cust merengagement

i s s u e f i v e S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1

The official magazine of theCustomer Engagement Club

www.customerengagementclub.com

Sponsor Sponsor Sponsordirectors forumCUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTI N F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S

Host Partner Sponsor

FREE TO ATTEND FOR SENIOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

The Future for Customer Engagement inFinancial Services in the light of furtherregulatory changes, the loss of customer trustand the economic backdropThe Customer Engagement Club Directors Forum on CustomerEngagement in Financial Services will highlight the key issuesand challenges facing the financial services sector as it strives toget its customer relationships back on track, and will examinewhat the future holds for this much maligned sector in the lightof further regulatory changes, the loss of customer trust and theeconomic backdrop.

Customer Engagementin Financial Services13th October 2011, London

Speakers todate include:

• Nadege Genetay, Head of Redress Unit, FSA (Keynote)

• Andrew Fisher, CEO,Towry (case study)

• Anthony Thomson , Chairman,Metro Bank (case study)

• Rod Butcher, Head of Customer Experience and Insight, Aviva Group plc

• Peter Flade, Senior Managing Partner,Gallup Consulting

• Deborah Eastman, Global Head of Business Consulting, Satmetrix

• Paul Scott, Director, Global Consulting at Merchants Ltd

• Andy Scott, Director, Firstsource

• Conrad Simpson, Director, Interactive Intelligence

Delegates will learn:• The strategies financial services organisations are employing to

regain customer trust

• How the FSA is bringing in new regulations aimed at ensuring the sector improves its customer service outcomes

• What world class organisations in the sector are leading through genuinely customer centric strategies

• How to differentiate your organisation and win customer trust and gain competitive advantage

• How to measure and quantify the business benefits of engaging customers across channels

• What the future looks like in a troubled sector and what

customer strategies are needed to succeed

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Venue: Gallup Consulting,The Adelphi,1-11 John Adam Street,London,WC2N 6HS

For more information contact Chris Wood:chris@ictcomms.com and+44 (0) 1932 341828 or visit our website:www.customerengagementclub.com

4-7 The whole dynamic of how organisations interact with their customers haschanged irrecoverably over the past decade as a proliferation of channels tomarket and technologically savvy customers have combined to create a perfectstorm where customer insight is the key to bottom line success. Kieran Kilmartin atPitney Bowes reports

9-11 Cloud based solutions and the benefits they can bringin saving costs and improving customer service are some ofthe hottest issues but can the cloud really deliver on thehype? Dave Paulding of Interactive Intelligence reports

14-16 Karine del Moro, founder of imPACT International Marketing, shareswith Customer Engagement her 15 years’ experience with clients, and morespecifically in the field of ‘localisation’ and the part it should play in anycustomer-centric strategy

18-19 We are experiencing a rapidincrease in the availability of technology-driven products that facilitate a platformthat we will interact with on a daily basis.The suppliers of these products are alsoproviding us with an expanding array ofchannels to provide feedback and give ouropinions of the quality of the solution andthe experience. Michael Hill ofcomplaintsrgreat reports

20-21 Customer satisfaction is now firmly commoditisedsays Alan Zorfas of Motista - organisations must movebeyond satisfaction and on to connection if they reallywant to win in the customer engagement stakes

22-23 The latest Customer Engagement Club Directors Forumdrilled down into the nitty-gritty of how organisations can deliver ajoined-up customer experience across all channels for competitiveadvantage. Editorial director Steve Hurst reports

customerengagement

Customer Engagement magazine is published by the Customer EngagementClub, the organisers of the Customer Engagement Directors Forums.

To join the Club (free membership) and receive weekly Alerts, DigitalMagazines and Invitations to the Directors Forums go towww.customerengagementclub.com

Editorial Director: Steve Hurst steve@ictcomms.com Sales & Marketing Director: Chris Wood chris@ictcomms.comTel: +44 (0) 1932 341828Customer Engagement ©ICT Communications Ltd

The official magazine of theCustomer Engagement Club

www.customerengagementclub.com

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

C O V E R F E A T U R E

4

customerengagement

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 15

Since the dawning of the 21st centurythere has been a dramatic shift in thecommercial relationship betweenorganisations and individuals. Thecorporate notion of the ‘dumb’ consumerwho merely exists to buy products andservices via the traditional channel of thehigh street has been demolished by theexplosion of online and mobiletechnologies.

From having their choices restricted bywhat was available from local stores andservice providers, customers now haveaccess to a global cornucopia of retailand service options. Similarly, marketingis no longer just restricted to advertisingin traditional media and direct mail - amulti-channel communications world hasopened up that makes the task ofreaching target audiences both moredynamic and more challenging than ever.

The customer redefinedThe very notion of the customer is beingredefined. With so much choiceavailable, companies are finding itharder than ever to engender a sense ofloyalty in the people who buy from them.Yet the rewards for those companies whocan retain and grow their customer basetoday are many - for instance, theinfluence and power of online resources

such as Trip Advisor and Amazonreviews amply demonstrate how happycustomers can quickly become hugelyvaluable brand ambassadors.Conversely, unhappy customers can justas easily damage a company’sreputation through negative word ofmouth.

What’s clear is that customers can nolonger be treated as a massdemographic – the key to successfullymaintaining customer loyalty ispersonalisation. Ironically, the rush ofmulti-channel communications and thelow cost mass marketing capabilities ofemail have often caused companies tolose sight of the fact that the most effectivecustomer interactions are conducted one-to-one between individuals.

