Customer service, marketing and technology: Mastering the customer journey

Transcription

1 A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, marketing and technology: Mastering the customer journey Sponsored by

2 Contents About the research 2 Executive summary Empowered customers, high expectations 4 Cloudy and confident A positive view of IT 1 Conclusion 12 1 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

3 About the research, marketing and technology: Mastering the customer journey is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, sponsored by Oracle, which examines how customer service and marketing departments use technology, their level of autonomy in technology-related decision-making, and their evolving relationship with the IT department. This report is one of a series of four based on a Europe-wide survey of 272 senior executives, and it examines the answers of the 7 survey respondents who are in charge of customer services and 4 who have responsibility for marketing. The majority (57%) of customer service and marketing respondents work for companies with annual incomes over US$1m, and 2% are of C-level or greater seniority. In addition to the survey, the EIU conducted four in-depth interviews with customer service and marketing experts, as well as substantial desk research. We would like to thank the following interviewees for their comments and insight: Jo Causon, chief executive, the Institute of Customer Service Lisa Cobham, contact centre and customer experience director, Ticketmaster Adrienne Liebenberg, global marketing director, Castrol B2B Kevin Murray, chief information officer, AXA The report was written by Jessica Twentyman and edited by Pete Swabey. 2 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

4 Executive summary Digital technology has empowered customers to shop, research and communicate online and on the move, and businesses must be equally empowered if they are to engage with them effectively. To meet the demands of the digital customer, marketing and customer service departments are taking greater control over technology. This, they hope, will improve their return on technology investments, and ensure the technology they use meets their rapidly changing needs. This is the picture that emerged from The Economist Intelligence Unit s recent investigation of customer service, marketing and technology, based on a Europe-wide survey of 7 senior customer service executives and 4 senior marketing executives, as well as desk research and interviews with experts in the field.. The findings of that investigation, presented in this report, include the following Today s customers are armed with sophisticated mobile, social and cloud technologies. This is putting pressure on both the marketing and customer service functions to be more responsive to the needs of customers, present and future, and to master these technologies themselves. In order to achieve this, both departments are taking greater control of technology. Of the customer service and marketing leaders surveyed, 1% expect to have greater control over technology decisions that affect them in the next two to three years. This relative autonomy is allowing these departments to experiment more with technology. They are also confident in their ability to manage technology themselves. Perhaps due to the penetration of cloud computing in customer service, respondents from that function are especially confident in their ability to manage technology themselves. The technological expertise of employees in both departments is also growing, most respondents believe. Having more of a say over technology decisions will mean that investments will deliver greater returns, respondents hope, and will be likely to provide functionality that meets their needs. These are welcome developments at a time when marketing and customer service departments are expected to prove the value of what they do. There are still areas where both customer service and marketing executives look to the IT department for guidance. In particular, they expect IT to take the lead in integrating disparate data sources. This a growing concern for both departments as the customer journey, the path of interactions between customer and company through the lifetime of their relationship, is mediated by an increasing number of systems and platforms. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

5 1 Empowered customers, high expectations Today s customers are demanding and opinionated: they are quick to speak their mind when they don t receive the customer service they expect and are free with their praise when they do. And they expect businesses to treat them in a way that demonstrates a deep understanding of their individual buying habits, needs and preferences. These expectations place considerable pressure on both marketing and customer service functions. must engage customers in the first place and keep them coming back for more, while customer service must be able to deliver a great experience at various touchpoints along the way. And the two functions must work together, because customers don t distinguish between a brand and their experience of it. For them, the brand is the experience and a good customer experience translates directly into continued loyalty to a brand. Social media, for example, are changing the way customers discover and interact with businesses in all industries, not just those in consumerfacing markets. This social revolution is hitting all of our customers, all of our suppliers it s everyone, everywhere, all over the world, says Adrienne Liebenberg, global marketing director of Castrol B2B. Customers genuinely expect Castrol to deliver the kind of service that they experience in their personal lives outside of work. At the same time, Castrol is adjusting to the idea that marketing is not a loudspeaker, but a magnet, she says. Our research shows that 71% of our customers perform online searches before contacting us. One in three use social networks. That has huge implications for how we plan and execute marketing campaigns. We ll need to adapt the ways we listen, converse and activate new products in the market. We ll need a sharp focus on delivering consistent brand experiences, mostly through technology, at each and every customer touchpoint. Lisa Cobham, contact centre and customer experience director at Ticketmaster, an online ticket sales company, says that engaging with customers digitally takes more than having an account on all major social networks. In customer service, you have to be accessible, and to be accessible these days, you have to be in the social media space, she says. But it s not just a matter of activity on those channels, but also a matter of engagement: it s about messages sent to brands, expecting fast response and resolution. Engaging meaningfully on social media carries a significant manpower cost, Ms Cobham explains. More established customer-care channels such as voice and are usually bolstered by technologies such as integrated voice recognition (IVR) and frequently asked questions (FAQ) knowledge bases, which manage and prioritise customer queries and, where appropriate, enable customers to solve their own problems and find their own answers. Social media channels such as Twitter, she says, don t have those self-service capabilities. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, agrees that there is an 4 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

