC2™)

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

The World Has Changed. Everyone is talking about the importance of customer centricity. But they should be actioning quantum customer centricity! Let me explain.

Many people think that customer centricity is the same as customer experience. They’re wrong! At least if they are thinking about the traditional CX model.

As we start a new year, I am celebrating the official launch of the New CX Model Quantum Customer Centricity (QC2™) … Beyond CX. After decades of learning and experimentation, I created QC2™ so that every business can successfully adopt a customer-first strategy, and become more agile, more resourceful, and experience increased market growth.

If you prefer to listen rather than read:

Adopting a Customer-First Strategy is Essential

The CX Index states that 90% of businesses, regardless of the vertical they are operating in, have made CX their primary focus. And research by Gartner concluded that 80% of organizations expect to compete mainly based on CX.

Therefore, you could already have been left behind, unless you’ve started on your journey to increased customer centricity! But there is a big difference between talking about putting the customer first and doing so.

The CEI Survey found that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. However, only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations.

That’s good news for you late adopters, as it means you may still have time to benefit from delivering a better CX experience for your customers, but you must act NOW!

And anyway, why wouldn’t you? The benefits are huge!

According to research, customer-centric companies grow their revenues 4% to 8% faster than their market competitors. Not only that, 79% reported significant cost savings, and 84% increased their revenue.

But how do you optimise your own customer-first strategy, and where do you begin?

 

Why Traditional CX is Letting You Down Without You Even Knowing It!

Most discussions about customer experience only consider the interaction between the customer and the company. As a result, most effort goes into improving customer service departments and call centres.

Since these departments tend to be either small or even outsourced, changes to them have little impact on how a business works. And unfortunately, they are also rarely of great interest to top management.

The customer journey is often seen as linear and only impacting the different departments at distinct points in time. Even if customer emotions are considered at each touchpoint, which is already an improvement on the usual journey map, it remains limited and static.

In addition, information about the customer may be gathered, but it is rarely shared across departments, let alone integrated for deeper knowledge and understanding of the customer.

All of this has resulted in individual actions being taken without a holistic view of the customer or their experience. That is why so few organisations succeed in delighting the customer with their customer-first strategy adoption.

It’s time for a … Click to continue reading

Top Posts of 2023 on Customer Centricity

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Here at C3Centricity, we publish books (Winning Customer Centricity), articles and training on customer centricity, because we’re passionate about helping companies to successfully adopt a customer-first strategy.

Since we founded C3Centricity in early 2011, one of our traditions has been to share the most popular posts on customer experience at the beginning of each new year. 

This past year has been particularly successful for C3Centricity, with many of our newest posts getting the top scores globally! This is quite tough for a blog that has been running for almost 13 years and highlights the quality of the content we share with you each month.

Of course, there are also a few perennials that have been appearing in our top 10 list for years, like insight development and customer observation. Since no brand is successful without a foundational insight, and customer understanding is its major essential element, these two will always be popular – they also are on Google’s first page, which certainly helps and confirms the quality of their content.

So let’s have a look at the Top 10 list in 2023, and see if your own favourites are there. If not, then please let us know in the comments. Thanks.  

#1. Five Brilliant Ideas to Boost Your Insight Development

Boost your insight developmentThis post regularly appears in the top three posts on C3Centricity. This shows the quality of its recommendations and content. And the importance of business insights. 

Ever wondered why you struggle to develop actionable insights? This post shares some of the main reasons why even large companies sometimes fail at this essential art. Then, it offers some suggested solutions to help you.

Insights are the foundation on which every single successful brand is built. If your brands are lacking strong positive growth, they are probably missing that insight that will make them powerhouses.

So it is vital that you learn how to develop them and then how to action them in your communications and innovation. Again, if you struggle to action your insights, you’re most certainly missing one of the steps covered in this post.

To stimulate your thinking, the article includes many real-world examples of how great insights can be turned into powerful ad campaigns that connect with customers and motivate them to buy.

If you’re ready to finally learn how to develop actionable business insights, check out our online course on the topic HERE.

#2. Five Rules of Customer Observation for Greater Success

Measure your company image

This post has also been among the top articles on C3Centricity for many years. It is a cornerstone post that is regularly updated to remain highly relevant in today’s marketplace.

Its popularity clearly shows the need we all have to understand how to get up close and personal with our customers – the right way.

The five rules it includes are easy to follow and will make every occasion to watch and listen to your customers so much more interesting and valuable.

And if you want to learn how to watch

… Click to continue reading

7 Secrets to Business Growth from Leading Global Brands

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Whenever several people ask me to share my strategies for achieving business growth, it indicates that something significant is happening in the marketplace.

