Customer First Thinking

Companies still tend to over-invest  in the acquisition of new customers while paying scant attention to relationships with existing customers. The solution to correcting that imbalance, argues value creation expert Allison Hartsoe, is knowing the collective lifetime value of all customers, known as customer equity. 

CX quality has declined in recent years as companies struggle to keep up with the expectations of customers. But the main reason, according to renowned CX expert Jon Picoult, is that they settle for mediocrity when they should be aspiring to make the experience more distinctive and memorable.

For all its flaws, social media has become the preferred way for people to stay connected with each other. Yet for too long marketers have failed to take it seriously. The time has come, says social media expert Andrew Jenkins, for marketers to give it the respect it deserves.

Brand tracking studies are a standard research tool for marketers who need to understand how people feel about their brand. The problem with them, according to brand health expert Jenni Romaniuk, is that they don’t tell marketers what they really need to know to grow their brand.

Content glut has suffocated the chances of discovery for most marketers. The only way for content marketing to succeed, according to renowned content strategist Robert Rose, is to transform content operations teams into specialized publishing units closely attuned to audience interests and needs.

Marketing today has grown far too complex for decisions to hinge on loose assumptions and guesswork. A more disciplined and fact-based approach is needed, supported by rigorous performance analysis, testing and forecasting, according to Koen Pauwels, one of the world’s leading marketing scientists.   

No one understands what marketing does anymore, least of all the CEO. For marketing to be seen as more of a difference maker, it must expand its role beyond branding, according to Accenture’s Brent Chaters, and earn a greater say in the strategic direction of the business.        

Marketers have long sought to discover the motivations that explain why people make the decisions and buying choices they do. The answer, according to Valuegraphics founder  David Allison, is their values. To make more meaningful connections with customers, marketers must first understand how they differ in their values.     

The best way for brands to stand out today is to offer a distinctive experience that earns them an everyday role in people’s lives. But that means knowing where the brand can make the greatest difference in the lives of customers, according to brand expert Allen Adamson.   

If businesses hope to survive the potentially lethal disruption ahead due to massive technological change, they need to accelerate their digital transformation. The first decision they must make, according to digital transformation expert Howard Tiersky, is to embrace the need for continuous transformative change.