Insight key to buildinglifetime customer valueRetail and service provision is no longerabout one-off transactions, but aboutenabling lifetime customer relationships,a long-term, personalised dialogue whichis consistent no matter which channels ofcommunication are being used This typeof relationship is only possible through theadoption of meaningful and actionableinsight in order to discover what makeseach individual customer tick. �

Kier

an K

ilmar

tin is

mar

ketin

g di

rect

or E

MEA

at P

itney

Bow

es

The whole dynamic of how organisations interact with theircustomers has changed irrecoverably over the past decade asa proliferation of channels to market and technologically savvycustomers have combined to create a perfect storm wherecustomer insight is the key to bottom line success. KieranKilmartin at Pitney Bowes reports

“The corporate notion of the ‘dumb’consumer who merely exists to buy

products and services via the traditionalchannel of the high street has been

demolished by the explosion of onlineand mobile technologies”

It is only by gaining this level of understanding that companiescan answer such questions as: who are we actually talking toand why might they be interested in what we have to offer;what should we be talking to them about and when do theymake buying decisions; where are they located and whichselling channel should we be using to reach them?

The information required to build the type of sophisticatedprofiles that our customer-centric century demands is out there,but despite the best efforts of CRM technologies, it hasn’tpreviously been pulled together in a way that is genuinelyadaptive or holistic. However, this is beginning to changewith the emergence of customer analytics solutions that seek touncover important data relationships within organisations’customer databases And sophisticated predictive capabilitiesthat will pre-determine outcomes.

Organisations can now develop a much clearer and moredelineated picture of their customers, enabling them to predictprofit-impacting behaviours and propensities such as customerchurn, cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, campaign planningand segmentation, customer satisfaction and loyalty, andcustomer lifetime value.

Contact centres criticalThis insight is especially critical in respect to inbound calling,where a company must capitalise on the limited customeraccess time they have. Research suggests that a customer willcontact an organisation just twice a year and with manyopting out of direct marketing approaches such as mail, emailor text messages, it is vital that organisations make theseinteractions count.

Customer analytics can be enhanced through the use of real-time decisioning applications that sit behind an organisation’sexisting CRM systems to provide frontline staff with the “bestnext offer or service” when dealing with a customer. Byhaving a 360° view of the customer, analytically-drivenrecommendations both personalise and take the guesswork outof interactions, whether through a call centre, within a store orbranch, or on the website.

Nationwide has the know-howThe Nationwide Building Society is a good example of anorganisation that has enhanced customer relationships throughdeploying real-time decisioning technology. The company hasexperienced real returns, with incremental sales running morethan 200 per cent on original targets. The company has alsobeen able to up-sell and cross-sell more effectively to existingcustomers through inbound service conversations than throughall of its traditional outbound direct marketing.

Knowing who and who not to approach is also a vital part ofmaintaining profitable lifetime relationships with as manycustomers as possible. One successful segmenting techniqueis an analytic approach called uplift modelling, which predictsthe difference or lift that a marketing campaign will have overwhat would have happened in the absence of the campaign.

This segmentation empowers companies to focus efforts onlyon the “Persuadables,” those customers who are likely torespond positively to a marketing campaign. Similarly, upliftmodelling prevents businesses from wasting time and moneytargeting customers who are already a “Sure Thing” andwill buy regardless, as well as those who are a“Lost Cause” and will never buy no matter whatthey are offered.

In addition, Uplift helps marketers avoid the“Sleeping Dogs” – those customers that don’t want tobe disturbed and are likely to react negatively tomarketing outreach by perhaps opting out of marketing listsor even taking their business elsewhere. For example, whena retention mailing campaign actually increased churn from9 to 10%, mobile operator Telenor, used uplift modellingto turn this around and reduce churn by 1.2%,gaining $8.8 million per year! Thecombination of increased retention ratesand lower marketing costs hasalso enabled Telenor torealise improvedcampaign ROI.

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

C O V E R F E A T U R E

6

“Organisations can now develop a muchclearer and more delineated picture of

their customers, enabling them to predictprofit-impacting behaviours and

propensities such as customer churn,cross-sell and up-sell opportunities,

campaign planning and segmentation,customer satisfaction and loyalty, and

customer lifetime value

�

While much retail activity has shifted online in the past tenyears, companies cannot underestimate the importance thatphysical stores still hold in the customer psyche. Evencustomers that intend to buy online often still want to appraisegoods in the real world beforehand – highlighting why aproperly integrated multi-channel customer strategy is vital.

Using customer analytics to understand the bigger picture ofwhy and how customers engage with companies (beyond theirbuying histories) encompasses real world factors such asgeographical location, social and economic class, age,gender and ethnicity. If this information is analysed correctly,it can have a major impact on the siting of stores, the range ofproducts and services offered and, in turn, the longevity andprofitability of customer relationships.

Dixons are doing itFor example, Dixons Retail has applied drive time anddemographic analysis across its customer base in order to

identify exactly which type of store from its portfolio needs tobe in which location, and what the correct allocation ofproducts should be. By ensuring its customers are best servedaccording to their individual profiles, the company canmaximise its profit and market share both on the ground andonline.

As technology continues to evolve, new ways for organisationsto communicate with their customers will undoubtedly emerge.But a return to the bad old days of mass marketing is unlikely –the customer in the 21st century is an empowered individual,not a faceless consumer.

However, one thing that will remain a constant is the need foran ongoing, personalised dialogue between an organisationand its customers. Through the insight it provides, customeranalytics will play a vital role in ensuring this relationship isbeneficial to both the company and the individual.

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 17

customerengagement

How to gain a robust insight into your customeroperations and strategy for maximum returnThe Customer Engagement Strategy and Measurement DirectorsForum will look at the issues and challenges facing organisationsoperating in a multichannel environment - where obtaining a singleview of the customer is an increasingly complex yet vital componentof customer engagement strategy and measurement.

