Experience the Message

ETM 101: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Some more ETM 101 studies to share here. The first is a story from eMarketer, which covers a report from Forrester Research. The report shows what channels marketers are pursuing or are planning to pursue. Please check it out.

The second piece of information is from Peppers & Rogers, called "Turning Customer Experiences into Competitive Edge: Nikon's Journey to Leadership." It begins with a statement that we all already know:

The customer experience is now the battleground for competitive advantage. In a global and information-rich economy,many of the familiar avenues to gaining and keeping a competitive edge, such as product innovation or speed-to-market, are not as effective as they once were. Faced with a market rife with product commoditization and marketing blitz — where customers are in control—a company’s competitive advantage depends on delivering a consistent, satisfying customer experience.

This fact has been on the executive radar for some time. But when it comes to managing the customer experience, research shows that there is a sizeable gap between planning and doing. In 2005, for example, the global research firm Strativity Group reported that 76% of senior executives taking part in a worldwide survey placed customer strategies higher on the corporate agenda than they did three years ago. Yet only 31% said they had the tools and authority to serve customers. Even more alarming, 59% claimed they do not deserve their customers’ loyalty.

Nikon's Journey to Leadership.pdf

A great PDF called The David Report came across my Inbox. It is billed as "a trend report with a design perspective and a humanistic approach, which concern intersections between culture, business life and the global society." What's not to like?

The David Report.pdf

And finally, check this out report from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/ Polimetrix called "YOUTHMONITOR Coming of Age in America: Part IV – The MySpace Generation." Long title, interesting read.

The MySpace Generation.pdf

Bon apetit, mes amis.

LIGHT READING

Every once in a while, it's good to get to some of those white papers and studies that are so often downloaded yet so rarely read. So, allow me to share the pages here with you all.

The first is a good study on Red Bull from a Left Coast agency called Plan B. It's a very insightful read, and in-depth enough for random referencing at industry parties. Download: Speed In a Can

Here's is a fascinating document from the mind of Eric Von Hippel, a professor and Head of the Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at MIT Sloan School of Management. Downlaod: Citizen Innovator

And finally, from BoldMouth (an WOM agency) comes a great study about...WOM. Surprise, surprise. But really, this is a robust and well-intentioned study on buzz and word-of-mouth, without all the self-serving platitudes and panacea rhetoric that most WOM agencies throw around. BoldMouth has put out one of the better prospectus on the emerging methodolgy. Download: BoldMouth

NEW WOM STUDY

A report from Lucid Marketing titled "U.S. Adults: Word of Mouth Communications" (you have to take reports from marketing agencies with a small grain of salt) has found that:

Women were more likely than men to share a positive experience with a business (91% to 83%) or recommend an enjoyable product (95% to 89%). And, full time employees made substantially more daily contacts than those not in the workforce, while those with household earnings of more than $100,000 were more likely to make recommendations than those earning less. The study showed that women tend to prefer verbal communications to other forms of contact, whereas men tend to prefer email.

Other findings include that 49% of Gen Y have built a website and one quarter have their own blog, while Gen X and Boomers tend to use email more often and are more likely to spread positive WOM.

THE FUTURE (END) OF TV AS WE KNOW IT

Sorry I've been out of touch as of late. I've been traveling to Toronto often, first to the National Business Book Award ceremony (where I lost to an exceptional book called Profiting the Crown), and now back to the T-Dot for a presentation at Alliance Atlantis' Spotlight on Specialty TV conference.

Anyway, I wanted to share this study from IBM, which among other things, states that:

Our analysis indicates that market evolution hinges on two key market drivers: openness of access channels and levels of consumer involvement with media. For the next 5-7 years, there will be change on both fronts – but not uniformly. The industry instead will be stamped by consumer bimodality, a coexistence of two types of users with disparate channel requirements. While one consumer segment remains passive in the living room, the other will force radical change in business models in a search for anytime, anywhere content through multiple channels.

The tech- and fashion-forward consumer segment will lead us to a world of platform-agnostic content, fluid mobility of media experiences, individualized pricing schemes and an end to the traditional concept of release windows....

This is the beginning of "the end of television as we know it" and the future will only favor those who prepare today. IBM offers six executive recommendations to get started:

Segment: Invest in divergent strategies and supply chains for bimodal consumer types. Identify, develop and continually refine data-driven user profiles in order to optimize product and service development, distribution, marketing messaging, and service migration. Tailor content, advertising, pricing and reach dynamically.

Innovate: Innovate business and pricing models by creating – not resisting – wider consumer choice with windows, bundles, pricing and distribution. Take risks today to avoid losing position long-term.

Experiment: Develop, trial, refine, roll-out. Repeat. Conduct ongoing market experiments alone and with partners to study "real life" consumer preferences. Invest in new measurement systems and metrics for the on demand world of tomorrow.

Mobilize: Create seamless content mobility for users that require on-the-go experiences. Ensure easy synchronization across devices and without user intervention.

Open: Drive open content delivery platforms to optimize content and revenue exploitation, and to create optimum business flexibility and network cost-efficiency. Position open capabilities to bolster digital content protection with consumer flexibility, and for plug-and-play business upgrades necessary in the fast-changing marketplace.

Re-organize: Assess business assets against future requirements. Identify core competencies needed for future competitive advantage. Isolate non-core business components for outsourcing or partnership. From an external perspective, reconfigure business to exploit market and financial levers to buy, build or team to future competitiveness.

Thanks to MIT Advertising Lab for the heads-up. I wonder what Joseph Jaffe's take on all this will be. I'm looking forward to the discussion.

