Why do so many projects fail? Researchers regularly conduct studies to find out the leading causes of project failure. Some of the studies are in the public domain. You can look up studies by such groups as Gartner, Carnegie Mellon University and the Project Management Institute. The studies reveal a recurring theme. Here are some of the common causes they identify:
Poorly defined organisational objectives
Loose project sponsorship and executive leadership
Project manager untrained
Loose scope containment and project change control
Poorly defined requirements
Lack of consultation with key project stakeholders
No risk management plan
Unrealistic project estimates
Do any of these look familiar to you? Do you recognise one or more as handicaps in your organisation? I have summarised below the top ten things you can do to improve the chances of success of your projects:
Before you start your project, find a committed project sponsor who has sufficient clout in your organisation. Your project sponsor will prove invaluable in helping you overcome organisational roadblocks as they arise.
Analyse who are your project's key stakeholders and communicate with them throughout the project. Your stakeholders can make or break your project. Compile a stakeholder communication plan with the help of your project team and sponsor.
Get your sponsor and key stakeholders together to thrash out the measures of success of your project. How will you know if your project has succeeded? What are the key indicators of success? Get everyone on the same page from the outset.
Decide upfront the methodology you will use on your project. What project phases will the project proceed through? What will be the key go/no go decision points? What are the expected project outputs for each phase?
Draw up a project schedule that clearly allocates project tasks to team members. Identify which tasks depend on others for their successful completion. Communicate schedule progress regularly to all team members and to the project's sponsor.
Make sure that project changes don't get out of hand by reviewing and authorising all proposed changes. Evaluate each proposed change for the impact on project cost, quality and schedule.
Do not let an unforeseen event sink your project. Find out what risks can threaten your project and build a risk mitigation strategy into your project plan. Issues will also arise from time to time, so you will need to keep track of these and communicate their impact to all concerned.
Decide at the start which documents your project will generate and when. For medium and small sized projects, keep documentation requirements to a manageable level without significantly increasing the risk to the project.
Once your project finishes, use the measures of success that you agreed at the start to evaluate project performance. Was it within budget? Was it on schedule? Did it produce what it was meant to produce, and at the required quality? What can you learn from this? Now report your project's performance to your sponsor and the key stakeholders.
Follow up with the key stakeholders and your project team members and find out how they felt about the project. Was the project a success from their perspective? How did the project impact them personally? From this you will discover what went well and what did not go so well. Apply these lessons to your next project.
A stakeholder is any entity that has an interest, tangible or intangible, in the success of a venture, project, product, or agreement. In literature, stakeholder can be organized in two, sometimes three valences:
3.1
Select appropriate brand tools to address the brand challenges and support
strategic decisions
7 Components for a Comprehensive Branding Strategy
1) Purpose
"Every brand makes a promise. But in a marketplace in which consumer confidence is low and budgetary vigilance is high, it’s not just making a promise that separates one brand from another, but having a defining purpose," explains Allen Adamson, chairman of the North America region of brand consulting and design firm Landor Associates.
While understanding what your business promises is necessary when defining your brand positioning, knowing why you wake up every day and go to work carries more weight. In other words, your purpose is more specific, in that it serves as a differentiator between you and your competitors.
How can you define your business' purpose? According to Business Strategy Insider, purpose can be viewed in two ways: Functional: This concept focuses on the evaluations of success in terms of immediate and commercial reasons -- i.e. the purpose of the business is to make money. Intentional: This concept focuses on success as it relates to the ability to make money and do good in the world.
While making money is important to almost every business, we admire brands that emphasize their willingness to achieve more than just profitability, like IKEA:
IKEA's vision isn't just to sell furniture, but rather, to "create a better everyday life." This approach is appealing to potential customers, as it demonstrates their commitment to providing value beyond the point of sale.
When defining your business' purpose, keep this example in mind. While making money is a priority, operating under that notion alone does little to set your brand apart from others in your industry.
Our advice? Dig a little deeper. If you need inspiration, check out the brands you admire, and see how they frame their mission and vision statements. 2) Consistency
The key to consistency is to avoid talking about things that don’t relate to or enhance your brand. Added a new photo to your business' Facebook Page? What does it mean for your company? Does it align with your message, or was it just something funny that would, quite frankly, confuse your audience?
In an effort to give your brand a platform to stand on, you need to be sure that all of your messaging is cohesive. Ultimately, consistency contributes to brand recognition, which fuels customer loyalty. (No pressure, right?)
To see a great example of consistency, let's look at Coca-Cola. As a result of its commitment to consistency, every element of the brand's marketing works harmoniously together. This has helped it become one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Even on the surface of its social media accounts, for example, the seamlessness of its brand is very apparent:
To avoid leaving potential customers struggling to put the disconnected pieces of your business together, consider the benefits of creating a style guide. A style guide can encompass everything from the tone of voice you'll use to the color scheme you'll employ to the way you'll position certain products or services.