Customer EngagementStrategy & Measurement3rd November 2011, London

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Venue: Gallup Consulting,The Adelphi,

1-11 John Adam Street,London, WC2N 6HS

For more information contactChris Wood: chris@ictcomms.com

and +44 (0) 1932 341828 or visit our website:www.customerengagementclub.com

Strategy

Delegates will learn:• How gaining a single customer view

can enhance your engagement and measurement strategies

• How world class organisations are using engagement measurement and feedback to improve service and gain competitive advantage

• How to gain the customer insight and understanding needed in a multichannel environment

• How to differentiate your organisation from others through effective customer engagement and measurement strategies

• How to measure and quantify the business benefits that come from effective engagement and measurement strategies

Speakers todate include:• Simon Russell, Head of Multichannel,

John Lewis (case study)

• Richard Sedley, Commercial Director, Foviance & Director of Social Media, CIM

• Ed O’Boyle, Global Practice Leader, Gallup Consulting,

• Dr Guy Fielding, CEO, Horizon

• Nigel Goodarce, Head ofE-Commerce, Camelot Group(case study)

• Michael Blastland, BBC, Guardian, journalist and internationally renowned economist

• Google

• Omniture (case study)

Measurement

Customer

directors forumCUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTSTRATEGY & MEASUREMENT

SponsorHost Partner

FREE TO ATTEND FOR SENIOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

customerengagement

9 I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

Cloud based solutions and the benefits they can bring in saving costs and improving customer service are some of the

hottest issues but can the cloud reallydeliver on the hype? Dave Paulding

of InteractiveIntelligence

reports �

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

F E A T U R E

1 0

Flick through the business pages of any newspaper ormagazine and you’ll find a wealth of articles telling us thatmore and more companies are moving their businesses to thecloud. The headlines contain a thesaurus load of cost-cuttingphrases, but beyond saving money do organisations actuallyrealise the full potential of moving to the cloud?

A survey of c-level executives conducted by InteractiveIntelligence nearly 12 months ago revealed that 64% ofcompanies have already deployed or are looking to implementa cloud-based solution within the next five years – and thatmany also recognised the advantages of moving their businesscommunications applications to the cloud.

This major shift throughout the IT industry seems to be typicallydriven by the need for companies to cut costs. Yet cloudcomputing offers much more than reduced up-front costs andfaster implementation. Companies can actually innovate in theway they communicate with the outside world and to theircustomers, creating a whole new way of conducting business.The cloud could effectively be the ultimate customer relationstool. No one is going to dispute the fact that joining the cloudcuts costs, but looking beyond that, its flexibility and scalabilityalso allows companies to respond more flexibly to theircustomer needs.

A simple conceptThe idea behind cloud computing is simple. It is about puttingIT processes on shared resources off site. It makes for greatflexibility, with service providers able to provide increasedcapacity far faster, and at a much lower cost, than a companycould scale its own systems. The obvious economic benefitscome from savings on IT equipment, such as servers, and alsobecause migrating systems to the cloud means companiesswitch from a capital-expenditure model for investing intechnology, to one based on operational expenditure.Individual companies benefit as facilities are purchased by aservice, typically a shared service.

The cloud computing systems were originally designed toincrease collaboration and efficiency within real, or virtual,office environments. There is a vast array of cloud technologyavailable today and most can be customised to the uniqueneeds and structure of an individual business. The logical stepfor businesses that have seen the benefits of moving their maincomputing and software to the cloud is to consider migratingtheir business communications systems.

Labelled Communications-as-a-Service, or CaaS, as we like tocall it, it has become the fastest growing part of our businessas more and more companies are realising the advantages ofusing communications in the cloud to enhance their customerservice.

The Interactive Intelligence CaaS offering includes applicationsfor contact centre automation and enterprise IP telephony. It

encompasses cloud based voice services, IP telephony, unifiedmessaging, call centre and unified communications services.The CaaS offering was designed to provide companies with allthe advantages of a hosted solution, while providing thefunctionality, reliability, security and control of a premise-basedsolution.

Not just about cutting costsThe benefits to the customers and, ultimately, the end users arewide ranging, and while many companies say they initiallyconsider cloud computing as a way to scale down costs, it isbenefits such as flexibility that are also helping to improvecustomer service.

It is the flexible scalability that suits many businesses,particularly for customer-led companies that need to be able tocope with varying levels of demand. Moving communicationsto the cloud enables businesses to ‘scale up’ for peak seasonswhich results in both lower running costs and satisfiedcustomers. This flexibility also means that in a volatile economycompanies can quickly add more functions so they can rapidlyadapt to changing business requirements, while only payingfor what they need.

One US-based ticketing and marketing company, New EraTickets, moved to cloud computing to scale down costs acrossits three contact centres and to make its communication withcustomers more efficient. The company was looking to expandits touch-points beyond the phone and chose the CaaS modelas it wanted a hosted service that could provide a multichannelfunctionality.

Thatcher Young, director of Call Centres for New Era ticketssaid: “The system we had in place meant we could respond toemails but couldn’t place them in a queue, and we didn’t havechat capability – so we needed a solution that would help usmove into the 21st century. Also, we provide ticketing forsports and entertainment venues so our typical customerinteraction volume is a series of peaks and valleys, so we werelooking for a hosted contact centre service that offered flexiblepricing to correspond with these cycles.”

New Era chose a CaaS offering that provides contact centreservices such as IVR, ACD and call recording, and clients payonly for the capabilities and business users they need.

Young continued: “It resulted in significant cost savings and areduction in call processing time by as much as 15 secondsper call. We now have the support of a hosted solution, but we

“A survey of c-level executives conductedby Interactive Intelligence nearly 12

months ago revealed that 64% ofcompanies have already deployed or

are looking to implement a cloud-basedsolution within the next five years”

�

customerengagement

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 11 1

still have control over our contact centreapplications so we can adapt to changingbusiness requirements as well as offer superiorcustomer service.”

Customer service getting a boostThe virtualisation element of cloud computingis also boosting customer service forbusinesses. A hosted service can supportbackup and recovery for remote offices whichmeans that business continuity is moreaffordable. Virtualisation means thatcompanies have the ability to work remotely,whether it is a few members of a customerservice team or the whole department, it has apositive impact on a company’s productivity.By enabling agents to work from home,organisations have the ability to be able toprotect themselves against a host ofunforeseen events such as weather relatedcrises or power surges and outages, bypreventing any unwanted interruptions incustomer service.

Philips Healthcare replaced a premise-basedsystem in one of its contact centres, whichhandled queries about its scan systems, to amore cost effective hosted solution that couldscale to hundreds of users across global sitesand manage multichannel interactions.