BTW, if you are in Montreal May 14-16, he and I will be the keynote speakers at the Canadian Marketing Association annual conference.

Traitors and Deserters

A report from Forrester says 24% of US mobile subs switched providers between 2004 and 2005, and another 16% plan to switch in the next two years or more. Number portability, commoditized mobile offerings, and lifestyle-based service providers will continue to create churn, going forward.

So as the market nears saturation, the report says, as nearly 98 million US households will have a mobile phone by 2010, subscriber churn – meaning, all those people leaving your brand or service – will become a huge issue to tackle for telcos in the future.

The 24% of US mobile subs who switched carriers between 2004 and 2005 are younger, more likely to be female, less likely to be white, and are more optimistic about technology than the average mobile subscriber.

I suspect that the idea of losing one-quarter of your customer base can get up and walk away from your company is something that a lot of CEOs are staying awake at night and worrying about. That’s just such massive numbers.

I also suspect that the numbers are too small. Most parents buy their phones for their kids aged 13-15, and those kids in turn trade-up and out from one carrier to another every single year. The churn will only get worse.

In this game of musical mobile providers, the biggest -- Verizon and Cingular -- win, while the littler guys like Alltel, Cellular One, and U.S. Cellular are just treading water, says the report.

So how can you stay in the game? I guessed that customer service or lifestyle association would be something that swayed these switchers. But in fact, the report states that:

Consumers who are planning to switch mobile carriers in the future are spending more than $4 more per month on mobile service than those who are likely to stay put, and are primarily looking to improve the price and service aspects of their mobile experience. Handset selection, customer service, data services, and unique content are all secondary considerations, even for those consumers who currently use advanced mobile features like data or messaging.

The report also suggests some solutions for beleaguered telcos trying to plug up the holes in their customer retention programs and campaigns. Surprisingly, the suggestions all skim the surface of an experiential approach to servicing their customers.

-- Allow customers to store photos, text messages, emails, and IM on the network.
-- Entice the big spenders with the hottest upcoming handsets
-- Be an objective advisor to confused consumers
-- A multiservice bundle, including mobile, from one company will make it less likely that the current subscriber will defect
-- The delivery of audio and video via handsets provides unique leverage

These recommendations assume a more empowered and demanding customer, one who has a lot of spending power and want s to be told the truth. And, as always, content will be kind when it comes to digital delivery.

FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION PROVES PARAMOUNT

The second chapter of Experience the Message is sub-titled: "Experiential marketing will be predicated on a one-on-one personal interaction between a marketer and a consumer." I go on to posit that in a CRM-obsessed world, people want the human touch, which is so valuable and effective when delivering a marketing message, querying people outside of focus-group-think, and reaching the so-called influentials.

It's no surprise that grassroots activism like the IVR cheat sheet created by Paul English is beginning part of the consumer experience. Read the ETM post on this. It's all about getting a real human being on the phone. Aren't the Chase commercials all about this? Or is it Citibank?

Anyway, I digress. In support of the notion that face-to-face interactions between people and services is paramount to marketing, comes The 2006 Market Pulse Survey, released by IBT Enterprises and MCA Works, that reveals that:

When it comes to financial services, the "human touch" still matters to a great number of consumers. Despite decades of predictions that technology-driven channels like ATMs and online banking would replace traditional banks, 50 percent prefer to bank face-to-face in a branch or drive through. Thirty percent of those surveyed prefer to bank online, 18 percent opt for ATMs and 2 percent say mail or telephone.

76 percent of Americans "love" or "don't mind" going inside the branch to conduct business. Face-to-face interaction is preferred for more complex transactions:

69 percent prefer face-to-face for making a deposit
65 percent to apply for a loan
64 percent for opening a new account

ATM, online and telephone banking was most popular for:

Paying bills (64 percent),
Cash withdrawal (56 percent)
Transferring funds (54 percent)

Isn't this a validation for more experiential marketing and customer experience management? Think all of the brand ambassadors you encounter at marketing events, trade shows and street executions. Just think of Ritz Carlton. Think of the Apple stores' Genius Bar. Think of CDW, Wegman's or American Apparel.

Companies like these inherently understand the need to market personally, to respect the individual consumer, and embrace their new-found empowerment to service them better.

EMF IS HUMMING

I just got off the phone with Erik Hauser, founder and CD of Swivel Media. I don't know how the man sleeps. I mean, other than continually winning new clients (Wells Fargo) and delighting his existing ones (CareerBuilder.com), he is also the founder of the International Experiential Marketing Association and the moderator of the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF). He informed me that both organizations are growing by leaps and bounds, with thousands of members joining every week.

I have been visiting and contributing to the EMF since its inception. I'm totally thrilled by the action it is getting. Voices from all over the world are talking, asking, solving and inspiring. It is a privilege to be a part of this movement.

I urge everyone I meet to visit the EMF and sign-up to an enlightening experience. And I urge you all to read Erik's column called BrandAnimation at ChiefMarketer.com. He is a voice to listen to.

ETM 101: THE HUB

If you have not yet discovered The Hub Magazine, as a marketer I strongly suggest you do. If sister publication Reveries is like The New York Times, then The Hub is like The Economist.

I apologize for the disjointed analogy. Too many holiday cookies. Just check it out! In the meantime, how about two papers culled from The Hub to get you started:

An exclusive interview with Anne Saunders, SVP of Marketing for Starbucks.Download starbucks_loyalty.pdf

And five questions on the role of the CMO and the future of marketing answered by Howard Handler, CMO for Virgin Mobile USA.Download Virgin_CMO.pdf