2018 and the ‘Customer Trust Economy’: Building blockchain in to your business strategy

A customer’s relationship with a brand is borne from the sum of the breadth of the rational and emotional touches as they wind their way along a journey with a business. Build strong confidence and trust through the customer’s journey explicitly or subconsciously, with your product, service or proposition, and you hit one of the highest notes of emotional engagement, against which higher rates of retention (or churn-reduction), loyalty and advocacy follow.

One relatively new technology, Blockchain, the foundation of which was conceptualised in the early 1990s and then developed after the financial crash of 2008 to facilitate an alternative de-centralised, accessible, alternative financial network. It is best known for virtual crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, and has the credentials to strengthen the fundamental trust between businesses and customers across a multitude of industry sectors that use financial transactions, contracts, and trading along a number of steps in a supply chain.

Blockchain technology secures a record of step-by-step digital transactions, using an encrypted ledger, from the original creator through various partners / intermediaries / channels / logistics service providers, to the end customer. Throughout this chain the individual blocks of information are updated at every step and saved as an uneditable encrypted digital record, which provides any end-recipient with ultimate trust in the authenticity of what they have received. A list of indelible digital ink signatures if you like!

Ethereum is one of the platforms on which sector-relevant Blockchain protocols are being developed. Start-ups, and existing businesses within industry verticals, which have a number of structured transactions in their supply chain, can research and select the protocol, and design the set of commercial usage rules, which will best fit-with and strengthen their transaction journey and customer trust.

2018 is the year when larger country Governments and Regulators will understand and accept that Blockchain is a long-term technology enhancement for the digital economy, and invest in the expertise and resources to further legitimise such an important global trading platform.

Such legitimacy will reinforce the parallel momentum that has already captured the imagination of the innovators and early-adopters of Blockchain and those who have made investments in the technology, both financially and in terms of innovation, around the world. With such momentum and confidence comes the shift of Blockchain across the chasm to the larger early majority stage of the diffusion cycle, with the requisite sector case-studies, signalling a more mature phase of its evolution as a technology and a further fillip to a more frictionless global digital economy.

Blockchain is a rapidly maturing financial transaction, contract confirmation and trading technology, which can also play a strong role in enhancing customer trust and emotional engagement. All of which strengthens the financial results of the adopting business, and boosts the wider customer trust economy.

 

Useful web links:

https://www.blockchain.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency

http://uk.businessinsider.com/blockchain-cryptocurrency-regulations-us-global-2017-10

https://bitcoin.org/en/

https://www.ethereum.org/

https://medium.com/blockchannel/understanding-the-ethereum-ico-token-hype-429481278f45

https://ondigitalmarketing.com/learn/odm/foundations/5-customer-segments-technology-adoption/

https://www.coindesk.com/information/what-is-a-distributed-ledger/

https://www.slideshare.net/andrekearns/crossing-the-chasm-2521385

https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/24/the-future-is-the-trust-economy/

How customer-focused is your business?

The opportunity for businesses in all sectors to drive more customer-centric business strategies and cultures is enormous. The survey results reinforce a sense of disenfranchisement by customers.

Did you know that:

85% of Customers would have been retained if the Company had acted on a request

69% of Customers would have stayed if a problem had been resolved

55% of Customers would have stayed if preferencial treatment and rewards had been offered

48% of Customers, nearly half, changed brands due to poor service

26% of people say they look at Facebook, Twitter or blogs when learning about a company, compared with 70% who ask family, friends or colleagues.

Source: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/customer-ret…

53% Customer Loyalty is based on the Purchase Experience

Source: The Challenger Sales, Matthew Dixon & Brent Adamson

Customer loyalty is waning globally. Across all markets and subscriber groups, 39% of people are likely to churn, an increase of more than 20% from the previous year.

On average, just 24% of mobile customers are completely satisfied with their operator.

Source: Nokia

 

Five ways to improve your brand’s wellbeing

Your brand is the heart and soul of your organisation. It needs not just to represent your business visually but must create interest, attract, engage, reflect, empathise, empower and excite. It must tell a story, reflect your heritage, create lasting impact, and position your business for the future. Brands need to be refreshed, to evolve and stay relevant. It follows, then, that an outdated brand can have the reverse effect, confusing and alienating audiences, and negatively influencing a company’s performance.

