There’s no denying it: social media has left its mark on the business world.
Facebook is a publicly traded company worth $200 billion. YouTube is a media powerhouse, racking in 1 billion subscribers. Even smaller networks like Tumblr and Snapchat make headlines regularly.
As a result of social’s remarkable footprint, traditional brands have started to see the business value behind this new(ish) medium. Many corporations now have individuals, campaigns, and budgets dedicated solely to social. We’ve certainly come a long way, but we are not there yet.
The Problem With Digital Marketing Today
Many corporate structures have social media as a separate department or an entity under the marketing umbrella. They fail to recognize that social doesn’t just affect marketing or public relations. It’s also recruiting, customer care, product development, sales, research, crisis management… and so much more. Social media impacts the entire organization, but we don’t treat it as such.
Take a look at your customers’ conversations with you on social (a sample breakdown of these social messages is above). They’re related to your service, your store, your product, your return policy, your website, your culture, etc. These messages involve dozens of teams, offices, product lines, and departments across the enterprise, yet 60% of organizations still cite marketing as the main function of social.
As social media continues to touch more parts of the organization, it becomes less logical to keep it confined to one department. And we shouldn’t. We need to view it in the context of the entire customer journey with your brand.
We are way past the Age of Social. We now live in the Age of Customer Experience. Experiences have always mattered — but now, experiences are the only thing that matters. In fact, in just a few years, 89% of businesses will compete mainly on customer experience. And by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator.
What Is Customer Experience Management?
Customer Experience Management is the process of providing unforgettable experiences to your customers at every touchpoint — online, on the phone, in person, and on social channels.
Successful Experience Management is not optional, even for large complex organizations. It’s the future of every business operating in a networked world. Your brand isn’t your company. It isn’t your marketing message. It isn’t even your product. It is the sum of your customers’ experience at every brand touchpoint.
Making this transition into an experience-centric organization isn’t easy. Here are five principles that will help along the way.
- Build the Holistic View
Before you provide unforgettable experiences for your customer, you need to have a clear idea of who they are. This means every time a customer interacts with your brand, these interactions are tracked and recorded.
When I walk into a store, I want the salesperson to ask me how the last pair of pants I bought are working out; the dressing room technology to know my size and color preferences; and later, when I call or tweet at the customer care department, the reps to have a history of my previous interactions.
While we’re still a ways away from this new ideal, it is important to understand the goal: a holistic view of the customer that allows the brand to improve upon their experience every single time, thus delighting them and bringing them back. This type of interaction requires huge internal coordination across silos and the proper technology infrastructure that is able to connect the entire front office in a way that makes all of this possible.
- Listen — Actually Listen
Once you have a holistic view of your customer, you can truly begin to listen to what they’re asking for. Is your brand marketing sneakers when your customers are telling you they want more sandals? Are you still assuming that 24-35 year old female is your target demographic when really you have a huge male following of 45-60 years of age?
Often, there is an incredible disconnect between what brands want to sell their customers and what their customers are asking for. These old push marketing tactics will no longer work. The good news, however, is that customers are now voicing their opinions louder than ever. Social has given companies an incredible insight into the habits, likes, and dislikes of their customers. Your fans are telling you what they want. Listen.
- Follow Through
Just listening isn’t enough, you need to act on it. Time after time, brands monitor social, conduct surveys, and gather intel about their customer, only to push it aside in lieu of the next shiny idea. Follow through on the insights, try new things out, show your customers that you do care.
- Build a Relationship through Transparency
Regardless of the medium – social, in person, over the phone – it is essential to communicate with honesty and transparency. Look at owned content as an opportunity to build your brand and invest in the personnel and infrastructure necessary to take it to the next level. Don’t be afraid to let your company values shine through and empower your employees to be advocates. With every interaction add value rather than promote your products. Building relationships with consumers isn’t any different from building relationships with your friends.
Treat them with respect.
- Adapt and Change
Never stop adapting. Your consumers are savvy and informed. They know about new
products before the sales team does, and how to fix bugs before the support team realizes there is a problem. They know about pricing mistakes before the finance team does. They build local communities and influence the perception of your brand and, with that, the purchase intent.
So adapt with your customers. Build relationships with them, listen to them, bring them into your brand, and give them what they’re asking for. Only once you have made these fundamental shifts will you be able to compete in the new Age of Experience.
Want to Learn More About Customer Experience Management?
This ebook by Sprinklr on managing customer experiences will help you outline your first steps towards becoming a connected, customer-centric company.
Originally published on the IBM Blog