By taking the time to define and agree upon these considerations, your brand will benefit as a whole.
3) Emotion
Customers aren't always rational.
How else do you explain the person who paid thousands of dollars more for a Harley rather than buying another cheaper, equally well-made bike? There was an emotional voice in there somewhere, whispering: “Buy a Harley.”
But why?
Harley Davidson uses emotional branding by creating a community around its brand. It began HOG -- Harley Owners Group -- to connect their customers with their brand (and each other).
By providing customers with an opportunity to feel like they're part of a larger group that's more tight-knit than just a bunch of motorcycle riders, Harley Davidson is able to position themselves as an obvious choice for someone looking to purchase a bike.
Why? People have an innate desire to build relationships. Research from psychologists Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary best describes this need in their "belongingness hypothesis," which states: "People have a basic psychological need to feel closely connected to others, and that caring, affectionate bonds from close relationships are a major part of human behaviour."
Not to mention, belongingness -- the need for love, affection, and being part of groups -- falls directly in the middle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which aims to categorize different human needs.
The lesson to be learned? Find a way to connect with your customers on a deeper, more emotional level. Do you give them peace of mind? Make them feel like part of the family? Do you make life easier? Use emotional triggers like these to strengthen your relationship and foster loyalty.
4) Flexibility
In this fast-changing world, marketers must remain flexible to stay relevant. On the plus side, this frees you to be creative with your campaigns.
You may be thinking, "Wait a minute, how am I supposed to remain consistent while also being flexible?"
Good question. While consistency aims to set the standard for your brand, flexibility enables you to make adjustments that build interest and distinguish your approach from that of your competition.
In other words, "effective identity programs require enough consistency to be identifiable, but enough variation to keep things fresh and human," explains president of Peopledesign, Kevin Budelmann.
A great example of this type of strategic balance comes from Old Spice. These days, Old Spice is one of the best examples of successful marketing across the board. However, up until recently, wearing Old Spice was pretty much an unspoken requirement for dads everywhere. Today, it's one of the most popular brands for men of all ages.
The secret? Flexibility.
Aware that it needed to do something to secure its place in the market, Old Spice teamed up with Wieden+Kennedy to position their brand for a new customer base.
Between new commercials, a new website, new packaging, and new product names, Old Spice managed to attract the attention of a new, younger generation by making strategic enhancements to its already strong brand.
So if your old tactics aren’t working anymore, don’t be afraid to change. Just because it worked in the past doesn't mean it's working now.
Take the opportunity to engage your followers in fresh, new ways. Are there some out-of-the-box partnerships your brand can make? Are there attributes about your product you never highlighted? Use those to connect with new customers and remind your old ones why they love you.
5) Employee Involvement
As we mentioned before, achieving a sense of consistency is important if you wish to build brand recognition. And while a style guide can help you achieve a cohesive digital experience, it's equally important for your employees to be well versed in the how they should be communicating with customers and representing the brand.
If your brand is playful and bubbly through Twitter engagements, then it wouldn't make sense if a customer called in and was connected with a grumpy, monotone representative, right?
To avoid this type of mismatched experience, take note of Zappos' approach.
If you've ever been on the line with a customer service representative from Zappos, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, check out this SlideShare which details some of its most inspiring customer support stories.
Zappos is so committed to ensuring that not only its brand, but all brands,remain consistent across digital and human interactions that they've dedicated an entire department to the cause called Zappos Insights.
By holding all Zappos employees to its core values and helping other companies implement the same approach, Zappos has built a strong reputation for solid, helpful, and human customer service.
6) Loyalty
If you already have people that love you, your company, and your brand, don’t just sit there. Reward them for that love.
These customers have gone out their way to write about you, to tell their friends about you, and to act as your brand ambassadors. Cultivating loyalty from these people early on will yield more returning customers -- and more profit for your business.
Sometimes, just a thank you is all that's needed. Other times, it's better to go above and beyond. Write them a personalized letter. Sent them some special swag. Ask them to write a review, and feature them prominently on your website. (Or all of the above!)
When we reached 15,000 customers here at HubSpot, we wanted to say thank you in a big way, while remaining true to our brand ... so we dropped 15,000 orange ping pong balls from our fourth-floor balcony and spelled out thank you in big metallic balloons:
And while it may have seemed a little out of the ordinary to some folks, for those who know our brand, the gesture made perfect sense.
Loyalty is a critical part of every brand strategy, especially if you're looking to support your sales organization. At the end of the day, highlighting a positive relationship between you and your existing customers sets the tone for what potential customers can expect if they choose to do business with you.
7) Competitive Awareness
Take the competition as a challenge to improve your own strategy and create greater value in your overall brand. You are in the same business and going after the same customers, right? So watch what they do.
