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THE CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIP:YOUR LAST COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGE

How to Harness Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset

Copyright © 2014 Vision Critical. All rights reserved.

Executive Summary

In the age of the empowered customer, competitive advantage is no longer defined by products, logistics or technology. Today, your last competitive advantage is your relationship with customers.

The need to build closer, more meaningful customer relationships has

never been more critical.

This book shows how high-performing companies effectively bring customers into their decision-making processes. By listening to the customer voice, crowdsourcing, and using customer intelligence platforms, customer-focused companies have increased revenue, reduced customer churn, and gained competitive advantage.

We outline how involving customers can be achieved throughout the enterprise at both the day-to-day, tactical level and at the broader, strategic level. The 7 key tips we provide in this book will help ensure that companies today are ready to truly collaborate with customers, their last competitive advantage.

Copyright © 2014 Vision Critical. All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Your Last Competitive Advantage

CHAPTER 2

The True Definition of “Customer Centric”

CHAPTER 3

The Three Layers of Customer Engagement 1. The Customer Voice: Listening 2. The Wisdom of the Crowd: Crowdsourcing 3. The Full View: True Customer Intelligence

CHAPTER 4

The ROI of a Customer-Centric Approach

CHAPTER 5

The Last Competitive Advantage Across Industries

CHAPTER 6

A Forecast on Company-Customer Collaboration

CHAPTER 7

Recommendations

About the Author & Special Thanks

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THERIGHT

CUSTOMERS

AT THERIGHT TIME

IN THERIGHT WAY

12 3

6 THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP : YOUR LAST COMPETIT IVE ADVANTAGE

Remember the days when companies used to focus on

product differentiation? Everyone had the softest tissues,

the most effective detergent, the highest resolution

television. As customer choices increased, businesses

found that offering product advantages alone was no

longer enough.

The Customer Relationship: Your Last Competitive Advantage

CHAPTER 1

HOW TO HARNESS YOUR COMPANY’S MOST VALUABLE ASSET 7

The next wave saw businesses establishing competitive

advantages at the logistical level through better

warehousing, procurement, and distribution. Remember

when free shipping was enough to attract a loyal

customer base? Now, free shipping is the rule, not the

exception. People no longer notice logistics…unless

there’s a problem.

“One by one, every corporate investment has

been commoditized. Now every company can

tap into global factories and global supply chains.

Manufacturing, distribution, and IT-oriented

technology management are all table stakes. The

only source of competitive advantage is the one

that can survive technology-fueled disruption

— an obsession with understanding, connecting

with, and serving customers.”

Competitive Strategy in the Age of the

Customer, Forrester Research Inc., 2013


Today, the last competitive advantage is the customer.

The good news is that a number of widely available

technologies can facilitate the company-customer

relationship:

Social Media

Survey Tools

CRM Systems

Co-creation Platforms

Insight Communities


To win in this customer-driven era, companies must

leverage these technologies and build closer, more

meaningful relationships with customers to understand

and deliver on their needs. The business focus, internally

and externally, must be the customer.

Truly customer-centric companies:

1. Engage regularly with their customers

2. Achieve market success

3. Gain an edge over competitors.


Involving readers in the future of publications

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


Time Inc., (publisher of titles such as Time, FORTUNE, Real

Simple, and Entertainment Weekly) uses its five insight

communities to, “Get the consumer involved from a 360°

perspective,” in the words of Time Inc.’s Executive Director

of Consumer Insights, Lee Ann Baer.

Consumer input is reflected in every decision, from design,

product names, font type and everything in between. Lee

Ann reports that upper management constantly ask “Well,

what do [our readers] really think about this idea?”

“We don’t want to take an idea that’s fully baked and take it to the marketplace, we need input when it is in its infancy to get us to the next

phase. The fact they have a voice in them [the magazines] matters to them – we don’t want to

ever take the consumer out of the equation.”

-Lee Ann Baer, Executive Director of Consumer Insights, Time Inc.


The True Definition of “Customer-Centric”

The term “customer-centric” is widely used today. But

for many companies it continues to be an aspirational

goal rather than a day-to-day reality. The fact that

so many businesses claim to be “customer-centric”

positively indicates the awareness that customer focus

is important.

