The Web is like a gigantic public discussion. Everything about everybody becomes known. A digital moral has emerged where positives are praised, negatives punished. A new mobile generation, LoMoSos (Local, Mobile, Social) takes the lead in melting the physical and online worlds into a new reality of life and being.
The touch points with customers have become the moments of truth for companies and also one of their biggest drivers for success or failure. Convincing the minds of customers must go in line with winning their hearts.
Companies need to learn a new way of communicating with their customers. It requires listening, watching, engaging, inviting, asking, sharing, expressing interest, suggesting, inspiring, earning trust and adding value.
Companies are not in control over their own marketing and branding messages. As soon as they publish anything, it is at the mercy of market consent and commenting.
While companies where pushing their marketing messages and products to the consumers, the customer today is in control. Mouth-to-propaganda, evaluations, whistleblowing, recommendations and raising of discontent are powerful weapons in the hands of today’s customers.
People increasingly use the likes/ dislikes of the friends in their extended circles to form opinions and make purchase decisions. Opinion leaders, Influencers, Lead users, Multipliers have strong impact. Bad companies lose nearly every second potential customer through the Internet without even knowing it.
The meshing of people creates cooperation and cooperation requires/ creates a new form of online moral.
The customer journey of the past had only a few touch points that followed a fairly linear progress across limited channels. Today a complex Web of touch points across numerous channels – physical and off-line – has emerged where companies jump all across while expecting an integrated, easy and fulfilling customer experience.
The closing of the sale today is only the start of the next sale for the same customer and thousands of potential buyers. Those other people can follow in real time that buyer’s purchasing experience and satisfaction level with the new product & services. Pros and cons become transparent to everybody who cares to know. Web browsers, communities, circle of friends and other tools readily aggregate and display the information.
Companies must learn to think differently and build the necessary skill sets, organizational structures, processes and cultures in order align with the new market reality. Top-down hierarchies do not fit with the customer touch point journey. Leading companies are building new matrix structures where all people work and communicate horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Management, staff and external collaborators are organized across customer groups and their experiences.
New employment and working models have also emerged. Companies see increasingly the advantages and also the pressure to think beyond traditional staffing models. The demands for new market skills are massive. Few companies can have all skills in-house. So, they must creatively bring together a new work force combining regular employees, free lancers, crowdsourcing, outsourcing and service companies, partners and other parties.
Working with such heterogeneous group, contributors companies need to manage these individual value contributors also across all touch points of the delivery journey (serving the customer journey).
Everything becomes customer driven. Successful companies look outside-in and re-build/ align their organizations and work force accordingly. Michael Porter today promotes shared value, rather than shareholder value.
Companies experience the laws of nature. Not the biggest and strongest, but the most agile and adaptive animals survive. Their own lack of flexibility and unique value proposition, rigid leadership and missing digital adeptness will force companies out of the market.
Winners will be those companies that truly care about their customers and do everything to meet their needs and expectations within reason and based on sustainable principles.
It is amazing of how the teachings of the Bible on fundamental values and human interactions hold true in the digital age. Some top leaders and management should save huge costs on marketing gurus and rather buy a copy of the Bible: Specially recommended readings therein: Book of Proverbs (Jewish Tanakh/ Old Testament) and Gospel of John (New Testament).
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To share your own thoughts or other best practices about this topic, please email me directly to alexwsteinberg (@) gmail.com.
Alternatively, you also may connect with me and become part of my professional network of Business, Digital, Technology & Sustainability experts at
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwsteinberg or
Xing at https://www.xing.com/profile/Alex_Steinberg or
Google+ at https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AlexWSteinberg/posts
The touch points with customers have become the moments of truth for companies and also one of their biggest drivers for success or failure. Convincing the minds of customers must go in line with winning their hearts.
Companies need to learn a new way of communicating with their customers. It requires listening, watching, engaging, inviting, asking, sharing, expressing interest, suggesting, inspiring, earning trust and adding value.
Companies are not in control over their own marketing and branding messages. As soon as they publish anything, it is at the mercy of market consent and commenting.
While companies where pushing their marketing messages and products to the consumers, the customer today is in control. Mouth-to-propaganda, evaluations, whistleblowing, recommendations and raising of discontent are powerful weapons in the hands of today’s customers.
People increasingly use the likes/ dislikes of the friends in their extended circles to form opinions and make purchase decisions. Opinion leaders, Influencers, Lead users, Multipliers have strong impact. Bad companies lose nearly every second potential customer through the Internet without even knowing it.
The meshing of people creates cooperation and cooperation requires/ creates a new form of online moral.
The customer journey of the past had only a few touch points that followed a fairly linear progress across limited channels. Today a complex Web of touch points across numerous channels – physical and off-line – has emerged where companies jump all across while expecting an integrated, easy and fulfilling customer experience.
The closing of the sale today is only the start of the next sale for the same customer and thousands of potential buyers. Those other people can follow in real time that buyer’s purchasing experience and satisfaction level with the new product & services. Pros and cons become transparent to everybody who cares to know. Web browsers, communities, circle of friends and other tools readily aggregate and display the information.
Companies must learn to think differently and build the necessary skill sets, organizational structures, processes and cultures in order align with the new market reality. Top-down hierarchies do not fit with the customer touch point journey. Leading companies are building new matrix structures where all people work and communicate horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Management, staff and external collaborators are organized across customer groups and their experiences.
New employment and working models have also emerged. Companies see increasingly the advantages and also the pressure to think beyond traditional staffing models. The demands for new market skills are massive. Few companies can have all skills in-house. So, they must creatively bring together a new work force combining regular employees, free lancers, crowdsourcing, outsourcing and service companies, partners and other parties.
Working with such heterogeneous group, contributors companies need to manage these individual value contributors also across all touch points of the delivery journey (serving the customer journey).
Everything becomes customer driven. Successful companies look outside-in and re-build/ align their organizations and work force accordingly. Michael Porter today promotes shared value, rather than shareholder value.
Companies experience the laws of nature. Not the biggest and strongest, but the most agile and adaptive animals survive. Their own lack of flexibility and unique value proposition, rigid leadership and missing digital adeptness will force companies out of the market.
Winners will be those companies that truly care about their customers and do everything to meet their needs and expectations within reason and based on sustainable principles.
It is amazing of how the teachings of the Bible on fundamental values and human interactions hold true in the digital age. Some top leaders and management should save huge costs on marketing gurus and rather buy a copy of the Bible: Specially recommended readings therein: Book of Proverbs (Jewish Tanakh/ Old Testament) and Gospel of John (New Testament).
+++
To share your own thoughts or other best practices about this topic, please email me directly to alexwsteinberg (@) gmail.com.
Alternatively, you also may connect with me and become part of my professional network of Business, Digital, Technology & Sustainability experts at
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwsteinberg or
Xing at https://www.xing.com/profile/Alex_Steinberg or
Google+ at https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AlexWSteinberg/posts
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