Solutions

Brand Tracking

Manage, track, and grow your brand with always-on, actionable insights.

Marketing Mix Modelling

Monitor and optimise the long and short-term effects of your marketing efforts.

Campaign Evaluation

Measure and track your campaign’s performance before, after, and as it happens.

Our Company
Thinking
Investors
Explore more
Log In
Contact us
Home / Sam Richardson
Blog Posts
Back

CX Business Value Starts with Buy In

September 27, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

By now it’s well established that a CX program, properly executed, can reenergize organizations and transform the customer experience. Getting the technology in the door is relatively straightforward, but before CX can work its data-driven magic you need management buy in.

Based on our experience we have identified four levels of that need to buy in:

  • Board of Directors
  • C-Suite executives
  • Mid-level, e.g. Insights Dept. or LOB leader
  • Front line employees

Board or CEO:

Initiating the successful development of a CX program is intimidating. If the mandate doesn’t come from the top of the organization, gaining Board- and CEO-support early on could make or break its success. Senior people promoting CX improvement as a strategic imperative provides motivation for the rest of the organization to support initiatives. Further, executive level backing leads to changes in organizational structure and resource allocation required to be a customer-centric organization.

Recommended action: Pick the Right Test Case

Board and CEO approval is important and picking the right test case for rolling out CX is one of the best tactics available to gain momentum. Start with businesses you know and where you can quickly show value. The focus needs to be on “must have” and not “nice to have”. Establishing a clear purpose and ownership of the process while involving key stakeholders makes it easier to achieve results.

READ ALSO: Brand tracking – your most valuable marketing tool

Take, for example, a retailer that experiencing declining sales due to retention issues. Focus on a vertical or business unit that can ease the CEO’s pain point – improving the digital experience, for example. This results in customer needs being solved quickly and allowing for preventative measures to take shape for future issues; and ultimately creating happy, returning customers. Being focused early on to show results is a win for you, your CEO and your customer.

Mid-Level

Mid-level buy in has a somewhat different paradigm. In this instance, the CX program is likely centered on a department or business line and has not yet captured the entire organization. These executives generally don’t have the ability to dictate implementation beyond their own sphere of influence and the program itself may not yet be seen as a high priority for senior management.

Recommended action: address a current business problem

To make a program successful at the mid-level requires a demonstration of the power of CX to foster change. One proven way is to focus on a handful of business cases where CX can be put in place and show results quickly for specific managers you may need the support of. This is best done by addressing their current business problem, rather than trying to change the whole organization at once. Nothing succeeds like success, and measurable improvements in the customer experience that lead to better business and bottom line outcomes are the most powerful way to build support and expand implementation.

READ ALSO: Brand research: What is it & why is it important?

Front Line Employees:

Front line employees are also critical to making CX work since they’re the ones who ultimately interact with customers. As with management, the best argument is one that uses data to demonstrate a benefit – improved sales and higher commissions, or more repeat business, for example. Your front-line employees are the face of your business. When your customers have have fewer problematic interactions, they become more loyal.

Recommended action: create a system of tiered measurement

Up or down the organization the program should include a number of elements that have been demonstrated to improve success. Create a relevant, compelling story internally. Plan and prioritize how you will communicate that story to your audiences. Create materials to make your case and use cross-functional workshops to spread your message, motivate and attract new stakeholders. Your employee training is key to engaging the front-line with your CX initiatives.

But regardless of where you seek buy-in, setting expectations is critical to long-term success. One way to do this is by putting in place a system of tiered measurement, with milestones at six months, one year, and so on. This provides time to listen to colleagues and to more fully develop the roadmap for creating a customer centric company. Another tip: don’t starve the program for resources at the start. As you move ahead and the results become tangible, they then provide the proof points for expanding the program across the organization.

Blog Posts
Back

The Win-Win Proposition

August 02, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Sports teams have an advantage other businesses generally don’t have: an unusually loyal and enthusiastic customer base. But that doesn’t mean they don’t require attention…

Business intelligence and analytics are the new frontier for sports franchises. While it’s become commonplace to use big data to analyze on-field or on-court performance, less attention has been paid to the business side. That’s starting to change. Data is constantly being collected in interactions with fans through ticket and merchandise purchases, mobile ticketing, point-of-sale purchases, in-stadium surveys, websites, and social media platforms. “Gamifying” surveys and providing rewards is another great way to collect information.

