transformational vision: keys to curing marketing · pdf file• marketing myopia and its...

Dr. D. Randall BrandtVice President, Customer Experience & Loyalty

CASRO Data Collection Conference

Las Vegas – 18-19 November 2009

Transformational Vision: Keys to Curing Marketing Myopia

PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL, MARITZ COPYRIGHT 2009


Today‟s Presentation

• Marketing Myopia and Its Relevance to Our Industry

• Asking “the Question”

• The Case for Change

• Keys to Transformation

– Doing What We Do Today More Effectively

– Doing New Things Going Forward

• Discussion and Conclusion


1

Marketing Myopia and Its Relevance to Our Industry


Myopia

• Vision limited to things that are near or within immediate range

• Preoccupation with the near-term and/or the immediate

• Lack of foresight and providence


Marketing Myopia

“When an organization defines its industry, product, or cluster of know-how too narrowly,that organization practically guarantees itsown premature senescence.”

Theodore Levitt“Marketing Myopia”


The Rise and Fall of the Railroads


Professor Levitt on the Railroads…

“The railroad industry did not stop growing because theneed for transportation declined. That grew. The railroad industry stopped growing not so much becausethis need was filled by others, but because it was not filledby the railroads themselves. They let others take customersaway from them because they assumed themselves to be inthe railroad business rather than in the transportationbusiness. The reason they defined their industry incorrectlywas that they were railroad-oriented instead of transpor-tation-oriented; they were product-oriented instead of customer-oriented.”


What About Today?

• Marketing myopia appears to be alive and well.

• Consider, for example, the airline industry:

– Nine percent of flyers generate over 50% of airline revenue, and yet…

– Business travelers‟ airfares are “soaring,” and

– Airlines are unbundling and charging for services and benefits that used to be covered by fares, and

– Most airlines imitate or follow the actions of competitors, rather than seek ways to differentiate themselves

• Meanwhile, more business travelers are cutting meeting costs by using telephone, video, and Web conferences instead of flying

* Source: “Web, Phone Meetings Replace Business Trips.” USA Today, September 19, 2006; p.8B


2 Asking the Question


In What Business Are We – Really?

• Asking “the question” requires being prepared to change…

– Redefinition of target market and customers

– Reconstruction of industry boarders and boundaries

– Change in the legal and regulatory environment in which business is conducted

– Shift in focus of organizational activity and development

– Innovation and transformation or risk of extinction


Who Is Asking “The Question?”

• Some companies that have – and continue – to ask “the question”…

– IBM

– Sony

– Disney


Today‟s Airlines Revisited

• To be fair, there are attempts at innovation underway in this industry:

– Use of more fuel-efficient aircraft

– More efficient alignment of aircraft/frequency with demand

– Executive aircraft sharing and “fractional ownership”

– Wi-Fi and other on-board technologies

• However, all of these are “airline-oriented.”

• Perhaps airlines should be asking “in what business are we – really?”

– “Connecting” business people instead of “transporting” business travelers


3 The Case for Changein Our Industry


Imagine Professor Levitt Saying…

“The Survey Research industry did not stop growingbecause the need for market insight and decision support(MI/DS) declined. That grew. The SR industry stoppedgrowing not so much because this need was filled byothers, but because it was not filled by survey researchersthemselves. They let others take customers away fromthem because they assumed themselves to be in the survey research business rather than in the MI/DS business. The reason they defined their industry incorrectly was that they were survey-oriented instead of MI/DS-oriented;they were product-oriented instead of customer-oriented.”


Could Survey Research Be Next?

• You can bet the call center on it.

• Why?

– Emerging trends and challenges

– Evidence regarding how many of us view the future

– Unfulfilled needs of key stakeholders

• Clients

• Survey participants


Some Emerging Trends and Challenges

• Continuing decline in survey cooperation and response

• Increased screening, filtering, and privacy protection

• Changing technologies for generating and harvesting data

• The rise of consumer-generated media

• Alternatives to primary research, such as “Analytical CRM” and database mining

• Push-back from challenging and skeptical managers, and attacks by credible derogators


Our Own View: How Our Jobs Differ in 10 Years*

6

6

7

7

9

21

0 5 10 15 20 25

Greater Reliance on

Technology

More International

Research

Building

more/better client

relationships

More consulting

with clients

Greater consulting

role

Nothing

* Source: Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), “The Future of the Survey Research Industry”, 2006


Our Own View: What Clients Will Demand That Is Different*

* Source: Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), “The Future of the Survey Research Industry”, 2006

6

7

11

11

12

14

15

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Better

understanding of

insights

Better quality

Faster

Less expensive

research

More consulting

with clients

More strategic

planning

Nothing


75%

* My organization does a mixed job – good in some areas but poor in others.

The Client View

Good job

18%

Mixed job*

63%

Struggling

12%

Not a Priority

7%

“Overall, how effective would you say your organization is at integrating customer data into management and operations?”


