Customer)journey)and)buyer)personasA.Y.$2017)2018

Costanza Nosi – c.nosi@lumsa.it

UNIVERSITÀ)LUMSA)

THE TRADITIONAL PURCHASE FUNNEL

ASSUMPTIONS

! Consumers reduce the number of brands while moving through the funnel

! Linearity of the process! Push marketing

THE CONSUMER DECISION JOURNEY (MCKINSEY, 2009)

ADDING BRANDS

WHAT HAPPENS … MARKETERS

! Brands may “interrupt” the decision-making process by entering into consideration and even force the exit of rivals

! This change in behavior creates opportunities for marketers by adding touch points when brands can make an impact.

! Brands already under consideration can no longer take that status for granted

CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING

! Consumer-driven marketing is increasingly important as customers seize control of the process and actively “pull” information helpful to them

! Traditional marketing remains important, but the change in the way consumers make decisions means that marketers must move aggressively beyond purely push-style communication and learn to influence consumer-driven touch points, such as word-of-mouth and Internet information sites

WHERE IT COUNTS

POST-PURCHASE EXPERIENCE

! When consumers reach a decision at the moment of purchase, the marketer’s work has just begun:

! The post-purchase experience shapes their opinion for every subsequent decision in the category, so the journey is an ongoing cycle.

! More than 60% of consumers of facial skin care products, for example, go online to conduct further research after the purchase a touch point unimaginable when the funnel was conceived.

TWO TYPES OF LOYALTY

! Of consumers who profess loyalty to a brand:!

! Some are active loyalists, who not only stick with it but also recommend it.

! Others are passive loyalists who, whether from laziness or confusion caused by the wide array of choices, stay with a brand without being committed to it.

Despite their claims of loyalty passive consumers are open to messages from competitors that give them a reason to switch

ALIGNING MARKETING TO CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

! Developing a deep knowledge of how consumers make decisions is the first step.

! For most marketers, the difficult part is focusing strategies and spending on the most influential touch points

The increasing complexity of the consumer decision journey will force virtually all companies to adopt new ways of measuring

consumer attitudes, brand performance, and the effectiveness of marketing expenditures across the whole process

1 Prioritize objectives and spending

! Be much more specific about the touch points used to influence consumers as they move through initial consideration to active evaluation to closure

2 TAYLOR MESSAGING

! New messaging is required to win in whatever part of the consumer journey offers the greatest revenue opportunity.

! A general message cutting across all stages has to be replaced by one addressing weaknesses at a specific point

3 Invest in consumer-driven marketing

! The epicenter of consumer-driven marketing is the Internet, crucial during the active-evaluation phase as consumers seek information, reviews, and recommendations.

! Strong performance at this point in the decision journey requires a mind-set shift from buying media to developing properties that attract consumers: digital assets such as Web sites about products, programs to foster word-of-mouth, and systems that customize advertising by viewing the contextand the consumer

4 Win the in-store battle

! Research shows that one consequence of the new world of marketing complexity is that more consumers hold off their final purchase decision until they’re in a store

! Merchandising and packaging become very important selling factors, a point that’s not widely understood.

! Consumers want to look at a product in action and are highly influenced by the visual dimension

up to 40% of them change their minds because of something they see, learn, or do at this point, say, packaging, placement,

or interactions with salespeople.

Integrating all customer-facing activities

! In many companies, different parts of the organization undertake specific customer-facing activities

! A number of executives are responsible for each element, and they don’t coordinate their work or even communicate.

These activities must be integrated and given appropriate leadership.

PROCESS MODEL FOR CUSTOMER JOURNEY

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DEFINITION (Verhoef et al., 2009)

! (…) the customer experience construct is holistic in nature and involves the customer’s cognitive, affective, emotional, social and physical responses to the retailer.

! This experience is created not only by those elements which the retailer can control (e.g., service interface, retail atmosphere, assortment, price), but also by elements that are outside of the retailer’s control (e.g., influence of others, purpose of shopping).

! (…) the customer experience encompasses the total experience, including the search, purchase, consumption, and after-sale phases of the experience, and may involve multiple retail channels

THE ONLINE MARKETING TOOLBOX

The old behavioral factor approach…

! Segmentation was relatively simple

! Sufficient to understand usage habits

! Aligning product variations and bundles was not a difficult science

! Limited product set

! Under full control of the operator

! Segmentation didn’t need to be exact

! Limited competition

CustomerProduct,Usage

Demo/Geographics

Market,Profile

TODAY’S BUYER PERSONAS

Device,'Product'and'Service'Usage

Demo/Geographics

Generate'Personasand'Journeys

Model'Overall'Behavior'Variables

Map'Customersto'Personas

Monitor'theJourneys

The$move$away$from$feature/focused$marketing$to$a$more$customer/centric,$customer/specific approach$is$becoming$the$hottest$trend$in$marketing!

BUYER PERSONAS

! A buyer persona is a fictionalized characterization of your best customer(s) based on information about them and how they use your product or service.

!