READ ALSO: Power-up your Marketing Mix with brand expertise and data science

The next step for franchises is to analyze and integrate all that data and turn it into actionable insights. Until recently, most teams did not have business analytics departments (and many still don’t) so much of the data that was being gathered was not fully leveraged and tended to sit in the data warehouse or CRM system. Now, teams are increasingly recognizing the value of what they have and the need to make better use of it. As for any business, fan (or customer) retention is a critical concern. And while sports teams have a built-in advantage, they should not take fan loyalty for granted.

Data-driven programs can be used to better understand fans and create touchpoints for building loyalty and expanding fan relationships beyond the strictly transactional. These may include customized offers like seat upgrades that reward loyalty (while also growing franchise revenues), and providing newsletters and more personalized communications. More broadly, these communications offer the opportunity to enhance the fan experience with everything from specialized food vendors to stadium entrance and egress.

The newest front in building fan relationships may be the move towards “cashless” stadiums. This is helpful to fans – it reduces waiting times at concession lines, a big source of fan complaints – but it also provides another source of business intelligence. Management can understand what’s selling and what’s not in something like real time. They can test price points to optimize revenues. And, they can see who’s buying what and use that data to generate more personalized offers.

READ ALSO: CX is a game changer – here is why

As elsewhere in the world, data will continue to pour in to sports franchises. But as they leverage this data, teams need to remain sensitive to the special bond they have with their fans.

Sometimes loyal fans can be suspicious of what the team is asking them to provide from a data standpoint. Often, fans don’t understand the bigger business picture – they just want their team to win. To that end, it’s important to be transparent in how and why fan information is being collected, and in how it will be used. By sharing their data with the team, fans can contribute to a much better understanding of their needs.

This approach creates a win-win proposition: fans get a better in-game experience and deeper engagement with their team; while team management builds loyalty, increase revenues and puts the team in the best position to win and the club to grow.

Interested to learn more on how we can help with your fan insights?

New call-to-action

Blog Posts
Back

Old Clubs Leading the Way with New Fan-driven Approach

July 16, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

I’ve been fortunate to attend two conferences this summer in the great sports town of Chicago. 

The Intersport Sports Brand and Engagement Summit run by the Sports Business Journal and the excellent 29th Annual ALSD Conference and Tradeshow brought sports organization leaders together with companies like Nepa who are at the cutting edge of sports research and analytics. 

During the course of both conferences, it was great to see how far sports teams have come in understanding the value in their fans and partners. – However, it was also clear that many still do not have a proper handle on developing better fan insights. Data-driven approaches and new technologies are an imperative in this day and age. 

I’ve always been a big fan of the Windy City, having first visited in 1989, three years after the Chicago Bears enjoyed their famous Super Bowl XX winning season. At the time, I was an undergrad studying my bachelors’ degree in Scotland,  but had taken the summer off touring U.S. sports cities with a buddy.  

We arrived in Chicago and, being big NFL fans, made a beeline for the iconic Soldier Field only to find the stadium locked up for the offseason. Unperturbed, we knocked on the big iron doors at the old south entrance to the stadium and managed to talk the groundskeeper into letting us in after coming ‘4,000’ miles from Scotland just to see Soldier Field!  We were rewarded with a wonderful hour-long self-guided tour of the old stadium and even managed to get our feet onto the hallowed turf. 

Thirty years later, almost to the day, I was back touring Soldier Field, this time as an attendee at the ALSD conference, where Nepa were invited to speak on about disruptors in sports.  

Originally constructed in 1924 and dedicated to U.S. servicemen and women who died in WWI, the 61,500 stadium has changed a lot in 30 years thanks to a somewhat controversial $660 million ‘flying saucer’ renovation in 2003. Sadly, the modern redesign resulted in the stadium being ‘dropped’ from the National Historic Landmark register. 

But while the new architecture and continued location has its critics, I was impressed with how well the new architecture had complemented and preserved the ‘feel’ of the old building by conserving the inner concourse and its iconic Greek colonnades outside. 