This is precisely what happened to me a few months ago. No less than two of my current clients and four new companies have asked me for support in growing their businesses in just the past month! In particular, they have all said that one or more of their brands is stable (to be polite) and that they want to reverse their (negative) trend.

Is this your situation, too? Did you also struggle to achieve growth this year? If so, I have a useful 7-step process that will bring you rapid change in 2024. (although if I were one of the self-proclaimed “gurus” we all see on social media these days, I probably would guarantee you results in days or weeks, shouldn’t I?!!)

I believe that one of the major issues in marketing these days is that companies are following an incomplete, outdated CX (customer experience) model.

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The Need for a New CX Model

The CX Index states that 90% of businesses, regardless of the vertical they are operating in, have made CX their primary focus. And research by Gartner concluded that 80% of organizations expect to compete mainly based on CX.

This should be good news for customers, but there’s a problem.

Most discussions about customer experience only consider the interaction between the customer and the company. As a result, most effort goes into improving customer service departments and call centres.

Since these departments tend to be either smaller or even outsourced, their changes have little impact on how a business works. They are also of little interest to top management.

The customer journey is seen as linear and only impacts different departments at distinct points in time. Even if their emotions are considered at each touchpoint, which is already an improvement, it remains static.

In addition, information about the customer may be gathered, but it is rarely shared, let alone integrated, for deeper knowledge and understanding.

This has resulted in individual actions being taken without a holistic view of the customer or their experience. That is why so few succeed.

 

Quantum Customer CentricityQuantum Customer Centricity (QC2) takes a multi-dimensional view of the four moving parts of a customer-first strategy. It boosts business by leveraging your strengths while identifying the biggest opportunities for growth. It finds the small, key changes that will maximise your company’s benefit.

And these smaller atomic transformations are far more likely to succeed than larger ones.

QC2 is a breakthrough approach that integrates rather than replaces what you are already doing well, so progress is made faster and usually also considerably cheaper.

It creates greater agility, delivering more targeted and accelerated results than most of the traditional models typical to larger organizations.

If you’d like to learn more about … Click to continue reading

Using AI to Delight Your Customers With More AI (Authentic Interactions)

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives and has revolutionized how we interact with technology and businesses. This post discusses how to use AI to enhance customer experience with another AI, authentic interactions.

Over the past year, the AI landscape has witnessed a significant shift from AI versus AI competitions to AI working in collaboration with AI. Although AI-driven interactions have made significant progress, it is time to take them to the next level by integrating authentic interactions with AI to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Let’s examine how AI has evolved in customer relations and explore ten ways businesses can integrate authentic interactions with AI to enhance customer experiences.

Get ready to delve into a world where technology meets humanity, where the future of customer engagement is not AI versus AI, but AI working in tandem with AI.

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

 

The Evolution of AI in Authentic Interactions with Customers

Over the years, AI has greatly evolved in customer interactions. Initially, AI was used to automate monotonous tasks and to provide quick and efficient responses to customer inquiries. However, the early AI systems were often inflexible and could not understand and adapt to the subtleties of human communication.

With the advances in AI technology, we have seen the emergence of chatbots and virtual assistants that can engage in more natural and context-aware conversations.

This development has led to a shift from the traditional AI versus AI approach, where AI tries to outsmart or outperform other AIs, to a more collaborative approach known as AI + AI.

 

AI + AI: The Future of Customer Engagements

The combination of AI and AI marks a significant change in how businesses utilize AI technologies for authentic customer interactions. Instead of setting one AI system against another, businesses are now concentrating on integrating multiple AI components to function together fluidly, ultimately improving customer experiences.

Here are ten methods to integrate authentic interactions with AI to achieve this goal:

1. Embracing Emotional Intelligence (EI) is crucial for AI. It involves training algorithms to recognize and respond to human emotions by understanding cues such as tone of voice, choice of words, and facial expressions.

This helps AI gauge a customer’s emotional state and respond appropriately with empathy and support. When AI acknowledges customers’ feelings, they feel heard and valued and can offer personalized solutions.

Pre-programmed responses should be banned as they are easily recognized and do more harm than good. Call centre representatives should be given the autonomy to do what’s best for the customer within certain guidelines. If you’d like to read more about delivering best-in-class customer service, read the post: “7 Ways to Deliver Awesome Customer Service & Build Loyal Advocates”

2. Human-AI hybrid teams combine the best of both worlds by utilizing the strengths of humans and AI systems. AI is highly efficient in handling routine tasks and queries, allowing

… Click to continue reading

Navigate a Challenging Business Environment and Stay Ahead of Your Competition

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

When facing a challenging business environment, which these days is true for almost every industry, companies don’t always have the time to make considered decisions. Agility has become a much-needed skill.

So, how can companies be better prepared for whatever the future holds? 

