Understanding Customer Centricity and the Customer Journey
What Does Customer Centricity Mean?
Creating a positive customer experience at the point of sale and post-sale. A customer-centric approach can add value to a company by enabling it to differentiate itself from competitors who do not offer the same experience. This approach impacts various aspects of a business, including:
- Sales
- Corporate Culture
- Customer Service
- Product Development
- Marketing
Who is the Customer?
A customer is anyone who has a need or desire to satisfy and who tends to request the services of a professional, company, or administration.
8 Types of Customers
1. The Indecisive Client
Customers with many doubts during the purchase process. They need information about the alternatives to the product they want to purchase. The purchase takes them much longer than other customers.
How to Serve Them:
- Summarize the important points of the product/service.
- Show them a limited range of products/services to avoid saturation.
Errors to Avoid:
- Don’t overwhelm them. Leave room for them to reflect.
- Do not present them with an excessive amount of data and information, as it will increase their indecision.
2. The Silent Client
They talk little but are good at listening. They don’t usually show their emotions or motivations, so it’s hard to know what they think. Avoid commenting on the product (but reflect on it).
How to Serve Them:
- Show interest in their needs in order to find an answer, asking some questions.
- Make them participate by giving their opinion.
- Show special interest (when they speak).
Errors to Avoid:
- Never raise your voice (even if they don’t answer).
- Don’t interrupt them when they start talking.
- Avoid prolonged silences.
3. The Know-It-All/Proud Client
People with high personal and professional self-esteem (lack of security), who believe they know all the characteristics of the product and the company. They show some superiority towards sales staff. They demand respect and praise, exhibiting their knowledge and/or social status.
How to Serve Them:
- Provide objective data and proven product/service facts.
- Listen to them actively, showing interest in their words.
- Express opinions.
Errors to Avoid:
- Do not show them that they made a mistake.
- Do not be impatient or show signs of weakness.
- Do not interrupt the conversation, as they will be offended.
4. The Friendly Client
Receptive and peaceful. Shows some indecision when making a purchase.
How to Serve Them:
- If the decision is lengthened, give a summary of the aspects of the product after which there is an agreement.
- Emphasis should be placed on a particular offer, and the agreement forced when there are signs that it is possible.
Errors to Avoid:
- Do not attempt to close the sale when closing signals are perceived. (e.g., “Would you like to try it and see how the product works for you?”)
5. The Reflexive or Methodical Customer
People who show a need for autonomy, order, and exploration. They don’t usually externalize their initial interest in the purchase.
How to Serve Them:
- Repeat the argument as many times as necessary.
- Your argument must be complete and objective, further giving the client time to think.
Errors to Avoid:
- For the purchase to complete successfully, do not show concern in the face of their indecision. Let them decide (if they want it, they will come back).
6. The Shy Customer
They avoid looking into your eyes and will try to keep some distance from the sellers. They don’t feel comfortable showing their opinions, complaints, or doubts to other customers.
How to Serve Them:
- Try to generate a climate of trust, offering them catalogs or other visual supports, without the need for continuous eye contact.
- Provide advice and suggestions (but not in the presence of other customers, so that they also express their doubts comfortably).
Errors to Avoid:
- Do not force them to keep eye contact or get too close, limiting their personal space.
- It is not advisable to ask about their opinions or doubts, especially in the presence of other customers.
7. The Busy Client
They don’t have time for anything. While making the purchase, they may be doing other things simultaneously (answering the phone, not looking you in the eye…).
How to Serve Them:
- Have a blunt discourse at the data level (price) and so on. Focus on what’s important.
- Questions like “How can you handle so many issues at once?” are a good way to get attention → they feel important.
Errors to Avoid:
- Do not force them to focus their attention (better postpone the sale for another time if you see that the customer is not paying attention).
- Do not ask for attention (this may cause a negative reaction from the customer).
8. The Skeptical Customer
Tendency to overestimate the negative aspects of products. Considers that they may be being manipulated by sales techniques or marketing strategies. Displays a continuous state of self-defense.
How to Serve Them:
- Highlight the disadvantages first and then all the advantages it can offer.
- Be patient with their doubts or objections, responding with security.