* My organization does a mixed job – good in some areas but poor in others.

81%

Good job

18%

Mixed job*

63%

Struggling

18%

Not a Priority 1%

“Overall, how effective would you say your organization is at taking actions based on your customer data?”

The Client View


Where Clients Still Struggle

• Integrating multiple sources of VOC data to define priorities for improvement

• Demonstrating the link between customer and financial metrics

• Linking the VOC to internal operational and service metrics

• Integrating the VOC and the Voice of Employees

• Determining owners of customer-driven action items

• Clarifying survey-based action items so that their owners know what to do or fix

• Pinpoint practices or business processes that must be improved

• Getting managers/partners to act on VOC-driven issues


The Customer View

• Customers and other survey respondents are time-pressed.

• They want to provide feedback:

– When they want

– How they want

– In their own language

– On their terms


The Customer View

• Specifically, our research reveals that survey participants want or prefer:

– Shorter, easier surveys

– Methods of providing feedback that do not constrain their ability to express attitudes and opinions and/or describe their experiences

– Something in return:

• Monetary or other types of incentives

• Action – evidence that somebody is listening and responding to what respondents tell them


• Much attention is being devoted to:

– Technology

– The Internet

– Tools and techniques of data analysis

– Survey respondent cooperation

– Non-traditional methods

• Efforts in these areas should and must continue, but they are not enough…..

Current Focus of Innovation in Marketing and Survey Research


Keys to Transformation

• Need to do what we do today more effectively

• Need to do new things going forward

– Make survey data work with other data to provide “convergent intelligence and insight”

– Enable clients to use this intelligence and insight


4 Doing What We Do Now – Better


Guiding Principles for Doing What We Do Today More Effectively

• Control – customers will have control over their role in the process including the amount of information they provide and how that information is collected.

• Simplicity – the system will be easy and “hassle free” for customers to use and understand.

• Reciprocity – all customers will feel that participating in the process is beneficial to them and that they are getting something in return.

• Transparency – customers will be able see their feedback as well as others‟ feedback and how that feedback is being used.


Doing Things Differently in the World of Customer Experience Research

• At the time of the experience, such as the opening of an account, ask the customer how s/he would like to be contacted for purpose of providing feedback –and adhere to the individual‟s response (including the wish not to be surveyed).

• Provide a “drop-in” site where customers can report on customer service experiences whenever they want. This is especially useful for customers who might otherwise choose to write an online review. Customers who have selected this method and identify themselves should be removed from the sample being used for traditional phone, mail or online surveys.


• In many cases, the customer is dispassionate about the customer experience, having experienced a “fine” or “regular” interaction. Allow these individuals to respond “everything was fine” with a single click or check box, rather than forcing them to complete an entire battery of questions.

• Rather than structuring a survey around all aspects of the customer experience, ask customers to state in their own words what was most memorable (both good and bad) about their experiences. The most memorable aspects of experiences are the true differentiators.



• Allow customers to “tell their story” by recording their comments (audio only or audio and video) and/or written descriptions of their experiences rather than using predetermined check box questions. Text analytic software now allows us to efficiently and effectively analyze, categorize, and quantify textual information.

• Combine primary research findings with data from other sources, such as inbound customer communications, consumer-generated media, and “pass-through” feedback from customer-contact employees. This will reduce need to rely exclusively on survey research findings for decision support.



• Show customers how their feedback is being used by posting signs at retail outlets or using other communications to describe what retailers are working to improve. This could be a simple chalkboard inscribed with the message or a digital commercial on your company‟s video displays posted throughout the store.

• Post unit-level (e.g., overall satisfaction) scores on your company’s customer-facing Web site, enabling the scores to appear when customers search for your local locations. While this is a simple thing to do, it can be revolutionary to your corporate culture, resulting in an increased awareness at the unit level in location-based results.



• Develop a transparent customer tracking system for monitoring customer follow-up activities to requests made through customer experience feedback (i.e., “hot alerts”). Similar to package tracking systems, let your customers “track” details regarding who will follow up with them, how, and when.

• Develop a comprehensive public reporting site that allows customers to view customer experience information when deciding which retailers to shop. Customers should be able to see scores and other customers‟ comments down to the retailer level. Work with Web aggregators such as Google and Yahoo to include these more representative experience evaluations in their aggregations.



5 Learning to Do “New Things”


The Challenge

Integrating multiple sources of VOC data to define priorities for improvement

Best Practice

Develop a uniform set of customer experience categories and apply it consistently to all VOC data

Customer Experience A

Customer Experience B

Customer Experience C

Customer Experience D

Customer Experience E


Customer Feedback Gets Lost in Organizational Silos

Source: Temkin, B. (2009). Voice of the Customer: The Next Generation. Forrester Research Report.

In reality, most companies don‟t get thisright either.


A Common Mistake

• The voice of the customer is captured via multiple mechanisms, including surveys, inbound customer communications, and consumer-generated media, but...

