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Wayne Morris (pictured) examines how event organisers’ continued reliance on paper-based methodology could take them from prints to paupers. For a more regal ROI, the digital medium is King.

It may be 2014 and the developed world is going mobile crazy, but some industries are still clutching stubbornly onto the quaint delights of good, old-fashioned print. There is a well-worn mantra that ‘there’s nothing quite like holding a book in your hands’, or the ‘visceral act of physically turning a page’ is both a nostalgic and, in some cases, a practical viewpoint. But sometimes, the shortcomings of print are woefully exposed by the ruthless efficiency of digital media.

A prime example of this can be seen at events all over the world, where event organisers manfully persevere with print to convey crucial communications – and are, as a result, often betrayed by its lack of agility in responding to unforeseen but predictable change. The approach commonly manifests itself in the countless printed Events Guides that document incomplete, inaccurate or outdated event information. And, with a cruel domino-like effect, the static limitations of paper cascade into many other key aspects of event management.

For the beleaguered event planner, the arrival of the Guide at least authenticates the Disney fairytale: “Someday your prints will come.” They will. Normally about a month before you actually need them, and the same day your keynote speaker pulls out. It’s far from a fairytale ending.

In the real world of 2014, print’s charming, but surely mobile is the smartest approach?

Paper? Scissors? Stone-age!
The paper-based Event Guide is at odds with almost every strategic objective an event planner faces; it’s expensive, it’s inflexible, it undermines attendee engagement and, from a sustainability point of view, it puts a carbon foot right into organisers’ environmental responsibilities. Worse still, from a delegate perspective, it’s often heavy, unhelpful and out of date.

So perhaps it’s time to cut it? With ROI their most important metric, event organisers who persevere with familiar but outdated methods are flagrantly haemorrhaging the value and opportunity that disruptive technologies can provide. It starts with the printed guide, but it goes far beyond a simple brochure.

Scrap paper
Surprisingly, when it comes to event organisers’ use of mobile technologies, it seems the jury is still out. A recent survey of event planning and management executives reveals that 63% of global events still don’t leverage a mobile application. But, with global smartphone penetration continuing to rise, and predicted to exceed 1.2 billion users in 2014, the pressure on the event management sector to exploit the medium is intensifying. Undeniably, whether managing consumer expos, corporate/B2B events and meetings or freshers’ fayres in higher education, the benefits of optimising attendees’ communication channel of choice are significant.

Mobile applications can deliver ROI to all event stakeholder groups; event organisers, exhibitors/sponsors and attendees. For organisers, the reduction in print costs alone should provide sufficient incentive – and, for companies that host numerous events, the annual savings a mobile platform can generate are potentially significant. That the approach also ticks a box for companies’ sustainability obligations is a welcome ethical by-product.

In addition, digital tools bring an agility that print can never provide; in the dynamic event environment, mobile gives organisers the opportunity to respond to changes and make schedule amendments in real-time. Too often, brochures are out of date long before the courier has delivered 2,000 of them to the warehouse. The real-time accuracy of digital content has obvious knock-on benefits for attendees, who themselves are under pressure to ensure they maximise their time at the event; delegates can navigate events and plan their days effectively and, with the additional connectivity that digital communications provide, they can also engage and interact with fellow attendees.

In fact, engagement is a critical objective for all modern events. Mobile technologies not only present a platform for networking, matchmaking and lead retrieval, they also allow traditionally passive attendees to evolve into active event participants; social channels, crowdsourcing and interactive polls are among many collaborative activities that can be built into mobile applications. These can only enhance the attendee experience and build long-term brand loyalty. From a commercial perspective, such connectivity supports exhibitors’ primary objective  – lead generation.

Mobile applications have a utility and value right across the event life-cycle – enabling attendees to be wise before, during and after the event. This intelligence begins from the moment an individual signs up for an event, and keeps them informed throughout the whole experience. Mobile provides users with real-time information on delegates, speakers and exhibitors – and presents a channel for promotion, education and interaction at every stage.

The powerful combination of mobile tools to support registration, itinerary management, appointment booking and interactive communications means that organisers are able to capture real-time data to monitor activity, evaluate trends and measure ROI. This data can help inform product development and strengthen a brand’s value proposition. Moreover, organisers can use real-world data to enhance commercial negotiations with potential exhibitors and sponsor for future events; with stats to support optimal stand location, likely footfall and delegate analytics. Getting customers to re-sign for the following year is a perennial challenge. Real-world data can help both you – and them – prove ROI.

From prints to pauper
The benefits of mobile are therefore clear – so why is it that only 37% of the market are optimising the opportunity? Perhaps popular misconceptions over the cost and speed of implementation are holding the market back. But those fears are unfounded. The most effective white-label platforms allow event organisers to create a mobile guidebook within two hours. They deploy easy-to-use content management systems that allow anyone in an organisation, irrespective of their IT prowess, to upload content using simple drag-and-drop methodology and APIs into their own pre-existing event data, such as schedules. They’re quick, intuitive and accessible –  and, crucially, they’re affordable. The smartest platforms offer modular pricing, ranging from free to enterprise, meaning that every business from an SME to a large multinational can benefit from their undoubted economies of scale.