Do some of their tactics succeed? Do some fail? Tailor your brand positioning based on their experience to better your company.
A great example of how to improve your brand by learning from your competitors comes from Pizza Hut:
When a pizza lover posed this question to his Twitter following, Pizza Hut didn't miss a beat, and playfully responded in minutes, before Domino'shad a chance to speak up.
If Domino's is keeping an eye on the competitors, they'll know to act fast the next time a situation like this arises.
For HubSpot customers, keeping tabs on your competitor's social mentions is easy using the Social Monitoring App. Check out this article to learn more about how to set up custom social streams.
And while staying in tune with your competitor's strategies is important if you want to enhance your brand, don't let them dictate each and every move you make.
Sure, you probably sell a similar product or service as many other companies, but you're in business because your brand is unique. By harping on every move your competitor makes, you lose that differentiation.
4.2c Understand
future forecast and innovation
9 Big Design Trends That Will Shape 2018 Inclusiveness. Value. And super-powered AI.
Everyone thought 2016 was bad. That was before 2017. Over the past year, we learned Russia used social media ads to meddle in our election. Our data was stolen from Equifax, Yahoo, and Uber. It felt like virtually every man in a position of power was revealed to be a total dirtbag. The list goes on.
In the design industry, there is some good news. Many designers are taking their own roles in the events of 2017 to heart–and many of them have big plans to make 2018 a better year. We talked to everyone from systems thinkers and industrial designers to AI specialists, political activists, and chocolatiers, and asked each of them to name the trends and forces they think will shape the coming year.
Not only did they offer us a slew of industry shifts to watch out for; all of them shared that they feel an urge to make 2018 a better year than the last. In their plans, you’ll hear the optimism and self-reflection that only a year like 2017 could inspire. Here are their comments.
A REVOLUTION IN USER-FRIENDLY POLITICS IS COMING
“I see political-oriented design being far more user-centered. Usually, the user-centered approach to design is seen primarily with product design, but I can see grassroots political organizing adopting a lot more of the principals. Already we have various organizations using websites as a resource to have their base participate in local actions. I anticipate these resources going a step further, where we begin to see the development of tools dedicated to informing people of local actions, local elections, offices to run for in their communities, etc. But we can also see the development of programs and activities to reach those who aren’t privileged to have and use technology.
“Regardless of the end product, I believe the goals will ultimately lead to face-to-face interactions. But having those design decisions guided by users should be the focal point of political-oriented design in 2018.”—Samuel Adaramola, lead designer, Our Revolution
INCLUSIVITY WILL GO MAINSTREAM
“The future of designing to advance the human experience will require a more comprehensive look at, well, the human experience. Not every one of us have the same abilities or the same needs, but everything from the way our cities are planned to the design of most of our products and services assumes that we do. Going forward, it won’t be enough to design for some people, or even for most. The real challenge will be to design for all.
“More industries are heading in this direction. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made a touching commitment on the company’s behalf to design their products to be more accessible to all people, a matter close to his heart having fathered a son born with cerebral palsy. Apple and Facebook have proven they are committed to accessibility, too. Retailers like Target and Tommy Hilfiger are expanding on their own previous commitments to accessible design, making clothing and goods that suit people of different abilities.
“At first, perhaps the biggest challenge for organizations looking to honor inclusivity will be knowing where to start. With a clear focus on empathetic, human-centered design, more businesses will be able to share their best offerings with more customers from even more walks of life.”—Justine Lee, Frog
A WHOLE NEW FIELD WILL BE BORN: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DESIGN
“Humans are on a cusp of the single largest revolution in technology, or call it the next industrial revolution. Design as a practice is going to evolve rapidly, as fast as the neural networks and AI are. Artificial Intelligence Design will be the new role in the AI industry, just like the movie director has a role in making the movie. Artificial Intelligence Designers will lead multidisciplinary teams in the creation and design of the era of artificial intelligence.
“We are advancing extremely rapidly in perfecting deep learning algorithms. Today, we know that a deep neural network learned how to play chess at a human level in only four hours–and that it will never be beaten by a human. We are perfecting a number of things that AI can do for us, and at the same time, we are compiling a pile of extremely narrowly focused functions, all of them disjointed as a whole. It is like we are building an artificial person but we are starting from all parts of the brain at once.
“Currently, technology is leading the way in the advancement of AI. But just like design made technology human, design will play a critical role in the advancement and adoption of AI.
“The next massive role of industrial design and design in general is going to be the creation of an entirely new design practice: AID, Artificial Intelligence Design. When you look into history, it is the industrial designers that led the way into making the world a better place for humans. Industrial design is the most complex art of design because it combines human, technologies, tangible objects, and multilayered functions. It is industrial design that gave birth to the laptop and UI and UX–think of Bill Moggridge and the Matrix computer as the very first portable computer. An industrial designer who gave birth to the Apple Macintosh–Hartmut Esslinger–also gave birth to the UI and UX that the world had never before seen.