What impressed me most though was how the Bears, celebrating their 100th season this year, have embraced new technology in almost every aspect of the revamped facility from adding a comprehensive mobile app and DAS wireless network to ticketless entry, new video boards, interactive seating charts, locked charging stations and in-seat ordering. 

Up on the North side of town, the changes made at the historic Wrigley Field are even more impressive. The Bears played at Wrigley from 1921-1970, but it’s more famous as the home to the Chicago Cubs since 1912, when it opened as Weeghman Park. Changes and renovations to baseball’s second-oldest stadium had to be considered carefully to respect the history of the grand old dame, but the Cubs have embraced new technology and modern improvements while preserving the romance and majesty of this iconic facility. 

Their ‘1060 Project’ began in 2014 and since, the old stadium’s bleachers have been expanded, a 4,000 square foot jumbotron has been installed (but respectfully to mirror the iconic old green scoreboard) locker rooms upgraded and the bullpens relocated. Four new luxurious field-level suites have been added to increase club seats from just 70 to 1,700 with new revenue-generating locations such as the “W” Club, Barrel Room (sponsored by Makers Mark), the 1914 Club (American Airlines), the Catalina Club and the Bunker Suites – all of which hark back to the history of the Cubs and the golden age of Wrigley. 

The Cubs have taken key learnings from this five-year project, citing the following keys to their success: plan early, adopt a data-driven and client-focused approach, speak to the fans and offer them what they want, create urgency, sell creatively and never forget about service. 

It would have been easy for both the Cubs and Bears to sit back on tradition, rest on their historic laurels and continue to sell based on their fan’s loyalty. But the move to modernity and state of the art technology, while respectfully preserving and indeed enriching their traditions, has very much been embraced by two of America’s oldest sports teams.  

Both of these organizations have realized, that in order to continue to attract fans away from their home viewing experience and other competing interests, they must remain relevant by continually talking to and surveying their fans for feedback, as well as staying focused on high levels of service, luxury, convenience and technology being offered by their competitors both inside and outside of sports. 

In both cases, century-old institutions have embraced technology and a data-driven approach to maintain and grow their business in the new digital age. If even the Cubs and Bears are doing this, shouldn’t your organization be doing the same?  

Blog Posts
Back

Successful Programs: Services & Insights from Forrester VoC Report

July 12, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Is your Voice of the Customer program speaking to you? Or are you spending more and getting less than you expected?

In a recent report advising CX leaders on when and how to transition Voice of Customer (VoC) vendors, Forrester CX Analyst, Faith Adams, suggested starting with a services partner to make the most of the technologies already in place. We were thrilled that Faith mentioned Nepa as one such services partner. While coverage of the CX measurement space has focused on shiny new tech offerings in recent years, we’re proud to be recognized for what we believe is our willingness to challenge conventional thinking with flexible technology infrastructure and services to build on what works.

Humble brag over – read on for our brief summary of the 3 Key Takeaways from the June 2019 Forrester report, How To Transition Your Voice-Of-The-Customer Vendor

Takeaway 1 – “Failure is not always the vendor’s fault”

Forrester notes that the complex intertwinement of client and vendor can make it difficult to make a change, so some caution is warranted. There will be implementations that come up short. There will be a need to continually fine-tune programs and, sometimes, to find new vendors. Whoever the vendor, organizations will have to change, too, if they want to maximize value.  This includes how they conduct surveys, share data and communicate internally, and, importantly, how they manage the balance between technology and services.

Takeaway 2 – “Consider the reimplementation option”

Noting the cost in time and money, Forrester suggests that companies first consider a reimplementation of an existing program before moving to a new vendor.  It’s at this point that bringing in a new (or a first-time) service provider makes sense.  An outside point of view can bring fresh perspective, and the provider may be able to introduce ideas that head off the need for a wholesale change in technology.  Nepa works with many clients in this way, optimizing existing VoC capabilities and working to identify and capture more incisive insights from existing infrastructure.

But if the VoC program is too deeply flawed, and the level of management frustration has reached a point of no return, then there may be no other choice than to make a change.  When that becomes necessary, it’s important that you approach the process in a systematic way.  An entire post could be written about that – but with an increasingly complex set of VoC technologies, it’s best to take your time and engage help in the process.

