Implementing the seamless customer journey

Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey

Mike WilksJoules Clothing Ltd.

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• What does “Seamless Customer Journey” mean?

• To the customer – absolutely nothing – apart perhaps a luxury garment that appears to have no seams…………..

• It’s a phrase we have invented……….

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• However – try taking your customer on a journey where there are:– Disconnects in your processes– Contradictions in your processes and data– Gaps in information about the customer (or your product etc.)– Clunky processes – Many interactions with different service agents with different

information– Offers that are only available on a Wednesday online with a special

password that’s only available in Brighton…………..• And your customer will quickly explain what’s wrong

– as they walk out the door or abandon their basket saying they will never shop with you anywhere……..

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• So our customer who doesn’t understand what seamless means will tell you they’re not special or demanding - they simply want an experience that lets them:

• Buy from any of your channels and – Pay and take (new words for shopping) or – have it delivered to or collect it from wherever and whenever it suits them

• return part of it together with items from a different transaction however it suits them and

• pay with three different tender methods one of which will have expired before they return anything and

• by the way an exchange should be much quicker than a return for a different item and• Connect Plus is so convenient and • why should I have to pay for standard delivery and• if you go out of stock between me ordering and you delivering that’s your problem so

please get it from one of your stores where there is stock and• now I’ve exchanged it’s on sale so I want the new lower price

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• Simples!

• But who is the guy in the background??

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• But who is the guy in the background??

• Might just be the CIO (Sergio in this case) trying to work out how to do at least some of this before next

• * Christmas/Black Friday/Thanksgiving/Easter (*insert your trading peak here – whenever it is it will be too soon)

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• So what does your “Sergio CIO” – and also your CMO, CCO, CDO etc. need to deliver some of this?

• The answer is not rocket science or necessarily a complete new set of systems although a great solution like Dynamics with its reach and range really helps– It starts with two basic ingredients:• Data• Communication

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• Data – why? I hear you ask – we’ve got more data than we know what to do with already……

• Yes - but if you are going to do common things like selling and taking payment and delivering across different channels that probably have different and dissimilar systems – data is your link and your lifeline

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• Common Data - just imagine if every part of your business had the same:

– And so on – construct your own list!

ProductsHierarchyStructureLevel of detailStatus Codes

PricingCommon rules for price changesCommon codingCommon rules for promotions

Payment system dataTransaction tokens that any service supplier can understandCommon gift card and promotion card number rangesSingle common codes for reporting

Delivery and FulfilmentCommon delivery type codesCommon delivery pricingStandardised return codes

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• Common Data - unfortunately many organisations have systems that have grown together over time and some that go back to the dark ages **

• Getting to common data will not be an easy journey for some– but if you don’t head in this direction your systems will increasingly make it difficult to

compete with the newer boys on the block – and particularly with pure play e-tailers who add on bricks and mortar capability because their systems are typically newer and more adaptable than the historic store retailer growing into online

• Therefore it is necessary to bite the bullet with investment in systems and processes that will deliver common data– It is much more difficult to do this by bringing together disparate systems– Having a single system that supplies as much as possible of your application landscape

with common data and user interface makes this much more achievable– If your single system is built around an industry standard database then constructing

single version of the truth reporting also becomes much simpler

** Before anyone invented multi-channel



• Typical organisation chart

CEO

CDO CMO CCO CCO CPO COO CFO CIO

Digital Marketing Customer Commercial People Operations Financial Information(e-commerce) (Traditional IT)

Although this is drawn for effect, to make the point, the CIO and CDO, or the E-commerce manager and IT Manager need to work very closely together to deliver a seamless customer journey. There needs to be a special relationship! Is that the case in your organisation?

And by the way, if all systems, whether web delivered, or enterprise process facing have common data, rules and standards – life becomes much simpler



CEO

CDO CMO CCO CCO CPO COO CFO CIO

Digital Marketing Customer Commercial People Operations Financial Information(e-commerce) (Traditional IT)

A quote: “My job as CEO is to ensure that my team of Directors are working together with common aims, shared deliverables and great communications”- Derek Lovelock, when CEO of the Aurora and Mosaic Group

Common Data allows sharing of aims, deliverables and underpins communications by removing ambiguities – one version of the truth

If the majority of your application requirements are delivered by a single common system this makes Common Data much more easily achievable

Great communication leverages common data to deliver the Seamless Customer Journey

Implementing the Seamless Customer JourneyCommon Data allows sharing of aims, deliverables and underpins communications by removing ambiguities – one version of the truth

Great communication leverages common data to deliver the seamless customer journey

Don’t delay the investment decision in common systems that will deliver common data across your business. If you are standing still as an organisation then your competitors are going past you and soon you will be unable to close the gap

This

AndNotThis

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The CMO trying to decide which 50% of his budget is wasted(“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't

know which half.” John Wanamaker (1838-1922))





Why the Meerkat characters? Well Joules is based in Market Harborough………….

Technology

Implementing the seamless customer journey