“Artificial Intelligence Design stands to become the most exciting design practice in the history of humankind. This practice does not exist yet, nor there is a school for it. But luckily industrial designers, being nonlinear thinkers and being able to cross platforms in true depth from sociology, ethnology, material science, ecology, biology, physics, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, software development, and so on–they are our best bet, and are the best-equipped people on the planet to tackle this complex task of making AI that is safe and good for humans.”—Branko Lukic, founder, Nonobject
DIGITAL IS DISAPPEARING
“Digital is no longer the centerpiece of brand experience.
“For the past five years, how we design services has been dictated and limited by the touch points that were available to us–the PC, mobile, and analog touch points. Much emphasis was placed on creating experiences delivered through digital screens and as a result, people spent more time interacting via device than in person.
“This is about to change. A major shift is underway in technology, fueled by lower costs, users’ growing angst about their “screen addiction,” and the disaggregation of core technology components, such as cameras, microphones, speakers, and screens, which are increasingly being embedded in an array of different environments–especially in the home. From Amazon to Alibaba, a growing number of primarily digital brands are now placing greater emphasis on physical presence while making the most of digital and data to improve experience.
“Soon we will no longer be able to delineate between digital and physical design–they will be one and the same. Carnival Corporation, for example, has developed the Medallion–a wearable smart coin that connects customers to a cruise ship through a digitally enabled service called the Compass. Each guest receives a unique and seamless experience with their personal preferences constantly captured to optimize service as it is delivered.
“This will have huge implications for brands and organizations. Re-skilling will be critical, and organizations must ensure their workforce is willing and able to learn, relearn, and relearn again. They must also ask themselves: What future structure, brief, and role should there be for digital departments or heads of digital as digital becomes ubiquitous and increasingly invisible?”—Olof Schybergson, CEO, Fjord WHAT “VALUE” MEANS TO BRANDS (AND CONSUMERS) WILL CHANGE “I think there will be a further evolution of the definition of the word ‘value’ in 2018.
“Take the froth around the monetary value of bitcoin vs. its perceived value. It’s going to perpetuate CO2 emissions and kill the planet (faster than we already are)–it’s a great example of how the multidimensional understanding of and use of value is evolving. You have the raw power of monetary value butting heads with the value of a conscience. Who wins that fight historically is clear. Similarly, the very idea of truth has been put into question in the larger national conversation, by our very president, and that has profound consequences. Brands are actively getting involved in that dialogue around genuineness. (Patagonia’s recent extreme statement in response to Utah parks is great example.)
“We are in the midst of abiding change. We don’t yet have the tools or systems in place to help us navigate. And the values we collectively upheld, which fueled the industrial revolution and governed the last generation, need to adapt. As designers we have to remain optimistic. As individuals, we need to become more skilled at navigating the value-exchange, from CRISPR to machine learning, from artificial intelligence to emotional technology. Every company today is cultivating a path that leads simultaneously in two directions–powerful tools that enhance what it means to be human, and powerful tools that threaten the core of humanity. We have to stick up for ourselves and opt-in with intention.”—Charles Fulford and Dawn Moses, Elephant WE’LL FINALLY MOVE BEYOND FLAT DESIGN
“Designers are now negotiating how to differentiate through form in a visual world that has become predominantly flat, whether in illustration or in interface. After skeuomorphism was eclipsed by the flat design zeitgeist, we are seeing a re-infusion of subtle dimensional elements to create ownable design language systems.
“Flat design–spurred by Microsoft’s novel Metro design language(and evolved through Fluent)–mimicked many designers’ enthusiasm for stripping out visual elements that were becoming cumbersome, both in terms of file size and the feeling of being enslaved to design within a framework of physical analogies. A trashcan and floppy disk have evolved to become universal glyphs for Trash and Save, no longer needing the texture of dimension. This mirrored a larger tilt in the balance back to the International Style that embodied a return to typographic-led composition and elegant solutions sans ornamentation.
“But if everything is flat, then nothing is differentiated. Now we are seeing some interesting trajectories in the world of post-Flat Design. Google’s Material Design language provided an interesting take on adding subtle physicality back to Flat form, humanizing the visual elements, and paying special attention to how the elements moved. Contemporary micro-UX is building off of animation and gestural shorthand established through broadcast design in previous eras.
“In this post-Flat world, designers are encountering a world that is increasingly synesthetic as people want to speak to, touch, and see their interfaces. Through a multi-sensorial lens, even GUIs (graphical user interface) are seen as vestiges of an age-old, visual-led consideration. If Alexa is any indication, VUIs are making some visual considerations feel outdated.