Takeaway 3 – “Successful VoC programs balance technology and services”

In recent years, there was a tendency to look for tech-only, DIY, solutions. As CX metrics remain below expectation and flat, companies recognize a need to do something different to address their current challenges, which include data formatting and siloing, failure to fully exploit the insights available from the data, an inability to incorporate unstructured and unsolicited data, failure to track and report ROI, and many more. In another post, we’ve shared more thoughts on ways a services provider can help companies identify and address these weaknesses. 

As Forrester notes in its report, VoC is still at an “immature” point in its development in spite of all the tools and talent available to improve the platforms.  That means mistakes will be made.  At the same time, new technologies will be introduced that will move the state of the art forward.  Some vendors will keep pace, others will fall behind.

Whether you’re changing vendors, doing a reimplementation, or looking at VoC for the first time, it’s important to have a resource available who understands the technology and can guide you along.  If you’re there, start with a call to Nepa.

Blog Posts
Back

CX and Brand: Better Together

June 26, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Whatever happened to Brand?  In the rush to embrace customer experience (CX), it’s become something of a marketing orphan. Our research shows that just 6% of companies are currently using Brand as an input for their CX strategy.

But consumers don’t make the same distinction. They associate CX with Brand and Brand with CX, and one influences the other.  Consumers start on the path to purchase and make buying decisions based on both Brand and CX, emotion and experience. And while transactional CX measures last transaction and complaints, strategic CX works with Brand to harmonize the promise and the delivery. But many companies continue to measure Brand impact and CX separately, and fail to understand how to maximize the interaction between the two.

READ ALSO: Brand research: What is it & why is it important?

There are several reasons for this.  It may simply reflect “siloing” within the organization – with different teams and different systems collecting data that supports brand and CX and then not sharing that data.  It may also be a function of the different media that are targeted and how their impact is measured.  Brand, for example, tends to go wider through the use of broadcast and other mass-oriented media.  Its message is often emotional.  CX is generally more targeted, and more oriented towards last touch and generating a short-term action.  But Brand often precedes CX – for example, an emotional response generated by the Brand can start the customer on the path to purchase. Or, as Forrester puts it, Brand sets the tone and CX brings the brand to life (or should).

Where things go astray, however, is when Brand messaging and CX don’t link up. Forrester Research has stated that, “The ideal gap between the brand image (what customers are promised) and the brand reality (what customer actually experience) is zero”.  But the research firm also notes that, globally, 57% of marketing decision makers say that aligning CX with brand is not a top priority.   Where the values and the messaging don’t align, there is a high likelihood of creating confusion and frustration among purchasers.

READ ALSO: Brand tracking is key to increase brand awareness

So how do you bring the two into alignment?  We recommend starting with a four-step process, as follows:

  • Don’t do CX in a vacuum. Use the Brand to design the Customer Experience.
  • Identify the most important customer journeys from the customer experience.
  • Measure the emotional experiences often associated with Brand. Make sure they are consistent with CX.
  • Align goals for Brand and CX across the organization. Create teams to share data and insights.

The fact is that 80% of CEOs believe that their companies deliver very good Customer Experience but only 8% of their customers agree! This is a serious challenge and it results in part from a misalignment of CX and Brand (among other factors).  By better aligning Brand with CX, you establish a more consistent and emotionally appealing journey for the purchaser and create the opportunity to strengthen relationships and increase sales.

CX and Brand: they’re better together.

Blog Posts
Back

Shopper-centric P2P Analytics

June 17, 2019

Nepa Shopper-centric P2P Analytics

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Defining the emerging role of Path to Purchase Analytics and its impact on winning shoppers and growing categories.

Download “Shopper-centric P2P Analytics” eBook today

This eBook introduces Path to Purchase Analytics, a new discipline that locates the shopper at the heart of the insights process, providing a view across all the channels shoppers use to research, move towards, and complete a purchase. Enjoy the following sections:

– An introduction to P2P analytics and the emergence of Shopper-centric
analytics solution

– How P2P Analytics compares to commonly used Marketing Analytics techniques

– Benefits to expect from a P2P approach and lessons learned for getting started

 



Blog Posts
Back

3 Key Takeaways from Confirmit’s 4th Annual B2B Summit

June 17, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Confirmit hosted their 4th Annual B2B Summit focused on one prominent and inspiring theme– how to be a CX Rockstar.

