If you could have one superpower what would it be? How about the ability to see into the future? Okay so superpowers don’t exist, but in a world where technology is increasingly making the impossible seem possible, maybe this isn’t as unlikely as it seems… Perhaps brands can’t see into the future just yet, but by using the right software at (most importantly) the right time, they can increasingly be seen as more proactive and reliable powers, predicting and resolving problems before they’ve even taken place throughout the customer journey.
An article published by Forbes magazine yesterday explored what they deemed the “New Customer Journey”, put simply author Brian Walker sets out to suggest that Marketing and Customer Engagement are becoming increasingly intertwined, and that customer experience is a more fluid concept than ever before.
It’s not exactly ‘If a tree falls in a forest…’ but consider a little customer centric philosophy. When does a hotel guest become a hotel guest? Well for Premier Inn it’s before they’ve even checked in, using Rant & Rave they send their customers confirmation and reminders via text message or email. As Walker proposes, customer engagement is changing, and it’s redefining when the customer journey actually starts. Why not target problems before they’ve happened and make future customer journeys better? Yes, even in a perfect world things can still go wrong, so then allow for real-time feedback if this does happen, otherwise simply let them tell you how good you are!
Walkers article questions: “What else can brands and marketers do to better meet the expectations of today’s customers?” Well surely the answer to this is to predict and understand those expectations, therefore giving brands the ability to better act upon them. Technology such as the Rant & Rave Platform not only allows brands to hear the Voice of the Customer, in their own words and in their own time, but perhaps even more importantly allows them to proactively reach out to them before the traditional ‘customer journey’ has even started.
A text reminder from DPD that your parcel is arriving between 4-5pm means the parallel universe when you’re out of the house and the birthday present you need for tomorrow goes undelivered no longer exists. Superpowers starting to sound less unlikely? So what can brands do to meet expectations? They can exceed them. And exceptional customer service is best delivered when problems and potential issues have been foreseen and proactively removed. Reminding people of appointments, confirming bookings and giving consumers the power to change things they’re unhappy with before they’ve even happened.
Ultimately it seems Walker is right to suggest the boundaries between marketing and customer experience are blurring. A text about your forthcoming appointment not only reminds you of that exact thing, but also of this company as a brand, its reliability, helpfulness and most importantly how important your experience is to them. Every good customer experience sells a brand, so surely each stage of the customer journey is the most important marketing tool there is.
Find out more about how our Proactive Communication solution can enhance your Customer Experience:
