Customer Experience Management

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Customer Experience Management (CEM or CXM) or customer experience management describes the creation of positive customer experiences to build an emotional bond between user and product or provider. The primary goal of CEM is to turn satisfied customers into loyal customers and loyal customers into “enthusiastic ambassadors” of the brand or product (“satisfied - loyal - advocate”). With this, CEM not only focuses on direct effects such as willingness to buy, sales or intensity of use, but also specifically on indirect effects such as word of mouth and recommendations. This should ideally be achieved at every customer contact point ( touchpoint ).

Overview

CEM aims to incorporate as many points of customer perception as possible - from product development to the initial contact with the provider and the actual purchase to the use and maintenance of a product.

The methodological basis is on the one hand the sociological concept of customer satisfaction , which describes the relationship between customer expectations and satisfaction of needs (one also speaks of the relationship between expectations and degree of fulfillment or the disconfirmation-confirmation paradigm). Accordingly, customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction arises from the over- or under-fulfillment of individual expectations of a product or service. In addition to the objective quality of a product, the quality and performance of the product subjectively perceived by the customer are the most important components when deciding on satisfaction. On the other hand, psychological theories and concepts for customer loyalty (for example in the context of business or brand loyalty ) provide new starting points for an efficient CEM. The psychological models are based, among other things, on findings from psychological pair research for the optimal design of customer relationships and customer experience processes.

The fact that companies are increasingly dealing with CEM is due to the high degree of interchangeability of many products (e.g. broadband internet connections), especially in comparatively saturated markets and in sectors with above-average competition such as telecommunications, financial services or the automotive industry. In this context, Detecon advises “authentic performance promises”.

Since the competing providers can hardly differentiate themselves by price, they see customer friendliness as one of the most important competitive factors. In 2009, a survey of 890 decision-makers by the Strativity Group showed that those companies that have increased their investments in CEM in the past three years also recorded an increase in customer satisfaction.

The airlines' frequent flyer cards are a successful approach to building customer loyalty. After the possibilities of price wars had largely been exhausted in the 1990s, customers were offered advantages (free flights, more comfort) if they behaved loyally to the brand. This had advantages for all airlines alike: the more loyal the customers, the less the price influence.

Another approach to successful CEM is the coffeehouse operator Starbucks , which spends less than 10 million US dollars on advertising in an entire decade, but opens 2,000 new branches in the same time. This success is mainly explained with viral marketing .

As a counterexample, you can imagine a customer who, despite objectively flawlessly functioning communication services from his provider, suspects restrictions or even a failure just because his end device is not configured correctly. The result would then be a decline in customer satisfaction, since “something is not working”, which sooner or later would lead to a decline in sales. A CEM system would now try to collect these faulty service requirements, analyze them and make them available to the customer service representative in an appropriately prepared form. In addition, however, it would also be conceivable, for example, to automatically reconfigure corresponding end devices when an error is detected.

A panel study with 287 executives in the USA also indicates the growing importance of CEM. In 2007, 38% of those surveyed said that customer experience management played a critical role in their corporate strategy, compared to 64% in 2008. This trend is confirmed by Forrester for 2009: 89% of the company representatives interviewed now identify CEM as important or relentlessly around to be able to differentiate itself from competitors over the next three years.

CEM is mainly used in marketing , sales , customer service (see also support ) and in corporate communication .

Definition of terms

Terms such as customer experience mapping, “ customer journey mapping” or “ service management ” are used synonymously for CEM (sometimes inappropriately) . CEM goes far beyond pure complaint management or mere customer loyalty programs (discount cards, ad games, etc.). A common German translation is customer experience management.

Compared to CEM, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is less defined by the actual preferences of individual customers, but more from the corporate perspective of the handling of customer data such as age, place of residence, preferences, etc. Critics of the classic approach see therefore in CRM there is a discrepancy between the company's approach to assumed customer expectations and their actual ideas. The use of CEM, on the other hand, is more a question of the company's fundamental customer orientation .

Conceptually, CEM is related to " relationship marketing", which is also dedicated to establishing and expanding long-term customer relationships. In this context, customers are also evaluated according to their respective potentials and capital values ​​(see also “Determination of customer value ” and “ Customer lifetime value ”). The most profitable customers are then individually addressed by " key account management ". The management consultant Edgar K. Geffroy followed a similar approach in the 1980s with the concept of clienting . In the context of process management (engl. Business Process Management, BPM for short - cf. Business Process Optimization ) is also called visible and invisible customer processes , which can be optimized by BPM. Direct marketing , for example through call centers, is only one possible application aspect for CEM.