Whether you are knee deep in CX strategy or just starting out, everyone faces challenges on how to take the big next step. Even those who are running advanced CX measurement programs are still looking to keep things moving. Not sure how advanced your measurement is compared to other CX programs? Take our CX maturity assessment.

This year’s B2B Summit offered key takeaways to keep any CX professional seeking more value from their CX measurement and strategy. Some noteworthy ones included:

1. Beware of sameness

After some early wins, many CX professionals find themselves presenting the same stats and same dashboard to stakeholders. If you find yourself plateauing with your CX program, it could be time for a revolution. What does a CX revolution involve? According to SVP, Customer Experience Innovation at Confirmit, Claire Sporton, a CX program revolution involves shifting your focus from analyzing siloed data to integrating and pulling datapoints from throughout the organization to get the full view of your CX.

When you start to branch out your CX program beyond the hands of the core CX team and involve your entire organization, that you can start to gain momentum . Another key consideration is recognizing the need for analytics and expertise to move forward. Technology only solutions often run the risk of hindering the growth of your program. To learn more about how to maximize the value of your CX, check out our recent blog post: CX: The Art Behind the Science.

2. Empower your employees

Your employees and culture are what drive how employees interact with customers and inevitably your CX. CX starts within. For Joe Montano, Global Director of Customer Experience at Catalent Pharma Solutions, investing in the employees became the core focus to run a successful CX program. Nepa board member and former SAS CEO, Jan Carlzon, has often said “empowering employees is how a customer-centric strategy comes to life.” By providing the right tools, training and culture, your employees are a key component to driving the success of your CX. To learn more about empowering your employees, you can read more here.

3. Get everyone involved

I guess this nicely combines my first two takeaways, however throughout the day it was greatly emphasized the importance of involving every aspect of an organization to promote your CX initiatives. Everyone plays a part, and it is important that your CX program is governed, not led by CX team. CX teams running everything on their own burn out quickly and it is hard to drive change. By getting the right people involved in the right way you will create a lasting impact on the business.

Thanks to Confirmit for hosting a great event. We look forward to future events.

Blog Posts
Back

Do-it-Yourself CX Software: What you don’t know can cost you

June 06, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

In advance of next week’s Forrester conference – CX NYC: Change the Game – Leading Radical CX Innovation – we caught up with Nepa US Managing Director Ken Peterson to discuss a critical issue in CX – why Do-it-Yourself systems often aren’t as cost-effective as advertised and how the human element makes all the difference in creating actionable insights for companies.

Q. What is the origin of the “Do-it-Yourself (DIY) CX Software” or “Customer Experience Measurement” approach to CX?

A. Companies started to measure Customer Satisfaction at scale in the 2000s at the dawn of online research. Market Research teams would build bespoke platforms for clients to distribute these reports across the organization to democratize information about customer experience. Several Software as a Service (SaaS) firms built platforms that standardized feedback collection and reporting.

Q. How does this work in the real world?

A. It initially made it more efficient for companies of all sizes to measure customer satisfaction. Theoretically, it should be less expensive as well – though customer experience measurement platforms have invested in marketing a premium price that outpaces the value it delivers.

On the negative side – it’s boxed many companies in to a less dynamic approach and put the emphasis on quantity of feedback rather than quality or actionability. Many platforms over-emphasize tactical solutions to customer pain points, causing clients to invest in fixing one-off problems rather than addressing strategic issues.

If all you want is to measure CX performance, a DIY system should work. If you want to develop an experience advantage or deliver truly actionable insights, you’re likely to find its utility limited.

Q. How does this differ from a more consultative approach?

A. Ownership of the system delivering value – a consultative approach puts a seasoned CX leader at the heart of an engagement who takes responsibility for its success. The right technology is pulled in, eliminating waste or misuse of features. This saves money and adds value. It brings the art into the process that allows for greater focus and ultimately the kind of differentiation that creates competitive intelligence.

Q. How responsive is a DIY CX software approach to tactical shifts in a retailer’s market strategy or market conditions? The launch of a new advertising or email campaign, for example?