Conversely, perhaps it’s just age-old apathy for change – or a perception that this is something that can be built in-house within an already overburdened IT infrastructure – that prevents some organisations from progressing and often leads to them being overtaken by more visionary businesses.

In the competitive global events market, organisers will continue to face significant challenges as the pressure on margins – as well as the battle to attract attendees – intensifies. The most proactive organisations are those that have realised that it’s no longer enough to compete on the calibre of a speakers’ programme or the prestige of a location, it’s time to compete on innovation.

Mobile technology is a disruptive innovation that is helping event organisers drive operational productivity and efficiency, enhance the attendee experience and measure ROI. Progressive organisers across all sectors are moving away from restrictive paper-based methodology, and are leveraging mobile to transform events and increase engagement. For those who aren’t, the journey from prints to pauper may be slow but inevitable. But, in 2014, it doesn’t need to be that way.

Disruptive mobile technology is offering businesses the chance to revolutionise processes and positively redesign customer experience – simply, easily and effectively. The winners will be those that embrace the opportunity and partner with organisations that can help them deliver the fairytale ending.

Wayne Morris is GM EMEA, Guidebook.  

Procurement wants accountability, but marketing wants creativity. Is it possible to give them both what they want at the same time? It is, argues Andrew Woodger (pictured).

The traditional agency model is changing. That’s an opening sentence likely to put off more than a few readers. After all, haven’t we all heard it all before? The fragmentation of traditional media, the arrival of digital, the latest recession or downturn . . . whatever the catalyst happens to be, the refrain is the same – the agency model either is, or has, to change to reflect the new circumstances, the new skills sets required, the new pressures being imposed by external forces and clients alike.

Agencies are like chameleons. As the pressures shift and slide, they adapt, exploiting new opportunities and developing new ways to part clients from their budgets. So it’s no surprise that with most large businesses now involving procurement departments in the appointment of marketing suppliers, the spotlight is once again on the way that creative agencies service their clients.

On one level, this sounds like a recipe for conflict. The agency wants to generate big ideas and show the client new ways to develop their brand and attract more customers. They achieve those Big Ideas by employing the best and brightest creative talent – and the very best talents don’t come cheap.

On the other side is the procurement department. They also want to see more customers coming on board and staying on board – but to do this by squeezing every last pip of value out of every penny spent. The agency wants to be bold and increase the client’s marketing investment – procurement wants to minimise that spend.

However, the clever agency chameleons are more likely to see the opportunity in all this. Equally, procurement departments will also understand that by finding ways to engage with agencies collaboratively, the end results will be better for both parties. Smart agencies will also see this as an opportunity to improve their own working practices – while still being able to get the most out of the client-agency relationship. By embracing change and looking for the opportunities to drive it forward, both sides stand to gain.

So what of that all important ‘creative’ edge? Those vital brand assets which agencies create and marketing departments encourage? I would argue that this does not change one little bit. Creativity is something brands want and good agencies deliver. Good agencies are full of brilliant, talented creative people – that’s what draws the clients to them. They love those creative bright sparks, because they are the people who ultimately turn the base metal of ideas into marketing gold.

But the translation of that creativity into marketing assets is where greater efficiencies are most likely to be found. Every Big Idea has to be turned into something practical – from a new website to a hard-hitting advertising campaign – and it’s here that procurement and agency can come together for the mutual benefit of both parties.

Art work is a commodity – and a measurable and manageable one at that. Both sides can gain by each taking steps to improve and streamline this aspect of the creative process. Take Purple’s work for Mitchells & Butlers. M&B have more than 1,600 pubs and restaurants serving 130 million meals and 420 million drinks every year. Working closely together, Purple and M&B created an in house studio for the company. M&B can quickly and efficiently develop a new campaign or idea – and Purple provides the people and the facilities to deliver this as efficiently as possible by ensuring that the studio is fully utilized. There are major wins for both parties – and everyone gains something important from the relationship.

The catalyst on this occasion is the drive for greater efficiency. The solution is one which benefits both parties without either side having to make uncomfortable compromises. The agency is encouraged to continue providing its creative input, the client has a way to optimise the value of the creative output. The ‘traditional model’ is changing yet again. This time it’s changing for the better – and who – client and agency together – wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

Andrew Woodger is data and planning director at the Purple Agency.

 

 

 

 

 

Discussing latest trends, Joel Curry (pictured) says data quality tools can enable innovation, increase operational efficiency and reduce risk and cost. 

A (gradually) recovering economy, high levels of competition and the proliferation of channels for reaching target audiences, all mean that businesses are under greater pressure to perform, therefore the need of obtaining Business IT Support from Champions of Change is bigger than ever. A substantial part of coping with this pressure means ensuring that a business’s data and technology is given the attention it deserves.