CHAPTER 2


But the reality is that many of these customer-centric

claims are superficial; they are merely marketing

messages that pay lip service to the growing customer

movement. Organizations are involving customers in

decision making to help create shareholder value, and

to help ensure the future of the business. IBM’s 2013

study, The Customer-activated Enterprise, highlighted

the impact of listening and involving customers on the

organization’s bottom line. The benefits listed in the

report included:

So what does it mean to be truly customer-centric? A

company that is customer-centric engages regularly in

two-way communication with its customers and makes

decisions based on customer feedback. The company-

customer relationship is collaborative, with customers

filling the role of virtual board members who make

valuable contributions to the company’s decision-making

process.

76% of the C-suite aspire to know their customers better.

-The Customer-activated Enterprise, IBM Study, 2013


Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos illustrates perfectly the notion

of the customer as a company insider. He famously

brought an empty chair to meetings, forcing employees

to think about an important person not in the room: the

customer. As Bezos once said:

P&G CEO A.G. Lafley is similarly customer-obsessed, known for telling his staff:

“Our business is pretty simple, the consumer is our boss.”

- A.G. Lafley, CEO P&G

“We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and

we work backwards.”- Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon


For Lafley, the customer is not only an employee but the

most important one.

In short, customer-centric companies like Amazon and

P&G consider customers as company insiders who are

part of the decision-making process. The company and

customer are collaborators in co-creating the future of

the company to benefit both parties.

Anthony D. Williams and Don Tapscott highlight the

importance of company-customer co-creation in their

bestselling book, Wikinomics:

“Smart companies will bring customers into their business webs and give them lead roles in developing next-generation

products and services.”1

- Anthony D. Williams & Don Tapscott, Wikinomics, Penguin, 2006

Engaging and Empowering Mothers

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


Kimberly-Clark Australia utilizes an insight community of

3000 engaged mothers to involve its customers at every

stage of the company’s product development process.

Kimberly-Clark gets valuable feedback and insight they

can use to help make better decisions.

Alla Nock, Market Research & Analytics Manager, Kimberly-

Clark Australia describes the benefits to involving customers:

“What mums get out of being members of this community is that they’re part of a

fantastic brand they helped to build.Our mums can see their feedback turn into

results when they see on shelves products and decisions they helped influence. In this way,

mums know we are really listening.”

One of the key successes of using an insight community

to involve customers has been the buy-in from key

stakeholders from within Kimberly-Clark. Alla Nock notes

that when making decisions, executives ask “Well, what

would our Mums’ say?” I.E. the members of their Huggies

community.



Company-customer collaboration can be achieved

through various approaches that range in the depth

of customer involvement. The level of collaboration

depends on the layer of customer engagement that is

employed.

The Three Layers of Customer Engagement

CHAPTER 3


1.

Essentially, customer engagement comes in three layers:

1. Listening to the Customer Voice 2. Crowdsourcing Customer Feedback & Ideas 3. Co-creating Through Customer Insight Communities

Most customer-centric companies use a combination

of these approaches, rather than relying on a single

technique.

The Customer Voice: Listening

Listening to customer feedback represents the most

traditional form of customer engagement. Through the

years, the methods for obtaining feedback have evolved

from customer satisfaction questionnaires that are siloed

within customer service or marketing departments to

customer feedback management (CFM) platforms that

are monitored and measured throughout the enterprise.

With CFMs, companies can obtain feedback analytics,

conduct polls, build forums, and monitor the increasing

number of third-party review sites.


One example of a CFM in action is American General

Life, an insurance company that uses a system to

get real-time feedback data in a centralized hub. As

survey responses come in, the company’s system

triggers email alerts and delivers information to case

management tools according to business rules. Having

access to real-time feedback analytics allows American

General Life to more quickly address customer issues,

resulting in decreased technology costs, reduced

expenses, and optimized processes.2

Social media monitoring is another method by which

companies can listen to feedback and provide customer

service.

Adoption of social customer care programs increased by approximately five-fold

between 2010 and 2013:

12% in 2010 and 59% in 20133

- Aberdeen Group


One company that uses social media for customer

service is Dutch airline KLM. Since 2010, the company

has recognized that social media is a great tool to

provide quick customer support. Former CEO Peter

Harman even went as far as declaring that social media

would be at the heart of the airline’s customer service.