A. It offers the promise of allowing the user to quickly gain feedback to changing conditions. However, there are limits. It may insert unintentional bias to the data collected. Questions may be added until no one wants to complete the survey. Often, data continues to be collected whether or not the report is being used.

Ultimately, the CX measurement program may stop connecting to any internal KPIs. A DIY CX approach can also result in every department doing their own thing, without a holistic view of CX. Transactional CX, relationship CX, contact center CX and Digital CX end up living in their own worlds.

One final point can’t be emphasized enough – the CX program often is the wrong environment to measure and/or test new concepts or changes in business strategy. The CX program measures the execution among customers; however the program does not effectively measure the marketplace – it is a “customer only” view.

Q. What would you say are the insights that are most frequently missed by DIY CX Software?

A. The insights about the holistic end-to-end experience when programs are not properly connected. Strategic insights that include an external view of the marketplace at the corporate level. Strategic insights that can be used at the local/branch level. Finding the “right measure” for the company because there hasn’t been a review of the programs (individually or across the company) from an external perspective.

Q. What about the impact of Brand on the buying decision? How is that accounted for?

A. The Brand (with a capital “B”) usually isn’t accounted for properly in a CX program. When these programs start to fall under marketing teams, this will be viewed differently than when they sit with IT, operations and/or customer care. Unless a marketing team is deeply involved in the roll-out, there is almost no analyzed connection between Brand and CX. It is another silo within the organization that results in inefficiency.

Q.  What kind of in-house resources does it take to support a tech-only approach to CX?

A.  The DIY tech-only approach to CX is advertised as a cheaper alternative. The reality is that it takes many resources to execute on just the technology portion of the program. It often requires a full-time, experienced CX project manager who manages the deployment across the company, frequently with additional internal support for analytics and operations.

Then there are usually additional FTEs that must contribute from IT data operations, IT infrastructure, CRM/Loyalty department and company operations. Also, the tech-only approach will result in the organization having to build and maintain a training program to make sure program output is understood across the organization. This is often overlooked and when it is the result is that the outputs of the program are used in the wrong way for the wrong reasons.

Q. Taken as a whole, are DIY CX systems really as cost effective as advertised?

A. In our view, no. There are both less than obvious expenses and the cost of what they don’t uncover – the actionable insights they’re not designed to produce. It’s hard to put a price on that, but it’s very real and can be hugely expensive for an organization. What you don’t know can hurt you.

Interested in setting up a CX program? Or identifying and prioritizing insights from your existing one? Reach out to Ken Peterson directly to set up a call.

New call-to-action

Blog Posts
Back

7 Trends from the 2019 Path to Purchase Summit

May 29, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

The 2019 Path to Purchase Summit hosted leaders from Consumer Goods and Retail in Fort Lauderdale around the theme of “Unraveling the Complexity of Today’s Commerce Through Collaboration”

Nepa was featured in the Solutions Gallery – demonstrating the role of shopper-centric Path to Purchase Analytics in unraveling the complexity of fragmented, omnichannel shopper journeys. Our recent eBook goes deep on how Path to Purchase analytics is helping brands to win shoppers and grow categories.

The agenda featured powerful content and allowed for great discussions among industry leaders – here are the top 7 trends we observed:

1. Traditional retailer / brand power dynamic

The traditional retailer / brand power dynamic is being tested in new ways and with new tools and tactics. For example, retailers are expecting deeper and deeper investment from brands in their own programs and platforms, while CPGs are increasingly collaborating across company lines to create brand-driven events and campaigns with critical mass designed to achieve strong retailer support.

2. Measurement challenge

There is a growing measurement challenge – Non-linear shopper journeys, walled gardens, and a multitude of online and offline touchpoints are leaving shopper marketers with basic questions like “are my pre-shop touchpoints even measurable?” as well as more strategic questions around driving growth. Retailers and brand owners often resort to less sophisticated measurement approaches, undermining learning and trust across stakeholders.

3. Focus on Conversion

Focus on Conversion across the journey – Shopper satisfaction metrics (unconnected to sales) was mentioned in several talks, but there is increasing focus on converting shoppers on the path to purchase. While accepting his place in the Shopper Marketing Hall of Fame Peter McGuiness, CMO at Chobani, spoke of his emphasis on shopper marketing because “in-store and digital shopper activations are inextricably linked with volume.” And another speaker mentioned, “shoppers can convert from any place along the path to purchase.”

