Necessary disciplines for a big change in customer interaction

Post by Martijn Feekes / 15-09-2011 / 6 Comments / 1,029 views

Necessary disciplines for a big change in customer interaction

“Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone deserves a little sunshine.”  ~Jeffrey Glassberg

Imagine a C-Level manager of a big B2C corporation that decided to fill in Treacy and Wiersema’s strategy –option “Customer Intimicy” .   The door opens,  in comes the Service Design Guru:  “Customer Experience is the way!” door closes.  The door opens, in comes the Marketing  Guru: … “focus on Customer Engagement ! ” … “Lean, lean, lean!”….“Share of Wallet”! .. “Social CRM !” ..“Return On Customer Interaction!”….

So which disciplines are really needed to create a big change in customer interaction?  A blog of Forresters’ Kerry Bodine about “Customer Experience Ecosystem Mapping” inspired me to develop a more holistic view on the industry of customer interaction. I started with a categorization of the disciplines within customer interaction and added some typical vocabulary. I call it the Omnichannel Butterfly.

Omnichannel Butterfly of Customer Interaction

Omnichannel butterfly of customer interaction

 

Why these disciplines? Well, try to take one out and imagine what happens when a customer starts interacting. The problem is that all mentioned disciplines strive fiercely for perfect customer interaction, but all with their own limited mindset. A Dutch entertainer called Harrie Jekkers once stated: “if there is a will, there is a way… and when there is too much will, everybody is lost”. 

Who should lead this omnichannel customer interaction team?

So who should lead the team?   In a comment on George Julians blog  about the definition of Service Design, I explained a bit of the agony and triumph of techies, UX-designers and business consultants working together within Tieto. It all starts with the awareness that all disciplines are needed to bring significant change in customer interaction. Neither a single discipline nor a single channel has the godgiven answer. In my opinion the program manager that speaks for all channels is the leader.A consumer wants to start, stop and follow up processes in all channels, not just in a single one.

The Omnichannel butterfly helps me to understand and recognize certain initiatives and dominance within programs to enhance (B2C) customer interaction. It is not a model based on empirical research, so feel free to use it to plot consultants, partnerships , competition or companies departments.

Let me know how it helps you and whats’missing in your opinion!

6 Comments

Bjorn de Hoon / 15-9-2011

Who should lead? Not the program manager in my view because the Omnichannel butterfly covers all aspects of normal business (not a temporary program)….. so I would vote for the business owner in the lead. Probably some missionairy work is needed before Omnichannel is perceived by them as strategic and the next big thing.

Martijn Feekes / 16-9-2011

“Business owners” needs specification I think. In case of marketing or product managers; totally agree that missionary work is needed. Customer Interaction first needs to be accepted as a part in the Brand Strategy.
Marketeer/Product managers have an intrinsic risk of focussing on maximising (short term) impact from campaigns and the correct delivery of the corresponding content (message/product), not optimization of the environment that delivers the interaction as such.

So the ideal “business owner” to create an omnichannel in my view would be the Head of Channels , in close cooperation with the “brand manager” (after he is baptized ;) )

Kennard C. Brandenburgh / 16-9-2011

The issue of who should lead is not yet relevant in my opinion. The butterfly describes Omnichannel as an integrated concept of goals, competences and methods. Current customers i.e. organisations experience it that way, which means an integrated approach is needed to bring the parts of the butterfly together. New as this perceived, one needs a mediator / integrator on conceptual level, that brings parties together. Program of business – not yet normal by-the-way – is indifferent and only depends on whether your customer is convinced that the time is right to adress the issue of the buterfly and the necessity to bring people together on this.

Martijn Feekes / 20-9-2011

You would think that with the currently increased attention to customer centricity and the influence of customers becoming brand fans or -hooligans this necessity would be felt. The question now is: who is willing to take responsibility within corporates? Which role?

Jelle Roest / 27-9-2011

The butterfly seems to be focused on the *how* to do Omnichannel. How would you position the *what*, like Content management or Cross sell offers”? As long as the content isn’t omnichannel, I think customer interaction cannot be omnichannel.

Martijn Feekes / 28-9-2011

If what you mean is that the content (type/message) brought to the consumer is heavily dependent on: the process the consumer triggers, the channel(s) and customers’situation/context, than I think you covered at least 3 of the butterfly’s wings to brew the content;). Not?

Submit a Comment

Zoeken

Lid worden?

Wil je een bijdrage plaatsen op dit blog? Meld je dan nu aan!