6 Chart 1 To what extent to you agree with the statement Consumer technology provides better functionality than the IT department can provide? (% of respondents) Strongly agree % 1% 28% Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 15% 44% 22% % 25% 17% 1% imbalance between the tools available to the customers and those in use by businesses. Today s customers, whether B2C or B2B, often have access to more sophisticated mobile, social and cloud technologies than corporate customer service and marketing professionals have on the desk in front of them and the staff struggling to serve customers are painfully aware of that fact. In a recent survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, respondents from the customer service and marketing functions were more likely than their colleagues in other business units to say that today s consumer technology provides better functionality than the tools that their own IT department provides: 2% of them agree with that statement, while 18% strongly agree. There s a gap here that needs addressing at most companies, says Ms Causon. But the future of great customer service, she adds, lies not in the technology itself, but in the conversations and outcomes it enables. 5 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

7 2 Cloudy and confident Having a say in what technologies they have at their disposal goes a long way towards helping customer service and marketing professionals tackle this problem, according to Ms Cobham of Ticketmaster. I guess I ve been lucky in terms of where I ve worked. I ve always had a good amount of control and degree of influence when it comes to building the business case for new technology investments, she says. The results speak for themselves, she adds: We re definitely closer to the customer now than we ve ever been before, in terms of understanding where their challenges lie and making the customer journey smoother for them. All this new technology is unleashing marketers desire to play and experiment, says Ms Liebenberg at Castrol. There s so much data available and so many tools to choose from and I expect to have a high level of control over most of the tools my marketers use if I m going to take effective ownership over pricing, insights and customer experience. A shift towards greater technological autonomy for marketing and customer service is underway at the majority of organisations, the EIU survey found : 1% of executives and senior managers from these functions expect to have slightly or significantly more control over technology decisions that affect their department in the next two to three years. Of the two functions, customer service respondents are more confident of getting greater control than their counterparts in marketing. In customer service, 7% expect to Chart 2 How do you expect the way in which technology decisions that affect your business unit are made will change in the next two to three years? (% of all respondents) My business unit will have significantly more influence My business unit will have slightly more influence 49% 18% 2% 1% There will be no change 1% 1% The IT department will have slightly more influence The IT department will have significantly more influence % Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 18% % 11% The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