There is no doubt that data quality issues impact the bottom line of organisations – a 2013 Gartner survey estimated that businesses were losing an average of $14.2 million annually because of data quality issues.

Treating data as a strategic asset can not only help develop the understanding of the connections between customer, product and transactional data, but can also give real competitive advantage and be integral in achieving corporate objectives.

Over the years, various attempts have been made to improve and govern the level of data quality across organisations – from the identification of common spelling mistakes to clearing potential duplicates, with varying degrees of effectiveness and success.

But now, companies need to go further. It’s not enough to simply have accurate, de-duplicated data. Data enrichment provides an opportunity to enhance records with additional information to ensure customer engagement is as personalised as possible – which is something that consumers are increasingly expecting as the norm. According to Defaqto Research, 55% of consumers would pay more for a better customer experience, and 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated (McKinsey).

In addition to a growing need to comply with tightening data governance legislation, business are also increasingly recognising that data quality tools can enable innovation, increase operational efficiency, and reduce risk and cost. Consequently, we are seeing greater investment in data quality management and the data tools available.

In 2013, the data quality market was worth more than $1 billion and with Big Data, cloud and mobility trends forcing the issue, it’s only going to get bigger. While commercial take up seems fairly low at the moment, growth will start to accelerate and so too will the opportunities.

According to Gartner, growth in the market for data quality technology is accelerating because these tools are increasingly recognised as critical infrastructure, with a prediction that “data quality tools will reach mainstream adoption in less than two years”.

Already we are seeing growth of industry specific data quality products in areas such as insurance claims management or credit card fraud detection, and the type of data that businesses are prioritising is broadening.

While customer data remains the number one focus of data quality initiatives (79%), other data types, such a transactional, financial, location, and product, are all gaining pace. Data profiling functions and the ability to ‘visualise’ the data (rather then staring at rows and rows of information) are fast becoming the ‘must haves’ of the data quality world. In 2013, 48% of data quality tool users used data profiling, up from 35% in 2012; and 35% used visualisation of data quality metrics, up from 28% in 2012.

While on-premise data quality management tools are still the most common, offsite and cloud based tools (often in the form of Software as a Service) are playing an increasing role in how data quality capabilities are delivered. Although the numbers are small in comparison to onsite tools, this area increased from 13.3% in 2012 to 21% in 2013, and given the increasing range of data quality capabilities available in these formats, this looks set to carry on growing.

A word of warning though – companies need to choose their data quality tools and vendors carefully. Gartner predicts that by 2016, 25% of organisations using consumer data will risk damage to their reputations because of their inadequate understanding of information trust issues.

And while IT leaders have already realised that data quality is essential when it comes to Master Data Management (MDM), and are starting to recognise the importance in terms of gaining value from Big Data investments, this is yet to be reflected in buying behaviour relating to data quality tools.

In addition, at present only a minority of organisations currently place the necessary the importance on data quality when it comes to other business information initiatives such as business intelligence (BI) and analytics, data migration and business-application-centric programs, including CRM and ERP.

But with forecasts of a ‘Data Doomsday’ – the point at which companies are so overwhelmed by data that they are frozen into inaction – by 2107, it’s clear that businesses must get their houses in order now to be able to cope with the data challenges of the future.

Joel Curry is managing director of Experian Data Quality.

Chris Merrington (pictured) tells how to influence, engage and inspire potential customers.

My youngest daughter and I were cooking a Chinese meal. She was preparing the vegetables for a stir fry and I was preparing the chicken dish. She served up her dish, I served up mine. In her vegetable stir fry was some asparagus. However, it was the wrong end of the asparagus! I asked her where the asparagus tips were. She said, ‘in the bin’. I explained those were the ends to keep, the harder ends were the ones to be binned. She said, ‘I’ve never seen or cooked asparagus before.’

We muttered quietly at each other. Whose fault was it? Mine! How often at work do we assume and expect other people to know what we mean and have had the same experiences as we have? How often do we get annoyed when they get it wrong when probably we are to blame?

I have been working with various clients in my workshop “Facts Tell, stories Sell” to uncover and craft their business stories. Great business stories can differentiate your business from competitors and can inspire and create a powerful vision for the client in their mind’s eye. You can use them for new business presentations, add colour to case studies, tell existing clients to consider other parts of your business, to attract new employees and to warn clients to the danger of doing nothing or taking the wrong course of action!

Stories are one of the most powerful ways to persuade someone and I believe aren’t used enough in business presentations. A story is a fact wrapped in an emotion that can compel others to take action. We are wired to listen to stories and they have universal appeal. It lets the listener decide for themselves and is a soft sell compared to simply stating the facts. The listener doesn’t feel ‘sold to’. Stories allow reflection and connect with a client often on an emotional level. People also remember stories long after the facts they were told.