In commerce, we are in a constant cycle of reviewing insights, dedicating time to learnings, to help us plan successfully. In our personal lives, it’s much the same, especially early in the year, as we offset our indulgences with new exercise programmes and commitments to wellness: more stretches, less stress, more meditation, less mediation.   The Five Ways to Wellbeing are actions devised by NEF, the New Economics Foundation, for individuals to adopt in everyday life. They are:

• Connect
• Be active
• Take notice
• Keep learning
• Give

They’ve been used by organisations, schools and communities across the UK to drive people to improve their wellbeing. I think they provide the perfect framework for businesses refreshing their identity.  Brands can adopt these actions to ensure there is a place for them in the future, and here’s where they can start:

• Connect – with customers, with staff, with communities, both digital and physical; share your brand vision and strategy as well as your brand identity
• Be active – as a brand, there must be no resting on laurels; be a challenger brand, be dynamic, confident, agile, and change when you need to
• Take notice –make sure your brand stays relevant; stop, look and listen to your customers, your competitors and their products, your employees and their chosen communications channels and platforms, your perception in the market; take time to understand them
• Keep learning – from your customers, staff, from competitive brands, from industry experts, from digital influencers – never stop learning
• Give –share your brand’s expertise and experience, give inspiration and time, be approachable, give some thought to your brand’s position and its place in the future; and create a strong CSR policy, not just because it improves the perception of your brand but because commerce has the power to make a difference

Here at Pitney Bowes, we’ve undergone a fantastic, energetic brand transformation. In our 95 year history, we had only ever had two logos, and our last brand refresh was in 1971. Having announced the beginnings of a transformation programme two years ago, we recently announced a major programme centred around our changing brand. On the outside, there’s a unique, vibrant new logo, a new website and an entire new look and feel; on the inside, a new ethos, a change in culture, and a fresh digital direction.  And at the heart? People, technology and a commitment to the wellbeing of the business and brand.

PB Digital Commerce Solutions Software. Why wouldn’t You? for business performance!

Last week I attended the Pitney Bowes Digital Commerce Partner Event at the Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin, Noordwijk, Netherlands, and had the pleasure in meeting delegates, some of whom had been working with Pitney Bowes for 20 or 30 years.

The atmosphere surrounding such a Partner event took me back to my earlier days in the technology industry, and working with numerous channel partners, which permits greater reach and choice for end-user customers. The Partners display such dedication, professionalism and loyalty, which needs particular acknowledgement. Indeed an awards dinner on the Wednesday evening reflected their tenure, along with accolades for more recent performance.

I also had the opportunity to present the Pitney Bowes brand story and journey to delegates, in terms of what the marque ‘is’ and what it ‘does’. Such a story requires telling, as Pitney Bowes has a rich legacy of helping customers / clients with their ‘commerce’ through constant innovation since the compaby’s inception by Arthur Pitney and Walter Bowes in Stamford, Connecticut nearly 100 years ago in 1920. The latest chapter of innovation and supporting client-commerce relates to crucial Pitney Bowes Digital Commerce software categories of: Customer Information Management (CIM); Location Intelligence (LI); and Customer Engagement (CE). I had the good fortune to sit through CIM and CE demos that illustrated how a company may harness Spectrum (CIM solution) to achieve clarity in their exceptionally valuable, yet disperate, customer data, and then target the right customer with the right message and offer using Portrait (CE solution). LI, with software such as MapInfo, can augment such targeting with greater relevance based on a user’s geographic location, movements or reference points.

http://www.pitneybowes.com/us/customer-information-management-software.html

http://www.pitneybowes.com/us/location-intelligence-software.html

http://www.pitneybowes.com/us/customer-engagement-software.html

My reaction as a Marketing / Commercial Professional is ‘why wouldn’t you??’ invest in such a  brand and technology solutions, which would provide a more focused customer experience across a business, with a correlated business results and competitive advantage.

People want to give their best. Help them with People Leadership.

People Leadership is the imperative for any high-performing organisation. Delivering it, whilst satisfying diverse Stakeholders is the test for any professional! Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg Motivators continue to be important to determine the priorities and positive motivators of individuals, wherever they may be in their lives. A Leader, therefore, needs to have: ‘1. Emotional Intelligence‘ with people and to connect with them regarding what they need to do in order to achieve their dreams; They need ‘2. Open and regular dialogue’ in order to Listen and Mentor the Person in reaching their targets; A ‘3. Support framework for creativity and innovation’ should exist to draw out the best from a person’s ability and experience; Say a regular ‘4. Thank You, followed by Rewards’ – a combination of Monetary, Recognition and Experiences. And provide ‘5. Constant professional challenges – in a good way!’ so that people feel they can continue to grow and contribute. People Leadership is challenging and a Professional Test, however the people will be motivated to succeed and the results will come.

Facebook future-proofs its business with WhatsApp! ‘Social Messaging gets stronger.

My daughter had her 13^th Birthday recently, which entailed me transporting her and a couple of her friends to the venue for her celebration. All three of them insisted in sitting in the back of the car to be chauffeured, with their Smartphones and taking selfie photos that were immediately uploaded to WhatsApp and shared amongst their friends – some of whom were travelling to the same venue in a different car.

