Digital has completely upended the marketing and advertising world, fundamentally changing the industry as we know it. Now it’s less about campaign-building and more about the convergence of marketing and technology to guide digital transformation.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/25/true-digital-transformation-requires-a-new-breed-of-agency/#30eb93ad4ff0/
In today’s omni-channel world, consumers shop using multiple devices, touchpoints, and channels, ultimately choosing their own preferred path to purchase.
A typical digital journey today could start with a consumer researching a purchase on their smartphone, then continuing later on a laptop or tablet. They might visit your site after engaging with your search ad and ask your chatbot some initial questions. They might call your business a few days later after getting one of your emails and finalize their purchase in person at your closest brick-and-mortar location.
https://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/4-ways-marketers-use-voice-analytics-to-create-frictionless-customer-experiences-02088381/
Branding started out as a concept or a thought to build in a customer’s head. But, along with technological advancements, that has changed. We live in an age of social media and advanced technology where customer experience has turned into branding. So, it is no longer about building perception about customer’s mind. Almost every company has delved deep into the customer experience business.
https://customer-experience-management.cioreview.com/news/why-customer-experience-management-is-the-future-of-marketing-nid-26717-cid-118.html/
Why is there a high failure rate of customer experience (CX) initiatives? And why do most CEOs not buy into CX? Because CX professionals and companies are not practicing Real CX.
https://www.mycustomer.com/experience/engagement/why-cx-must-not-be-the-responsibility-of-customer-service-or-marketing/
Over the years I witnessed the never ending debate between practitioners of Customer Service/Support and Marketing over which one of them is more critical to the delivery of outstanding Customer Experience. The debate itself is a testimony that these practitioners are more focused on their self importance than on their customers’ needs. As long as you debate which is more important – the food or the utensils – your guest goes away hungry. The most amazing product cannot thrive without at least reasonable customer service. The most amazing customer support cannot keep customers from abandoning inadequate products, and without retaining the customers there is no path to sustainable profitability.
http://blog.cx-iq.com/customer-experience-the-three-legged-stool/
As the world moves from desktop to mobile, apps are becoming our new shopping malls. Just as we walk into a mall or a store, look around the merchandise, pay, and leave with a bag, now we launch an app and shop to our hearts content, without having to leave the comfort of our chair. Best of all, we can do it anywhere we can now do our grocery shopping on our morning commute, shop for friends birthdays on our lunch break, and send Mom flowers without ever having to make a single call.
https://mopinion.com/creating-a-perfect-user-journey-in-your-mcommerce-app/
Rigid strategies that do not focus on the future, restructures that fail to overcome silos and staff who are not empowered are hindering businesses joining up to deliver differentiated customer experiences.
https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/11/16/brand-learning-trends-10-nov-issue-be-rewarded-for-joined-up-thinking/
It used to be so simple. If you were looking to acquire new customers you needed the reach of mass campaigns to attract them to you. If you wanted to build and enhance relationships with existing customers, you needed to deploy what you had learned and tailor your targeted messages precisely.
Now, thanks to ad blocking, savvy consumers opt-out more easily than ever, so ensuring communications are accurately targeted to potential customers is imperative.
https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2018/apr/17/its-no-longer-choice-between-targeting-or-audience-reach-both-are-imperative-succeed/
In recent years, inbound marketing has seen a boom in popularity. Businesses of every shape, size, and industry have started adopting the inbound methodology to attract visitors and turn contacts into clients. Unfortunately, the final step of the inbound methodology—delighting customers—has been talked about quite a bit less than other topics, such as writing a killer e-book or organic keyword rankings. But that’s all about to change.
As more and more brands turn to inbound marketing, the competition will grow only fiercer, making it even more important to focus on a positive customer experience (CX). After all, if a customer has a negative experience with your brand, what’s stopping them from turning to a competitor that can offer them the same services and content? By focusing on customer success and support, organizations will be able to increase the lifetime value of their current customers, decrease the cost of acquisition for future customers, and turn passive customers into enthusiastic promoters.
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/inbound-customer-experiences-future-marketing-02035120/
What Ian is saying is that there are different departments working on the customer's journey. From marketing, which positions the company in the marketplace, to communications, which pushes the message out further, to sales, which is the official name we've given to the process of the point where the customer buys. And then, once they are a customer, we try to get them to come back, moving them from one-time buyers to repeat buyers.
My original post was about creating a special department or team that focuses on creating loyalty from the casual or one-time buyer. I still believe that's an effort worth investing in. But, Ian's response warranted a response:
https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4087706.html/
