ANATOMYThe

of aCUSTOMER

10Questions

YourBrandExposed.comOriginal Content Series

April | 2014

Scott MacFarland

TOUCH POINT

ANATOMYThe of aCUSTOMER

TOUCH POINT

“

ANATOMYThe of aCUSTOMER

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Today’s business schools better teach this, or the next generation of marketers will miss

a very important component in their marketing – The Customer Touch Point.”

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This eBook is not a rant about how I know everything about each and every touch point known to the human race -- I don’t.

However, this eBook is about the importance of the touch point and raises some key questions embedded in each one so today’s digital

and social marketers can answer them.

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Touch Point QuestionsThat Need Answers10

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TOUCH POINT 1What Type of

Customer Are You Targeting? (persona)

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This is really marketing 101; If you are attracting customers, then there is naturally a touch point involved. Take a good hard look at your customer persona. Clearly define each persona that is most important to the company so you can create brand messages and a process that is going to be effective. Persona example: 50 year old, white, married female with 2 kids, a homeowner, book reader, not internet savvy, HHI150k, stay at home mom, likes cooking, and traveling.

What Type of Customer Are You Targeting? (persona)

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2QWhy Are You

Targeting Them Using This Touch Point?

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Why Are You Targeting Them Using This Touch Point?

This may sound weird, but depending on the persona you are targeting, may in fact alter the touch point and how it’s executed. Here’s an example. You know your basic persona is a 50 year old, white, married female with 2 kids, a homeowner, book reader, not internet savvy, HHI 150k, stay at home mom, likes cooking, and traveling. These are just a few of the descriptors needed to complete a good persona. >>

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Why Are You Targeting Them Using This Touch Point?

Let’s think about social media. If you were to choose between Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest or Instagram, which one would you select? The only way to make a good decision is to know about each of those social channels and the generation types that frequent those channels. In this case, Facebook and Pinterest are the best options based on their users and your persona.

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3Q

Is This The Best Touch Point For The Customer

You Are Targeting?

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Is This The Best Touch Point For The Customer You Are Targeting?

Now we know that out of the 5 social media channels you selected, two of them are good ones to reach your persona. Now let’s dig a little deeper. Which one is best? In order to figure this out, you will need to define your goals for the social media touch point and how you plan on communicating. >>

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Is This The Best Touch Point For The Customer You Are Targeting?

For instance, will you need more text or more image based communications? If you decide that text is critical because of the message you need to get across, then Facebook is definitely better than Pinterest. You will also want to do some research to find out what social channel your persona is most likely to use.

--You get the idea.

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Which One Is Best - Social Media InfoGraphichttp://www.slideshare.net/globalwebindex/globalwebindex-stream-social-q1-2013-report-preview

4QANATOMYThe of a

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What Made The Customer Arrive

At This Point?

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Customers usually don’t haphazardly arrive at a touch point. They are typically prompted or teased to visit a website, social media page, landing page, blog or other destination. Maybe you just want them to read an email and then call a customer service rep, or visit your store. Whatever your plan is, you must understand the options in which your customer arrived in order to best communicate to them. >>

What Made The Customer Arrive At This Point?

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Think about the ways in which you are promoting your product. This will help you understand how the customer got to the touch point in the first place. When you do understand how they got to the touch point you can provide a more personalized experience, which will help to make them feel more comfortable with your brand.

What Made The Customer Arrive At This Point?

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What Is The Customer’s Problem You Plan

To Solve?

5Q

Every customer has a problem. Sometimes it’s glaringly obvious; other times the problem needs to be pulled out of them because it’s not easy to see. Whatever it is, you must know what the problem is. Hint: The problem can also be labeled a “pain point.” By knowing the problem you can solve it with your product or service. Solving the customer’s problem gives your brand a fighting chance so that you put yourself in position to be purchased. If you don’t solve the customer problem, why would they even consider you for their purchase? This is a very important question to answer to create revenue growth. >>

What Is The Customer’s Problem You Plan To Solve?

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What Is The Customer’s Problem You Plan To Solve?

Here’s an example of a problem > solution: High school soccer players wear-out their soccer cleats each season. Thus, buying a new pair each summer before school starts is inevitable. The problem is: The soccer player needs cleats before summer captain’s practices begin. The solution: Adidas starts advertising heavily around the end of the school year promoting their soccer cleats and accessories. Why? Because they know almost every high school soccer player will purchase a pair of new cleats between May and August. There’s an advertising solution and also a product solution. In this case thereare both.

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6QANATOMYThe of a

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Are You Solving The Customer’s Problem

Or Creating A New One?

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Are You Solving The Customer’s Problem Or Creating A New One?

Let’s say you are trying to solve the customer problem. However, in doing so you created customer confusion. This can happen, and it’s easier than you might think. In order to reduce the likelihood of this happening, be very clear in your advertising and marketing message. Don’t over stimulate the customer with so many brand messages that you are causing them to think too much. You want to make it very easy for the customer to make a decision. Simplify your message and also simplify the way in which the prospective customer will find your company so they can make a purchase decision easier and faster.