I indeed also use WhatsApp to communicate with my daughter, to immediately share photos of her birthday, when I’m away travelling and sporting events (although not quite as intensely of course), and other friends and business contacts. It’s great for communicating with others across such a ubiquitous Wifi / 3G and platform-agnostic environment.

Instantaneous, fun, self-contained, easy, dynamic, in-the-moment, compulsive, useful – this is why Facebook spent an inordinate amount of money on a relatively new App, however one that has approaching 400 Million users.

Facebook has made a hugely strategic decision to buy WhatsApp for some very compelling reasons:

1. The Facebook parent captures a broad youth audience, which reverses the recent trends that saw the brand being seen as a more mature social media / tech company, used by parents and grandparents.
2. Facebook moves to the trend of Smartphone instant messaging, on a stable and burgeoning platform. It helps Facebook to keep social messaging on an open platform.
3. WhatsApp provides control with regards to what is shared and with whom. The experience also provides a huge amount of emotional intimacy and attachment, which is a trend that will only become stronger.
4. The commercial return is a longer-term play and continued WhatsApp autonomy – for a period at least. The importance being the community of users and the affinity and loyalty they have for a brand over a period of time. Monetisation over and above the 99 cents can wait for the moment.

A fascinating development by a technology giant that wants to become bigger AND more youthful, and cement its place in ‘social communications’. The interest will be to see what other key technology players do next!?

Andrew Ford, February 2014

Marketing is Evolving. Long Live Customering!

As a Customer I want to be listened to, so that when I engage a Brand and pay for a service or product, and sign up for an experience, it’s what I want and I can enjoy it in a way that fits my lifestyle. My career has been as a Marketing Leader, which has been about Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning – although I have always striven to design experiences around Online, Mobile, Social and CRM that resonate with customers, both as Individuals and as Businesses, to ensure the optimal relevancy for them throughout their engagement with Brands such as HP, BT, Dell and Norton. I therefore introduce ‘Customering’!

I recently enjoyed an editorial (Time is running out to save capitalism from the capitalists) by @allisterheath in London @Cityam, the key point of which was that for Customers, Brands and the Economy to prosper we need to focus on ‘Customer Capitalism’ and with Brand experiences that deliver for the end-consumer. Brands have struggled to take such an intimate view due to reasons such as their organisation size, structure, measurement and a number of legacy system and data challenges. However when done well, ‘Customering’ can provide much enhanced Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – for Revenues and Margins – because people want to have a positive, sustained and mutually-beneficial Brand relationship. This provides significantly higher Customer Advocacy, so that additional new customers come to the Brand based on referrals and actively want the experiences on offer.

So what needs to happen to ensure that a Brand can be based on Customering?

1. It starts with the CEO, who needs to ensure that Customers are the real primary focus of a Brand. ‘Back-to-the-Floor’ schemes, such as those introduced by Sir John Harvey-Jones over 30 years ago, will get leaders to the customer end of the business and illustrate leadership by example. A Senior Leader spending a day a Month or Quarter to work in the Call Centre or on the floor of a Partner Store in order to speak with customers is a must. This also provides a great example of customer-centric transformational leadership to Investors.
2. Engagement with Customers is cherished across all levels and functions of the Brand. Leadership involvement in putting customer-intimate mechanisms such as Social Media and Customer Service Telephone / Online Chat Services at the centre of the Brand will deliver re-position Customer perceptions. @TeamMclaren have increased their follower base by 100% based on the rich content they publish from across all aspects of their business. (thanks @Essence for #Shuffle2013)
3. Marketing champions the focus on the Customer, and the Brand. Although Marketing cannot do it all, it is the function best positioned to be the pivot to aid the transition across other functions. Marketing can collaborate with Finance regarding CLV; It can work with Sales regarding tighter Channel and Brand Partnerships to deliver the number; It can undertake Online Marketing through SEO, SEM , and other Digital techniques to drive E-Commerce numbers; and it can work closely with its kindred spirit Customer Services / Support in order to evolve the engagement with customers.
4. The Customer Experience of a Brand is truly end-to-end and encourages User engagement.
   When designing a product or service for a Customer, the Social and Relationship aspect needs to be considered from the outset. This is mandatory when a proposition based on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), or other continuous service model, is offered. Customers are encouraged to offer their data, either directly, with a positive incentive that relates to an optimum experience of the proposition they have or are about to purchase, such as a Norton Account, or based on using their Facebook profile.
5. Customers may control and scale their own experience based on their choice of media and timing. Amazon and Apple have done good jobs as Brands, although there are further opportunities to hone the approach for more pinpoint delivery, particularly with an ever more diverse set of devices and media consumption.
6. Existing Leaders, and those recruited, are assessed based on their passion for customers. This is a critical aspect for future Brand success, by screening personnel at all levels, to ensure that they have a passion for driving and innovating the customer experience. Recruiters and Hiring Managers need to be trained to seek and select in this manner.
7. Ensure Customer Satisfaction Measurements apply to all people who work for a Brand. Pay and Advancement has to be based on the causal performance link back to how satisfied customers are with specific aspects of the Brand experience – which has been delivered by different teams and functions across the organisation. Such Qualitative Measurement becomes a tangible and material aspect of an employee’s Bonus structure.