“Early developments in augmented reality (AR) show that skeuomorphic forms are returning to bridge the gap between the known and the unfamiliar. We could imagine a day when augmented forms become as minimal as screen-based UI. Apple’s AR Kit promises to push the formal boundaries of the medium with an iPhone in so many people’s hands. Facebook has skillfully migrated the camera from hardware to software. This will be seen in years to come as monumental.
“Similar to Vine’s six-second video constraint, we are left to wonder whether Flat design is a tactical path or an ideological one. I am excited by what is to come.”—Forest Young, head of design, Wolff Olins San Francisco WE’LL EAT OUR FEELINGS
“I think in general that things are going toward edibles. Everything–beyond just marijuana–is an edible for a purpose, whether it’s for migraines, energy, sleep, creativity, or brain activity.
“I think it’s the whole idea of easy logic–around wholesome food with a desire for clear, clean transparence (plant-based is huge; people want plant based protein, and drinks). I think it just feels natural, wholesome, and ancient. As people go more into, “well, people have been meditating for thousands of years!,” they’re looking for ancient solutions to health problems and life balance. I see more and more of that as a reference point. They never knew the science behind Golden Milk, they just knew it worked. Now people are just so much more open to these ideas.
“I know the pharmaceutical business wants to get into edibles, but I think there’s something different about eating it than taking a pill–in the urban vibe at least. The age of spiritual meditation, and food as medicine, is something we’re going to do a lot with.”—Katrina Markoff, founder, Vosges Chocolate AI WILL TURN THE WORLD INTO ONE BIG UBER MAP
“Data is going to be much more accessible. Through the Apple Watch that we wear, or the cell phone that we carry, we’re going to be able to see if there’s a big line at Trader Joe’s. We’re going to be able to visualize a lot of information about the spaces where we are not.
“Think about this: Humans have vision of a limited range. We see only so far. We don’t see behind that building. I think we’re very soon going have the ability to access remote physical spaces much more than we can now. The best example is tracking Ubers. (Editor’s note: even if they’re sometimes faked.) How beautiful is that app that we can see where the car is? It’s fantastic. You’re standing at the corner of two streets and you know the car is approaching from the left because the app is showing what you’re NOT seeing. Think about that for a completely other set of applications.
“This is very much AI. Because you have to create the knowledge, representation, this multimodal way of putting sensors somewhere, extracting scene understanding, and projecting it into your device. And this is going to extend into the ability that we have to access our own data. Our own health data. Our credit card expenses. Our data on how much we spend. Five years ago that data didn’t really exist. We’re getting to that inflection point where the data has been there, accumulated on our Fitbits and credit cards. Think about how you design all these applications so they’re actually interpretable, that these things can be explainable so you can understand what it means. It’s a whole challenge for making all these enormous amounts of information processed by AI systems accessible and interpretable by humans. We’re talking about, my god, these things should talk back to people, and not just in graphs.”—Manuela Veloso, head of CMU SCS’s Machine Learning DepartmentDESIGNERS WILL WAKE UP AND FIGHT BACK
“Designers will begin to awaken to the social and political implications of their work. This will involve a lot of self-reflection and hopefully no shortage of concrete action. Design work has for too long been assumed to only bear fruit as positive improvements to the world. But today we’re encountering the negative side effects of many of our most beloved innovations–social networks that propagate liesand empower hate, devices that disconnect us from the real world, AI that encodes social and economic stereotypes, and technologies that magnify economic advantages. 2017 seemed to signal early indications that we are waking up to the negative side effects of the last 20 years of rabid innovation. 2018 will pose the most difficult question: are we part of the problem, or are we willing to risk our hard-won, new positions to be part of a solution?
“I think in 2018 we fight back, like how we will begin to use AI to crackdown on fake news and cyberbullying. For example, as a leading content publisher, Thomson Reuters also uses machine learning and AI to detect and identify fake news. The Reuters News Tracer leverages an algorithm that looks at more than 700 factors to determine whether a trending topic on social media is factual or not. Hopefully, it’s just the beginning.”—Mark Rolston, founder, Argodesign
4.3 Build and manage emotional connections with employee engagement, brand loyalty and brand dialogue
LET'S GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED
When a brand pays attention to its customers, it can make people sit up and think “Yes! This company is really listening to me!” A reaction that can lead to a massive boost in brand loyalty – or backfire heartily. Either way, it’s definitely a conversation starter…
It’s certainly one way of reacting in a world where brand loyalty is apparently ‘broken' – and it signals a new era in the way brands are responding to economic and social trends to stay on top.
LOYALTY? THAT IS SO LAST CENTURY
These days, we live in a culture of change.
Brand loyalty has well and truly bolted out of the stable door, moving as far away as possible from the moment of point of purchase.
