improving customer experience · 2016. 10. 14. · delivered through diverse media (with social...

Improving Customer Experience The Competitive Imperative for Small and Midsize Companies Worldwide

An IDC Infobrief, sponsored by SAP


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Improving Customer Experience The Competitive Imperative for Small and Medium Businesses Worldwide

Source: IDC’s EXPERIENCES Survey, Q1 2016, n = 419

IntroductionSmall companies, as they grow to midsize (100 employees) and beyond (1000+ employees), face an

important challenge: How to maintain the close customer relationships that have been their competitive

advantage and have supported their growth and prosperity. Maintaining good customer service is a

challenge as companies get bigger. Successful firms are leveraging technology in innovative ways to

transform customer relationships to delight customers and maintain their loyalty and support.

Small businesses Large businessesMedium businesses

Agree with statement: “Delivering consistent customer experience across multiple communication channels is a major challenge.”

28.3% 52.6%33.9%

Small and midsize companies need to set up their systems/processes to maintain the quality customer experience as they grow.


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Source: IDC WW SMB Survey, Q4 2015, n = 212

No surprise, of course. The majority of SMB firms in both developed and developing countries cite the priority.

Small and Midsize Businesses Worldwide Agree Revenue Growth is a Top Business Priority

Share of Small and Medium Businesses WW Citing Revenue Growth as a Top Business Priority

US UK Germany Japan India China Brazil

Small Businesses 53.7 57.8 37.6 51.8 41.9 55.0 55.8

Midsize Businesses 48.1 57.6 54.3 50.5 53.7 67.4 58.9


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Source: IDC WW SMB Survey, Q4 2015, n = 212

Yet Increasing Customer Loyalty Is Cited Much Less Often as Top Business Priority

Share of Small and Medium Businesses WW Citing Increasing Customer Loyalty as a Top Business Priority

US UK Germany Japan India China Brazil

Small Businesses 36.8 24.5 33.7 17.2 47.0 37.5 54.4

Midsize Businesses 34.3 29.2 31.4 13.4 53.0 46.6 45.1

It’s always easier to keep a current customer than find a new one. A positive customer experience is crucial to retention and relationship growth.


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No Revenue Growth without Loyal Customers

Benefits of effective customer experiences:

Maintain/expand competitive advantage

Capitalize on expanding sales/revenue

opportunities with current customers

Improve retention/loyalty by identifying and fixing problems

early

Sharpen and coordinate service

to customers, converting dismay

to delight


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Coordination is key: Data from all

customer engagement points can provide a

comprehensive, “single view” of customer.

Coordinate activities of different groups

— product dev, promotion, etc. — to

fully address customer experience.

A more personal customer experience creates SMB competitive advantage. But scaling that

experience to support a larger customer base means process change. Plus, customers now expect

consistent quality-of-service through a range of sales and communication channels.

Business Needs vs. Customer ExpectationsDoes Near-Term Success Set the Stage for Long-Term Failure?


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Select the right technology that meets needs and budget, while continually reviewing/revising

customer experience practices to keep up with changing needs (yours and your customers’).

Updating Customer Engagement Processes Can Be a Big Challenge


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Source: IDC Thriving in the Digital Economy Survey, Q1 2016, n = 3210

Some Small and Midsize Firms Worry about the Potential Impact of Digital Economy

The next generation of company workers will not have the same kinds of relationships with customers we’ve had in the past.

New technology to automate customer engagement makes it harder to personalize customer experiences.

Employees are no longer as personally connected with our customers as in the past.

Flat/Negative Revenue

Growth SMBsConcerns about customer

experience and technology

Medium Growth SMBs: 1-9% Annual Revenue Growth

High Growth SMBs: 10+% Revenue

Growth

34% 39% 42%

33% 39% 46%

34% 41% 47%


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Source: IDC Thriving in the Digital Economy Survey, Q1 2016, n = 3210

More Successful SMBs View Tech as Key to Transforming Customer Engagement in Ways Customers Want

Flat/Negative Revenue

Growth SMBs

Medium Growth SMBs: 1-9% Annual Revenue Growth

High Growth SMBs: 10+% Revenue

Growth

Faster growing firms are more sensitive to potential problems, but are also much more likely to use

tech in positive ways to improve customer experience.

A mix of online resources and personal assistance (online or via phone) has allowed us to expand customer engagement effectively.

The changing nature of electronic communications and online engagement is enhancing the personal relationships we have with suppliers, partners, and customers.

Social networking allows us to more proactively engage with our customers. 37% 52% 65%

38% 57% 66%

42% 52% 62%

Benefits of customer experience via technology


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There’s an important need to support customers

where/how they want to engage with you.

Traditional account tracking info and funnel

status needs to be coordinated across all channel

categories to develop a complete customer

picture. “Self-Provisioning” is often preferred.

Support for Omnichannel Engagement: Take the Customer’s View

Anytime/anywhere access to resources means your customers may not need to engage with a

salesperson – they may prefer the speed and convenience of an online exploration. Are you providing your

customers a choice?


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B2B customers are B2C consumers

“at heart.” They expect similar kinds of

service and ease of use.

Blurring of business and personal

• Personal experiences are influencing

business expectations more and more.

• High-quality customer support

standards were once rare outside

commercial settings, but no more.

• Now the highest quality of support is

often seen at the B2B consumer level.

Can you equal Amazon performance?

Have You Been Keeping Up With the Changing Nature of Your Customers?


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SAP Global Survey, “Know your customer: the true power of Omnichannel” Q3 2015, n=906.