8 Chart How confident are you in your business unit s ability to manage technology? (% of respondents) Very confident 5% 1% 54% Somewhat confident 1% Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. Neutral Somewhat unconfident 22% % 9% % have more influence in the next two to three years, compared with 54% of respondents in marketing. There are many factors driving this change. First, customer service and marketing departments are acquiring more technological know-how. When asked whether technology expertise among staff in their business unit is growing, 78% agree or strongly agree. Ten or 15 years ago, we d need to ask interviewees: Have you ever used a computer before? Now, that s just not an issue. We don t target candidates on their technical ability, because it s a given, says Ms Cobham of Ticketmaster. That s certainly true of younger employees, but increasingly also of older ones, according to Ms Liebenberg. As IT interfaces become increasingly intuitive, generational differences are becoming less stark, and employees of all ages are getting involved with new technologies, she says. Ms Causon of the ICS agrees: We all approach technology with more confidence. These days, training needs to be more focused on trying to connect technology use with business results for staff, so that they understand exactly what we use technology for, why we collect certain data, and why we prioritise certain customer issues. Another factor is the technology itself. Cloud computing has done much to build confidence about technology among customer service and marketing professionals, suggests Ms Liebenberg of Castrol. The stratospheric rise of cloud-based software-as-a-service [SaaS] tool has meant there is less need to engage with the IT team in the same way that we used to, she says. I recall the days when getting anything implemented that went even remotely near IT infrastructure meant that systems request forms needed to be completed, assessments carried out, and business analysts assigned. Now, while it s still important that we take digital security seriously and follow certain protocols, cloud deployment is much quicker, and it is making us more efficient and productive, faster, she says. Cloud computing is the technology that most customer service leaders (59%) say is changing the way they work, more than any other technology. That makes sense, given that some of the earliest available and now most established SaaS offerings have been targeted at helping organisations to manage customer care. In other words, this area of business operations is particularly well supplied with end-to-end cloud options that provide functionality for the entire customer-service remit. Among marketing executives, meanwhile, mobile tops the list by a wide margin, cited by 1% of respondents. As well as a marketing channel, via apps and mobile websites, mobile technology is also helping marketers be responsive to customer needs around the clock. Mobile technology is playing a massive role in how we work, explains Ms Liebenberg 7 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

9 Chart 4 Which of the following technologies, if any, are changing the way your business unit works? (% of all respondents) Big data Cloud computing Digital marketing E-commerce Internet of things 41% 59% 8% 41% 21% 42% % % 42% 28% Mobile technology Social media 49% 41% 5% 1% Software as a service % % Web publishing 21% 1% Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. at Castrol. We have tens of thousands of customers in around 4 countries, and marketing teams scattered all around the world. Mobile capabilities ensure that marketing isn t restricted to one location, so we have more flexibility in how marketing works in different regions, and also in how we can travel and communicate, as a team, across locations. What impact will this greater autonomy have on customer service and marketing departments? The two functions were in agreement on the upside, and both voted improved return on technology investments as the number one benefit of increased control. This is positive news, as both marketing and customer service departments are increasingly called on to prove the ROI of the work that they do. The second most commonly cited benefit among both departments was that technology would be more likely to meet their needs, as voted for by 44% of each function. The two departments had divergent views on the downside of greater autonomy, however. Respondents from customer service were most worried that more control over technology would lead to extra workload this fear was identified by 49% of the sample. Their peers in marketing, meanwhile, were more likely to express concerns about the impact on data-related considerations such as security and data quality. In both cases, though, these fears underline the ongoing significance of the relationship between the two functions and the IT department. 8 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

10 Chart 5 What, if any, do you believe are the benefits of your business unit having more control over technology? (% of all respondents) Better return on technology investments Create a better working environment 49% 28% 28% 5% Faster access to technology 41% 25% Improved ability to grasp technology-related opportunities Improved control of technology cost Improved departmental performance Reduced pressure on IT department Technology more likely to meet our needs Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 28% % % 44% 15% 25% 25% % 42% 44% Chart What, if any, are the downsides to your business unit having greater control of technology? (% of all respondents) Deterioration of data quality Higher risk of technology failure Higher technology cost 41% 41% 15% 18% 27% 45% Increased workload 49% 9% Inferior technology services 2% 24% Information security put at risk Poor integration of departmental applications with existing systems Worse return on technology investments Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 44% 28% 2% 18% 45% 45% 9 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

11 A positive view of IT Chart 7 Respondents from both departments are positive about the service they receive from their IT departments. When asked whether the IT department is able to provide them with the technology they need, 82% of customer service responents either agree or strongly agree, and 9% of respondents from marketing. once again, with 9% in agreement. Evidently, the growing autonomy of customer service and marketing will not put the IT department out of work. There is certainly plenty that leaders from those units are happy to leave up to their peers in IT. The CIO should of course continue to determine which platform and which systems we use, To what extent to you agree with the statement The IT department is able to provide my business unit with the technology it needs? (% of respondents) Strongly agree 5% % 1% Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 28% 17% % 11% 25% and how new technologies should connect to the infrastructure we have already and how to manage the service, says Ms Liebenberg. The CIO also has to deal with a dazzling array of security, legislation and privacy laws and I cannot see how marketing could add any real value to those activities. It is good news, then, that both customer service and marketing respondents agree that collaboration between the IT department and their business unit is improving. In marketing, 81% agree or strongly agree with that statement, while in customer service 77% do so. They also agree that this collaboration is important. When asked what would help them manage technology better, improved collaboration with the IT department is chosen by 52% of the sample. Says Ms Liebenberg: Our ability to price, innovate and converse with customers and the market is now highly dependent on our IT infrastructure. It does not feature high enough on the IT agenda, because marketing and IT are not necessarily the perfect cultural fit, but by constantly working at our relationship, we get better solutions. And the better we get at this, the more chance we have to become greater than the sum of our parts. 54% Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 44% One particular area where marketing and customer service leaders seek the support of IT is in mapping and managing the customer journey, to understand how current and future customers interact with the organisation. 1 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