• VOC data are not organized using a common set of categories – each data source uses a categorization or coding scheme that is slightly (sometimes radically) different from the others.

• As a result, direct comparisons cannot be made among – and convergent insights cannot be extracted from – these multiple VOC data sources:

– “Apples and oranges”


Survey Item Categories

CustomerSurveyRatings


Inbound Customer Communications

Letters,Faxes, and

Emails

CommentsCaptured via

Contact Center

Getting a Flight/Fares/Information

Checking-In

Airline Club Lounge

Flight Boarding

Flight Departure

In-Flight Service

Flight Arrival

Post-Flight Service

Other


Consumer-Generated Media*

Commentsfrom Blogs& Websites

* Source: PlanetFeedback.com


Not Quite Apples-to-Apples


Commentsfrom Blogs& Websites


Contact Center

Letters,Faxes, and

Emails

On-time Flight DepartureOn-time Flight Arrival

Flight DepartureFlight Arrival

On-time Performance

Wait Line at Check-inHelpfulness of StaffKnowledge of Staff

Checking-in Airport Check-in

Orderly/Efficient Boarding Flight Boarding

Quality of MealsQuality of BeveragesQuality of Entertainment

In-Flight Service Food Service

Frequent Flyer Program Frequent Flyer Program Frequent Flyer Program

Comfort of SeatsCleanliness of Aircraft InteriorCondition of Aircraft Interior

Aircraft Interior

Cost of a Ticket Price/Value


“ Client feedback is collected from multiple

channels using standard business categories

and sub-categories. The application of these

consistent categories to ever-increasing volumes

of client feedback is finally paying dividends in

the form of management being „convinced‟

by quantitative reporting (metrics) associated

with client comments and complaints.”


Uniform Customer Experience Categories

Emails &Website

Comments


Contact Center

AgentFeedback


Availability of Agent

Agent’s Knowledge of Products

Agent’s Response to Requests

Variety of Coverage Options

Explanation of Coverage

Competitive Pricing

Accuracy of Billing Statements

Easy to Understand Statements

Promptness of Claims Handling

Easy of Policy Renewal

...


Convergence Analysis

Incidence

of Inbound

Customer

Complaints

Percent “Dissatisfied” Ratings from Surveys

HigherLower

Lower

Higher

Ease of Policy Renewal Accuracy of Billing

Statements

Availability of Agent

Helpfulness of CS Staff

Variety of Coverage Options

Competitive Pricing

Ease of Making Policy Changes

Easy to UnderstandingBilling Statements

Agent’s Response to Requests

Agent’s Knowledge of Products

Promptness of Claims Handling


Summarizing the Benefits of this Practice

• Ability to develop convergent intelligence by making all VOC data sources “work together”

• Increased managerial confidence in conclusions drawn from VOC data

• Enhanced ability to “drill-down” for granularity and actionable detail


The Challenges

• Get managers to take ownership of and act on VOC-driven issues

• Clarify issues so that owners know what to do

• Pinpoint practices/processes that must be improved

Best Practice

Implement a formal process for translating VOC-driven issues and insights into actions and improvements


A Common Mistake

Customer-DrivenAction ItemIdentified

Develop & ImplementAppropriate Action Plan

This approach usually fails because:

• The “right” people in the organizationdo not take ownership of the customer-driven issue, or

• The issue is not sufficiently clarified –it is difficult to know “what to do,” or

• The organization does not fix the “right”things because a clear connection of thecustomer experience element to operations,business processes, practices, and policiesis not defined.


“My organization focuses on a particular survey question and involves all departments that may affect that question in developing action plans.”

“We „mine‟ existing research as much as possible to create clarity on action items and where needed, engage in supplemental „drill-down‟ research to provide required level of clarity for action.”

“We conduct data-user workshops and facilitated deployment sessions involving key managers and process owners.”


Determine Ownersof Customer-Driven

Action Item

A Process Built Upon Best Practices

Customer-DrivenAction ItemIdentified

Do We Know WhoIs Responsible for This

Action Item?

NO

YES

Do Owners HaveSufficient Understanding

and Detail?

“Drill Down” forClarity and Granularity

NO

YES

Have the RelevantBusiness “Enablers” Been

Identified?

Pinpoint Relevant Policies,Processes, Operations,

& Other Business Enablers

NO

YES

Develop & ImplementAppropriate Action Plan


Benefits of this Practice

• The people and parts of the organization that impact this element take ownership of it.

• These managers have a detailed understanding of the specific element of the customer experience to be addressed.

• They focus their attention and energy on the specific business resources, processes, and activities that help accomplish what the customer wants.

• In effect, the organization has taken the “guess work” out of customer-driven performance improvement.


Summary

• Our challenge is not merely to re-invent survey research.

• The challenge is to transform ourselves into professionals and organizations capable of providing market insight and decision support solutions.

– Survey research will be part of the mix, but learning how to harvest, integrate, and deploy other data sources will be required


6 Discussion


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