Viktor van der Wijk, Director of Digital at Air France KLM,

tells The Guardian,

“Now we can identify passengers’ experience at check-in, in the

lounge or when they are collecting their bags. Any problems in any of these areas and we are straight on

the case via social media.”4

- Viktor van der Wijk, Director of Digital,

Air France KLM


Fast-food chain Wendy’s has also employed social

media listening to improve various aspects of its

business. For example, by tuning in on social, the chain

found out that customers were concerned about the

nutritional value of what they were having for lunch.

Using that insight, the company developed an app that

provided customers with nutritional information, despite

its PR team’s hesitation.

Listening to the customer voice is the first layer in

customer engagement. It’s a good starting point to

uncover the larger trends, sentiments and topics that

you should explore.

The app was a hit, receiving more than 26,000 downloads a month after its launch—without the company investing

in advertising.5


2. The Wisdom of the Crowd: There are more smart people outside your company than within it

Before the Internet, and in particular before social media,

the prevailing business paradigm assumed the world

was divided into two groups: the small group of experts

inside companies and everybody else. Today, we’ve

seen that paradigm upended, as numerous online

crowdsourcing efforts have successfully proven that the

wisdom of the crowd can provide value more efficiently

and/or effectively than company employees.

Typically, companies initiate crowdsourcing efforts

through online mechanisms such as social media

contests, marketing campaigns, and online surveys.

Through brand-led crowdsourcing initiatives, customers

have influenced future products, from new flavors of

food (e.g., chips, gum, ice cream) to key features

(e.g., colors, design, new capabilities). They’ve also

participated in the shaping of a brand’s new logo or

product name. Crowdsourcing can attract a wide


audience. In early 2014, Lay’s announced that it was

relaunching Do Us A Flavor, a crowdsourcing promotion

that asks customers to submit original chip flavor ideas.

The promotion was reincarnated after the overwhelming

success of the first one:

Several studies demonstrate the economic benefits of

sourcing from the crowd. Most notable are those cited

in The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, who

asserts that a group of people can be more intelligent

and have better market judgement than the smartest

individual among them.

It’s no wonder customer-centric P&G CEO A.G. Lafley,

insisted that 50% of P&G’s innovation come from outside

the company.

In 2012, Do Us A Flavor inspired almost four million submissions

(and various parodies).6


Crowdsourcing is the second, deeper level of customer

engagement. Unlike social listening, it goes beyond

listening to what’s already out there and proactively

asking customers for input.

Leveraging Iceland and its FansIn 2010 Iceland was devastated by two calamities:. the global

financial crisis and an ash cloud generated by the Eyjafjallajokull

volcano. Sentiment about Iceland went through the floor, as did

projected numbers of visitors. Worse, the budget the country had

to devote to these challenges was limited.

What Iceland did was create a campaign where Icelanders and

previous visitors to Iceland were encouraged to crowdsource an

image for Iceland. People were encouraged to post their stories of

how great Iceland was to visit. The campaign leveraged Facebook,

Twitter, Tumblr and Vimeo.This prize-winning campaign turned

visitor numbers around. The marketing investment was about $4

million, the revenue generated was over $230 million – a

return on investment of about $60 for each $1 spent.

It’s More Fun in the PhilippinesA similar motivation, saw the Philippines launch its collaborative,

crowdsourced, social media campaign, “It’s More Fun in the

Philippines”, in 2012 – leading to record-breaking numbers of visitors and massive ROI.


3. The Full Customer View: True Customer Intelligence

Although the first two layers of customer engagement

are rich and effective, they are observational, rear facing

and incomplete. They give companies the channels to

listen and obtain data on what customers want and say,

but they are missing arguably the most important piece:

customer attitudes and opinions. They don’t uncover the

“why”.

Customer intelligence platforms allow companies to

have an ongoing, two-way dialogue with customers

in a secure and engaging environment.

These private online groups of customers allow

companies to build meaningful relationships that deepen

over time as they learn more about how customers

think and feel, and more fully understand their opinions,

attitudes, and behavior.


This process also allows productive ideas and practices

to be developed over time. Customer contributions are

recognized, and this leads to greater willingness to be

innovative and collaborative. Similarly, as described by

Amber Hudson, Consumer Insights at Molson Coors,

when companies begin to understand their customers

they can begin to take risks, which can open up more

options.

When members of insight communities, for example, are

asked why they have joined and why they stay engaged,

one of the most common reasons is that:

Community members say they want to make a

difference to the companies that have invested in

building a relationship with them.