12 I have to create a picture for the organisation of the customer experience, what it actually feels like for customers to do business with us, before I can suggest new investments, explains Ms Liebenberg. Optimising the customer journey is a multidisciplinary practice, but one component is aggregate and analysing data from all the various channels through which a business and its customers interact. As a result, both customer service and marketing professionals see the value of having data management and analysis capabilities within their own departments: when asked which technology capabilities they need in-house, 49% point to data management. Clearly, though, this is a challenge that neither marketing nor customer service wish to address alone. When asked about the downsides to their business unit having more control over technology, data-related issues figure prominently. Poor integration of departmental applications is the chief concern, cited by 45% of respondents, while deterioration of data quality is cited by 42%. Indeed, the kind of technical input IT can provide is invaluable when it comes to managing the customer journey, says Ms Cobham. I m looking to build maps of the customer journey and identify where the top ten effort points are for customers along the way, she says. If there s a technology needed at any of those points, I ll try to identify it myself, but IT can often help me find the piece that s fit for purpose: they ll know, for example, if there s an API [application programming interface] or piece of JavaScript needed, and how long it will take to provide. Ms Liebenberg agrees. If I have a partner in IT who understands what I m trying to achieve in terms of customer experience, then we have more chance of diagnosing problems and delivering seamless interactions consistently, all over the world. In some cases, IT has taken an active role in mapping that journey, as is the case at French insurance giant AXA, where CIO Kevin Murray has taken the lead. We started with the call centres, and we created a business architecture pictorial that shows what the customer journey looks like today. It goes all the way from a customer researching a product [working out] where they get their research information from through engaging with us and buying a product, all the way down to when customers receive additional offers and, at the end of the journey, why they don t renew, he explains. By matching that customer journey to the products and services we have, we came up with a business architecture. The customer service function was quite surprised to see what it looked like. Then we asked them what they would like it to look like to external customers. This has allowed the customer service team to identify several areas where the technology architecture needed improvements; specifically, customer engagement, reimbursement and crossselling. Not every IT head devotes the same time and attention, however, to the customer journey. In the survey, when asked about the reliance of individual departments on technology, IT respondents put marketing at the top, but customer service well down the list. That points, perhaps, to some missed opportunities for fruitful business-it collaboration and for improving the experience of today s demanding, opinionated customers. 11 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

13 Conclusion and marketing departments have evolved in harmony with the customers they serve: they have a greater understanding of and are more reliant on technology than ever before. As a result, the executives and senior managers leading these departments expect to have more of a say in technology decision-making in future. This, they hope, will give them greater freedom to engage with customers on their own terms. customer service and marketing professionals look to IT to provide the technical excellence and data integration know-how required to make it possible. Only then will businesses be able to meet customers demands for faster, more responsive service, based on a true understanding of their individual buying behaviours, needs and preferences. But mapping and managing the digital customer journey is a complex, data-driven process, and 12 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

14 Appendix: Survey results In which country are you personally located? Denmark Finland France Germany Gibraltar Ireland Italy Latvia Netherlands Portugal Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

15 In which of the following sectors do you work? Construction & civil engineering Telecommunications Financial services Education Healthcare and pharma IT Media Manufacturing Retail Services Transport, logistics and distribution Power & utilities Real estate Technology Consumer ex retail In how many countries does your company operate, including the country of headquarters? 1 2 to 5 to 1 11 to 25 More than The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

