Close the customer gap

Close the customer gap

Joke Dehond

Copyright © 2014 Scriptura Engage

Customer Communications Management

Customers expect a dialogue, not a monologue


Past:

> Company was in the drivers seat

> Monologue: they had control about ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ to communicate

Today

> Customers expect their interactions with a brand to be a dialogue

> They decide on the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ they want to communicate

Customers expect a dialogue, not a monologue


New communication channels (social media, mobile) are fundamentally

changing the relationship between companies and their customers.

Most organizations are still working through their initial response to this

radically different environment.

Companies should not ignore this and involvement from top management is

needed to ensure that this trend is incorporated in corporate strategy.

Companies are left in a state of confusion


Fundamental shift in the balance of power between companies - customers

due to:

> Technological evolution (i.e. > 100% coverage for mobile in Europe and US)

> Always-online and always-connected

Companies are confused:

> Forced to hand over much of the control they once had over their brand image

to the customer.

> The immediate nature of today’s customer communications is outside

marketing’s field of experience

No consensus in organizations


Companies have no consensus about how to handle these challenges:

> Should it be the responsibility of an individual or a team?

It should be a cross departmental team that includes marketing, business

and IT

It is important that the whole company understands the need to address

this customer communication landscape strategically to ensure an integrated

approach

Focus on one channel prevents a centralized approach


In most companies there is an almost arbitrary focus on one channel:

> Social media ‘happened’ to most companies and they had no choice but to

follow how their customers choose to communicate to them and about them.

> Mobile is ‘hot’, so it is often organized as a separate team with a direct report

to the board of directors

> Most customers indicate that email is the preferred communication channel,

but companies lack a coherent strategy.

How to prioritize between different channels?


Focus on one channel is at the expense of other channels, which means that many companies do not develop a good strategy that addresses the wide use of a mix of channels.

Listen to your customer (internal and external) to decide which channelsto use and how to prioritize

Set it up as a strategic platform

Close the gap: make sure all applications can benefit from the samechannels

Invest in organizational structure


Different people in the company used to deal with different phases of the

customer experience—before they buy, when they buy, after they buy, when

they are looking for a replacement—and all the time communicating through

different channels. There was no standard message coming out.

Invest in a centralized organizational structure

Conclusion


Companies are still finding their way in this new customer communication

landscape.

Many of them are stuck in the past, when a company had a much greater

control over its brand image.

The importance of structural changes become even clearer with the rise of

younger companies (digital natives) that have grown up with social media

and mobile that compete with older firms.

Want to know how we can help you closing the customer

gap?

Contact us:EU phone: +32 3 425 40 00

US phone: 011 32 3 425 40 00

www.scripturaengage.com


Technology

Close the customer gap