In a nutshell stories can help you win business.

What makes a great story? Knowing the right story to tell and telling the story right are crucial. Ideally it should be short and punchy while painting necessary detail. Be clear on your purpose of telling a story. I find the best stories are those that are true and resonate with the audience – typically, those which have happened to me and are true. Stories about success and failure are often powerful. Mistakes and their learnings are typically good sources as they have an honesty and authenticity which can build trust.

What are the typical mistakes in stories and story-telling? Cliche stories and telling other people’s stories are normally a mistake. Rambling unnecessarily will bore the listener and lose their interest. There is a fine balance between too much and too little detail. Don’t start with cliches such as ‘Once upon a time…’ or ‘Let me tell you a story…’. Lack of clarity will spoil a story where the audience can’t see the point.

When shouldn’t you tell a story? If your client is impatient or tight on time it could be frustrating for them to listen to your story.

There are many different story structures which I teach on my ‘Facts tell, Stories sell’ workshop. One of the simplest is Situation, Complication, Resolution. You set up a Situation that the ‘hero’ faces which resonates with the listener. Followed by a Complication, challenges or problem, often one familiar the listener. There is then a Resolution, ideally unexpected, to the problem. Some of the stories i’ve told have involved disastrous business situations because they didn’t have insurance, that’s why im recommending Professional Indemnity Insurance companies like constructaquote.com

For example, I was running a workshop for a client and all was going well (Situation) and the fire alarm went off. We all had to evacuate the building. I was concerned this would throw out my timings (Complication). Outside the client’s building I found myself in conversation with the CEO about my work and their business needs. Within a few months, a handful of workshops are booked by this same client directly as a result of my conversation with the CEO (Resolution). what’s the point of the story? That what we see as a problem can be a wonderful opportunity.

I have found within my ‘Facts Tell, Stories Sell’ workshop there are usually wonderful untapped stories within my clients’ businesses – a goldmine of business stories to differentiate, to demonstrate and to persuade clients and prospects. Many years ago, there was a UK TV series called ‘Tales of the unexpected’ – what unexpected stories are waiting to be discovered in your organisation? Start building your collection of business stories.

Chris Merrington is the author of Why do smart people make such stupid mistakes? – a practical negotiation guide to more profitable client relationships. Chris regularly consults and runs workshops for senior management and sales teams in the areas of Negotiation, Trusted Adviser Selling and Winning New Business. He can be contacted at chris@spring8020.co.uk

 

Richard Edwards looks at what makes an exhibition giveaway effective – and what is just a waste of money.

Are giveaways at exhibitions a great way to build your brand, attract footfall and generate new business? Or are they a waste of time and money that end up being ignored or simply thrown in the bin?

The answer is some are some aren’t. In other words, not all giveaways are useful.

So how can we make sure that your giveaways and other freebies are useful in helping to convert business? The key is to align giveaways with your key objectives.

Pinning down your key objectives should be your first step. Then it’s time to think about what type of giveaways will best help you achieve them.

Here are my top tips:

Objective 1: Gaining awareness
If you’re hoping to gain more brand awareness from your exhibition then your giveaways should focus on visibility. Frequency of impressions is a key indicator as to how memorable your brand will be, try getting the best and the most affordable exhibition display stands, to impress your visitors. As such, your giveaways need to be designed entirely around your brand name and logo and be the type of item that people would actually use, preferably in a working environment.

Some ideas that Quatreus has seen work well include:

• An environmentally-friendly tote bag
• Branded post-it notes
• Branded teabags
• Something for children

Objective 2: Advertising your brand messaging
If you have certain brand messaging that you want to convey at a trade show, then your giveaways could provide useful visual reminders and/or include extra detail beyond just your branding. For example, a print and fulfillment company might be able to demonstrate their personalised printing process on a small scale, printing visitors a personalised business card to take away with them.

Many companies still choose to produce brochures however these are often lost among the pile and may never be read. One way in which Quatreus has helped clients combat brochure overload is to send the information as a digital attachment, straight to the visitor’s inbox, while they are still on your stand.  This technology, called qbit, allows you to form an instant and lasting connection with trade show visitors without loading them up with expensive and heavy printed brochures and pens.

Some other creative ideas for you to try:

• Witty t-shirts 
• Branded USB drive 
• A clever gadget or app 

Objective 3: Making contacts
Traditionally gathering contacts was done simply by exchanging business cards, but the sheer scale of modern trade shows makes finding the right business card afterwards an event in itself.

Offering cool freebies as an incentive to collect contact details can increase numbers of sing-ups but ultimately provide low-quality leads at a high cost.

Digital signup or contact exchange can be facilitated with an online data capture tool like qbit, possibly in conjunction with giveaways.  There are also QR-codes printed onto signage that can be scanned with a smartphone to reach a signup form. Or a live-tweet screen can provide visitors with the perfect excuse to connect over social media whilst contributing to your marketing effort.