Erwin Thomas from Philips Healthcareexplained: “The premise-based system limitedthe number of virtual engineers we could haveavailable to callers at any one time so bymoving communications to the cloud we nowhave true virtualisation. During a recent snowstorm we were able to have our agents work

at home, preventing any interruption tocustomer service and as the hosted solutionacts as a common global platform we cangive customers 24/7 service regardless ofwhere they’re located.”

The cloud and collaborationVirtualised resources also have a lot to offercompanies getting back on their feet aftertaking severe financial hits. One of InteractiveIntelligence’s long-time financial servicescustomers had a need to downsize itsoperation and outsource what it could duringdifficult economic times. Accordingly, thecompany moved its existing contact centreplatform to the cloud to have the vendormanage it for them.

The cloud is also opening up ways for newforms of collaboration and there is a greateremphasis on shared services to boostproductivity. Advanced collaboration isenabling fundamental changes to the waycompanies work as businesses collaboratedynamically via the cloud to extend innovativenew services to customers.

Companies are starting to look beyond theeconomic benefits of the cloud and recognisethe benefits that this solution can bring to theircustomers. During these times of economicuncertainty, cost savings are always going tobe top of the agenda for businesses but cloudcomputing is more than that – it paves theway for businesses to be more flexible, moreresponsive to the market and what customersare asking of them.

Dave Paulding,regional salesdirector UK,Middle East &Africa,InteractiveIntelligence

What are the main challenges facedby companies going ‘global’ Karine?First of all, there are many ways to go global.Some companies choose to carry out theircampaigns in their own language, regardlessof where their customers are. Others justtranslate their material for core markets, butonly the more mature organisations have atruly “localised” marketing plan.

The key challenges are the same as always:budget and resources, and the eternalquestion of prioritisation. But there is oneadded hurdle: the compromise of globalbranding vs. local execution. For internationalB2C organisations such as McDonald’s, theimportance of maintaining brand integritywhilst developing in virtually every country inthe world is paramount to their global strategy.And they’ve been very successful atimplementing it.

Other companies have gone a different way.Despite being present internationally, Philipsdecided it was best to leave their slogan“sense and simplicity” in English for allmarkets, to avoid the risk of losing its meaningin translation. Which doesn’t prevent themfrom localising everything else! There aremany ways to approach localisation – the keyis to find the one that’s fit for yourorganisation.

So what about companies which haven’t quiteachieved the level of globalisation ofMcDonald’s and Philips? Well, that’s wherethe compromise - and resource prioritisation -comes in. If you take a B2B company withlimited marketing funds, it will face a muchmore draconian choice. The truth is, without

localisation, they will probably experiencemoderate success in going global. If they’renot faced with aggressive local competition,their customers will have no choice but to stayloyal. But what kind of loyalty is that? We allknow a customer who feels like a hostagewon’t hesitate to jump ship at the firstopportunity.

What do you need to consider beforelocalising your assets?I’ve seen many cases where the decision tolocalise is made arbitrarily – because it fits theskills of some people in the organisation,because a major account signed up in aparticular country, because the potentialmarket size looks promising... All valid startingpoints, but it’s amazing how quickly the basicrules of marketing get dismissed when facedwith an executive decision or a seeminglylogical move. The four P’s, SWOT analyses, asolid financial plan with targets andrequirements... All this needs to be done fromscratch for every region before a localisedplan is agreed upon.

Many organisations already translate theirmaterial, e-mail campaigns and website intothe language of their target market. Butlocalisation is not the same as translation.What really matters is making sure yourcustomers understand your message,regardless of where they are. You want themto feel connected to your brand, to feel theycan trust you to respond to their specificrequirements. And beyond the language andthe necessity for a proper translation andreview process, there are other questions toanswer. Is the product/service fit for theregion? If you were successful, would you be

Karine del Moro, founder of imPACT International Marketing, shareswith Customer Engagement her 15 years’ experience with clients, andmore specifically in the field of ‘localisation’ and the part it shouldplay in any customer-centric strategy

Karine del Moro,founder of imPACTInternationalMarketing

Follow Karineon Twitter

@KarineDM LinkedIn –KarineDelMoro

Webwww.impact-im.net

E-mailKarine@impact-im.net

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

F E A T U R E

1 4

�

able to support new clients there? Do you require alocal sales and delivery model? Will you be ableto measure and improve your customerexperience in the region, including localisingclosed-loop processes?

Are there differences inrequirements betweendifferent parts of theworld?Yes and no. If we takeEurope as an example,some regionsrespond well toEnglish-speakingcampaigns,such as theNordics and toa lesser extentBenelux andEastern Europe.This doesn’tmean you don’tneed to localiseyour material forthese countries,but they might belower down in the listof priorities if you needto spread your costs. Conversely,France and Germany don’t tend to respond well to English-speaking messaging – in both cases language is viewed as astrong cultural differentiator, and the level of fluency in Englishis usually quite low in France. If you intend to market in theseterritories, localisation will give you a much higher chance ofsuccess.

These are fairly straightforward examples. It gets much moredifficult to analyse these requirements for places like tri-lingualSwitzerland, or for Asia-Pacific regions, which mostorganisations can’t afford to ignore any longer and which posegreater issues for Western companies unfamiliar with vastlydifferent cultures and customs.

So how do you prepare a global launch plan?First - take a step backLet’s face it – very few companies can afford to localise

customerengagement

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 11 5

�

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 6

everything for every region they’re targeting, no matter howeager they are to engage with their customers. An initialassessment should look at where your customers and prospectsare currently situated, internal expansion plans, localcompetition, available budget and resources, product fit, etc.Most of the time, the executive, marketing and sales team havea good idea of “where to go next”, but this only reinforces theneed to conduct a thorough market analysis and build aregional business plan.

Second - engage your organisationJust like a customer engagement programme, you can’t do italone. And as always, it starts at the top. It takes money andresources to implement a localised marketing plan, and gettingcommitment early from the executive team is a pre-requisite forsuccess.