They want their

VOICE TO BE HEARD


In Australia, Village Roadshow has had years of success

with its Gold Coast theme parks and uses an insight

community to help involve customers. Recently, Village

Roadshow faced a major strategic issue, the launch of

a theme park in Sydney. Previous companies had failed

with parks in Sydney. Village Roadshow worked with

customers and potential customers to find out what was

needed in New South Wales. The result? The season

passes sold out before the park even opened!

In China, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group used an

insight community to determine how to best position its

brand in mainland China. The community helped them

understand the nuances that apply in a fast moving and

highly demanding market like China.

Australia

Global companies are using insight communities to involve customers in the decision-making process

China


Following its merger with TACA Airlines, Avianca, the

second largest airline in Latin America, worked with

customers and its insight community to help navigate the

merger and potential re-branding. A merger is a major

strategic issue and one which, if done badly, could cost

millions and cause the brand to lose credibility.

Companies like SingTel, Asia’s leading communications

group, are using insight communities to connect every

part of their business to customers in multiple countries,

across multiple languages, and in multiple cultures.

Involving customers has helped SingTel ensure that

product and service developments are iterative and

customer focused.

Latin America

Asia


The Apple Myth

There is a popular myth that companies that are truly innovative

do not need to ask consumers. The most commonly quoted

example is Apple, with people citing an interview with Steve

Jobs. In the interview he answered a question about the sort of

research that went into the development of the iPad, by saying,

However, as the court cases between Apple and Samsung

have shown, Apple is indeed a major user of customer

research and customer insight7 and is deeply committed

to customer participation. In addition to having customer

feedback and web pages that are extremely easy to find and

use, the Apple Support Communities website provides a forum

where customers can interact among themselves and with the

company to discuss issues pertaining to Apple products. The

forum has become a source of invaluable information.

“None. It isn’t the consumer’s job to know what they want.”

- Steve Jobs


Apple has found that another simple yet effective way

of fostering customer participation is through its online

communities of selected customers, who are asked for input

on a variety of subjects and issues. For example, Apple

Customer Pulse, initiated in 2011, involved customized surveys

sent to selected customers to study their views and the ways

they use Apple products.

Companies that deliver what customers want tend to do it by

involving customers–even if they don’t choose to freely admit it.

Leveraging the power of word of mouthApple is actively exploring how to leverage the power of word of mouth

and customer participation at the same time. It measures word of mouth regularly in its stores while soliciting input from targeted

customers.

Store managers often use customer comments to initiate service failure

recovery activities, design training programs for store employees and

motivate and reward staff with positive customer comments.

In addition to trying to gauge how well it is building an army of brand

evangelists, Apple compares word-of-mouth and satisfaction scores

with customer comments and feedback to uncover the dynamics behind customer reactions and purchase behavior.


Since 2011, the brewer Molson Coors has been working

with its insight community, the BeerXChange, to bring

customers into the heart of its business.

Working with“beerologists”

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


“The thing we really like about the BeerXChange is

how much beer drinkers are really becoming true

advocates of our brand. They really enjoy helping out

the organization, they love that their voice is heard and

that we take their insights and their feedback and turn it

into action,” Amber Hudson, Consumer Insights, Molson

Coors.

“Prior to launching the community, we knew what our brand was all about,

we knew what our strategy was, but we needed to get the consumer voice in order to truly

meet their needs.”

-Amber Hudson, Consumer Insights, Molson Coors

Involving customers also means sometimes being

willing to take risks, Hudson commented. “We’ve done

everything from very simple forums to collages, basic

surveys to live chat and focus groups. We’ve had

members write articles and letters. We have been able

to take risks with some of the methodologies that we

have used and just have some fun as we approach the

target consumers.”


Being Customer Centric is Good for Business

Although there are exceptions, the main reason

companies are democratizing their business is because

it is good business. Companies are involving customers

in decision making to help create shareholder value

and to help ensure the future of the business.

