The New 3 C’s of Business: Customized, Continuous, Contextual

In business school, we learned about the 3 C’s: Customer, Competitors and Company. It is a strategic framework used to help craft business strategies that drive competitive advantage by considering these three key elements in relation to each other. The idea is that the more you understand what your customer needs, how your product delivers on that need, and how it is unique over competitors, the better you are better positioned to compete in the marketplace.

89% of companies expect to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience versus 36% four years ago

In this new era of marketing, it is a customer-centric world where the shift has gone from product-first to customer-first; where customers are looking for meaningful experiences over the experience of just the products themselves; and where customer experience has become the competitive advantage. Today, brands are increasingly making customer experience a priority and with good reason.

Here are some key stats highlighting the importance of customer experience:

• 89% of customers have switched to a competitor due to poor customer experience (Harris Interactive)
• 80% of CEO’s today believe they offer superior customer experience, yet only 8% of customers actually agree (Bain & Company)
• 89% of companies expect to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience versus 36% four years ago (Gartner)
• Brands that provide integrated customer journeys have a clear competitive advantage and, in some cases, doubled sales year over year (Harvard Business Review)
• Measuring satisfaction on customer journeys is 30% more predictive of overall customer satisfaction than measuring happiness for each individual interaction (McKinsey & Company)
• Maximizing satisfaction with customer journeys has the potential not only to increase customer satisfaction by 20% but also to lift revenue by up to 15% (McKinsey & Company)

Given this, it has become imperative for brands to compete on customer experience to gain a competitive advantage and win their customer’s loyalty and engagement. Consequently, this has given rise to the New 3 C’s of Marketing — creating customer experiences that are Customized, Continuous and Contextual. The intersection of these 3 factors will create a superior customer experience by tailoring the experience to the customer’s needs, making it continuous across touchpoints, and putting it into context of where they are in their journey. Here are the New 3 C’s of Marketing:

CUSTOMIZED

Each one of your customers has a unique experience with your brand that evolves as they move through their journey. With the volume of customer data available today and the capability to apply AI and ML on that data, it is becoming a real competitive advantage for brands that use analytics to drive personalized content to ensure the customer’s needs are met. This means leveraging algorithmic methods to generate customized content or making product enhancements that ultimately create a highly meaningful and relevant experience that will not only support sales, but long-term customer loyalty and engagement. Creating these personalized experiences have significant impact as customers are 5.2 times more likely to purchase from brands with a great customer experience, and personalization has shown to deliver 5 to 8 times the ROI on marketing spend and can lift sales by 10% or more. A good example of a brand that does this well is Amazon.

Personalization has shown to deliver 5 to 8 times the ROI on marketing spend and can lift sales by 10% or more

Amazon customizes your experience by personalizing the content and items you see based on your purchase history and browsing behavior. Their recommendation engine analyzes all your interactions in real time and displays items that you might be interested in as you shop. They also follow-up with customized communications that recommend specific items based on the category you were searching in, and re-target offers based on items left in your cart or showed interest in. They also do this seamlessly across channels which leads to the next new ‘C’ of marketing: experiences that are Continuous.

CONTINUOUS

Customers are interacting with brands across multiple touchpoints and channels, whether it is through their mobile devices, online, via social media or in-store. Brands must increasingly deliver a seamless and consistent experience across all touchpoints, specifically across mobile devices, as 83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important and 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile experience. In order for brands to deliver a seamless experience, their underlying infrastructure across data, analytics and technology must also be seamlessly integrated. Ensuring systems are optimally configured and integrated will enable the ability to respond to customers in real-time and deliver relevant content in a meaningful channel, at the right time for an enhanced customer experience.

83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important and 57% say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile experience

Netflix is a great example of providing a seamless and continuous customer experience. No matter where and how you are watching your favorite show or movie on Netflix — whether it’s on your computer, TV, tablet or mobile device — it remembers exactly where you left off so you can continue watching seamlessly when switching devices. Moreover, it further enhances your experience as it captures your viewing behavior across channels and recommends other shows and movies you might enjoy. Their complicated underlying technology makes it easy and effortless for customers to enjoy their favorite shows, engage them to watch more, and drive more engagement and loyalty along the way.

CONTEXTUAL

The customer journey is the complete sum of experiences that customers go through when interacting with your brand. Every customer journey is unique and brands need to tailor the customer experience to not only provide relevant experiences, but to do it within the context of where they are in their journey. To do this, brands need to map out the individual journeys their customers take and personalize at every touchpoint of that journey. It is critical to not only look at just a part of a transaction or experience, but rather each experience in its entirety. Brands that do this well leverage the power of predictive analytics to drive compelling experiences by anticipating customer needs, and triggering communications with the right content, at the right time, and in the preferred channel based on where they are in their journey.

86% of senior-level marketers say that it is absolutely critical or very important to create a cohesive customer journey

Today, business executives are increasingly deriving their strategies directly from the customer journey, building strategies driven entirely through the lens of the customer experience. In fact, 86% of senior-level executives say that it is absolutely critical or very important to create a cohesive customer journey. To do this, brands must leverage the power of targeted research and analytical techniques to map out the entire customer journey and all the critical touchpoints to identify the “moments of truth” and “pain points” for each customer. The key is delivering personalized experiences at each touchpoint recognizing the trade-offs, influences, and drivers of each customer at that particular point in the journey to provide a highly relevant and engaging experience.

Air Canada, recently named as the best airline in North America as judged by customer satisfaction, is a good example of a brand that provides relevant contextual experience throughout the journey. From the time you book your flight on the website, Air Canada will communicate to you before, during and after your flight. They will send reminders that your trip is coming up and provide suggestions and partner offers on booking supplementary travel needs like hotel, rental cars, or arranging for a taxi. They also provide updates on weather and any changes to your flight, as well as provide information on key attractions and events related your destination. And of course, they notify you when it’s time to check-in and deliver your electronic boarding pass instantly to your preferred channel (i.e. email or mobile). You can also customize your in-flight entertainment and meal preferences through their app, and even use your device to watch your favorite movie in-flight. After your trip, they provide a steady stream of relevant content through their newsletters, special offers to other destinations, and integrated communications/promotions/offers from their partners and loyalty program to keep you engaged.

IN CLOSING

In the rapidly evolving customer landscape, successful businesses will need to embrace the new 3 C’s to deliver superior customer experiences that are tailored to each individual customer’s needs, continuous across all touchpoints, and dependent on where each customer is in their journey. This is no easy task, and for brands to succeed, they will need to embed this way of thinking throughout every part of their organization, starting by making the Customer Experience central to their core values.