COMPLACENT MARKETING
Marketing professionals now have an opportunity to unlock new strategies at every phase of the customer cycle to deliver information about their products or services .
I recently went into a supermarket , an international chain operating locally , with only one agenda - to buy a microwave . The shopper experience was excellent - large variety to choose from , great display and very eager sales assistants ready to help me make the best decision within my budget .
Once I had made a decision , I was asked to make my payment at the till with the promise that my microwave would be waiting for me at the checkout counter . I was impressed , so I patiently waited my turn to make the payment which I did without any problem . The lady at the checkout counter then told me to present my receipt to the customer service desk to pick my warranty . That process was almost seamless and took me no more than 4 minutes . That was the easy part .
After having the warranty stamped , I begun the long wait for my microwave at the exit lane of the supermarket . 35 minutes later , the sales assistant walked up to me and pointed to a microwave sitting in the corner of the entrance and told me it was mine then walked away . I then went to wheel my microwave out and the security guard stopped me and started pulling the cart towards her . I asked her if there was a problem and she said I had not presented my receipt to the security desk .
I again had to wait another 15 minutes for the security supervisor to verify that my microwave was paid for and that the serial matched what I had on my receipt . These verification processes were not communicated to me , and neither were they being done on a computer . It was a manual process where I even had to intervene to help the security supervisor identify the serial on the box of the microwave .
I was unimpressed as this is a supermarket I often visit for my weekly shopping , and I have never experienced the long uncoordinated wait times . I made a note not to purchase electronics from that store and stick to my routine milk and bread shopping .
Later , on the way home , I remembered that there is a competitor store nearer
“ Resetting of customer experiences and values has made the switch and ease of experimenting with other brands much easier for consumers who have adopted digital rituals in every area of their lives , and across all ages .”
to my house and made a mental note to shop from there going forward despite the good service I have enjoyed both online and in-store with the supermarket . I am certain that an international chain of such standards has a clearly laid out customer experience journey , but the customer ’ s experience was nothing compared to what was intended .
This is the role of technology . It was my thought that as I was waiting , these checks were taking place in the background on a computer somewhere and that after 35 minutes when my microwave emerged it would be time for me to wheel it . To my surprise , these paradoxical experiences still exist , and they exist in international supermarket chains that have an extremely efficient online shopping experience .
This was a lesson for me as a communications professional on how the present-day digital customer expects to be treated . I expected that this purchase would happen in an instant . I expected that I would pay and go . I had not factored any wait time in my day having taken the trouble to go to the supermarket .
I expected that the supermarket sales assistant or the customer service agents would communicate the process to me , if at all but I instead ended up standing at the customer service desk for 35 minutes with nobody saying anything to me about the clearance process .
Further , I expected that I would have a seamless exit , but the security guards assumed that I had been notified of their clearance process and instead landed on my trolley like I had not paid for the item and further proceeded to take another 15 minutes of my precious time . That one day experience influenced a switch in my weekly shopping routine .
The new generation customers , defined as Generation ‘ N ’ will change the game for customer experience , business models and marketing . The realities of human centered designs will help companies to attract and hold customers as consumers shift and evolve in new directions . The challenge remains bringing a digital mindset into the physical human interactions and delivering these experiences as expected by the customer .
While the ideal hybrid experience may still not exist , it is an expectation in the mind of the customer when they interact with certain brands . These lessons should inspire innovative strategies in all marketing strategies and should be integrated in business models to achieve growth in sales .
Resetting of customer experiences and values has made the switch and ease of experimenting with other brands much easier for consumers who have adopted digital rituals in every area of their lives , and across all ages . The customer ’ s experience should be the mirror that defines CX so as to use technology to put in place a journey that will benefit the customer , not so much the brand .
Looking back at the example of video games , a virtual player today no longer needs to have a friend or play verses the computer , all you need to do is log in to the virtual platform and select from a list of other players who are online , send a friend a request to anyone in the world and get into the game .
Brands should take lessons from the customer and now begin to use the customer ’ s experience to design better cross cutting technological experiences that will fit into the new age , generation N customer . More human than technological experiences . ■
Diana Obath is a seasoned Public Relations and Communications Specialist . You can reach her for this or related issues via mail on :
ObathD @ gmail . com .
MAL 46 / 22 ISSUE 11