At the management level, alignment between the sales andmarketing teams is paramount, particularly when it comes toselecting which regions to prioritise and focus on. Getting yourregional teams involved early and throughout the localisationprocess will ensure they stay engaged and responsive. What ifyou don’t have a regional team? Well, in some cases, youshould question whether you should really venture in theregion. But if you can serve your customers there, then getpartners or local industry experts to help you, at least to reviewtranslated materials before they’re published. Translationservices are critical but are never enough on their own!

Third - focus on brand integrityA successful localised plan relies on a successful brand. It isalmost impossible to retain your brand integrity if you leaveyour regional teams in charge of localising your messagingand campaigns. This is not to say that the “corporate” teamshould have sole control. Without the input, or rather the activeengagement of the regional team, your localisation efforts arelikely to fail. For this reason, the central team needs to ensureit’s using the right tools to enable regional representatives toeasily and quickly proofread, edit and even create content.Change management is also a critical part of the process. Youdon’t want your regional teams to have to review everythingwhenever the core site gets changed, or a technical brochuregets amended.

Brand integrity doesn’t just involve marketing materials. It isalso about organisational culture, and how you are able to

carry your values and messaging to new regions, which oftenfeel disconnected from “head office”. Regional front-line teamscan often transmit these negative feelings to their prospectsand customers, often without realising it. It is definitely worthlooking at employee engagement strategies for remote staff, toensure they become local ambassadors of the brand.

Fourth - consider the “locale”, not just the languageA localised approach will probably mean new productspecifications, pricing, advertising plans... It also needs to takeinto consideration the country’s own laws and regulations (e.g.data protection, product safety), cultural aspects (tone, localindustry) and finally regional knowledge (using specific eventsor news to relate your products to your customers). Translating the right materials in the right language is obviouslya good start, but putting together a truly localised plan goesmuch deeper than that. All these efforts will pay dividends,provided you’ve done your homework of course!

Fifth - monitor the resultsOf course measurement is a basic requirement for allmarketing campaigns, whether “domestic” or multi-lingual. Butit is particularly important to set up the right metrics and toolsfrom the start when entering a new market. Websites need tobe optimised before launch, with the right analytics in place. E-mail campaigns need to be linked to detailed reports. Andcustomer experience needs to be valued just like it is in yourcore market, and aligned with your corporate strategy. New regional plans should be reviewed often, as they will bepartly based on “trial and error”. But this is no excuse forfailure. Issues need to be picked up early and there should becontingency plans in place to allow for quick and continuousimprovements.

And finally Karine? Remember that there are many ways to approach localisation.No pre-determined toolset I’m afraid! It starts with caring aboutyour current and future customers everywhere, and ensuringthey understand your message. According to a report by theCommon Sense Advisory (2008), more than 80 percent ofbuyers indicated that they would not give full consideration toa product that does not contain localised marketing materials.This isn’t just about caring, this is about the bottom line! If youdecide to take your brand beyond your own borders, there’s alot to consider. And to make matters even more interesting,new marketing methodologies, including social media, videosand podcasts, webinars, blogs and forums, bring in newchallenges to your localisation efforts. It all soundscomplicated, but with the right partners and the right mindset,localisation can be a very efficient path to growth for mostorganisations.

“What really matters is making sure yourcustomers understand your message,

regardless of where they are. You wantthem to feel connected to your brand, to

feel they can trust you to respond to theirspecific requirements”

F E A T U R E

directors forumEMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT &CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

SponsorHost Partner

FREE TO ATTEND FOR SENIOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

How to forge the link between employee andcustomer engagement, performance and profitabilityThe Customer Engagement Club Directors Forum on Employee andCustomer Engagement will lift the lid on the employee engagementstrategies that are helping make some organisations winners andwhere the links between employee and customer engagement arebeing leveraged to provide benefits to all stakeholders and to gaincompetitive advantage.

Employee Engagement& Customer Engagement8th December 2011, London

Delegates will learn:• How world class organisations are

using employee and customer engagement strategies for competitive advantage

• The latest thinking on the links between employee and customer engagement and the strategies that guarantee success

• How to get the best from our people to guarantee consistent delivery of customer service excellence across channels

• How economic conditions are determining employee engagement strategies and how to keep your best people

• The performance and profitability advantages that result from aligning your employee and customer engagement strategies

Speakers todate include:

Prof Katie Truss, Employee EngagementExpert, Professor of Management atUniversity of Kent

David MacLeod, Author of the MacleodReport, 'Engaging for Success'

Peter Sinden, Director, LV= (case study)

Gary Tomlinson HR Director, Kia Motors(case study)

Angela Baron - Head of HR PracticeDevelopment, CIPD

Ed O'Boyle, Global Practice Leader,Gallup Consulting

Francis Goss, Head of Reward Services,Grass Roots

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Venue: Gallup Consulting, The Adelphi,1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HS

For more information contact Chris Wood: chris@ictcomms.comand +44 (0) 1932 341828 or visit our website:www.customerengagementclub.com

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

F E A T U R E

1 8

If I look around in my own home, we have several gamesconsoles, interactive TV screens, computers, smart phones, e-book readers - all providing plenty of opportunity for interactionand of course distraction! I'm going to focus on one of theseproducts, our x-box 360, that is used as a multi-mediaentertainment unit - we use the console to watch and experiencefilms, listen to music, play games and also interact with friendsonline (using the x-box live subscription service).

If we look simply at the games element, we can connect to x-boxlive and experience a games marketplace - allowing us to watchpreviews of upcoming games, download trial versions (theonline version of the traditional 'try before you buy' approach),view the customer feedback ratings of games we might beinterested in purchasing and, of course, rate our experience ofthe games we own.

Our x-box also allows us to connect with friends and also peoplewe don't know (although we can and do control the extent towhich our younger children connect with 'strangers') but mayhave a shared interest - such as owning a particular andencountering that person in a multi-player environment. We thenalso have the opportunity to not only join this online communitybut also to rate the 'quality' of people we connect with and file acomplaint if we find their behaviour to be inappropriate.

