Connected CRM

What do your customers really want, and how can your business put them at the heart of its strategy to thrive in the digital age?

1. Reimagine Advertising to Engage, Not Just Inform

In today’s digital marketplace, customers are flooded with ads, leading many to simply tune out. Traditional advertising methods face challenges as they often fail to connect with the emotions or needs of the audience. Businesses must move beyond passive communication and strive to create engaging and meaningful ad experiences.

An impactful engagement strategy involves crafting campaigns that resonate personally with the audience. Apple's iPhone 6 campaign did this masterfully by showcasing user-generated photos, tapping into people's sense of belonging and creativity. Rather than promote just the phone, the ad empowered users to imagine themselves taking equally stunning photos, effectively fostering a deeper connection.

Economic shifts also open doors for personalized and targeted attention. Platforms such as Amazon and eBay use customer data to create tailored experiences. Through focused data analysis, businesses can segment customers into groups and deliver timely and relevant content, further emphasizing engagement as a core goal.

Examples

• iPhone 6 campaign highlighted user-generated photos, promoting the phone's camera quality by making customers feel part of the experience.
• Amazon recommends related products based on past purchases, personalizing shopping journeys.
• Streaming platforms like Netflix analyze viewing patterns to create profiles and recommend content tailored to individual tastes.

2. Connected CRM Aligns Customer Values with Business Goals

Connected Customer Relationship Management (cCRM) combines business strategies with a customer-first approach. It helps businesses address customer needs while balancing financial returns and long-term loyalty. Companies must create campaigns that align customer values with their organizational objectives.

cCRM works by integrating brand-building strategies with direct sales efforts. For example, a company might emphasize its ecological values, inviting environmentally-conscious customers to support green initiatives, while fostering a lasting connection with both the values and the brand.

Moreover, understanding Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is key. CLV calculates the value a customer brings during their relationship with a business. This helps companies allocate resources wisely, avoid overspending on low-value customers, and focus investments on fostering loyalty among valuable clients.

Examples

• A bank promoted its green investments by inviting eco-focused customers to fund a protected rainforest.
• Deluxe gyms calculate CLV to ensure they don’t overspend on customer perks beyond the expected lifetime revenue.
• Beauty brands run sustainability campaigns, aligning customers' values with their products for a stronger emotional bond.

3. Customer Showcases Bring Clarity to Their Experiences

Assumptions can mislead companies trying to understand their customers. Instead, businesses can create showcases—visual presentations of real customer experiences—to better identify what works and what doesn’t.

Showcases gather inputs from employees across all departments to provide a multidimensional understanding of the customer journey. Creative designers, engineers, and business leaders collaborate to evaluate products from various angles. This diversity of perspectives ensures a more accurate depiction of the customer’s experience.

Further, analyzing both positive and negative experiences is vital. For example, a health insurance company visualized its overly complicated paperwork system as a waterfall of documents, illustrating customer frustration. Such insights encourage meaningful improvements in products and services.

Examples

• A showcase for an electric car visualized how charging stations integrate into people's daily routines.
• A health insurer used the metaphor of a paper waterfall to illustrate and address issues in its process.
• A tech company documented a "day in the life" of customers using their wearable gadgets to track limitations and unresolved problems.

4. Different Channels, Different Strategies

Good communication matches the needs of its medium. Customers expect businesses to cater communication styles to specific channels, making this a fundamental part of any customer strategy.

Businesses should decentralize their customer interactions, addressing specific expectations across different platforms. For instance, FAQs on a website offer quick answers, while a phone support line provides instant trust and human interaction. Emails may require a formal tone, whereas social media thrives on casual, engaging content.

This decentralization satisfies distinct customer demands seamlessly while building trust and brand connection. Companies need to design strategies tailored to each medium while ensuring they all communicate consistent branding and values.