Most people know how to take advantage of leaving programmes, turning up offers and rejecting retention schemes by switching more regularly than a channel hopper on a Friday night Netflix fest.
It’s safe to say that traditional behaviour and consumption patterns went out with the Discman.
Chris Baldwin, Director of Consumer Promotions and Loyalty, Sodexo, says, “Loyalty has definitely changed since marketers started talking about it. It came to the fore decades ago with the introduction of loyalty cards in supermarkets, but most people have them now, so they clearly aren’t engendering any actual loyalty.”
Of course, it doesn’t help that shopping habits are more fragmented than ever. He adds, ”Loyalty is more about encouraging the return, the repeat purchase, getting the brand to be front of mind. It allows brands to understand their consumers more. They can target and test communications more effectively and make the customer feel valued outside of the purchase environment."
This means that more than ever, brands need to know how to speak to their audiences and when.
IT'S ALWAYS EMOTIONAL
Of course, not everyone buys in the same way. Sometimes a purchase is driven by price, a recommendation or impulse. Establishing brand loyalty relies less on decision-based marketing and more on driving behaviour around emotion. Brands know that when you create excitement, you create impact. And that drives behaviour change.
Jamie Mackenzie, Director of Marketing – Employee & Consumer Engagement, Sodexo, says,
“Loyalty overcomes any rational-based, price-based decision making because you have a powerful emotional driver – you’re not purely commoditising or buying based on discount.”
Emotion is at the steering wheel of behavioural change and that’s the engine that acts as the catalyst for influencing buying behaviour.
But you knew that.
It’s finding ways of creating experiences that will lead the quest for brand loyalty into a new era. KEEPING CUSTOMERS COMING BACK
So, back to customer retention.
Businesses that invest in tailoring their offering to the consumer, making it relevant and now, will get a much better ROI – as well as influencing customer behaviour when it comes to renewal or upsell.
That said, with challenger brands having great success in disrupting markets, established brands can’t afford to be slack.
Customer incentives are one way to go – but they shouldn’t be the only channel used by marketers interested in customer retention…
LOYALTY PRODUCTS
If your product relies on annual renewals, such as a utility company or gym, it’s worth rewarding customers for sticking with your brand to avoid churn.
Electronic vouchers and instant mobile promotions all have a part to play in boosting customer engagement too.
COLLECTOR SCHEMES
These are useful if you want people to increase their purchase frequency or get them to lock into a brand and stop swapping.
If you want consumers to buy three products when they normally opt for two, a collector scheme can drive that behaviour, rewarding them for purchasing three.
PRIZE DRAW MECHANIC
If your product has a longer shelf life of say, two or three years, a prize draw incentive can be a nice way to retain custom.
Whether it’s an instant win, click to win or text to win, these are good because they reward people instantly for a small change in behaviour.
CONSUMERS DON'T STAND STILL
Acknowledging changing audiences will feature heavily in brand strategy for the future.
Brands need to adapt and tap into current trends, considering broader economic, societal and technology changes when attacking their campaigns.
Right now, for example, there’s a view that some companies will look to capitalise on ‘Britishness’ as a brand value in the face of Brexit and challenges to consumer confidence.
Jamie Mackenzie, Director of Marketing - Employee & Consumer Engagement, Sodexo, says:
“A key driver in influencing consumer behaviour is to acknowledge how audiences have changed. There are so many ways of cutting an audience now. It’s about breaking a campaign down into bite-sized activity, and being agile. It isn’t always about running a massive campaign - very short, pulse activity can often elicit a much better response.”
GENERATION Z IS ON ITS WAY
Wait. We haven’t mentioned millennials for at least half a second. Actually, scratch that, how about Generation Z?
These are consumers who have grown up using Facebook as their search engine. And they’re establishing their own loyalties.
Generation Z is much more connected to lesser known brands because they can interact with them and vice versa.
Smaller brands have lots to gain in targeting this audience because they can afford to be personal.
It’s going to make for interesting following as this generation grows up.
Not least to say what we’ll call the next consumers coming through once we’ve run out of alphabet.
SHAPING CONVERSATION FOR BETTER OR WORSE
We believe that brand loyalty is being driven by consumer know-how.
And this is being driven by technology – from fact checking reviews to word of mouth recommendations pushed by online brand ambassadors and social media, it’s all up for grabs for those brands getting amongst it on the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
As we’re seeing, some of the best consumer engagement marketing is created by customers sharing views, through experiences and reviews.
It couldn’t be more essential to provide people with a platform to do that – brands have nothing to lose by inviting comment – good or bad.
After all, if you want to shape the conversation towards an end destination, you need to be steering the boat.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Sometimes it just takes one voice on social media to spark outrage taking the conversation you thought you were having, in an entirely different direction.
Though sometimes when customer feedback is handled really well, a bad review can be as positive as a good one.