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What Action Do You Want The Customer To Take,

Now That You Have Their Attention?

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What Action Do You Want The Customer To Take Now That You Have Their Attention?

The good news here is that your promotion worked and got the customer’s attention. Now they are right where you want them. What are you going to do now? Hmm… some might say, “I’m not sure.” While others might say, “just send the customer to the company homepage.” – Wrong, wrong, wrong. There’s a better way. >>

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What Action Do You Want The Customer To Take Now That You Have Their Attention?

In your marketing message, make sure to write a very clear, concise call-to-action (CTA). This is a statement or phrase that prompts the customer to do something that enables them to get closer to making a purchase. However, it can also be a phrase that leads the customer to a website landing page that only has information on it that educates the customer. This occurs with videos and photos and also has a customer representative photo and contact information there as well. Don’t lose sight of the fact that you want to anticipate their action by making it easy for them to take action. Map out the customer path. This will also help you discover potential spots where the customer path could potentially direct the customer in the wrong direction.

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Is There A Path You Want The Customer To Take

Beyond This Touch Point?

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Is There A Path You Want The Customer To Take Beyond This Touch Point?

In question number 7 above, we briefly talked about the customer path. The touch point may be the first touch point with the customer, or it may be the 3rd in a path of 5 that ultimately leads to an e-commerce transaction. Whatever it is, create the customer path by mapping it out. It may look something like this, see an example on the following page. >>

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Is There A Path You Want The Customer To Take Beyond This Touch Point?

9QANATOMYThe of a

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What Part Of The Sales & Marketing Funnel Is

This Touch Point Located?

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What Part Of The Sales & Marketing Funnel Is This Touch Point Located?

As you can see in the Sales and Marketing funnel description I am using here, Hubspot has defined it simply listing three distinct areas, each with two identifiers.

•Top of the funnel: Visits and Leads •Middle of the funnel: Marketing Qualified Leads and

Sales Accepted Leads•Bottom of the funnel: Opportunities and Customers

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If you breakdown the top of the funnel, all you have to do is think about what tactics you will use to attract customers to get them to visit your website to create a lead. An example of this might be email, a social media ad, a website banner, a mobile or tablet ad, a video pre-roll or maybe even a TV commercial. These are just a few of the many options you have to choose in the crowded digital marketing arena.

What Part Of The Sales & Marketing Funnel Is This Touch Point Located?

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Are You AssessingThe Touch Point?

10Q

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Are You Assessing The Touch Point?

Each touch point requires some sort of assessment so that you will know if it is actually working or not. This can be tougher in the offline world of marketing. However, in the digital world, you can track user data leading to conversion with the right toolsets. >>

10Q

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Are You Assessing The Touch Point?

Here’s an example: Your marketing plan calls for website banner advertising that leads to a reverse proxy website with a specific phone number fortracking purposes. When the customer is searching on the web, your ad appears. They click on it and are instantly linked to your reverse proxy website, which is a mirror image of your company website. The difference here is, the reverse proxy website has CTAs that lead to short forms and phone numbers, all of which are tracked and calls are recorded. You can assess all of this by determining if actual calls are coming in and if leads are coming in from a web ad by reviewing your online dashboard which tracks everything.– This isn’t big data, but it’s handy real time data relating to your marketing.

10Q

Remember, not every touch point leads to a sale. Some are designed to tease the customer, provide awareness, build affinity and lead to deeper level conversion tactics. There also are many other strategies that work based on your marketing goals. My suggestion is to really think about the overall goal of the touch point you are creating and answer the 10 questions in this document. They will help you maximize the effectiveness of the touch point and enjoy the benefits of good marketing strategy at the same time.

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Final thoughts

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Links:

Generation Typeshttp://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/talkin-bout-my-label-20110720-1ho7s.html

Which One Is Best - Social Media InfoGraphichttp://www.slideshare.net/globalwebindex/globalwebindex-stream-social-q1-2013-report-preview

Adidashttp://www.adidas.com/us/content/soccer/

Sales and marketing funnelhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33711/The-Steps-You-Need-to-Define-the-Stages-of-Your-Sales-Marketing-Funnel.aspx

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Photos used with full resolution or 40% opacity. Cropped images to fit design.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Photo Credits:Niels Dejgaard - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1grM0to

Colin and Sarah Northway - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1ggGokx

iwona_kellie - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1gPwGRA

Daniel Foster - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1isV6EJ

Julian... - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1mprw6U

Julian... - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1rkMHYG

Julian - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1m1sK5g

Julian... - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1jkzgXw

Ed Yourdon - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1iSwhmu

Bark - Flickrhttp://bit.ly/1f8r2KH

Sources

ANATOMYThe

of aCUSTOMER

10Questions

YourBrandExposed.comOriginal Content Series

April | 2014

Scott MacFarland

TOUCH POINT