Some other interesting ideas include:

• Demonstrate with their details – Use your product or service to demonstrate using a visitor’s details, e.g. Quatreus might use qbit to help sell qbit, collecting contact details in the process
• Prize draws – Giving away one high value item to the winner of a prize draw can often be more attractive than little giveaways
• Offer coffee – Good-quality free coffee or tea is the holy grail of trade-show giveaways, and the advantage of offering it is that it keeps visitors at your stand while they drink it

Conclusion
Whatever objective you decide to pursue at your next trade show, the important thing is to think creatively. If you can come up with a creative item that is fun or useful, and which represents your brand and/or USPs, then it will draw in visitors and you will remain in their consciousness long after the trade show has finished.

Richard Edwards is a director at Quatreus, which specialises in creating face to face experiences that strengthen relationships and improve communication – for both internal and external audiences. 

The key to successfully changing the customer relationship and driving end to end self-service has to be accurate, in-depth customer information that encompasses the entire customer lifecycle, from lead acquisition through contracts to orders and complaint resolution. John Cheney (pictured) outlines the role of CRM at the heart of any web-enabled customer strategy.

Changing business model

Offering web enabled services to customers – whether business or consumer – is no longer a nice option, it is essential. Businesses now have diverse opportunities for transforming the quality, timeliness and engagement of the customer experience – just look around at the Wi-Fi enabled Kindle support or the provision of location-based services to mobile customers.

Get the online strategy right, and organisations can not only embed customers within the business, improving retention and increasing average customer value, but also significantly reduce costs in the process. However, while the web provides a number of ways for organisations to change the way they interact with customers, these services can only be delivered successfully if they are based upon accurate, detailed, up-to-date customer information.

Unfortunately, few organisations are yet to realise this vision.  Many have made the mistake of taking a website development route, which has simply created another information silo. Others have enabled customers to raise support calls via an online trouble ticketing system – but that constrains the web portal to a specific sub set of information and, in turn, restricts the employees, teams and/or departments that have access to the data. At the same time, companies are looking to implement an online CRM system that will provide sales staff with online access to information and, at best, allow customers to undertake self-service updates of basic contact information. The problem is that none of these developments work together; resulting in a fragmented and flawed online business model.

Tactical Deployments

These web enabled deployments have been tactical solutions in response to specific operational requirements and taken in isolation they make sense. Adding a web front end to a trouble ticketing system undoubtedly makes it easier for customers to lodge complaints or support requests out of hours; while offering access to an online document portal enables customers to adopt a self-service method to check contracts or order statements rather than call or email – saving time for both parties.

However, the business implications of failing to join up these processes can be significant. With siloed information sources, it is far too easy for a customer services team to waste resources by providing support to a customer that has not renewed its contract; or for the online sales process to automatically accept an order from a customer with a poor credit history.

These tactical solutions may deliver short term wins but they are not sustainable in the longer term. Organisations need a far more effective way of embedding every aspect of the customer interaction and relationship within the business – and that means taking a strategic approach.

CRM Enabled Strategy

At the heart of this transformation must be a single source of information that encompasses every aspect of the customer interaction – from initial lead generation through to contract, order history and customer support. And the best place to hold that information is within the CRM. Integrating this central resource of customer information, that includes everything from financial transactions to customer preferences and order history, into the website enables an organisation to leverage existing investment whilst creating an end to end solution that delivers a seamless experience for customers.

Of course, this model allows the business to provide customers with self-service access to information that would previously have required a telephone call or email – from copies of invoices to outstanding orders. It allows a customer to track a product inquiry or on-going support issue 24×7. It also enables customers to update information, place orders and make payments online at a time that suits them. Essentially, enabling self-service online activity reduces the burden on the organisation, significantly cutting costs and driving down the administrative overhead.

However, a CRM enabled web strategy offers even more. By capturing every customer interaction in one place, both off and online, the business can gain new depths of understanding that can be used to transform the customer experience – from tailoring information to reflect customer requirements to exploiting better customer insight to drive effective cross- and up-selling activity. For example, if a customer is constantly logging support calls about a certain product, the organisation can automatically present content that leads the customer towards relevant training courses or highlights the benefits of a product upgrade. The online content can similarly be tailored in response to a prospect or customer who has responded to a specific mailshot, for example by presenting a relevant case study or product offer.

Critically, because every interaction is captured within the CRM, the business is continually improving its customer understanding and can use that insight to enhance the experience, increase average customer value and meet retention objectives.

Conclusion

Web enabling the business is now a fundamental component of any corporate strategy. But this does not mean building this functionality directly into the web site on its own; the result will be a complex, unmanageable mess of separate integrations with three or four separate back end systems. Instead, the CRM system should be the hub of the entire customer relationship strategy, providing a single platform to support all business transactions both on and offline.