Brands must not only remain relevant in a Social / Digital / Mobile age, but if Customering is fundamentally adopted it can be a significant competitive advantage and correlate with greatly enhanced business results.

Social Collision is Paramount!

The Collision Event took place yesterday evening in the Centre Point Building in London. The Social Glitterati attended from the four corners of the Social spectrum – Key Commentators such as Tom Standage of the Economist and Kate Russell (@katerussell) of BBC Click, Brands such as Nokia and Norton seeking to use Social as a fundamental part of Marketing and Customer Experience, a number of very knowledgeable Social and Digital / Marketing / Digital Strategy companies, and organisations providing Marketing Automation and Analytics infrastructure.

I enjoyed drinks with Tom, and Alan Dunachie of TEADS.tv, where we discussed the rise of, opportunities for and challenges with Social in organisations, and how The Economist had used technology on their site to optimise the Customer Experience. I then chatted with Jay Patel of IMImobile and John Watton of Silverpop, and the sophistication available for Marketing Automation and tracking across media and devices.

Rod Banner performed the role of Social Dating Ringmaster with aplomb. His smooth, wise style, combined with his bespoke coat bedecked with the Collision icon, broke the ice and drew out the social passion from the attendees on the 31st Floor – although the cocktails on arrival may have loosened a few of the tongues!

Tom Standage started the debate by introducing his new book, Writing on the Wall, in which he describes the origins of social networks that were ignited during the Roman époque due to the presence of an economic structure and the ability to publish in Latin. Moving forward to the 17th Century in London and the emergence of Coffee Shops, in which like-minded people assembled to debate and socialise, and some key institutions such as the Bank of England were born.

The debate then opened to the floor. Craig Hepburn of Nokia provided a knowledgeable perspective regarding how important Social is to an organisation, and how businesses need to structure themselves to engage with customers through various social media and balance the resources respond to the right amount of customer comments or enquiries. A measurement that provided a ripple of enthusiasm around the floor was that 4.7% of Socially-engaged customers will have an Opinion Leader / Influencer multiplier effect across the broader community. Identifying the profile of customers is an imperative.

On the theme of measuring the value of Social, one attendee expressed the view that it depends of what aspect you would like to gauge, with the assessments such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) score a macro way of assessing the investment over time. I agreed with the Brand measurement point and chipped in that a great opportunity is to put Social at the centre of proactive Brand Campaign experiences with a fun and creative theme, with a ‘gamification’ competition component, that can be a catalyst for transitioning customer engagement and perceptions.

During Dinner, with Kate Russell, Tom Evans of BleepBleeps and Michael Wrigley of EngageSchiences, we discussed the need for organisations to harness social at a senior leadership level in order for it to be key aspect of the culture and be entwined in the products and services offered to customers. This would then strengthen the push and pull effect and ensure higher levels of customer relevance, emotion and advocacy.

A great gathering and debate! Many opportunities for Social Media to blossom and be a way for organisations to create sustainable competitive advantage.

Mobile Internet + Big Data = The ‘Expected Relevance’ Lifestyle

I first became involved in the Internet in 1998. I was hooked immediately due to the instant availability of information via the brokering of the fledgling Portals of Yahoo!, Lycos, Excite and Altavista (albeit connection speeds were a touch slow back then – remember the modem dial-up chshshshshshsh – ah, the nostalgia!) was a huge shift in balance from Seller to Buyer. Consumers and Businesses now had much more knowledge on which to base their choices and loyalty for product and service purchases.

Fast forward to 2013 we now have the Gold Rush of Fifth Generation ‘Mobile’ Computing, with a number of Brands, existing and new, striving to establish a position in such a vibrant and evolving category. Handset Manufacturers, Mobile Service Providers, App Developers, Content Providers / Optimisers……….. What will make the overall difference in bringing together the rich information available in the Digital Internet with the physical-world proximity of the Mobile User?

‘Expected Relevance’ is the key here, and being in tune with the lifestyles, aspirations and emotions of Users – for both leisure and commerce. The parsing of Big Data – Geo-location, Movement Mapping, Social Behaviour, Mobile dowloads, Socio-Demographics and Psychological / Physiological Needs – will permit best fit recommendations, which will enhance lifestyles and touch the emotional side of the User. Emotional touch will provide greater Brand resonance and frequency of usage. The predictive recommendations for proximity and timing will enhance expected relevance and ensure Users get the right lifestyle experience – with so many burgeoning options available.