As a company executive, you have focused on some traditional
markets and strategies. Your mission has compelled you to think this way. Maybe
you have benefited from direct mail, major customers and marketing funnels.
Perhaps your growth over the last 10 years has been from eCommerce. That
history and success had you focused on Baby Boomers or the generation before
them known as the “Lucky Few” (or “Silent Generation”).
The new reality to deal with is that the connected customer
is now (or soon will) become a dominant source of customers for you. Their
focus is on the experience and how they feel about your products and services
as seen through the “experience” lens. They also know that other connected
consumers depend on shared experiences to make decisions. If you are not
designing the experience and path you want them to be on, you will not be able
to influence in a positive way what they share about you.
This is all about alignment. As you look at your goals and
strategies for the next year, a starting point is the experience you want
connected customers to be passionate about. As an executive and leader, here
are some ideas to focus on.
- Test
the “connected experience” connected customers are having. For example, make
(or have someone else make) several transactions in different ways to your
company. What is that experience like?
- Learn
how your connected customers connect and communicate. Regularly try out (and
actively use) social media. Only use your smartphone for a week. Quit using
email and actively communicate on social media or by text messaging. This list
is long but if you learn it you will “get” how other “connected’s” communicate.
- Become
a “discoverer”. Connected’s are always discovering new ways to connect. What
are their preferences? What methods do they prefer? What do they value?
- Think
design. Have you designed the experience to be enjoyable, easy to use and to
meet connected customer’s needs? Are you measuring that experience? Have you
benchmarked with other companies? Have you mapped out (designed) the journey
you want them to go on?
- Lead!!!
Yes, you need to be a passionate advocate and in fact lead the charge. No one
else can or will do it for you, no matter what your role is.
The reality is that you will not be able to reach customers
by mail or phone any longer, unless you know them very well. They aren’t
waiting by the mail box for your next direct mail mailer. This isn’t as dire
and ominous as it sounds. Opportunities are around every corner. Your new
connected customer is waiting on you to connect in new ways. They want to be
passionate about you mission. If you relentlessly pursue engaging with them on
the channels they rely on, they will continue on the journey with you. Focus on
creating
stunning experiences for
them. Test it yourself and assess, is that experience remarkable? You’ll know
if they are sharing and “remarking” on the experience.
It is helpful to think, “Now is the time”. The landscape is shifting but it has not
completely shifted yet. One way to look at the experience you have today is to
create a document that has on the left side, todays experience and to put on
the right side, the connected experience. Where are there gaps? What will it
take to change it? What will it cost? Can we test the new experience and see
what it does for us?
“Now is the time”
to recognize customers have already changed.
“Now is the time”
to design a different experiences.
“Now is the time”
to make decisions based on intentionally designed customer experiences.
As executives, we get to decide if we want to implement a unified approach to delivering programs, products and services to our customers. It is our choice. It should be intentional. It should be well designed. 