No feedback in a one way streetGiven all of these feedback tools, you might be expecting myfamily to be avidly rating the games we play, media we accessand online associates we connect with. But none of us have everused these feedback tools! The process appears to be simpleenough but what do we get in return for providing our feedback- not a lot. We probably consider that our rating of the game will

We are experiencing a rapid increase in the availability of technology-driven products thatfacilitate a platform that we will interact with on a daily basis. The suppliers of theseproducts are also providing us with an expanding array of channels to provide feedbackand give our opinions of the quality of the solution and the experience. Michael Hill ofcomplaintsrgreat reports

�

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 11 9

have little impact if any - there is no sense of reciprocity beingachieved. We are also not going to elicit a response from theproducer of the game and neither are we going to have anopportunity to vent about a poor experience because there is nofacility for sharing our verbatim comments.

If we compare this to the app markets on smartphones, we see adifferent proposition - and effect. If I am checking out the latestapps on the Google Android marketplace then I will be readingboth ratings and the comments left by other customers alongsidetheir rating of the product. I'll also be happy to see some criticismif I can also identify that the app designer is addressing thoseconcerns. The process of rating and providing feedback is alsoslicker. I'm often reminded whilst using the app to leave myfeedback and will occasionally do so - especially if I haveencountered a problem and want the problem fixed. Here we seethat a greater sense of reciprocity is achieved.

However, game producers do listen and act on the feedback oftheir core customers. Game producers are responsible fordeveloping incredibly complex products that involve themanagement of vast resources to deliver the millions of lines ofcode. Indeed, the production of top games now resembles filmproduction - screen writers, actors and musicians all increasinglyinvolved in the process of delivering the multi-media gamingexperiences. This games industry makes $50bn a year worldwideand an estimated one third of UK adults are now active consumerswithin this market.

Customer loyalty is the keyCustomer loyalty is very important given how important theconcept of brand is to games - and the value of the associatedpremium content and add-ins. Game producers understand that asuccessful game will build a thriving online community of gamersthat will be capable of inspiring future development of the gameand expanding the customer base through positive word of mouthand sharing of positive experience but also quickly highlightingproblems and defects. The produce will make sure that games areheavily play-tested before release and targeted groups of actualcustomers are also often involved in rigorous testing prior toofficial release but - remembering the complexity of these products- faults and defects are likely to exist in the product when fullyreleased but the gaming community will identify and report these -and if not having a significant impact on the overall gameexperience - will be sufficiently forgiving if the producer reactsappropriately. Gamers will also provide their feedback on 'gameplay' - a more intangible element that is difficult to quantify but hasa considerable impact on the overall gaming experience.

The challenge for game producers is to continue to listen to thecommunity, respond to concerns, distribute fixes andimprovements, define acceptable and unacceptable behaviours - ifthe producer hosts the community (such as providing online forumsfor games to join) - but not to take control of the community orignore the community. If a game producer loses the trust of thegamer community then the reputation of the brand is quicklytarnished and loyalty eroded.

Therefore, if we have little or no attachment to a product - as in myfamily where we enjoy playing games from time to time butconsider games to be disposable items - we choose not to use theproduct again. We simply don't continue playing those games thatgive us little or no enjoyment. We do rely on our own research ofreview sites and magazines - therefore, successful game producersrely on those communities that bring core gamers together andprovide a platform for them to provide feedback and drive product

improvements. The game producer needs to understand how toeffectively interact with a community and to become an importantpart of that community rather than controlling and managing thecommunity. The business value is that the community will be a loyaland trusting community of customers that will purchase subsequentofferings but also be a direct source of feedback and quality assurance.

Customers getting closer to products Outside of the gaming industry, we are starting to see otherbusiness models develop and attempt to bring the consumer closerto the core of the product design process. In the telecoms industry,Giff Gaff have been incredibly successful with their communitydriven business model that offers community members a free SIMcard - but no hand set - that provides them with access to cheapermobile calls and texts. Many members also earn revenue byrecruiting new members (£5 for every member recruited) or earnpayback points for helping other members in the community -therefore, the community actually takes on some of the customerservice aspects of the business.

In the finance industry, First Direct is taking some steps towardsgetting customers more involved in the development of newproduct offerings. First Direct will be involving customers in thedesign process for a new web site but will also get customers togive their opinions on a new mortgage comparison application forsmartphones. The company are launching a "First Direct Lab" toshare information about developments and collect customer opinions.

First Direct's marketing head, Paul Say, says that the feedback thecompany gets from consumers could drive decisions aboutdeveloping new products and services. "Social mediaconversations can go anywhere … the real test is taking feedbackand translating that into ideas," Say said.

Business has been told for many years that customer feedback canbe a vital source of information that a business can tap into anduse to drive both product and service improvements. Newtechnologies provide business with new opportunities to engagealso with communities of customers that are able to discuss anddebate products and new offerings and provide feedback on whatneeds to be improved.

However, all of these are only successful where a company alsoshares with those communities how their feedback has beenconsidered and acted on. When we complain about a productproblem or a service failure, we expect the company concerned tolisten and address our concerns and hopefully take action toprevent the problem from happening again. This provides us witha sense that our feedback is reciprocated and communities alsoneed to achieve the same level of reciprocity.

Michael Hill is managing director of complaintsrgreat

“New technologies provide business withnew opportunities to engage also withcommunities of customers that are ableto discuss and debate products and newofferings and provide feedback on whatneeds to be improved”

customerengagement

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

F E A T U R E

2 0

Managing to customer ‘satisfaction’ is no longer drivingimproved business performance for many companies. Overdecades, companies have profited from increased attention toquality and service. Those with the most satisfied customershave outperformed their industries on a variety of financialmetrics, including Wall Street performance. But today, manymarketers, especially those in mature industries like banking,retail, automotive, and hospitality - where customer satisfactionhas long been the front-and-centre metric - are seeing evidenceof waning return on investment when it comes to satisfaction.