Examples

• Call centers focus on trust by responding to urgent issues personally and quickly.
• FAQs on websites provide customers with self-service access to immediate information.
• Social media channels like Instagram use visuals to inform and inspire product usage.

5. Customers’ Decision-Making Processes Unveiled

Understanding how and why customers make purchasing decisions is critical. This involves digging into brand attributes, benefits, emotions, and personal values from a customer’s perspective.

Brand attributes reflect traits customers associate with a company, such as innovation or coolness. Benefits highlight exclusive offerings, emotions capture the feelings evoked, and values tie into broader beliefs. Combining these can shape how a business positions itself to attract and engage specific segments of its market.

For example, a store with a great layout offering a relaxing environment could tap into customers' desire for recognition and a stress-free shopping experience. These factors determine not only how customers choose a brand but also why they leave if expectations aren't met.

Examples

• Beats by Dre headphones carry the perception of being “cool” due to Dr. Dre’s visible role in the brand.
• Apple’s integration of music, internet, and texting in the first iPhone created unmatched brand benefits.
• A clothing retailer designs its layout and trains staff to evoke confidence and a sense of belonging for shoppers.

6. Insight Platforms Make Customer Data Useful

Data without analysis is like a puzzle without a picture. Businesses require insight platforms that organize consumer information into clear categories for actionable strategies.

Insight platforms reveal customer patterns and behaviors, helping companies tailor strategies. For example, sorting users into types such as “content consumers” and “sharers” allows businesses to craft specific content—like shareable videos for those who spread the word.

Dynamic business analytics tools further enhance this approach, combining vast amounts of data into simplified, meaningful conclusions. Tools like SAS provide unique advantages to identify trends and predict customers’ actions.

Examples

• A social brand identifies users who love sharing content and designs viral-worthy campaigns suited to them.
• Netflix uses analytics to sort audiences by viewing preferences, recommending personalized shows.
• Subscription services analyze churn rates via customer interaction data to address retention pain points.

7. Personal Events Build Brand Loyalty

Understanding lifetime customer behavior isn’t only analytical; it can also be emotional. Customers cherish brands that align with their personal milestones and values.

Consider creating campaigns around personal events such as birthdays, anniversaries, or new family additions. A simple celebration, discount, or freebie given at the right moment can spark lifelong loyalty.

Examples

• Airlines offering birthday upgrades or commemorative membership gifts.
• Baby brands connecting with new parents via exclusive offers during childbirth-related milestones.
• Fitness centers acknowledging long-term milestone memberships with small rewards.

8. Real-Time Personalization is the Gold Standard

Customers today expect real-time interaction, where businesses instantly react to their needs. By combining data analytics with quick execution, brands can craft greater experiences.

For instance, e-commerce platforms dynamically suggest relevant items while customers browse, significantly increasing conversion opportunities. Instant messengers and chat options add immediate value to website visitors needing assistance.

Examples

• Live chat options elevate purchase confidence as customers investigate options on e-commerce sites.
• Streaming services recommend adjacent genres immediately upon finishing content.
• Multi-course restaurant apps instantly upsell dessert items based on course-order patterns.

9. Transparency Deepens Trust

Customers increasingly value companies that not only deliver great products but also operate with transparency. Telling them the "how" and "why" of what you're doing fosters trust.

Brands like Patagonia or Fair Trade proudly disclose their sourcing and ethical standards, making their values part of the customer experience. Businesses that are open about their decisions develop far stronger relationships with their audience.

Examples

• Organic food brands explaining every farm-to-store process.
• Tech companies revealing carbon-neutral policies and carbon footprint reductions.
• Clothing brands offering traceable supply chain insights for responsible shoppers.

Takeaways

1. Evaluate your communication channels to ensure each meets a specific customer need without overlapping or confusing customers.
2. Use customer data to identify behavior types, then craft targeted strategies to address each type's preferences.
3. Leverage milestones and transparency to strengthen emotional connections, driving loyalty and increasing lifetime value.