CHAPTER 4


IBM’s 2013 study, The Customer-activated Enterprise,

highlighted the impact of involving customers to the

organization’s bottom line. Findings of the report

included:

Similarly, a 2013 study of 629 companies by the

Aberdeen Group8 contrasted the performance of

companies that used enterprise social collaboration with

those that did not. Aberdeen found the collaborators

had:

Outperforming organizations are much more likely than underperforming ones to be collaborating with customers

30% higher customer retention

55% increase in revenue

96% improvement in response time to customer inquiries


According to Forrester’s Customer Experience Index

(CXi), CX leaders had a cumulative:

A great example is USAA, a provider of loans for car

purchases. After launching a seamless customer

experience for researching, financing, and insuring

vehicle purchases, USAA experienced:

43% gain in stock performance over a six-year period (2007 to 2012), compared with a 14.5% increase for the S&P 500 Index and a 33.9% decrease for a portfolio of customer experience laggards.9

77% year-over-year increase in visitors to its car-buying site15% increase in completed auto loans23% increase in vehicles sold


Customer collaboration is increasingly important to

CEOs. According to a 2014 IBM Global C-Cuite

study, customers exert more influence on business

strategy than all but C-Suite itself:

C-Suite | 78%

Board of Directors | 53%

Corp. Strategy Dept. | 44%

Customers | 55%

Non-Executive Leadership | 26%

External Partners | 25%

Parent Company | 23%


A 2013 MIT study found that fostering customer

participation can be highly profitable. “High

participation/high word-of-mouth customers were the

most loyal and attached to the brand, followed by high

participation/low word-of-mouth. Customers who did

not participate tended to be the least profitable, the

least loyal and the least attached to the organization,

regardless of whether they spread positive word of

mouth.”10

“We found that companies that are receptive to

customer input and customer participation tend to

have longer and more profitable relationships with their

customers than companies that keep customers at

arm’s length. Why?”

Because customers are more engaged when they perceive that the company

values their feedback.


“This doesn’t mean that companies are obliged to

implement every customer suggestion.”

The very act of encouraging and listening to feedback makes customers feel more

appreciated and part of the value creation process.


SingTel is Asia’s leading communications group,

with almost 500 million users across the Asia Pacific

region and they use insight communities in markets

as advanced as Singapore and as big as Indonesia

to involve their customers in shaping their shared

digital future.

Reaching all parts of the business

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


Traditionally technical products and services have

been design-led, but SingTel have firmly embedded the

customer in the process.

Melissa Gil, Director, Customer Intelligence at SingTel

describes how the insight communities have changed

the way they do business. “Connecting with community

members has been so impactful that our stakeholders

see the significance of timely insights in their decision

making processes.”

“Every part of the business, whether its network, content, acquisition, marketing,

customer life cycle management, actively uses SingTel Digital Advisors.”

-Melissa Gil, Director, Customer Intelligence, SingTel

“People stopped seeing research and insight as a way

of blocking decisions, but instead it became a major

decision support, and people wouldn’t move without

asking ‘What did the Digital Advisors say?’ So, every

time a product manager would come up for a big

business decision a C-level executive would say ‘Have

you talked to the Digital Advisors?’ ”


The Transcendence of Customer Engagement

What does a holistic customer-engagement approach

look like? Companies from all industries are already

using social media, insight communities, and

crowdsourcing software to get closer to their customers.

Here are some examples.

CHAPTER 5


Telecommunications

In the past, apps were designed by engineers. The main

inputs into the design process were technical, e.g., what

was possible, what was considered best practice, and

what was currently in vogue. Now engineering teams are

working with customers who are testing the apps and

helping to prioritize features, functions, appearance, and

usability.

Transport

Companies like TfL, Transport for London, have

developed social media tools to allow them to work with

their travelers, learn from customers, use customers to

share information, and reduce their costs in dealing with

problems and concerns.


Airlines

Baggage handling has traditionally been seen as a

logistical issue. Customers have not typically been

involved in the design and re-design of baggage

handling processes. Airlines have found that once

they have the right tools, they can start to explore

experiences, preferences, and suggestions of their

customers.

Human Resources

HR teams have found that once an insight community

is in place, they can start to explore the impact of their

programs on employees. They can also check whether

their priorities and perceptions are the same as those of

customers.


Finance

Many finance companies have commented that before

the global financial crisis, they were not as customer

focused as they are now. In the past they researched

topics such as churn, net worth, and NPS. However,

these same companies are now using social media,

feedback systems, and insight communities to find

out more about how they can work together with their

customers to shape the future and ensure that the right

products are created and serviced.

Retailers

Retailers have worked with their customers to assess

big issues such as merger and acquisition strategies,

through to small issues such as signage and the ways

bags are packed.


