Back in 2015, I wrote a post titled Hey! You Got Your Metrics in My Journey Map! In it, I advocated for mappers to add data to their journey maps. I wrote that…
…mapping tools had to evolve because people failed to see the value in mapping with the then-current approaches; in addition, maps were not proving to be that catalyst for change that they are designed to be. In order to be that catalyst, maps have to be actionable. And the only way they can be actionable is if you have some data to support or to drive that action. Executives love data and metrics, right? Data-driven decisions are all the rage, and rightly so.
What kind of data? There’s no shortage of data, right?! Obviously, the data needs to be related to the journey you’re mapping, but here are some examples of the types of data you can add to the map.
http://customerthink.com/why-do-i-need-data-in-my-journey-maps/
Marketing in the B2B world is always tough. Let's face it, the topics can be a bit dry, at least compared to the consumer segment.
So with the year coming to a close, it's a good idea to think about new approaches. What are customers looking for? What will resonate?
To get some answers to these questions, I reached out to various marketing experts. Here's what they had to say:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomtaulli/2018/12/01/b2b-marketing-strategies-for-the-new-year/
While over three quarters (78%) of brands now measure customer satisfaction, most admit to failing to get real business insight from listening to the Voice of the Customer (VoC). That’s according to new research conducted for Eptica, which found that less than a quarter (24%) of brands feel that existing measurements such as NPS, CSAT and CES give them the deep insight they need to transform their business, and the experience they provide to customers.
The research found that despite brands analysing the growing number of interactions they have with their customers, they struggle to get real value from them.
https://contact-centres.com/brands-failing-to-listen-to-voice-of-the-customer/
Consider the rise of customer success. Because 74 percent of consumers feel contacting customer service is a frustrating experience, few speak up until they’ve had a truly bad time. The trouble is, just one negative experience is all it takes to send more than half of consumers packing for a competitor.
That’s why, instead of waiting for customers to call in, customer success managers monitor usage data like average session duration and login frequency. Although customers might hesitate to reach out about a page that won’t load, constant refreshing can signal that they’re struggling. Among U.S. adults, 87 percent want companies to proactively contact them before small issues turn into serious trouble.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/322362/
Nearly two-thirds of businesses (63%) actively collect and implement feedback from reviews into their apps, according to a new survey by The Manifest, a business news and how-to website. Meanwhile, 25% read reviews and only sometimes implement feedback, and just 10% read reviews and never implement feedback.
The Manifest surveyed 301 app developers and marketers across the U.S. to determine how businesses implement feedback from mobile app reviews.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nearly-two-thirds-of-businesses-say-they-actively-implement-feedback-from-mobile-app-reviews-300745417.html/
If marketers think brand trust is just a nice-to-have, a new SurveyMonkey survey shows it’s a must-have.
“Businesses that fail to establish trust — the foundation of any relationship — will lose to businesses who can,” said SurveyMonkey CEO Zander Lurie in a statement accompanying the survey results. The survey conducted by his company found that brand trust affects the bottom line in a variety of ways.
https://martechtoday.com/another-survey-shows-brand-trust-affects-purchase-decisions-227500/
When it comes to the customer experience, consumer comfort levels with artificial intelligence can vary greatly depending on how the technology is applied. As we shared in a recent ebook, consumers often think AI is ‘creepy’ when it utilizes information they did not directly provide. In other circumstances, however, AI is seen as useful, particularly when it makes recommendations based on past interactions.
In a recent survey conducted by Interactions, we looked at how AI impacts the customer experience in order to better understand how companies can best apply this technology to their benefit. One takeaway from the research that was pretty clear: consumers prefer to interact with conversational AI. In fact, 79% of respondents said that one of the most useful capabilities of AI in providing a positive customer experience is the ability to use conversational words or phrases, as if they were talking to a human, rather than speaking “robot talk”. Additionally, 70% said they prefer interacting with a virtual assistant that has a human-like voice or personality as opposed to a computer-generated voice.
http://customerthink.com/3-revenue-driving-benefits-of-conversational-ai/
At its core, conversational experience is an easy-back-and forth with a customer on a specific channel such as chat or voice. The customer is able to speak or type naturally and ask spontaneous questions — without having to navigate cumbersome IVRs, thank you very much. In short, said Jim Freeze, CMO of virtual assistant provider Interactions, customers are able to talk or type to a virtual assistant exactly how they would if they were speaking with a human. Or put another way: “The idea is to move away from forms and buttons to a process that enables an exchange that resembles what we have in a 1:1 conversation with a friend,” said Ajeet Kushwaha, director of bots and automation at customer engagement software provider Freshworks.
https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/what-is-a-conversational-experience/
Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs enable business leaders to gather the critical customer feedback they need to address customer concerns and shape the future of their products.
Traditional VoC programs are one-on-one interview based and can generate volumes of unstructured customer interview data. Making that information actionable is where the rub is, according to Maxie Schmidt-Subramanian, Principal Analyst of Customer Experience at Forrester.
https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/how-ai-is-impacting-the-voice-of-the-customer-landscape/
https://www.business2community.com/ecommerce/how-b2b-ecommerce-marketers-can-use-the-voice-of-the-consumer-to-boost-sales-02133114/