As a financial service marketing executive recently shared withme, "We're seeing our 'loyal' customers leaving at a higher

rate." A retailing executive also confided to me that they "justcan't squeeze anything more out of satisfaction. Our peoplecan only smile so much!"

The fact is that while business has obsessed over satisfaction -to the great benefit of the consumer - it has reachedcommoditisation. We "expect" to be satisfied.

The best brands "connect" beyond satisfactionAs marketers, we envy brands like Apple, Nordstrom, Nike,Four Seasons, and others. What do brands like these have thatothers don't? Larger valuations and P/E ratios year after year?Sure. But these brands also enjoy high percentages of their

Customer satisfaction is now firmly commoditised says Alan Zorfas of Motista - organisationsmust move beyond satisfaction and on to connection if they really want to win in the customerengagement stakes

�

customerengagement

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 12 1

customers "connecting" beyond measures of satisfaction.Consumers don't just recognize these brands' quality andservice; they feel the impact in their lives.

While some of Apple's satisfaction scores are relatively closeto Dell's, Apple surges beyond Dell on measures like, "Thebrand makes me more creative or gives me a feeling ofbelonging." Sixty-eight percent of Apple iPad's customers"connect" beyond satisfaction. In retail, 42 percent ofNordstrom's customers connect at a higher level compared to29 percent for Macy's and 23 percent for Walmart,according to Q2 connection intelligence reported on Motista.

And when consumers perceive their brands as changing theirlives, making them feel happier, more successful, or a myriadof other personal connections, they are far more likely to buy,pay more, stay loyal, and become brand advocates. As we seein the chart below for the banking industry, customers who connectwith their banks beyond satisfaction are three to four timesmore likely to buy more products and services, stay loyal, andtell friends. Connected bank customers are also five times morelikely to blog about their brand and more than twice as likelyto forward information directly to a friend or family member.

The numbers are pretty clear: Connect beyond satisfaction andboost business performance.

Companies like Apple, Starbucks, Virgin, and Nike also haveone asset most companies don't: a CEO/founder visionary.Jobs, Schultz, Branson, and Knight have created brands that"connect" beyond their respective categories. Every companycan measure and operate against Customer Satisfaction Index(CSAT) metrics. But these companies feed off a passionate culturethat makes every employee mindful of the "human connection"between the brand and customer. They translate these valuesinto outstanding products, services, and value propositions.

The takeaway here shouldn't be that you can only buildconsumer connection if you have a one-in-a-million CEO(something we can't fix tomorrow), but that it can be done. So,stop admiring and start acting!

Make connection actionableBuilding consumer connection isn't so easy, of course, or we'dall be doing it. For one, people operating inside large businessorganisations often lose touch with the human side and thethings that really move customers. We know the consumerrules, but we're spending most of our time driving transactionsand counting numbers. We're more mindful about whatdelights the CFO than the consumer. That's business.

Companies also shouldn't rush to replace current satisfactionmeasurement. Brands must deliver satisfaction to stand achance at building higher levels of connection. Rather, they

introduce connection into the company in a way that"business" understands and can act on. They have to make themore "fuzzy" human side something they can build andleverage, every day.

New methods of determining consumer connection are emergingto help companies build and leverage connection across moreof their marketing and customer experience touchpoints andprograms. Not all connection intelligence is created equal.Good connection intelligence should be actionable.

Actionable intelligence should:• Identify connections that drive outcomes like purchase,

loyalty, pricing, and advocacy for your category; • Provide current, high-quality data on your brand and

competitors; • Let marketers zero in on which connections most motivate

specific segments; • Enable companies to apply connection to a wide range of

campaigns and programs, including TV, digital, social media, cross-sell, and customer experience;

• Reveal which tactics and touchpoints help create the strongest connections;

• Allow easy use of and on-demand access to the intelligence.

Leading financial, electronics, home product, and retail brandsare using this new breed of connection intelligence to gainadvantage. Recently, a prominent U.S. bank was able to alignagency and internal constituents around a campaign toacquire new customers while driving messaging via socialmedia and customer advocacy programs. They also cut threemonths off the normal campaign planning process by havingthis intelligence on hand. A leading competitor in the tabletcomputing space gained on the pack by driving moremeaningful connections through advertising and the brandexperience.

Marketers generally agree that connection matters. We readabout it. We talk about it. And we admire the brands that doit. As the age of satisfaction comes to a close, it's time to acton connection.

Alan Zorfas is cofounder and chief marketingand product officer of Motista

100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

“Connected”

Top

3 Bo

x Sc

ore

Satisfied Only Fail to Connect© Source: Motista, Q2 2011 Banking Study

Banking Customers, Q2 2011Performance by Connection on Advocacy, Loyalty & Purchase Intent

I S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

R E V I E W

2 2

The Multichannel Customer Engagement Directors Forum washeld against the backdrop of a huge disconnect between theimportance that both organisations and customers place on thedelivery of a seamless customer experience across channels andthe actual delivery of that experience. A meagre three per cent of organisations think their multichannelservice delivery is excellent and one in four admit it is poor orvery poor. A soberin g set of statistics if ever there was one.

One of the key issues that emerged from the Forum held at

Gallup Consulting’s London HQ was the paucity of organisationswho are able to take a genuinely single view of their customersand who use that single view across channels to deliver aconsistent service experience. Certainly none of the delegates tothe conference seemed to believe their organisation wasdelivering a genuine single view.

Huge disconnectKeynote speaker Paul Blunden CEO of Foviance, publishers ofthe industry’s most influential report on Multichannel CustomerEngagement highlighted the disconnect – where 90 per centorganisation say they think a multichannel strategy is importantyet only one in three have the capability to deliver one and evenfewer do - and pointed to organisational silos and lack ofcustomer centricity and effective leadership among manyorganisations as key factors.