Dealing withmergers

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


Latin American airline Avianca has an insight community

(VIP Chat) which they use to keep in touch with their

customers. The community allows them to gain feedback

on a variety of day-to-day issues such as meals, uniforms,

and the company magazine.

However, Avianca have also involved customers in big

strategic issues. Following the merger of Colombian-based

Avianca and Salvadoran TACA Airlines, Avianca consulted

with customers on its rebranding strategy, which helped

confirm the successful decision to brand as Avianca.

Talking about the Avianca insight community and about

involving customers, Mario Balladares, Marketing and

Customer Experience Design Director, Avianca Airlines said,

“We are achieving our three main objectives: the preference of the customer, the

satisfaction of the customer and the revenue that comes with meeting the two.”


A Forecast on Company-Customer Collaboration

Nothing stands still, and the customer revolution is well

underway. Technologies are developing, social networks

are expanding, and customers are insisting on being

involved in the creation of products and services. So

where do companies go from here?

CHAPTER 6


Mass customization/personalization

The way companies produce products and deliver

services has changed, widening the options for

customers to be involved. Technologies such as

3D printing and print on demand books, along with

services such as Amazon and Expedia, are changing

the commercial landscape. These changes are

enhancing the ability of customers to shape their world.

Technologies are making deeper collaboration between

companies and their customers a natural and embedded

part of day-to-day commerce and consumption.

The collaborative/sharing economy With the growth of services like Airbnb, eBay, and

Kickstarter people are showing that they want to

participate actively with the companies from whom

they buy. Customers want to play a role in the supply

and creation of products and services as well as the

consumption of them. The collaborative economy is now

estimated at $26 Billion, and brands that ignore it will find

themselves out of step with today’s customers.11


Big and mobile data

The amount of data about customers is growing

exponentially. Transactional data about what people buy

and mobile data about what people do are two of the

most crucial elements of the data explosion. However,

to make sense of big data, organizations need to

understand questions such as “Why?”, “What else?” and

“What if?” The successful companies of the future will

be those who can use their customers to leverage big

data. One of the most exciting developments has been

the emergence of applications that engage customers

on their mobile devices for the purpose of collaboration.

One of the most exciting developments has been the emergence of applications that

engage customers on their mobile devices for the purpose of collaboration.


And it’s not just commercial organizations!

The City of Surrey, Canada, with a population of

approximately 500,000, uses an insight community to

involve citizens on an ongoing basis. Dianne Watts,

Mayor of Surrey, Canada comments,

“The City of Surrey is the first municipality in North America

to undergo such a comprehensive and long-term online consultation

process. We believe that connecting and engaging our citizenry is the

cornerstone of our service.”

- Dianne Watts, Mayor of Surrey, Canada


UK retailer ASDA has been using its insight community,

Pulse of the Nation, since 2010 to get closer to customers

and it currently has about 30,000 members.

One key element of Pulse of the Nation is Mumdex, a sub-

community of UK mothers who help ASDA understand

their lives and priorities.

The pulse of the nation

CUSTOMERSPOTLIGHT


As a result of the actionable intelligence they’ve received

from their customer community, ASDA have been able

to influence UK policymakers. CEO Andy Clarke recently

shared intelligence from their customer community in a

session at the British parliament with leading journalists

and the three major political parties. Through close

collaboration with their customers, ASDA has been able

to highlight the £37 billion impact of their work to the UK

economy.

Describing how ASDA have moved to this advanced level

of working with their customers Andy Clarke (CEO) says,

“Not only have we listened to, and responded to their views as a business – we’ve also been

able to amplify those views and make sure other decision-makers hear them too.”


Recommendations

The customer revolution is showing no signs of slowing

down. This revolution requires companies not only to keep

up with new technologies, but also that they listen to their

last competitive advantage: their customers.

CHAPTER 7


Key Tips

Whether you’re the CMO of a global company or a

marketer from a startup, here are important strategies to

keep in mind:

1. Treat your customers as partners. Ensure that the

whole business—not just the customer-facing teams—

involves customers in its decision-making. Continuously

connect with customers in both day-to-day issues and

bigger, more strategic decisions.

2. Don’t rely on just one approach to listen to your customers. Companies have many ways of

involving customers in decisions. Get a complete

picture and understand the “why” by using social media,

crowdsourcing software, insight communities and other

approaches.

3. Analyze customer data and insights, and make decisions based on that data instead of gut feeling. Ask for input earlier in the innovation or marketing

process, and then involve your community as you iterate.