Given the column inches and airtime given to John Lewis over their new gender neutral approach, it’s hard to disagree with this.
It’s also where businesses stand to make the most profit – customer retention is still highly rated over acquisition.
And by creating greater emotional connections, brands can drive loyalty and engagement to drive sales.
BUILDING BRAND REPUTATION MATTERS
Peer-to-peer marketing is going places and establishing brand trust is the new currency.
Consumers want to believe in their brand of choice so Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes carry massive kudos.
If a company is perceived as unethical in any way, you’d better get busy to change that. Otherwise it’s time to get your coat.
We’d say that the success of loyalty is less about points and more about convenience and experience. Trust plays its part in this, but so too does the advancement of technology in driving behaviour.
For example, the success of the My Starbucks Reward scheme shows there is still room for loyalty schemes using technology to connect with customers outside of store through mobile apps and email communications.
“Loyalty is more than just a functional offer. A customers’ trust is intrinsic to what the brand offers, as well as the relationship between employees and customers. This helps to keep the customer experience familiar and consistent across sites.”
It would appear, that while customers are getting wise, marketers will do well to play to this wisdom.
WHAT NEXT FOR BRAND LOYALTY?
The lowdown is, consumers have more choices, greater expectations and a bigger voice than ever.
No marketer can afford to ignore that.
But if you get it right – and there’s no reason why you can’t – there’s still room to create emotional connections and take brand loyalty into a bold new era.
4.4 Differentiate and enhance the uniqueness of the brand experience, look and feel through all brand channels and touch points, including internal and external audiences
First, What Is a Customer Touchpoint?
Before we look at touchpoint mapping, we need to look at what a customer touchpoint is.
A customer touchpoint is any interaction between your business and a customer. It includes any interaction before, during, or after a customer purchases something from you.
A customer touchpoint happens through personal interactions and marketing channels. The interaction may be direct where you control the experience (such as a delivering a marketing message or ad campaign). Or, it could be indirect and you don’t have control over the experience (such as a word-of-mouth review of your business).
While you may not have complete control over every customer touchpoint, as a business owner, you still want to do your best to influence each situation. The best way to develop a plan to manage these interactions is through touchpoint mapping.
What Is Touchpoint Mapping?
Touchpoint mapping is the act of outlining each interaction that a customer could have with your brand. It looks at each step of the buyer’s journey and identifies the places where customers come in contact with or experience your brand.
Touchpoint mapping is important because it allows your brand to visualize and improve every experience a customer has with your business.
Because no customer buyer’s journey is exactly the same, each brand will have multiple variations of touchpoint maps. To create your maps, consider all of the possible ways people experience your brand and use the following process.
How to Start Touchpoint Mapping
Now that you know what customer touchpoints and touchpoint mapping are, it’s time to implement a strategy for using this marketing method.
1.) Identify Each Customer Touchpoint
To start touchpoint mapping, begin by identifying each interaction that your business has with your customers. It helps to look at the experiences in categories: before purchase, during purchase, and after purchase.
While some of the touchpoints may overlap, this categorization can help you visualize and identify each potential interaction. Touchpoints marketing and advertising may include the following:
Once you have identified the places where your customers interact with your brand, begin to place these experience in chronological order.
As you go through touchpoint mapping, consider the steps that lead your customers through the purchasing process. Use the phases of a retail buyer’s journey to guide your outline.
Step One -- Making Customers Aware of Your Brand: The customer is becoming familiar with you brand and products.
Step Two -- Getting Customers Through the Door: The customer is familiar with your brand and is planning a visit to your physical store.
Step Three -- Initiating Sales: The customer is in your store and is working through their purchasing process.
Step Four -- Getting Customers to Come Back: The customer has made a purchase and is considering coming back and purchasing from you again.
Don’t create just one buyer’s journey that goes through this process. Create at least 4-5 different types of customer maps to consider all of the different experiences your customers may have.
3.) Improve Each Customer Touchpoint
Once you identify each possible customer touchpoint, the next step is working to improve the interaction. You need to look at how you can provide the best possible experience for the customer at that moment.
As you attempt to improve your customer touchpoints, focus on making your brand experiences:
Simple: The experience should be easy for the customer to understand and interact with.
Appropriate: The experience should fit the context of its channel and interests of your target audience.
Relevant: The experience should match what the customer would expect and need to find during that phase of the buyer’s journey.
Meaningful: The experience should provide significant and useful value for the customer.
Appealing: The experience should tap into the cravings of the customer and give them the things they desire.
Look at each touchpoint and ensure that it has the qualifications of an exceptional and useful customer experience.
4.) Set a Schedule for Reviewing
Touchpoints for marketing and advertising don’t end once you create and implement your new strategy. Marketing channels and your operational processes will continue to evolve and change. So, your customer mapping must do the same.