Paul’s keynote scene setting remarks were echoed and amplifiedby many of the fellow presenters in a wide ranging debate thatlooks at diverse areas including emotional engagement ofemployees and customers; designing a multichannelengagement programme for success; how customers arechoosing the service channel; the changing face of customercontact, and the emergence of a new breed of ‘autonomous’customer who live and work in a multichannel environment andonly do business with organisations who mirror their lifestyles.

Single view the Holy GrailThe day included case studies from organisations includingBSkyB and a lively panel debate where once again thechallenges of delivering a consistent experience across channelswere examined alongside the seeming inability to obtain theHoly Grail that is the single view of the customer. Organisational culture and the importance of a customer centricapproach led from the top emerged as key issues around thislatest Customer Engagement Club Directors Forum, hosted byGallup Consulting and sponsored by Foviance, Grass Roots UK,Interactive Intelligence and Satmetrix.

Director level delegates are giving the Multichannel DirectorsForums a big thumbs up and the Customer Engagement Club isnow gearing up for a busy autumn schedule of Forums coveringsubjects ranging from Customer Engagement in FinancialServices to Social and Online Engagement and Employee and

Customer Engagement.

For more details of our upcomingDirectors Forums go to

www.customerengagementclub.com

The latest Customer Engagement Club Directors Forum drilled down into the nitty-gritty ofhow organisations can deliver a joined-up customer experience across all channels forcompetitive advantage. Editorial director Steve Hurst reports

Multichannel Customer Engagement REPORT

“A meagre three percent of organisations

think their multichannelservice delivery is

excellent and one infour admit it is poor

or very poor. A sobering set ofstatistics if ever

there wasone”

customerengagement

Directors Forum a singular successPRESENTATION

Keynote - Multichannel customer experience - from consumers to clientsPaul Blunden, CEO, Foviance

Multichannel customer experience means different things to different people. This keynote presentation will

consider how different stakeholders define the issue, with examples ofhow they approach solutions to the various challenges they encounter.The presentation will include real consumer examples from Fovianceresearch practice as well as examples of what Foviance clients are doing.

Emotionally engaging customers in a multi-channel worldEd O'Boyle, Global Practice Leader, Gallup Consulting

Engaging customers across multiple-channels requiresfocus on changing market conditions, behaviours and processes in orderfor companies to anticipate and respond to customer needs. Ed will lookat how companies who optimise each customer touchpoint to align andimprove the experience, are significantly outpacing their competitors interms of growth.

Designing your customer experience programme in a complex multichannel environment Paul Turner, Director International, Satmetrix

Successfully embedding the voice of the customer in your organisationsdecisions making processes can be a catalyst for driving growth andenterprise wide-change. However many organisation’s fail to the reapbenefits from their customer satisfaction or loyalty programmes. Paulwill talk through common reasons that business struggle to buildmomentum and introduce some key components for achieving success.This will include a look at the complexities provided by multiplecommunication channels and how this can drive many companies tofocus disproportionately on their internal operations rather thanimproving what really matters to customers.

Multichannel communication strategyAnthony Monger, Solutions Development Manager, Digital Marketing & Loyalty, Grass Roots UK

Having the technology is one thing, knowing how, whenand why to use it is another. In this session, Anthony Monger fromGrass Roots looks at how multichannel communications can drivecustomer engagement, and demonstrates the thinking behind choosingthe right media for the right person at the right time - and with the rightmessage. He looks at how multichannel communication works whenblended with dynamic customer segmentation models and how "momentof truth" touchpoints can alter the customer journey to help driveacquisition, retention, growth, loyalty and advocacy.

The Changing Face of Customer ContactPauline Cochrane, Head of Partnerships,Customer Contact Association (CCA)

Customer contact operations today are a complex blendof multi-channel operations, often distributed globally. This is a far cryfrom the simple first generation call centre which emerged in the late1980’s. Meeting the needs of a more challenging customer base duringan increasingly uncertain economic climate creates a need for continualreview of strategy and operations. Pauline will explore the key drivers ofchange in today’s contact centre market, key trends being seen and howthese will impact on how service is delivered in the future.

How customers are choosing theservice channelMike Murphy, Head of Business Development, Interactive Intelligence

Mike will incorporate case study examples to illustrate how customersare expecting more channel choice and how building separate contactsilos is expensive and also fails to deliver great customer service. Mikesays organisations need to rethink and re-design their complete contactstrategy to cater for emerging channels and at the same time invest intheir people

Case study: Moving from voice to digital- the importance of understanding your customers across channelsWendy Schratz, Director of e-experience, BSkyB

Wendy will share the context of Sky’s e initiative and headline thestrategy to achieve a significant channel shift away from telephonesand towards digital, bringing out the experience and learnings to datefrom starting to get into action. Wendy will talk about the customersperspective and how Sky see the channels performing complementaryroles and the importance of having a cross channel view.

Clouds, Crowds and Autonomous Customers: Doing 'Business as Unusual'Dr Nicola J. Millard,Customer Experience Futurologist, BT

Exploring the behaviour of a connected, smart and autonomouscustomer who is placing some unique demands on organisations that areserving them. How does customer service need to change in the face ofthese often challenging and informed customers?

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentation

Download presentationI S S U E F I V E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 12 3

Customer Engagement ClubDirectors Forums for 2012

For speaking opportunities please contact Steve Hurst: steve@ictcomms.comFor sponsorship and other enquiries please contact Chris Wood: chris@ictcomms.comand +44 (0) 1932 341828

Join the Customer Engagement Club and benefit from:• Weekly News Alerts• Customer Engagement Magazine,

6 issues pa, available in digitaland print

• Free and discounted access toDirectors Forums and other Events

• Access to all areas of the web site,news, features, reports, videos,white papers, archive

For free club membership and information on Directors Forums go to:www.customerengagementclub.com

• Multichannel Customer Engagement for Contact Centres, January, London• Customer Feedback/Measurement/Voice of the Customer, March, London• Social Media and Mobile Customer Engagement, May, London• B2B Customer Engagement, June, London• Multichannel Customer Engagement, September London• Customer Engagement Global Summit, 20 - 21 November, London• Employee and Customer Engagement, December London