16 What is the approximate global turnover (sectoral budget if public sector) of your organisation? Less than $5m $5m to $1m $1m to $5m $5m to $1m $1m to $25m $25m to $5m $5m to $1bn $1bn to $5bn $5bn to $1bn 5 $1bn or more The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

17 How would you describe your current job level? Board member Senior partner CEO or equivalent CFO or equivalent CRO or equivalent CIO or equivalent CMO or equivalent 4 Other C-suite Senior director, VP or equivalent 9 Director or equivalent Head of business unit Head of department Manager Consultant Student Not currently employed Self-employed Retired The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

18 How important is technology to your business unit s processes? Our business processes are more reliant on technology than those of most other departments in the organisation 1 Our business processes are no more or less reliant on technology than those of most other departments Our business processes are less reliant on technology than those of most other departments in the organisation How do you expect the way in which technology decisions that affect your business unit are made will change in the next two to three years? My business unit will have significantly more influence 18 2 My business unit will have slightly more influence 49 1 There will be no change 1 1 The IT department will have slightly more influence 18 The IT department will have significantly more influence 11 : To what extent do you agree with the following statements? Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree It is easier for my business unit to buy technology directly from suppliers than through the IT department 1 2 Consumer technology provides better functionality than the IT department can provide Younger employees are demanding greater control over technology 21 My business unit has experienced difficulty as a result of taking greater control of technology 1 28 Collaboration between my business unit and the IT department is improving 1 The IT department is able to provide my business unit with the technology it needs 28 The technology expertise among staff in my business unit is growing The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

19 : To what extent do you agree with the following statements? Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree The IT department is able to provide my business unit with the technology it needs 2 44 Collaboration between my business unit and the IT department is improving 24 My business unit has experienced difficulty as a result of taking greater control of technology It is easier for my business unit to buy technology directly from suppliers than through the IT department 2 5 Consumer technology provides better functionality than the IT department can provide 18 The technology expertise among staff in my business unit is growing 29 Younger employees are demanding greater control over technology Which of the following capabilities do you believe your business unit needs internally? And which does it currently have? My unit needs internally: Communications service selection 8 41 Data analysis 5 47 Data management 4 47 Device selection 24 8 Information security 2 2 Software development 27 2 Software selection Technology project management Technology support Web content management The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

20 Which of the following capabilities do you believe your business unit needs internally? And which does it currently have? My unit currently has: Communications service selection Data analysis Data management Device selection Information security Software development Software selection Technology project management Technology support Web content management What, if any, do you believe are the benefits of your business unit having more control over technology? Better return on technology investments Create a better working environment Faster access to technology Improved ability to grasp technology-related opportunities Improved control of technology cost Improved departmental performance Reduced pressure on IT department Technology more likely to meet our needs The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

21 What, if any, are the downsides to your business unit having greater control of technology? Deterioration of data quality Higher risk of technology failure Higher technology cost Increased workload Inferior technology services Information security put at risk Poor integration of departmental applications with existing systems Worse return on technology investments How confident are you in your business unit s ability to manage technology? Very confident Somewhat confident Neutral Somewhat unconfident 5 Not at all confident Which of the following do you think would help your business unit manage technology better? Tick all that apply. Appointing technology specialists within the business unit Devising a departmental technology strategy Giving responsibility for technology back to the IT department 19 Hiring people with technology experience for non-specialist roles 28 Improving collaboration with the IT department Staff training The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

22 Which of the following technologies, if any, are changing the way your business unit works? Tick all that apply. Big data Cloud computing Digital marketing E-commerce Internet of things Mobile technology Social media Software as a service Web publishing The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 214

23 While every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this information, The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. cannot accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this report or any of the information, opinions or conclusions set out in this report.

24 LONDON 2 Cabot Square London E14 4QW United Kingdom Tel: (44.2) Fax: (44.2) london@eiu.com NEW YORK 75 Third Avenue 5th Floor New York, NY 117 United States Tel: (1.212) 554 Fax: (1.212) /2 newyork@eiu.com HONG KONG 1, Central Plaza 18 Harbour Road Wanchai Hong Kong Tel: (852) Fax: (852) hongkong@eiu.com GENEVA Rue de l Athénée 2 12 Geneva Switzerland Tel: (41) Fax: (41) geneva@eiu.com