A customer touchpoint map is a work in progress. You will need to continue to revise and update the touchpoint map as new purchasing paths are created and new marketing platforms are introduced.
To effectively use touchpoint mapping as a way to create better customer experiences, you need to make it a continual priority. It will likely fail to produce results if you approach it as a one-time strategy. So put in the up-front work, and then set a plan to execute and continue to refine your touchpoint mapping to get the best benefits and results.
4.5
Develop brand value by building credibility, attention and meaning with brand
stakeholders
1. SET GOALS FOR YOUR CREDIBILITY LIKE YOU DO FOR EVERYTHING ELSE
Just as your company should have a list of dream clients, target markets, milestone goals, and the like, you need to draw up a dream list of credibility signifiers. You already know roughly what “success” looks like for you six or 12 or 18 months from now because you sat down and defined it. So do the same for your company’s profile and reputation: What would make you feel like your company has really made it as a respected presence in your industry? Is it being profiled in a particular publication? Winning an award? Being invited to speak at a certain conference?
Whatever the answer may be, you need to start identifying your credibility goals early on. Describe them in concrete terms and set deadlines for achieving those milestones along with your overall business growth and marketing objectives.
2. USE YOUR PARTNERS’ REPUTATIONS TO YOUR BENEFIT
Unless your company is still in the two-people-with-laptops-in-a-garage stage, chances you’ve already built a base of trustworthy people who are connected with your company and believe in your value proposition–that’s one of the first things startups need to do in order to get even halfway off the ground. So use that to your startup’s advantage.
You may already have a marquee management team and investors in place, or you may not–either way, you need look for ways to emphasize the expertise and connections of the people who are already related to your company. This can be as simple as asking your board members to make a few key phone calls or introductions on your behalf. Or just encourage your inner circle of partners to spread the word about your company on social media and endorse you and your company on LinkedIn. These are small gestures, but they can go a long way.
In addition, include detailed bios of your board members and testimonials from key partners on your website and in company communications–don’t focus exclusively on the founding team. Needless to say, you’ll need to get permission from your partners first, but many of them will likely be glad to help spread the word about your company if they’re already satisfied with your partnership. Just make sure you do this as openly and collaboratively as possible; the quickest way to lose credibility is by overstating the extent of a partnership or claiming an endorsement that doesn’t exist. 3. DEVELOP A VOICE IN YOUR MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES
Every startup wants to see its name in the New York Times and its services featured prominently in major outlets. But instead of trying to make a big splash in a mainstream mass-media publication, you should think first about quality coverage in the niches that matter most to you. Tech startups, for instance, can build credibility more quickly by speaking directly to tech audiences that already care about and are paying close attention to their product category.
Nor does it require a huge PR push right off the bat. Start building an engaged audience on social media: Create a track record of helpful interactions and thought leadership among users with interests that line up with what your company is doing (there’s a reason why so many startup founders are active on Twitter). Or you can participate in other online community forums that affect your customers and industry, whether it’s commenting in LinkedIn groups or in industry-specific sub-Reddits; serving as an expert commentator on Quora; authoring contributed articles in industry publications; or creating original content-marketing pieces.Building your CEO’s personal brand and credibility is one of the most powerful ways for people to quickly get familiar with your company.
The key is to stay focused rather than try and cast too wide a net. If you don’t have enough of a reputation yet to get invited to speak at your dream industry conferences, host a conference of your own. It doesn’t need to be a lavish affair in order to be effective. Invite some partners to join you in hosting and sponsoring even something intimate, as long as it’s well-produced. Many of your industry partners and other great speakers will be happy to support your event if you’re willing to share your platform with them.
4. TURN THE FOCUS ON YOUR FOUNDER
The most successful startups have widely regarded CEOs who are synonymous with their companies. But even if you’re not running a billion-dollar business, every startup CEO needs to act like a thought leader and the public face of their company. Building your CEO’s personal brand and credibility is one of the most powerful ways for people to quickly get familiar with your company and understand how you can add value on issues that they care about.
Especially in the early stages of your startup’s growth, the founder/CEO needs to be a prominent presence and take a high-touch approach with early customers. Those first customer relationships are hugely valuable, and the CEO needs to be front and center–building customer relations, listening to feedback, and asking early customers to help by promoting and recommending you if they’re happy with their experience.
Building credibility is often a matter of working from the inside out: Start with your inner circle of trust–your board, partners, and key mentors–and then ask for their help in building a foundation of credibility to speak to a wider audience. Then get the attention of the inner circle of influencers and enthusiasts who care the most about what your startup does. If you can win their trust, they’ll help spread the word about your company even further.
Trust is the basis for every successful business relationship. Just like your startup needs a go-to-market strategy, you also need a detailed plan for building credibility. It’s the starting point for the successes that will follow–or else could be the reason they don’t.
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