Target State: the Customer-Centered Digital Enterprise

Steve Chitwood

Today’s buyers are more empowered than ever. They have more access to information and technology that ever before. Loyalty is fleeting, price pressure constant, competition is democratized on a global scale, new channels abound and influences are in constant flux. Upstarts like Uber and AirBnB have risen to challenge mature industries almost overnight. Peer reviews and social sharing have greater influence that traditional advertising.

Enterprises are adapting and leveraging evolving digital technologies to compete more effectively in the modern marketplace. Below are key drivers for success in effectively transforming to a customer-centric enterprise along with key enablers to get there.

KEY DRIVERS

Deep understanding of the customer. This is the foundation upon which all efforts are built. Our success as marketers will be directly related to our depth of understanding of our customers. While this is not a new concept or a uniquely digital concept, the granularity, tools, data points and influences have perhaps never been more varied. Fortunately, the technologies available to marketers to harness and understand customer data has also matured greatly.

Omni-channel customer engagement. Consumers today constantly traverse marketing channels and expect that the brands they engage with keep pace. The customer engagement process must be tailored by channel customized for the shopper journey, personalized for the customer, and focused on engagement and creating a dialog. From websites to mobile aps, email, call centers and even off-line touchpoints, the experience must be seamless and continuous.

Data Driven Decisioning. Enabled through centralized customer data assets comprised of internal and external sources, CRM, Marketing automation, personalization, advertising, service and support, and product development must leverage real-time data, advanced analytics and visualizations in order to deliver the value needed.

KEY ENABLERS

Pervasive Personalization. It’s really a pretty simple concept – leverage technology and data to humanize marketing delivery. The challenge is doing so a scale, in real time, and in a constantly adapting environment. Following a framework to introduce customization, segmentation and individualization across touchpoints to provide an increasingly bespoke experience is rapidly becoming a standard. Early adopters are reaping the benefits; late adopters are becoming marginalized.

Data Centralization. Providing a seamless, omni-channel experience in a constantly evolving shopper journey is simply not possible without direct access to significant data resources across channels.

Capability Harmonization. We used to champion the concept of multi-channel marketing – using several different channels to distribute a marketing message. We have now evolved to an omni-channel state where a single conversation needs to take place independent of a specific channel. Integration across tools as well as data and analytics resources is a key to success.