Achieving Customer Experience Excellence at Seven Critical Life Cycle Points

INITIAL PURCHASE

Figure 2: Step 1–Purchase

Begin the relationship (Figure 2) by being proactive in asking for appropriate data to improve each person’s unique experience with the brand so it is possible to reciprocate and offer much smarter personalisation and recommendations.

It is critical to rethink this point in the life cycle and move from a focus on ‘closing’ a sale to using this phase to open a relationship. The following quote from the VoC research says it all: ‘Don’t worry about improving your renewal process at the end of the year. Focus on how you treat me from the very first moment of the sale and you will increase the likelihood that I will renew!’

Ruth Crowley, Vice President, Customer Experience Design at Lowe’s provides an important perspective:

Customer experience is not an initiative it’s a commitment. For some, it’s a radical change in mindset. However, if you consider that today’s customer has infinite options, on line and in stores, we have to make every moment matter with the customer and the employees serving the customer. At the end of the day, we are in the people business.

Scott Emmons comments:

Neiman Marcus has been in the relationship business since it was founded in 1907. As retail has evolved and we have many more digital touch points with our customer, the amount of data that is available is overwhelming. Fortunately, technology has also evolved, and we have a lot of new opportunities to analyse what we know about a customer and deliver personalised content to them. Customers expect recommendations and content to truly reflect their preferences. We believe personalisation done right drives customer loyalty. It is also important to always provide clear opt in and out touch points for the customer. Going beyond the legalities, it is important to be mindful of only communicating with the customer when and where they desire

ONBOARDING

Figure 3: Step 2–Onboarding

Formal onboarding strategies and programmes (Figure 3) yield a very good return on investment (ROI).

At the purchase phase in the customer relationship, most marketers are trying to recoup the costs of customer acquisition. It is therefore critical to get onboarding right to deepen and strengthen the relationship, so new customers will spend and stay.

Set the tone for a superior experience with a sincere welcome and easily available help to be sure that the new customer fully understands the product they just purchased, the company and the available customer service. A second purchase is often dependent upon the initial onboarding experience: ‘Welcome me, make me feel appreciated. Then, make sure I understand what I need to know to get the greatest value from what I just purchased from you. Don’t just take my money and run!’

Scott Emmons comments:

Our ChargeItSpot charging station is a good example of how technology can provide new opportunities for onboarding customers. Beside the fact that the charging station solves a real problem for customers, we can also monitor the registrations on the unit for customers we have not interacted with before. This allows us to funnel them through a new customer acquisition process. This is really where the primary ROI of the charging stations is realised.

DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANTICIPATORY RESPONSES TO DECREASING ENGAGEMENT

Figure 4: Deepening the Relationship; Steps 3, 4 and 5

Millennials have an especially good understanding of how much data marketers now collect regarding customer behaviour on their websites and mobile devices. However, these consumers are often frustrated by marketers who do not use such data to proactively drive value and engagement (Figure 4).

The key signals of decreasing engagement to monitor and act on are:

• falling e-mail open and click-through rates;
• reduced visits to the website;
• reduced purchases and favourites and increased cart abandonment.

In spite of privacy concerns, customers want marketers to use their data responsibly and proactively to improve their customer experience. When engagement lags, it is imperative to discover why: ‘If we’re not buying, check in with us. Find out what’s happening, are we having problems? Don’t just view us as a cash register!’

Scott Emmons comments:

In our stores we have experimented with iBeacons to provide on-topic geo-aware messaging to our customers. Our Holiday Pass programme allowed the customer to easily opt in by installing a card into their mobile wallet. Opt-out was also easy as they simply deleted the card to no longer receive the messaging. The Holiday pass concept allowed us to interact with the customer from the time they entered our parking lot, until they left the store. This provided a platform that both the local store team and the corporate marketing team could leverage to deliver relevant messaging to the customer. One of the big lessons learned was that you need to be frugal with the messaging so that it does not become an annoyance.

IMMEDIATE RESPONSES TO NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

In this digital age, people expect everything to be immediate. So, when it takes hours, days or weeks to resolve problems, it destroys the customer’s trust that they will be treated right. That is a hard one to recover from. Consider these quotes from the VoC:

• ‘Problems are inevitable. That’s when we see whether it was all talk or whether you are committed to doing right by me’.
• ‘How come the cool technology you use to get me to buy instantly, doesn’t work to fix my problems . . . instantly!’

Scott Emmons comments:

Problem resolution is another great way to put new technology to work. Neiman Marcus iLab projects that fit the bill include the AlertTech fitting-room solution. We are leveraging this technology to tie the customer and their associate together once they have entered the fitting room. Now customers can instantly page their associate when there is an issue (eg they need a new size or colour). The technology also provides fitting-room management functions that allow associates to see what rooms are in use and which are available. Using the AlertTech system, they can reserve rooms ahead of time for their customers and stage the room with items that are relevant for their customer.

SURPRISE AND DELIGHT THANK-YOU PROGRAMMES

Surprise and delight and thank-you programmes are one of the highest ROI programmes a firm can have. Consider the following quote from the VoC research: ‘Make me feel appreciated. Be as loyal to me as I am to you’.

Showing appreciation costs little. Little thank-you surprises significantly improve experiences and demonstrate that the person behind the sale is valued. Keep in mind that, per the VoC research, people are not expecting much more than recognition. Appreciation is a key factor in nurturing loyalty: ‘It doesn’t take much, a thank you card, a token gift’.

