The customer experience ecosystem is evolving. Marketing should, too.

A core expertise in marketing is the ability to achieve change. The range of tasks is increasing in parallel with advances in digitalisation. As a result, marketing strategies have become much more complex.

Customer interaction and the brand experience

The use of digital technologies continues to increase rapidly. The digital world is no longer the preserve of the younger generations, and even late adopters are now on board. As a result, more and more people are interacting with brands in all channels, online and offline. The majority of today’s customers are no longer passive observers. They are more informed and more selective, and have higher expectations than ever before. They do not just want to buy products or services: they want to belong, to influence and be able to identify with a brand’s values. Overall, customer interaction is becoming value-driven, contextualised and dynamic. Consequently, brands do not just need to be more attractive in digital terms in order to acquire customers. They must also be able to define and appropriately reflect the brand experience across the entire value chain and across all interactive channels, authentically and compellingly.

Brands need to consider customer interaction and the brand experience in a holistic way. This makes the role of the CMO diverse and challenging. In addition, transforming their own departments, they need to drive changes throughout their company and beyond, for example in the following areas:

In general, companies in Switzerland still prioritise improvements in efficiency and productivity, and the marketing function is still perceived as a cost centre. This is a short-sighted view. A holistic approach to the brand experience promotes a customer-centric approach, which also involves focusing on the positive social impacts of the brand. This strengthens brand loyalty and makes a significant contribution to sales growth in the medium term.

Customers want to identify with their brands which means that brand values must match customer values. However, in practice, indicators set internally often contradict customer expectations – marketing words and images no longer ‘cut the mustard’. CMOs need to communicate the brand's intentions and ensure that they are translated into actions. It is important to match the brand promise with the company’s capabilities, so that the promises can be kept, consistently and reliably. Disappointed customers are difficult or impossible to win back. Many CMOs find themselves under pressure to produce tangible results in a short space of time, which drives them to think more in the short term.

CMOs drive change within their company. This is how it has always been. Specifically, they test new creative ideas, and if these fail they get back up and move on. The difference now is that CMOs should not just meet these challenges with creativity and technical knowledge: they also need to drive cultural and structural change within the company. 

The experience ecosystem

CMOs must also work to achieve an experience-driven transformation within their own marketing departments. Departments whose marketing is still geared to the classic textbook ’nine Ps’ (product, price, promotion, place, people, planning, partners, presentation and passion) will find it difficult to position themselves successfully in the medium to long term. This is because in addition to these nine Ps, it is necessary to invest in transformational measures within the marketing department itself.
 

An (illustrative) experience ecosystem of a brand

It is no longer appropriate to treat customers as faceless potential purchasers. They must be approached at a personal level. As we know, people are strongly influenced by experiences, and customer expectations are formed at a deep, sensory level. However, when companies communicate with people, an approach based on rational decisions and logic often takes precedence over building customer loyalty at an emotional level.

The experience ecosystem is a useful tool for showing exactly where the company is in the ‘customer experience space’. The exercise of creating customer journeys is no longer enough, however. Linear thinking must be replaced by holistic awareness, embracing all channels and touchpoints. See graphic. The experience ecosystem helps us understand which people interact with the brand when and how, making it possible to understand customer expectations. Today, the goals and methods of interaction for a brand are defined according to specific customer expectations: brands cannot dictate to their customers how, where or when to interact with them. In addition, customers want to see the brand values they have been promised actually put into practice. For example, if environmental issues are particularly important to a brand and are communicated prominently, products should not be delivered in oversized packaging with unnecessary plastic wrapping.
 

Martech and experience management platforms

To fulfil their promises, companies use technological tools that collect and evaluate data on customer behaviour in real time. This enables them to identify trends and react quickly to changes in customer expectations. This can be achieved with the help of tools known as marketing technologies (martech). Channel-focused solutions like websites, e-commerce solutions, social and mobile platforms, content management tools and search engine optimisation are now history. There is a new generation of tools and systems that provide an unprecedented level of customer privacy, combined with targeted engagement and unique personalisation. These are known as experience management platforms.

Analytics based on algorithms and machine learning reveal the context of customer needs and indicate the optimal methods and time for interacting with customers. Marketing managers in successful companies work with IT managers to build up a portfolio of experience-focused marketing tools, including EET (emerging and exponential technologies). The aim is to transform marketing from a cost-based model of customer acquisition to an experience-oriented model which is profit-oriented in the medium to long term, all on the basis of an experience strategy (keyword: experiential marketing). Today, customers should be the focus, and companies should provide them with countless options and interaction channels. To remain competitive, companies need to create a more differentiated, human and authentic experience ecosystem for their brand.
 

The key role of the CMO

CMOs with overall responsibility for the brand play a leading role in driving change in their company. The organisation must understand and be convinced that it is not just selling products or services, but has arrived in the age of digital experience. New skills need to be acquired, and the corporate culture must be continually adapted. Even the most seasoned and knowledgeable CMOs will find it hard to drive the transformation all at once. Fortunately, the changes need not be carried out in a single programme involving massive investment. They can be introduced gradually, in iterative steps, each carefully planned to meet the marketing strategy objectives.