Errors to Avoid:
- Do not hide the disadvantages of the product or service, nor discuss the negative aspects that the customer points out.
- Do not show signs of impatience. It is advisable to stay by their side until the end of the purchase.
What is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.
Why Use a Buyer Persona?
Buyer personas provide structure and context for your company, making it easier to map out content, allocate your team’s time and resources, and achieve alignment across your organization.
How Should I Use a Buyer Persona?
Learning about your ideal customer – their challenges, their goals, their demographic traits, and so on – helps you set a strategy aimed at attracting the most valuable visitors, leads, and customers to your business.
What are Insights?
Insights are aspects that are hidden in the mind of the consumer; these make reference to the deep motivation of consumption towards a brand or product.
3 Types of Buyer Personas
1. Decision Maker: B2C
Makes the final purchase decision. More widespread and used case.
2. Prescriber
They don’t make the final decision. They recommend the product (an example could be that of a doctor who may be the prescriber of a certain medicine).
3. Influencer
A person who can condition (positively or negatively) the purchase decision. Influencers will help us decide which blogs and social media profiles are worth contacting to get some kind of collaboration.
Three Great Concepts in Customer-Centric Design
User Experience:
Interaction between the user and the device in question. The more interactive and user-friendly the service is, the better. User-friendliness is key here.Design of Services:
This is the design of the entire journey that a user can have when they want to consume a product or service. Intuition, ease, and practicality are essential.Customer Experience:
This is the result of a client’s perceptions after interacting rationally, physically, emotionally, and/or psychologically with any part of a company.
6 Digital Generations
1. The Silent/Builders Generation (Aged 70+)
How Do They Communicate?
- Basic use of technology.
- They communicate to avoid isolation and loneliness.
- Voice interaction devices are very useful.
How Do They Buy?
- They are not accustomed to e-commerce; they are very susceptible to being deceived.
- 79% rely on recommendations from people they know.
- 50% rely on the official websites of brands (although they buy little online).
- They prefer to visit physical shops.
2. The Baby Boomer Generation (Aged 57 to 75)
How Do They Communicate?
- 91% use one or more social networks.
- Using the internet to communicate with those far away.
- They use specific networks to avoid loneliness.
How Do They Consume Content?
- They visit the websites of companies they discover.
- More willing to share content.
- On social networks, they share photos, articles, and videos of their interests.
How Do They Buy?
- They buy as much as millennials.
- They spend more on every transaction.
- They leave the shopping cart due to shipping reasons (expenses).
- They like to feel integrated into the tech world.
3. Generation X (Aged 41 to 56)
How Do They Communicate?
- They use emails as media.
- Used to instant messaging between friends and family.
- They use traditional channels to interact with brands.
- They prefer to interact with people rather than machines.
How Do They Consume Content?
- Through digital platforms.
How Do They Buy?
- They’re the most active buyers.
- Look for ease, convenience, and relevant content.
- They are looking for subscription offers, among others.
4. Millennials (Gen Y) (Aged 25 to 40)
How Do They Communicate?
- Through social networks, digital platforms.
- They share their memes.
- Omnichannel demand immediacy and transparency.
How Do They Consume Content?
- In a very different way: Netflix, Spotify.
- They love to experiment.
- New platforms for viewing content.
- Virtual assistants.
How Do They Buy?
- They’d rather share than be on their own.
- Shared economy: Uber, Airbnb.
- Customized products and services.
- They look for experiences in the purchase.
5. Gen Z (Aged 6 to 24)
How Do They Communicate?
- Share content and time on social media.
- They connect more than 100 times a day.
- They use emoticons, acronyms, selfies…
How Do They Consume Content?
- Instagram: personal aspirations.
- Snapchat: share real-life moments.
- Twitter: news.
- Facebook: information.
- They prefer banter/laughs; enjoy joking around with their mates. Being silly.
- Format: streaming video.
How Do They Buy?
- They like to shop in physical stores.
- They consider the initiatives and social commitments of brands. It means a lot to them.
- More demand in online shopping.
- Tend to look very quickly (less than 3 seconds).
- Image recognition.