Scott Emmons comments:

The concept of thank you has been embedded in our DNA since day 1. Stanley Marcus said, ‘Consumers are statistics, customers are people’. We always want to deliver a warm and welcoming experience to our customer and the “thank you” is key to that. When the iLab is looking at technology, we are always looking for solutions that enhance the relationship between the associate and the customer. We are not looking to replace human associates but rather to reduce friction and give both the associate and the customer new capabilities.

CROSS-SELLING/UPSELLING

Figure 5: Step 6–Value-Added Cross Selling/ Upselling

Think about these VoC quotes;

• ‘Truly personalised offers are not sales, they are helpful service.’
• ‘Don’t expect me to know your entire product line. Proactively reach out and offer additional products or services based on understanding our needs and preferences.’
• ‘Knowledgeable and personalised add-on offers are valued and not perceived as “sales ploys”.’

Scott Emmons comments:

One of the reasons that the Neiman Marcus iLab exists is that we were starting to see an always-connected customer who had access to more information than the sales associate. We knew that technology could help us do a better job of providing the associate with the tools they needed to serve their customers. We provided all of our sales associates with iPhones. All by itself, it provides a communication platform that allows the associate to reach out to customers with their preferred method (e-mail, SMS, Facetime or just an old-fashioned phone call). On top of that we built an amazing app for our associates, iSell. iSell puts everything the associate needs to know about her customer at her fingertips. Purchase history, personalised recommendations and contact information can all be found there. iSell provides reasons to contact, as well which could be things like their order has shipped or their alteration is ready. All the things that associates used to have to track manually, often in a personnel black book, are now available enterprise-wide and updated automatically. This means an associate can have a more personal relationship with a much wider circle of customers!

The Neiman Marcus NMVP experience is a good example of upselling (Figure 5).  NMVP is for our digital customers. Participants in the programme are assigned a stylist who will work with them much the same way as a stylist would in one of our stores. Customers can schedule time with their stylist as well as communicate with them via chat and e-mail. They can even set up in home try-ons with their stylist. Other perks include expedited shipping, access to exclusive merchandise and special invites to events. This high level of service is a great way to differentiate the Neiman Marcus online shopping experience, provide highly personalised service and drive loyalty. Early results are highly promising. We have seen a lift in basket sizes, and NMVP customers are more likely to shop more frequently then customers not in the programme.

PERSONALIZED REPEAT SALES/RENEWALS

Figure 6: Step 7–Personalized Repeat Sales/ Renewals

To achieve a repeat sale, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of what each person wants post sale (Figure 6). Do not let them buy and be forgotten. As a brand, it is important to be visible and caring. It is up to you — not them — to make them want to be loyal. The key to this is to remember that loyalty is earned, not assumed. Some VoC quotes to consider:

• ‘If you’ve treated us right from the beginning, why should we buy from your competitor?’
• ‘Be a visible and caring brand and then . . . why would we go with someone else when it’s time to repurchase?’
• ‘Companies do not get it. If they’ve taken care of us from the initial sale and been there throughout the relationship, then in our book, they have earned the renewal.’

Chris Hull, Chief Merchandising Officer, Shinola, offers this insight regarding achieving ongoing engagement:

The needs and preferences of customers are constantly and rapidly changing. In order to keep them engaged, loyal and purchasing, we have to keep evolving and refreshing the customer experience. However, we must do this in a way that customers will feel is consistent with how they see our core brand story and differentiation.

Scott Emmons comments:

The Memory Makeover experience fits both the repeat sales and the renewal concepts. This digital mirror allows our beauty brand associates to record makeover sessions with their customers. The video is created in chapters and might include sections like lips, eyes and sculpting. When the makeover appointment is complete, the associate sends the video home as an e-mail or text link with the customer. The customer now has the most personalised tutorial possible, starring herself. Once she arrives home with her bag of beauty products, she can easily refer to the video to recreate the looks the Neiman Marcus associate created for her. The associate also has access to the video record and can tag the appointment with products used, samples given and additional notes. This becomes an amazing CRM tool that can be used by the associate when reaching out to the customer in the future. It ensures that the associate knows this customer’s preferences and helps guide future interactions. The mirror can also assist the associate by reminding them when it is time to replenish the product the customer has purchased.

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

In summary, the insights we shared for engagement across the life cycle are actionable and go straight to the bottom line. The following key points are essential to success:

• Recognise how much you do not know about customer’s individual preferences and needs.
• Do not reduce complex humans to generic cohorts and personas.
• Customers want human engagement, not mass-produced spray-and-pray blasts.
• It is insulting to consumers when they receive empty attempts at ‘personalisation’ which reduce them to a transaction rather than a person with unique characteristics.
• Customer decision-making journeys are not linear. Customers are complex humans and one must engage with them accordingly.
• P2P marketing is the key that makes CX come to life — truly personalised communication based on opt-in preference information is the optimal combination to win first-time business and drive repeat engagement.
• True, relevant engagement with demonstrations of authentic caring is what forges the type of strong ties that can overcome lapses and problems.
• Customers’ needs change over time; be one step ahead and know when to change CX and offers, to keep them engaged and loyal at every stage.

Paul Murray, Director, Dunkin’ Brands, provides a critical final takeaway:

Keeping our guests at the centre of Dunkin’s digital strategy is critical. We have to meet our guests’ needs and grow our relationships with them. Whether it’s our DD Perks programme, which rewards guests for their loyalty, or on-the-go mobile ordering, which lets guests order ahead and speed past the line, so they can get on with their day faster, we have to be delivering both value and valuable experiences.

Reference
*Retail Info Systems (2017) ‘Closing Big Gaps in Personalization’, 30th October, available at: https:// risnews.com/closing-big-gaps-personalization (accessed 21st September, 2018).