4. Share what you’re doing with the customer feedback you collect. Tell customers how their input

and participation has shaped specific business decisions.

5. Thank and reward customers for their participation. Show that you respect their time and

occasionally delight them with gifts.

6. Stop asking stupid questions. Don’t ask your

customers questions you’ve already asked in the past.

Use technology that will allow you to keep track of what

information customers have already provided.

7. Engage the right people in the right setting. Instead of always asking for the general public for input,

build a relationship with customers who already know

your products and services. Working with a community of

customers, you can reduce the noise and harness more

meaningful input while building a stronger relationship with

customers.


Closing RemarksIn the customer revolution, competitive advantage

doesn’t begin with products, logistics, or technology.

It begins and ends with the customer relationship.

Companies that are willing to let customers in—

especially those that integrate the customer voice in

all aspects of the business—are in a good position to

harness their most valuable asset, the customer.

About the Author

Ray Poynter is the Director of Vision

Critical University, Vision Critical’s center

for knowledge, learning, and training.

Ray has over thirty years’ experience in

market research and is one of the best

known speakers, writers, and workshop

leaders on the international circuit. Recent appearances

include: Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Cyprus, Hong

Kong, London, Melbourne, New York, Shanghai, Singapore,

Sydney, Tokyo, and Valencia. Ray is regularly cited by

Research-Live as one of the most influential researchers in

social media. You can follow him @RayPoynter.

Ray is the author of “The Handbook of Online and Social

Media Research” (published by Wiley in 2010 and by

GMO Japan Market Intelligence in Japanese in 2011),

and joint editor of ESOMAR’s “Answers to Contemporary

Market Research Questions.” Ray is also the founder of

NewMR.org, author of modules for the University of Georgia’s

Principles of Marketing Research course, contributor to the

GRIT report, and the independent expert producing the last

four ESOMAR Global Prices Study.

Special Thanks We’d like to extend a special thank you to the following

companies for supplying us with case studies, quotes,

and examples.

ASDA

Avianca

City of Surrey

Kimberly-Clark

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Molson Coors

SingTel

Time Inc.

REFERENCES 1 D Tapscott & A Williams, Wikinomics, Penguin, 2006

2 The Next Generation of Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) Solutions, J. Schuster, Call Center IQ: http://www.callcenter-iq.com/customer-experience/ articles/the-next-generation-of-enterprise-feedback-managem/

3 Social Customer Care: Secrets to Build a Winning Strategy, Aberdeen Group, 2013

4 How to use social media listening to get real-time insights about your brand, The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/salesforce-partner-zone/how-to-use- social-media-listening-to-get-real-time-insights-about-your-brand

5 How Wendy’s online audience influences its decisions, Ragan.com, A. Sernovitz: http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/How_Wendys_online_audience_influences_ its_decision_46837.aspx#

5 Wendy’s app puts healthy fast food at your fingertps, Direct Marketing News, A. Schiff: http://www.dmnews.com/wendys-app-puts-healthy-fast-food-at-your- fingertips/article/260491/

6 Doing Lay’s a flavour: Frito-Lay benefits from crowdsourcing,Marketing Tech, 2014: http://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2014/feb/13/doing-lays-a-flavor- frito-lay-benefits-from-crowdsourcing/

7 Apple does do market research. It always has, B Tarran, Research-Live, http://www.research-live.com/apple-does-do-market-research-it-always- has/4007940.blog

8 Enterprise Social Collaboration: The Collaborators’ Advantage, Aberdeen Group, 2013

9 Forrester Perspective: The Business Impact of Customer Experience, Forrester Research Inc., 2014

10 Why Customer Participation Matters, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2013 http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-customer-participation-matters/

11 A Schwartz, “The collaborative economy is exploding, and brands that ignore it are out of luck”, http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027062/the-collaborative-economy- is-exploding-and-brands-that-ignore-it-are-out-of-luck

http://www.callcenter-iq.com/customer-experience/articles/the-next-generation-of-enterprise-feedback-managem/

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/How_Wendys_online_audience_influences_its_decision_46837.aspx#

CONTACT US www.visioncritical.com

[email protected]

@visioncritical

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THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP - Vision Criticalinfo.mkto.visioncritical.com/rs/visioncritical/images/... · · 2018-05-016 THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP: ... study, The Customer-activated