Memories of a fascinating (customer) journey
Well, I guess I’m back! Blogging from a new flat with new flatmates and new thoughts and ideas. It’s been a while since I last posted on here - honestly, when I logged in just now, my laptop made a “look who’s back”-ish noise. Or I am just getting crazy. A bit. #
So today’s post is dedicated to the Customer Journey as we experienced it during Module 3 at Squared Online. Relationships between brands and customers have changed dramatically (not exactly a revelation, I know, but I had to have an opening statement!). Brands can no longer afford to be mere broadcasters of sales messages and approach customers when they are ready to reach for their wallets - they need to be there all the way, with a more conversational mood, knowing how to tell great stories and create value for the customer throughout a convergent marketing funnel. We interact with brands and their products in multiple ways: in physical stores, when watching TV, when scrolling down our Twitter timeline, when browsing the web, while we wait for the tube, when reading a magazine, when we read our e-mails - the list goes on and the touch-points are endless. In a connected world where distance is no longer an issue (you can order anything you want from anywhere in the world) and customers have access to an ocean of choices for any type of product, it’s harder for a brand to make it into the consideration set, let alone win the race and end up in the basket (the right one, not the abandoned one). And there is more to it: with customer reviews playing an increasingly important role and people wanting more and more to share their experience and generate useful-for-other-people content, brands can never be at ease. They need to optimise customer experience at all stages - pre- and post- purchase.
Brands need to be where their (potential) customers are: where they search, where they browse, where they think, where they discuss, where they enquire, where they shop, where they share and review. And they need to surprise them to stand out, always creating value and optimising experiences.
Maybe it’s just me, but when it comes to pre-purchase I found the Zero Moment Of Truth or ZMOT fascinating as a concept: understanding how different customer segments do their research after they first become aware of a brand (or product), which channels and sources they prefer and how much time it takes them to make a decision depending on the product category is invaluable. Gathering this knowledge is crucial if we are to develop successful marketing strategies with the right mix of digital and non-digital advertising. Traditional media can be combined with the endless possibilities technology has to offer - as long as creativity and innovation are powered by insight and vice versa.
Of course, I couldn’t possibly finish this post without mentioning brand advocacy (and not for SEO reasons, please don’t start everyone). This is definitely my favourite post-purchase part, also referred to as the Ultimate Moment of Truth or UMOT. Turning customers into advocates is the last part of their journey, which also serves as the first part of another customer’s journey, either “feeding” their stimulus stage or their ZMOT. User-generated content closes the circle and makes the journey start all over again - by word-of-mouth, on social media platforms, on blogs and forums.
What an exciting journey this is!
El.