With the right approach to CRM enabling the web strategy, organisations can deliver customer self-service and improve the quality, timeliness and relevance of information and services. The result is stronger customer relationships, reduced costs and a chance to exploit customer information to improve up- and cross-selling. With customers increasingly demanding an integrated online business model, can any organisation afford to miss out on this opportunity to consolidate, integrate and improve the overall customer experience?

John Cheney is CEO, Workbooks.

Be mindful of CEM challenges, says Udesh Jadnanansing (pictured).

On an almost daily basis, I speak to companies about their thoughts and strategies on providing the best possible customer experience and it’s fair to say that the vast majority view it as a high priority on their business planning agenda.

However, in the real world, the challenge is often converting great ideas into a practical operational plan that can really improve the customer experience.

In my experience, there are four key pitfalls that many organisations face when searching for the right Customer Experience Management (CEM) strategy for their business and it is worth all management teams being mindful of them and planning to avoid them:

Departmental silos

It’s very easy when you are setting up a CEM programme for it to become a project for just one department, rather than involving the whole organisation. You want to develop a consistent customer experience that emanates from across all your departments and is an integral part of your brand values. I like to envisage it as the ‘DNA’ of your business, it should be part of the way the organisation operates and letting the programme fall into small isolated silos will make this very difficult to fulfil. The CEM strategy must involve the entire organisation and all of its touchpoints to achieve this.

Think of your business from the customer point of view – they will not see your organisation as a number of departments but as a single entity. Customers only see your products or services offering and are looking to get a particular job or need fulfilled by your organisation – anyone from outside the business is unlikely to care how it is organised. Implementing a CEM strategy for just the contact centre may fail to cover other parts of your business that are also customer-facing – such as your stores/branches and the customers they serve, for example. The entire organisation and all its parts need to take ownership of CEM and ensure that the strategy is carried out wherever a customer comes into contact with it.

CEM is more than just the tools you use

In contrast to what some software providers would have you believe, integrating a CEM software platform into your processes is not the complete answer to delivering a great customer experience. Technology is a great tool, but on its own it is just a facilitator and not a panacea for all your needs and goals. When developing a CEM strategy, it’s important that it is a strategic choice encompassing the whole organisation – ultimately, it is the people within the organisation who will drive forward the changes that are implemented, not the technology that is used. To fully embrace a new CEM strategy, a company needs to work from the outside in, to ensure it works efficiently to benefit customers and addresses their needs, rather than simply being designed to fit convenience internally. This can be a real challenge for many organisations because it involves really listening to customer feedback and acting on their actual needs, rather than delivering preconceived brand promises about great customer experience and excellent service. While there is no clear vision that focuses on cultural changes, even the most advanced IT solution will fail to properly implement an effective and fresh CEM programme.

Focus on positive customer feedback as well as the negative

It’s all too easy to simply focus on the negativity from dissatisfied customers, as their voice will often seem the loudest. Obviously managing customers that are at risk and making them happier is a vital part of any successful CEM programme – but what happens with those customers that genuinely really love your products and services? These customers are ambassadors for your company and its offering. Additionally, they offer a lot of valuable insights and positive feedback on the things you do well – this will show you exactly why they are so enthusiastic about your business, preventing you from changing your proposition and inadvertently discontinuing the very things your customers like!

Focusing on the positives is also hugely beneficial internally, giving your team pride in what they provide, demonstrating why your business makes the offerings that it does and boosting the self-esteem of the whole organisation. Additionally, sharing positive feedback publically has been shown to boost revenues markedly and adds great kudos to your reputation.

Fully understand the digital experience

Many people tend to underestimate the complexity (or often over-complexity) of their business’ digital channels. It’s very easy for organisations to plan and develop their digital channels so that they are more complex than traditional touchpoints, whether they need to be or not, sometimes simply because the functionality is available. Prospects and customers can perform many tasks and services themselves through one website portal – searching for product information, managing their online account, using self-service tools, asking questions online through IM and obviously buying new products. This is a very different proposition to a more traditional contact centre call which will typically be done for a specific purpose or issue, such as a specific service related question for example. It’s important to understand this and ensure you are meeting your customers’ needs and expectations fully.

Your digital offering is also another area where it is vital to avoid being reliant on isolated departments within the organisation. This will make it harder to offer a consistent service but equally, makes it harder to correlate any feedback or insights back to all parts of the business. The technology is now available to ascertain exactly how visitors are using your website and to ask them questions about what they like, what they don’t like and what they would like to see in the future – when it is most relevant for them. This offers a much wider view of the digital customer experience and consequently helps to get a much clearer understanding of the whole customer journey and its suitability for your clients.

 

Udesh Jadnanansing is founder and managing partner at Mopinion.

 

 

 

 

 

Simon White (pictured), of Protravel, discusses how brands can differentiate themselves from the competition without lowering prices. 

