Digital Disruption

So too in the business world …

The marketplace has changed.

There is an oversupply of goods and services. Prices are decreasing. Margins are being squeezed.

Most products and services have become commodified. Bank A is the same as Bank B and Bank C. Airline A is the same as Airline B and Airline C. Car Company A is the same as Car Company B and Car Company C. Agency A is the same as Agency B and Agency C.

Globalization, technology, communications, the Internet, manufacturing and distribution systems have led to a new paradigm.

We now live in a world of major instantaneous change. And this change is no longer production-driven, it’s customer demand-led.

Customers are now highly knowledgeable, active, technology-enabled, savvy, empowered and they are looking for superior experiences.

Competition now appears from anywhere and everywhere – no longer limited to our industry segment or geographic location.

So, how do we differentiate? How do we innovate? What’s the new value proposition?

The next frontier is “Customer Experience”.

The world has evolved and we now live in an experiential economy where people are valuing brands and connecting with brands that deliver compelling and relevant experiences.

Harley Davidson, Virgin and Amazon.com exemplify companies that have successfully and profitably made the transition to this new customer-centric world.

BMW is a good example of a global brand that is in the midst of this transition. A glimpse of this transition can be seen in the brand’s tagline across the world – from the older, left-brain, engineering product-centric “The Ultimate Driving Machine” through the more emotional, right-brain “Sheer Driving Pleasure” to the holistic, customer-centric “The Ultimate Driving Experience”.

How do we design this exceptional customer experience and, equally or more importantly, how do we sustain and continue to deliver this differentiation?

This is where it gets interesting (and difficult) …

The first step is to clearly and succinctly understand the end customer; her needs, wants and pains in her journey across all touch points.

Next is the “big idea” – the customer insight that successfully marries the customer / market understanding with the business goals and objectives.

Bringing the idea to life requires cross-functional integration and alignment of strategy, marketing, sales, customer service, operations, technology and HR around the customer – our clients’ customers, our clients and our internal “customers”, our employees.

It requires a sense of ownership across the collective enterprise and an alignment of the key “soft” variables such as culture, passion, attitude, emotional intelligence, customer-centric focus and the “hard” variables of process, capacity, operational efficiency and profitability.

Maintaining, sustaining, improving and evolving the experience requires a collective ability to listen, to measure, to evaluate and adapt the delivery of the experience to ensure it continues to meet and exceed the customers’ expectations.

It’s a journey, not a quick fix.