Agility needs preparation and with this in mind, most major organisations conduct some sort of societal trend following in the hope that they will correctly “guess” what might happen. You may be one of them. So it might surprise you that I believe this is a huge mistake, especially if you think that trends alone will better prepare your organisation!

Think about it. Most companies follow the same trends, attend the same trend “shows” & conferences, and get the same or at least very similar reports.

This results in them all working on the same ideas and concepts, and eventually launching very similar products and services or campaigns, that struggle to compete effectively.

Have you never wondered why suddenly everyone is talking about a certain topic, using similar slogans, or launching equivalent offers? Now you know why!

Here’s how to avoid this and develop a powerful competitive advantage.

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

 

Market Evidence

I want to start by sharing just one example of the problem I just mentioned. A few years ago, we started seeing many companies using the idea of “YES” and “NO” in their advertising. In Europe, these included:

  • The Swiss Migros Bank: see the videos here – only in French & German, I’m afraid but still easy to understand whatever language you speak.
  • Coke’s “Say Yes to Love” campaign.
  • Coke say yes to love

 

  • BMW 320i  Campaign YES YOU CAN

 

These are just three examples from very different industries, but I’m sure there are many others in your own country. (If so, please share the example in the comments below.)

Clearly, the trend for more independence and freedom has been emphasised in all three organisations mentioned above. Perhaps they are working with the same trend or advertising agency? Or maybe they are buying the same external trends report. It certainly looks like it, doesn’t it?

Companies that develop concepts based upon this type of external resource alone can find themselves in a race to be the first to market when using the ideas these reports suggest.

Incidentally, it is not always best to be the first when introducing new concepts to consumers, especially when they require learning new ways of thinking or working.

So what can you do about it? The vital step that many – dare I say most – organisations don’t take, is to turn the trends they are following into plausible future scenarios.

Scenario planning ensures original thinking from which proprietary ideas are conceived, and takes the development of new concepts in-house, where it belongs.

Then, the new product and service concepts, the new advertising campaigns, and the new promotions that are designed are unlikely to be … Click to continue reading

Today’s Toughest Marketing Challenge is Not Achieving Customer Satisfaction!

Posted on by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Customer satisfaction doesn’t last as long as it used to.

We’ve all become extremely demanding, thanks to constant new offers of innovation and novelty.

Today, we want things better, faster and sometimes cheaper as well. And customer satisfaction is becoming insufficient to drive growth alone. Companies need to deliver more, a lot more!

If you’d prefer to listen rather than read:

I was recently in the US, and as seems to be the norm these days, the hotel in which I stayed asked me to rate my stay afterwards. I completed their form, giving only four and five-star ratings, as I had been very satisfied with my visit, the hotel room, the staff and their services. Imagine my surprise, therefore when I got the following email a day or so after submitting my review:

“Thank you for taking the time to complete our online survey regarding your recent stay at our hotel.

On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologize for failing to exceed your expectations. Your satisfaction is important to us and we will be using the feedback you provided to make improvements to ensure we offer an exceptional experience for our guests in the future.

I hope that you will consider staying with us again so that we can have another chance to provide you with a superior experience.”

Shocking mail, isn’t it? To think that a Hotel would apologise for not exceeding my expectations!

I believe that is exactly why they get a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor. For them, customer satisfaction is not enough; they want their guests to be enchanted, enthralled, and excited, so a return visit is a “no-brainer”; no other hotel choice would make sense!

So I have a question for you: How do you treat your own customers? Do you do just enough to satisfy them, or do you consistently look to exceed their expectations?

If you are a regular reader here – and I’d love to know why if you’re not, so I can do better in the future – you will know that I often talk about “surprising” and “delighting” our customers. These are not hollow words; there’s a very real reason why I use them. The reason is that our customers may be satisfied, but they will never stay satisfied for long.

The above example is one way that the hotel staff ensures they have enough time to correct whatever is not a “superior experience,” as they term their own desired service level, and to continue to offer total customer satisfaction.

 

Examples of Brands Going Beyond Customer Satisfaction

Here are a few examples of other companies that go above and beyond in terms of their own customer service. I hope they inspire you to do the same and to aspire to exceed customer satisfaction whenever and wherever you can.

Coming back to the title of this post, I hope you now agree that satisfaction is … Click to continue reading

Latest Post

[pt_view id=”999bb999ha”]

Join Global Customer First Strategists!

Get our latest posts before everyone else, and exclusive content just for you.

* indicates required

C3Centricity LogoJOIN C3CENTRICITY FANS

Get Useful Tips, Tricks & Tools Like These Sent Straight to Your Inbox

You have successfully subscribed to the newsletter

There was an error while trying to send your request. Please try again.

C3Centricity will use this information to send you useful updates and exciting marketing communications.