The Fundamental Issues With Most Customer Experience Efforts

Andrew Rudin

Control versus Management

John: Capek's blog helps break down the control myopia many of us suffer from. The situation has changed: social media has provided consumers with a voice that oftentimes makes Marketing's efforts to [i]control[/i] conversations and experiences futile. The evidence, as you point out, is to place a company name in front of the word [i]experience[/i] in an effort to show that there's a CXO manipulating all the strings, and that the consumer's role is to respond like a marionette puppet. Of course, that's not the case. There are plenty of events and phenomena that comprise Customer Experience that are completely outside an organization's direct control.

Rob Walker, author of Buying In, provides a vignette in which consumers led a grass-roots effort to revive a flagging brand, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. Interestingly, the resurgent demand was completely independent of any demand generation effort from Pabst. The [i]customer[/i] created--and defined--the Pabst experience. The increased demand could never occur had Pabst attempted to control the Pabst Blue Ribbon Experience.

In that scenario, and in others Walker describes, a more contemporary strategy would be to [i]manage[/i] the company's demand fulfillment rather than [i]controlling[/i] the marketing discussion. Control would effectively stifle the appeal of Pabst's understated brand image.

Lynn Hunsaker

Customer Experience & Retention

Good points, John. Definitions of customer experience, CEM, customer engagement and customer advocacy vary widely across companies and authors. Some define these concepts as marketing campaigns or shopping vibes; others define them as big-customer-issues escalation or new product development data-gathering activities. Ultimately, we care about these concepts because customers vote with their wallet: 'your paycheck was made possible by satsfied customers!' To maintain this funding we've got to minimize customer churn. And the main cause of churn is hassles, because actions speak louder than words! The author you reference gives some great suggestions for full-experience-voice-of-the-customer and signature service elements. In short, definitions and practice of customer experience, CEM, customer advocacy, and customer engagement should be much more holistic and systematic to achieve high dividends for companies and customers alike.

Lynn Hunsaker, www.ClearAction.biz, mentors executives for superior customer profitability by preventing customer hassles and churn.

Lynn Hunsaker

Customer Experience

Thanks for your reply, John. I agree that valid psycho-economic models are needed. As a consumer I'm frankly fed up with companies that focus on attracting customers at the expense of making it easy and attractive for me to remain their customer. The special deals offered to first-time-customers-only can become insulting to customers who've supported that brand for years, long enough to have noticed the brand's warts, typically.

What's needed to improve customers' lot overall, is more attention to preventing hassles. People switch brands mostly because of disappointment or annoyance, and much less often due to a more attractive offer.

CEM is about managing expectations, and is not about removing choice. CEM is systematic, holistic, and preventive of negatives. It encourages outside-in thinking and processes. CEM demands a much broader view of what the customer experience is, as well as the necessity of viewing the customer's experience strictly from the customer's viewpoint. CEM values existing customers as much as new customers.

Many customer programs today are in fact self-serving -- aimed at getting ideas for new product development, getting new customers, getting help for the sales force convince prospects, getting excitement about the brand, and getting revenue. With all this 'getting' by companies, how about scrutinizing these customer programs for how much 'giving' they provide to customers? Are the benefits to customers long-term, from the customer's perspective? Are the benefits to customers reflective of the value they bring to the company, from the customer's perspective? Do the benefits only apply if the customer shells out money to buy the next model, or can customers reap improved experiences with the model they've already invested in?

As we know, companies may agree with all of the above and want to do it - but unless they can see WIIFM (what's in it for me) for their company they won't modify their thinking and actions to do it. That's why it's necessary to link CEM with advantages that are easy for companies to relate to - such as churn reduction.

While a focus on attracting and converting patrons is obviously tied to revenue, it doesn't guarantee higher profit or sustained market share. One of the great things CEM does in preventing customer hassles is it also results in lower waste inside a company, and hence lower costs and higher profitability - and greater ability to pass along savings to both new and existing customers.

Reaching customers emotionally and psychologically, as you point out, is essential. A broader and deeper application of this, as mentioned in my comment above, would greatly serve companies and customers alike!

Lynn Hunsaker is a Customer Experience Optimization consultant.