As part of innovation communication , user-driven innovation (see User Innovation ) also addresses communicative exchange processes between manufacturers / providers and their customers, for example so-called " lead users ", who actively contribute both their negative product experiences and their constructive solutions. Methods such as user observation or innovation toolkits also focus on the communicative interface between provider and user.

In the context of media and advertising impact research , emotional branding follows a similar, albeit methodologically rather psychological, approach. For example, it is about the subconscious effect of certain colors in a corporate design (examples: Telekom magenta, Coca-Cola red, etc.).

CEM also refers to concepts such as ease of use (usability). CEM is scientifically treated in the context of business administration in particular by trade and sales psychology, for example when it comes to evaluating emotional reactions to surprising forms of service that the customer does not expect.

history

CEM was first mentioned conceptually by Pine / Gilmore (1998) in an article for Harvard Business Review . According to this, successful companies succeed in ensuring that their customers derive personal added value from the most authentic experience possible with the provider. Several years ago, various experts such as Thompson / Kolsky (2004) from the consulting firm Gartner pointed out the increasing importance of CEM and CRM for sustainable business success. According to Jessica Debor (2008), the ability of a company to bring about positive experiences that make a decisive difference to the competition from the customer's point of view not only increases the customers' willingness to buy, but ideally also increases “ brand loyalty ”.

Above all, this requires a good understanding of the customer perspective. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers (2008) ask: “What is it really like to be your customer? What is the everyday customer experience with your company like? How does it feel to be put on hold on the phone or open a package and not know how to follow the poorly translated instruction manual? What is it like to stand in line only to have to pay a fee? Or waiting for a customer service call that was two hours overdue? Coming back to an empty online shopping cart an hour later? And how does it feel instead when someone remembers me as a customer and makes helpful suggestions? If everything is as promised and I can have the confidence that the answers I get are the best answers for me? "

Measurement / evaluation

Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty can now be reliably analyzed , measured and thus compared. The great importance of the "quantifiability of CEM measures in the form of the ROI or shareholder value impact" is also made clear by Eberwein and Luyken (2009). CEM includes precisely those measures that close the gap between the customer's expectations and experiences. An exact inventory of customer expectations as well as the positive and negative effects of customer experiences on sales and costs is the basic requirement here. Only when the product meets these basic requirements does it make sense to bring about special positive customer experiences in the third step.

The corresponding satisfaction values ​​are often determined through surveys. The analysis provides basic elements and key figures for balanced scorecard surveys as well as for customer relationship management . The measurement of customer satisfaction is also required as part of quality management in accordance with ISO standards 9000ff . In Germany, the customer monitor research project in Germany is considered a reliable method of checking customer satisfaction . Details on measurement methods under "Components / Procedure " in the contribution to customer satisfaction.

Customer experience strategies are becoming increasingly important - they aim to create an attractive and stringent brand experience for the customer, and that via a large number of different touchpoints . This results in correspondingly high demands on the underlying survey approaches: It is important to map online and offline brand contacts precisely, to reliably measure the brand development and to provide evidence of the effectiveness of the various measures.

New survey approaches - such as B. Live Experience Tracking - measure the points of contact with a brand immediately after they have taken place by telling (potential) customers, e.g. B. on the smartphone. Only a few days instead of several weeks pass between the brand contact and the survey, as is the case with conventional approaches. Instead of a selective measurement, customers are accompanied through the entire interaction process with a brand or a company.