4. Amazon was in the room

Amazon was in the room even when it wasn’t mentioned by name. Speakers from multiple retailers emphasized their (often Amazon-inspired) initiatives as exciting new programs, but many are playing catch up. For example, retailers largely focused on non-traditional revenue streams, improving the customer experience in physical stores, and efficiency / cost reduction initiatives.

5. Omnichannel shopping

Omnichannel shopping is being given air time – ‘Online’ and ‘Offline’ are connected liked ‘PB&J’ – you won’t hear one without the other in a presentation – yet there is still a limited understanding of how one influences the other on shoppers’ path to purchase. For example, there’s a big appetite to understand digitally-influenced sales that occur in brick-and-mortar stores. And, vice-versa.

6. Smart Labeling and Circular supply chain

Consumers demand for sustainability and personalized diets are driving a need for transparency and corporate social responsibility. Smart Labeling is providing supply chain and ingredient information to shoppers. TerraCycle is launching a new company, Loop, to create a circular supply chain, to transform waste management behaviors and economics.

7. Influencer marketing

The role of influencer marketing and reviews are attracting more investment along the path to purchase, because as Joel Warady from Enjoy Life Foods puts it, “people trust strangers more than brands” – yet, it’s another investment where attribution is extremely difficult to prove without shopper-centric P2P analytics.

Thanks to the P2P Institute for organizing a great event and to made it great by sharing their experiences and challenges from stage or in conversations in the Solutions Gallery.

Blog Posts
Back

3 Key Takeaways from CXPA’s Insights Exchange 2019

May 29, 2019

Sam Richardson

Share this article:

Last week, Nepa sponsored the Insights Exchange 2019 in Salt Lake City. The theme of “Moving Mountains” was quite fitting and while there were many positive takeaways, I found the following insights to be the most impactful between the presentations and conversations I had with peers:

1. Customer Experience Still Needs to be Intentional

In ways, this ties in with my next point, but by itself it is still very relevant. I’ve often said to peers and clients that CX is an ongoing journey, not a destination. It doesn’t end with identifying the customer journey, measuring their emotions toward the experience or even connecting it with insights. I couple quotes from Ian Golding’s presentation:

• “It’s our job as CX professionals to educate on the importance of embedding the science of customer experience to enable differentiation.”

• “Courage – to be a CX Professional you need to have an exceptionally thick forehead for bashing against the wall. Courage, persistence and passion to do the right things for the right reasons.”

2. Tech Only Has Limitations

For years, I watched the industry gravitate towards “speed in insights,” however it was really just “speed in data.” Putting technology in place that will measure and report data that informs CX is a noble goal, but as I mentioned earlier, it is not the destination. It’s important to view data from one source for what it is, which is data from one source. A quote from Nepa CEO Fredrik Östgren reflects my core belief and reason for being in CX: “Research shouldn’t be conducted in isolation of the business, it should connect to business data and – ultimately – drive profitability.”

That often means more than one partner in supporting that CX journey. There are a variety of tools in the market place to help you along the journey, but it doesn’t mean they are all the right fit. In addition, is the tool being properly used? In speaking with a CX Industry Analyst recently, she mentioned in her view, 80% of companies are paying for technology features they don’t use or aren’t using properly. If you want to read more about this, I encourage you to read this short post.

3. Convergence of Brand Experience and Customer Experience

If you go back 50 years, the “brand image” was almost completely controlled by the brand messaging, which was controlled by the brand itself. Today with reviews, social media and earned media I would estimate that less than 10% of brand image is actually controlled by the brand.

One of the biggest factors emerging in brand image is the customer experience with the brand – which informs the reviews, social media and earned media. Surely we all have examples where an experience as a customer was broadcast to a group of individuals in some way. When I first entered the industry, I was told to estimate that a negative experience was discussed with ten people – usually close friends or family. Today, that can be shared with 100’s or 1000’s of individuals from our own couch. That’s brand power – but is it positive or negative? I’ve seen this convergence for quite some time, but I’d encourage you to read more about it here.