 How to catch consumer’s attention in supermarkets is an ongoing challenge for FMCG brands. Money-conscious behaviour that came about because of the recession is now entrenched for many and, as a result, some brands are continuing to promote on price for fear of losing sales. ‘Buy one, get one free’, ‘50 per cent off’, or ‘25 per cent extra free’ all attract the attention of consumers during those few seconds when they are at the supermarket shelf making decisions about what to put into their trolley, but these all cost the brand money and ultimately devalue it.

So what can brands do if they want to attract consumers yet maintain their margins and avoid price-led offers? Added value on-pack promotions can achieve that goal and are one way for a brand to differentiate itself from the competition. Few consumers will remember a slight price discount on their tea bags for very long, but they will remember something like a family day out, or a weekend break. Promotions such as ‘buy this for your chance to win’, ‘buy this and kids get a free pass to…’ or ‘buy three of these and get….’ enable a brand to engage with its customers and potential customers on a level that is not price-related and can be run for a fraction of the cost of giving product away or discounting.

Given the potential packaging issues with some retailers, many brands are opting to use vouchers either as part of the packaging or as a Fix-a-Form® leaflet-label when space for the promotion is at a premium. However, due to cost, timing and space not every brand can run an on-pack promotion.  In these situations many will opt to communicate the message near pack on point-of-sale material, directing the consumer to an online or text entry mechanic. Proof of purchase is always desirable and this can be achieved by asking consumers to upload a copy of their receipt, for example. For competitions, entrants should be asked to retain their till receipt so in the event they win the brand gets that link to purchase.

Choosing the correct mechanic for the promotion is paramount, and this varies depending on the audience, the reward and the product or service being purchased. For example, if the reward is a free flight then it is quite reasonable to expect the customer to download a claim form, stick a stamp on and post it in. However, for a competition entry then a text to win or click to win would make more sense.  It is still the case that older people are more comfortable using the post, whereas younger people prefer text, email or apps. The use of URNs and an online mechanic allows enhanced communication with the consumer, plus the opportunity to reinforce the brand messages and collect essential data. Collector schemes also remain popular as they increase repeat purchase and allow data collection.

What is vital is to ensure that the mechanic is seen to be relatively quick and simple to do by the target audience in relation to the prize or reward on offer in order to generate a high level of response.  To achieve this, many brands are using a redemption mechanic which enables them to take a fixed fee approach. This allows them to budget for the promotion and offer more big prizes or a larger reward for the available budget while allowing somebody else to take the risk on the level of redemption.

An on-pack promotion is a focused marketing tool that is highly effective in influencing purchasing decisions. And for those brands that really get it right, the added value provided by positive PR and social media buzz can boost the impact of a promotional campaign hugely.

 

 

 

 

 

Simon Walker (pictured) tracks the progress of the barcode since it was first adopted in June 1974.

Across the world, barcodes are an integral part of retail technology. With five billion beeps a day a familiar part of the high street shopping experience, this is one retail innovation that has stood the test of time.40 years ago, on June 26, 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum in the US became the first item to be scanned at a supermarket checkout, a year after the retail industry adopted the GS1 barcode as a single unified standard for identifying and tracking products.

Prior to the introduction of the barcode, retail staff used label guns and the only product information it could produce was the price. While there was some resistance at first, GS1 UK, the not-for-profit company that administers the current system, claims that barcodes have improved the accuracy of product identification by a factor of 10,000 and now deliver a range of measurable benefits beyond reduced waiting time for consumers at the checkout.

Indeed, it goes on to claim that the efficiencies that the barcode has created in the supply chain have also enabled 21 per cent shorter lead times for warehouse operators, 42 per cent lower costs for distribution centres and 32 per cent fewer out-of-stocks for retailers, ultimately saving the UK retail industry £10.5 billion every year.

With branches now in 111 countries, and its standards applied in 150, GS1 now has 27,000 members in the UK alone, with 300 more signing up each month. However, 60 per cent of these new members are online retailers, requiring GS1 to consider adapting the design and function of its barcode to meet the product information demands of the multi-channel consumer.

The demands of multi-channel retail 

From stock, location and supplier data, to digital and marketing assets, retailers are faced with managing more product information than ever before, across multiple domains, countries, languages and channels. Managing this wealth and variety of information means that more sophisticated systems are needed to ensure that supply chain operations keep running efficiently.

Additionally, the growing world of multi-channel retail means that the way in which consumers are purchasing products is changing. The advent of new channels means that accurate and consistent information across consumer touchpoints is becoming ever more important. The issues for manufacturing and supply organisations are now how to maintain brand consistency and perception in order to grow revenue and drive sales.

Industry leaders, including GS1 UK, have discussed in the last year how different forms of barcodes are needed to represent these new requirements for product information. A new system could soon mean that a barcode will inform retailers about everything from package variation to expiry dates, ensuring that product information management is made as simple, accurate and effective as possible. However, its introduction is like to cause operational problem and high implementation costs in its initial stages.