! These descriptions mirror your various market segments, with names to match the type of buyer.

WHY IS IT USEFUL?

! Personas help better understand what customers are:! Thinking! Feeling! Concerned about! Hoping! Expecting! Planning! BelievingBased on that information we can then customize different marketing campaigns to speak directly to the different segments of the market, or personas.

NEGATIVE PERSONAS

! Negative personas reduce the company’s profitability and interfere with the ability to serve ideal customers.

! So we’ll want to keep them in mind as we craft our marketing message, to try and discourage them from doing business with you.

Making researches on personas

! Industry articles about today’s consumer

! Customers, whom we ask to take an online survey, or that we interview personally in-depth

! Website, to determine how customers find us and what websites they arrive from

! Keyword research, to discover how buyers articulate what they are looking for – what words do they use, which we might want to use in our marketing

! Sales reps, who interact with customers, or distribution outlets

! Other companies in other parts of the country, who may be willing to share their company’s buyer personas

BUILDING PERSONAS

! Demographics – age, gender, income level, education

! Psychographics – attitudes, beliefs, personality

! Why they bought your product – what primary purpose

! Where they bought your product – in a retail store, online, at a discounter

! How your product is used – what functions are most important to them

! What solutions it provides – how does it enhance their life or challenges does it solve

! How often they buy it

! Objections – why would they consider not buying it

! Communication preferences – is text the only way they communicate or do they prefer email or phone

Customer)Journey)MappingThe$process$of$tracking,$describing$and$understanding$customer$experiences$

over$the$lifecycle$of$an$encounter.$$Journey$Mapping$isn’t$just$about$understanding$what$happens$to$them,$but$also$how$they$respond

throughout$the$experience(s)

UNDERSTAND THE JOURNEY

• Understand)“as)is”)journeys,)and)where)you)really)want them)to)go!• Plan)the)interception,)reset)the)course

• Deviation)detection• Ability)to)immediately)respond)to)changes)or)adverse)conditions

• Avoid)or)minimize)customer)and)revenue)loss

• Sharpen)your)product)offering• What’s)the)latest)trending)product?• Which)persona)group(s))will)care?

• Better)profitability)understanding• Which)personas)drive)margins?• Where)do)user)experiences)fall)short?

OMNI-CHANNEL CONSUMERS

• Products)owned)and)used• Voice,)SMS,)data,)IoT,)etc.

• Devices)used• Groups)and)profiles• Billing)(revenue))data• Website)visits• Social)media)activity• Operator)call)center)interactions• Operator)retail)interactions• Commerce)activity• Video)streaming• Location)profiling)and)analytics

• Network,)Wifi,)Hotspots,)etc.

MACRO VS. MICRO MAPPING

Customer’s*Journey*/*Lifecycle*(Macro*view)

• Holistic*view• Covering*spectrum*of*products*and*services• Journey*starts*at*customer*acquisition,*ends*at*customer*termination

• Marketing*targets*can*include*products,*services,*devices

• Persona*analytics*can*leverage*full*omniBchannel*experience*

• Multiple*“micro”*journeys*are*possible*for*each*customer

Customer’s*Product Journey*/*Lifecycle• Focused*view*around*specific*product• Journey*starts*at*purchase,*and*ends*when*product*no*longer*used

• Targeted*end*point*is*replaced*or*upgraded*product

• Marketing*targets*can*include*upgrades,*complimentary*products*and*devices

• Persona*analytics*can*leverage*omniBchannel*data*as*it*relates*to*use*of*that*product

• CrossBjourney*modeling*is*possible*(how*does*one*journey*impact*another*journey?)

UNDERSTANDING PERSONAS

Know%the%customers%in%the%segment,%not%just%the%demographics

SEE THE JOURNEY

Where%is%your%business%meeting%or%failing%expectations?

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Limiting'the'number'of'personas• While'some'industries'recommend'477'personas'in'total,'the'diversity'of'users'may'require'20730'personas

• Too'much'persona'granularity'may'cause'you'to'miss'customers'that'don’t'fit'into'a'mold

• Avoid'the'temptation'to'be'all'things'to'all'customers!• Besides'the'fact'that'this'is'impossible,'it’s'also'not'practical

• Understanding'factors'that'may'improve'a'poor'journey'may'be'a'practical'path'for'lower'value,'lower'density'personas

• Don’t'just'read'the'data…• Most'major'industry'analysts'recommend'spending'a'“day'in'the'life”'of'each'of'your'personas

• Actually'taking'time'to'experience'what'your'customers'experience'will'pay'dividends

IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMER JOURNEY ANALYTICS

Generate Specific Insights

Designed to better understand the analytics In-depth analysis of results: The “Why” factorStoryboard format with easy transition to journey mapping

Create Micro-Journeys

Journey mapping based on product lifecycle Introduction of PersonasDeploy Journey Maps for high value products and servicesApply Insights to Journey deviation analysis to correct

Create Macro Journeys

Journey mapping across customer lifecycleIncorporate Micro-Journeys into customer MapsView, manage and guide overall customer journey