It’s impossible to meet the needs of the modern customer with siloed data. But as companies grow, so do silos

and related data isolation. There’s a need for data to be shared across the company to support a consistent

experience for the customer. Capture data in the moment and use it in the moment to provide information and

service to customers as needed. Timely information sharing can provide competitive advantage.

Critical Starting Point for Effective Customer Experience: Single View of the Customer

73% of SMBs agreed with the statement: Bigger threats

will come from competitors making better use of

customer data, analytics, and engagement.


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SAP Global Survey, “Know your customer: the true power of Omnichannel” Q3 2015, n=906.

Expect new information sources (social, mobile) to be increasingly

important as well. Technology will play a key role in coordination.

Customers use multiple channels, so SMBs need to collect and

organize contact details from every interaction point.

Top Sources of Data for a Single View of the Customer

Customer service

(contact center,

inquiries, etc.)

Marketing (email, web mktg, etc.)

Finance, product

inventory (ERP, ECC, etc.)

Commerce (B2B, B2C,

ecommerce)

Social channels/

communities

Mobile apps Retail/POS 3rd party data (Nielsen, DB360, etc.)

63%

34%40%

25%

61%

29%

39%

23%


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Driving effective customer

experiences is a job for the

entire organization. IDC

has recommendations for

each functional area/line of

business (LOB) that can be

implemented quickly while

coordinating with others.

All Customer Facing Teams Play a Role

Customer Service

SalesCommerce Marketing

Each area should have equity and responsibility: Share the task of building the single view of the customer and benefit from resulting performance improvement.


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Sales Often “Owns” the Customer, But Just Until Contract SignedTraditional account tracking info and

funnel status needs to be matched with

“lifetime account value” information. Order

status is just the starting point. Look at

pace and cadence of customer behavior.

Product affinity/bundling analytics can

help “anticipatory” promotional efforts, but

avoid being “creepy.”

You know your biggest accounts, but do you know your most profitable (pay on time, no special handling, reliable reorders)? This information is critical to the single view of the customer and should be shared regularly and reliably.


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This is a marketing LOB area of opportunity. Messaging and delivery need regular

updating, review, and alignment to make sure they are appropriate for the medium

(social, earned, and paid promotion).

Marketing can set the stage for external branding in keeping with internal customer experience

activity. Messaging and promotion conduits should align with customer/prospect concerns and be

delivered through diverse media (with social especially important). SMBs are actually in a better

position than large businesses to build consistent and coordinated messaging to customers. SMBs

may have an advantage, but need to be attentive and plan accordingly as they grow.

Marketing is in a Unique Position to Provide Customer Experience Direction


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Important and often neglected areas

• Customer service is a potentially vulnerable touchpoint for SMBs,

given increasing the use of outsourced call center resources and

interactive voice response (IVR).

• Little customer tolerance for being on excessive hold, being

misdirected, having to repeat information, etc.

Need for highest level of coordination here

• Need for all customer service connections to be tied to “single view”

centralized customer record.

• Gather info on customer satisfaction with formal follow-up, not just

a survey. Simply asking “Anything else we can do?” will set you apart

from others and help prompt additional business.

Customer Service Is on the Customer Experience Front Line, But More Often Reactive than Proactive


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Ecommerce is often viewed separate from Sales because it is seen

as lower touch, more transactional than relationship focused. But

this is the wrong view! Individual transactions are part of an ongoing

relationship, with the convenience and speed of online activity

encouraging a regular ongoing relationship (think Amazon Prime).

Ecommerce can supplement traditional sales or can actually be the

preferred way for customers to engage. Either way, coordinate and

share all sales information as part of the single view of the customer.

A proactive outreach with special promotions and affinity sales offers

that relate to past purchases, can enhance customer experience while

driving new revenue.

Ecommerce Brings Customer Experience to the 21st Century (and Relationships to New Levels)


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Source: IDC CX MaturityScape Benchmark Survey, Q1 2016, n = 225

Key to Customer Experience Transformation: Senior Management Support

Which of the following best describes your organization’s approach to Customer Experience (CX) Leadership?

Connecting isolated

departmental silos is especially

important.

Corporate leaders evangelize CX externally with partners and

suppliers

Corporate management

visibly drives CX-centricity in the

organization

A CX leader at vice president level reports

directly to C-Suite

Interdisciplinary team to address CX requirements company-wide

Dispersed individuals or

groups operating independently by

functional role

17%14%14%

34%

20%


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Source: IDC CX MaturityScape Benchmark Survey, Q1 2016, n = 225

Ad Hoc

Repeatable

Opportunistic

Managed

Optimized

ExperimentalAd-hoc, siloed pilot projects, unde�nedprocesses, individuale�ort

IntentionalDe�ne requirements and processes, un-budgetedfunding, project management and resource allocation ine�ciency

AcceptedRecurring projects, budgeted & funded program mgmt, documented strategy and processes,stakeholder buy-in

OperationalizedContinuous and coordinated big data and analytics process improvement and value realization

MeasuredProject, process, and program measurement in�uences investment decisions, standards emerge

Different Steps in the Customer Experience Journey Build to Effective CoordinationConsider this pace of progress. Which stage are you at?

An IDC Infobrief, sponsored by SAPImproving Customer Experience The Competitive Imperative for Small and Medium Businesses Worldwide

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Formalize customer reach and support to be more efficient and effective.

Next Steps to a Coordinated Customer Experience

Consistency = efficiency for an improved customer engagement.

Internally coordinate and communicate to create the opportunity to scale while reducing complexity.

Use analytics to reveal unmet product and service needs.

Sharpen business model to leverage insights from end-to-end customer experience.

improving customer experience · 2016. 10. 14. · delivered through diverse media (with social...

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