Mastering the data

With a Master Data Management (MDM) solution integrated into their workflow, and configured with GS1’s product information specifications, manufacturers and suppliers will be able to easily, regularly and accurately provide the required information, saving both time and money.

By allowing manufacturers and suppliers to provide detailed product information to retailers, along with additional supporting content, the use of an MDM platform will see a reduction in time and cost across the supply chain, as well as an increase in the accuracy and timeliness of the information.

We don’t know yet what the next generation of barcode will look like, and it’s practically impossible to predict what form retail will take in the next 40 years’ time. What we do know is that a change is required and, to ease the transition MDM technology will enable manufacturers, suppliers and retailers alike to equip themselves for the growing demand for information from the multi-channel consumer.

Simon Walker is director of innovation at Stibo Systems

 

 

 

 

Your customer needs to respect your business, says Richard Rosen (pictured).

We are in the midst of a major revolution in business. Consumers today are more aware than ever that their purchasing decisions have an impact on the planet, both socially and environmentally. They now pay attention to your company’s values and are looking to buy from companies they respect.

According to Simmons OneView, 73% of consumers agree: “it is important that a company behaves ethically”. A whopping 88% of consumers buy green products. And the proportion of green products they buy increases significantly year after year.

Those businesses that successfully engage this concerned consumer will gain greater numbers of loyal customers, but the benefits don’t end there. According to a recent survey by Deloitte LLP, companies with a strong sense of purpose establish more trust with their clients, instil greater confidence in investors, receive more support from their communities, and have more engaged employees.

As a marketer, it’s essential that you get on board and consider how your brand is going to fit into this changing landscape. And you have to consider it in a real way. The days of smoke and mirrors are long gone. It’s time to ask: “What does my brand really stand for?” and then give careful consideration to the message you want to send to your customers.

Over the last decade we’ve seen plenty of examples of companies who have tried to continue business as usual by covering their less savoury practices with a heartfelt message and some beautiful window dressing. However, when those unpleasantries surface—be they corporate scandals, unfair labour practices, or environmental degradation— they leave their customers in a state of mistrust, ultimately destroying any chance of building long-term relationships. Whether it’s through their own efforts or through the social media grapevine, consumers will know if a brand’s behaviour aligns with their own personal values.

As marketers, it’s not enough anymore to tell consumers that our companies and products are good. We have to prove it.

B Corporations (B Corps) are committed to successfully addressing the needs of this new consumer. Using business as a force for good, B Corporations are leading a global movement that by redefines our success in business. Beyond being the best in the world, B Corporations compete to be the best for the world. And so far, more than 1,000 businesses from 32 countries have become certified, including Patagonia, Etsy and Ben & Jerry’s.

These companies voluntarily uphold performance and legal requirements by balancing the triple bottom line – people, planet, and profit. By taking a stand for genuine values, B Corps are engaging consumers as partners in creating a brighter future. And consumers are responding with enthusiasm and commitment.

A perfect example of a well-known B Corp that balances mission and profits is Ben & Jerry’s. Though they became a B Corp two years ago, they were using a triple bottom line approach since their first scoop shop. Their mission is three-fold: to make great product, to make money, and to make a difference in the world. Ben & Jerry’s shows their commitment to employees and consumers by working to source responsible ingredients, upholding fair labour practices, and even designing campaigns to reform US politics. Though they aren’t perfect, it’s their transparency as they work to make the world a better place that successfully engages customers in a truly empathetic way. They have created an honest dialogue that creates a reciprocal, long-term trust and enthusiasm for the brand.

Patagonia is another B Corp that has long been known for its efforts to be environmentally sustainable. But it’s their transparency and honesty that has cultivated such a loyal customer base. For example, their Footprint Chronicles initiative shares their supply chain in a transparent way to hold them accountable in reducing their social and environmental impacts. This sort of initiative extends an offer to consumers to partner with Patagonia to create a brighter future. Buying Patagonia becomes a vehicle for consumers to make a difference.

It’s no secret – as businesses, we need to make money. Most companies believe in doing good, but are afraid to implement it because they think it will hurt their bottom line. Having a strong sense of purpose goes much deeper than the old feel-good window dressing of the past. It creates a strong competitive advantage. As a marketer with 30 years of experience, I’ve never seen a better strategy to drive profits. I truly believe that balancing profits with a brand mission will drive customers to your brand, build profits and stockholder equity – it’s just good business.

This is the wave of the future. As integrated marketers, we need to consider whether or not our values and brand are aligned. And if not, maybe it’s time for a change.

Richard G Rosen is president/CEO of ROSEN Convergence Marketing (a certified B Corporation) and consults with major brands to improve their marketing campaigns through empathetic dialogue. His book, Convergence Marketing: Combining Brand and Direct for Unprecedented Profits, (Wiley & Sons), is a ‘how-to’ tool for marketing professionals. Richard will be presenting a keynote at the annual USA DMA conference in San Diego with Rob Michalak, global director of Social Mission, Ben & Jerry’s, in October 2014.