6. Generation Alpha (Aged 0 to 6)
How Do They Communicate?
- They are eminently visual: emoticons, voice, memes, and videos.
- Used to virtual assistants, etc.
How Do They Consume Content?
- They interact with screens.
How Do They Buy?
- They influence the purchase of their parents or brothers and sisters.
5 Steps to Understand the Customer Journey
The customer journey describes how people make decisions about buying a product or service. Understanding the customer journey helps identify the moments and touchpoints where one can best reach consumers and influence their decision. The customer decision journey is generally divided into five phases.
1. Need Awareness
Needs can arise for different reasons:
- Unconsciously, e.g., social needs, personal aspirations.
- Physical conditions, e.g., hunger, headache.
- External sources, e.g., marketing activities of brands, word-of-mouth.
Several alternative brands might come to mind, and these form the initial-consideration set. Brand awareness matters.
2. Information Search
Once a need or problem has been recognized, customers are motivated to search for solutions to satisfy them. Throughout the buying process, people look at many sources of information.
3. Evaluation
When faced with several alternatives, consumers compare and evaluate the different offerings.
4. Purchase
For many categories, the physical store is still the most preferred place of purchase. Many purchase decisions for consumer products are quite simple and can be made quickly, without too much thought. The POS (Point Of Sale) has a big influence on the final decision.
5. Post Purchase
In the post-purchase phase, consumers evaluate the product performance they have experienced and compare it with their prior expectations. If the product meets their expectations, they will be satisfied and are likely to repurchase it, even recommend it to others. If they are dissatisfied, they will develop a negative opinion and are likely to share this bad experience with others. People share their personal experiences (word-of-mouth) about the products they use, even everyday household goods.
9 Steps to Design a Customer-Centric Journey
Step 1: Analyze the Insights
- Detect the insights of your buyer personas (motivations, needs, illusions, desires…) hidden → clearly identified moments of “pain.”
- Use quantitative techniques (surveys) and qualitative techniques (interviews, focus groups).
- Identify the touchpoints/moments of truth (detect what sensations you should have when interacting with the brand).
- Use the empathy map → a very useful tool.
Step 2: Identify the ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth)
- Detect the moment 0 where the need arises → when, where, and how do you start looking for a solution to your need?
- Objective: to be able to build a communicative and strategic proposal related to the client.
- Analyzing the importance of recommendations and the internet in generating a “spark” of need.
- Very useful tools: interviews, focus groups.
Step 3: Sketch of the Ideal Customer Journey vs. the Current
- Objective: to know the touchpoints and emotions generated by customers.
- The different phases of the current customer journey should be analyzed.
- Enhancing the concepts of “quality” and “warmth” in all touchpoints → the customer journey must be worked on from an emotional perspective. Emotional operations and processes.
- The heart decides, and the brain justifies.
- Tool: focus group.
Step 4: Teamwork
- With all the information collected in the previous points…
- It’s now necessary to work on the office drafts of the customer journeys built for the different buyer personas.
- It is important to work from…
Step 5: Workshops with Employees
- At this stage, we show employees the customer journeys co-created with customers.
- Objective: for the worker to understand what the client expects and how they should be treated. Also, for the worker to propose improvements or opinions.
- It is important to emphasize every detail of all the customer’s stages.
Step 6: Deleting Tasks (or Automation if Applicable)
- At this stage, we decide which tasks should be eliminated in the customer journey process because they bring little value. Also, decide which tasks can be automated.
- Objective: for the employee to focus on applying more detail to those key existing interactions.
Step 7: Contrast with Customers
- With customer journeys already defined and ready, we’ll look to share them with customers to: Qualitatively define the process.
- Test that everything really works as we expected.
- Objective: (make the customer believe that they are part of the company).
Step 8: Employee Training
- For the correct implementation of the new customer journey, the employee must be trained to explain changes in operations, processes, and protocols.
- Objective: that the employee understands the customer journey and can give emotion and warmth in those interactions and key points.
Step 9: Audit System
It’s all about the review process: how will we verify the correct compliance with standards and the CJ?
Most useful tools: mystery shopper, surveys.
Achieve the famous and precious WOW with the customer.