literature

  • Franz-Rudolf Esch, Axel Puhlmann, Mirjam Schmitt: Brave new (digital) world. In: die bank - magazine for banking policy and practice. No. 10/2014, ISSN  0342-3182
  • Axel Puhlmann: All points of contact with the brand count! In: planning & analysis. No. 3/2013. (on-line)
  • Axel Puhlmann: Reaching Customers Where IT Really Matters. In: p & a international market research. No. 2/2013. (on-line)
  • M. Bruhn: Integrated customer orientation. Implementation of customer-oriented corporate management. Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 3-409-12004-1 .
  • P. Eberwein, A. Luyken: CEM - Managing Customer Experience Profitably. Opinion Paper, Detecon International 2009 (Source: scribd, PDF)
  • U. Froitzheim: Mission possible. In: brandeins. 12th year 10/2010 (focus on "Quality"), pp. 74–77.
  • Ch. Grönroos, R. Stock: Theoretical perspectives on customer satisfaction. In: Ch. Homburg (Hrsg.): Customer satisfaction: Concepts - Methods - Experiences. 4th edition. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2001, pp. 17-50.
  • Ch. Jost, P. Eberwein among others: Customer Experience Management in the telecommunications industry. Cologne 2010. (PDF, 2.8 MB)
  • Marc-Oliver Kaiser: Success factor customer satisfaction, dimensions and measurement options. Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-503-07833-9 .
  • Maria A. Musold: Exceptional customer service: Simply more sales - tried and tested methods for consulting professions. BusinessVillage Verlag, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-938358-88-7 .
  • S. Ruf: From market research to value research. Yearbook of the vsms (Association of Swiss Market and Social Researchers), 2008 (PDF, 0.3 MB)
  • S. Ruf: How loyal are customers really? In: Practice. Zurich 2002. (Source: Brainguide, PDF, 0.7 MB)
  • Hans-Otto Schenk: Psychology in Commerce. 2nd Edition. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich / Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-486-58379-3 .
  • Schneider, Willy, Martin Kornmeier: Customer satisfaction. Concept, measurement, management. Haupt-Verlag, Bern 2006, ISBN 3-258-06978-6 .
  • Anne M. Schüller: Customers on the run: How to win and keep loyal customers. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-280-05382-9 .
  • Anne M. Schüller: Touchpoints - Up close and personal with today's customers. Management strategies for our new business world. Gabal, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86936-330-1 .
  • A. Schwager, Ch. Meyer: Improve the customer experience. In: Harvard Business Manager. April 2007, p. 58.
  • BD Temkin: Customer Experience Innovation In Three Steps. Forrester, 2008.
  • Armin Töpfer (Ed.): Measure and increase customer satisfaction. 3rd, expanded edition. Luchterhand, 2002.

Individual evidence

  1. Bernd H. Schmitt: Customer Experience Management: A Revolutionary Approach to Connecting with Your Customers . 1st edition. Wiley, 2003, ISBN 0-471-23774-4 .
  2. Customer Manifesto - Customer Cycle ( Memento from June 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Feminization in sales means building trust and thus increased customer satisfaction leadership-in-change.de
  4. RL Oliver: A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions. In: Journal of Marketing Research. 17 (4), 1980, pp. 460-469. jstor.org
  5. J. van Treeck: Loyalty - The Psychology of Customer Loyalty. Dissertation. BOD, Norderstedt 2011, DNB 1010992074
  6. C. Jost et al.: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Customer Experience Management in the telecommunications industry. ) 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.detecon.com
  7. ^ P. Eberwein, A. Luyken: CEM - Managing Customer Experience Profitably. 2009.
  8. Customer experience management with guaranteed success: the automotive industry is showing the way. ( Memento from January 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Sales partner report. 2012.
  9. 2009 Global Customer Experience Management Benchmark Study . Strativity Group, 2009 ( strativity.com [accessed December 18, 2010]). (free registration with the provider required)
  10. ^ Adam M. Brandenburger, Barry J. Nalebuff: Co-opetition . Currency Doubleday, 1996.
  11. ^ Shaun Smith, Joe Wheeler: Managing the Customer Experience: Turning customers into advocates . Financial Times Press, 2002, ISBN 0-273-66195-7 .
  12. Detecon International: CEM - Managing Customer Experience Profitably (Detecon Opinion Paper) . Detecon International, 2009 ( scribd.com [accessed December 18, 2010]).
  13. ^ B. Joseph Pine, James Gilmore: Welcome to the Experience Economy . In: Harvard Business Review . January 7, 1998.
  14. ^ Ed Thompson, Estaban Kolsky: How to Approach Customer Experience Management. Gartner.com, December 27, 2004, accessed May 13, 2008 .
  15. Jessica Debor: CRM Gets Serious. CRM Magazine, February 20, 2008, accessed May 13, 2008 .
  16. ^ Don Peppers, Martha Rogers: Rules to Break and Laws to Follow . Ed .: Wiley. 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-22754-1 , pp. 24, 164 .