2022年客户体验指南2022 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IMPERATIVES - SHAPING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS IN THE NEW AGE OF EXPERIENCE

2022CUSTOMEREXPERIENCEIMPERATIVES

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPS

INTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE

02MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

FOREWORD

ThisyearmarksthetentheditionofMerkle’sannualCustomerExperience Imperatives,inwhichweshareourevolvingvisionforhowbrandscan createcompetitiveadvantagethroughmarketingandadvertising.And“evolving”isakeyword.Infact,today’sconsumerneedsandexpectationsarevirtuallyunrecognizabletothosefrom2012.Vastmarketshifts,anaccelerationofbrands’andconsumers’digitalfluency,theproliferationofdataandplatforms,theever-tighteningprivacylandscape,andchanging societalvalues(globalpandemicnotwithstanding)havealltakenmarketingonanacceleratedjourney.Asacustomerexperiencemanagement(CXM) company,Merklenotonlyencouragesbrands’embraceofcustomer centricity,buthelpstotransformtheirorganizationsintobuildersoflong- lasting,value-drivencustomerrelationships.

Inlastyear’sImperatives,wesharedaformulaforachievingtheserelationships:datatransformation+digitaltransformation=customerexperiencetransformation.Our2021ImperativeswereintendedtoconnectwiththeentireC-suite,delvingintothetechnologicalandorganizationalcomponentsnecessarytofacilitatethistransformation.Thisyear,theImperativeswillwalkyouthroughourvisionforexpandingonthisfoundation.

Westartwithalookatcustomerdataandwhatitmeanstocreateafeedbackloopthroughavalueexchange.Then,wedigintohowyoucanusemeasurementasacatalystforchange–measuringwhattrulydrivescommercialimpactandhowthissetsyouupforlong-termsuccess.Finally,we’lldiscusswhatbrandloyaltyreallymeansintoday’scustomerexperienceeconomy.

Thepasttwoyearshaveintroducedmanychallengestobrandslargeandsmall.Theyhavehadtopushthelimitsofwhattheythoughtpossible,oftentimeswithfewerresourcesandfarmorecompetition.Thecontentinthisbookismeanttosetbrandsuplongterm,nottointroduceconceptsthatprecludeagilityandflexibilityforfutureenvironments.

Ihopeyouwalkawayfromreadingthese

CustomerExperienceImperativeswiththe

confidencetodeliverexperiencesthatcementand

growcustomerrelationshipsin2022andbeyond.

MichaelKomasinski

GlobalCEO,Merkle

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPSINTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE03

INSIDE

06ExecutiveSummary

10IMPERATIVEONE

ExpandtheVisionforCustomerData

26IMPERATIVETWO

UseMeasurementasaCatalystforChange

40IMPERATIVETHREE

DeliverCommerceExperiencesto

DriveNext-GenerationLoyalty

62Conclusion

04

MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPSINTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE05

06MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Extraordinarytimeshavedrivenacomprehensivetransformationinbusinessesstrategyacrossindustries,causingashiftfromaworldofadvertising,sales,andCRMtooneofcustomerexperiencedeliveredthroughmarketing,sales,commerce,andservice.

Thispivotfromconventionalmarketingtotoday’shyper-personalizedcustomerexperiencemanagement(CXM)canbeseeneverywhereyoulook.Brandsareconstantlyinnovatingtomeetcustomerswheretheyare,withthespecificproductsandservicestheydesire,butwithanunderstandingofconsumersthatgoesbeyondwhattheybuyandgetstowhotheyareaspeople.Customerexpectationshavesoaredtonewheights,andtheCXtransformationrequiredtomeetthemisinfullswing.It’stimetotakeittothenextlevel.

Everythingstartswithpersonalizedmomentsthat,whentakentogether,comprisemeaningfulexperiencesacrossthespectrumofcustomerengagement.Andforthemarketer,thisisn’tjustaboutthedata,analytics,andtechnologythatdelivertheinteractions;it’saboutwhatthoseinteractionsfeellikeateverytouchpointandwhatemotionstheytriggerintheheartofthecustomer.Doneright,thesemomentsandexperiencesultimatelybuilduptolastingrelationships,substantiallifetimevalue,andsustainablecompetitiveadvantage.Thisrequiresdata-fueledcreativeandcontextualcontenttoaligntheexperiencewithwhatcustomerscareabout.

Datamanagementusedtorefertoastaticdatabase,evokingthoughtsofrecords,fields,andhygiene;youbuiltamarketingdatabasewithspecificdatafeedsandtoolsetstoenable“push”marketing.Today,datamanagementreferstoafluidCXMdataenvironment,withdifferentfeedscreatingdynamicdataand

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPSINTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE07

differenttoolsetstodeliverthetotalcustomerexperienceinunique

waysthataremorecontextuallyrelevantthaneverbefore.With

everyinteractionacrosstheentirecustomerjourney,marketers

needtogatherdata,evaluateit,andthendisposeofthedata

thatisn’tvaluabletotheendpurpose.Themarketer’sgoalisto

createmeaningfulmomentsthatmatterwhilenotcrossingoverthe

constantlyshiftingconsumerprivacyline.

Buildingontheequationdefinedinour

2021CXMImperatives

,where

datatransformation+digitaltransformation=customerexperience

transformation,this2022installmentexploresthreethemesthatwill

improveyourorganization’scustomerexperiencereadiness.

IMPERATIVE1:EXPANDTHEVISIONFOR

CUSTOMERDATA

Creatingmeaningfulmomentsthatmatterstartswithdataand

insights,whicharethecoreassetsthatunderpinthecreationof

contextualcustomermoments.Thedatastrategymustbeginto

navigatefromamedia-lednarrativethatfocusesonquantityofdata

towardonethatfocusesondepthofknowledgeandunderstanding

ofcustomerneeds,passions,andmotivations.Dataisn’tjustabout

identity,itisaboutunderstandingandbuildinginsightintoneedthat

willdrivemoreengagedinteractions.

Makingexperiencesmorevaluableandrelevantmeansthinking

beyondthescreenandfocusingonwhattypesofrelationshipsyou

wanttodrive,thecontext,andthehumansideofthatrelationship.

Datahaschangedthedynamicoftherelationshipbetween

businessesandconsumers,whichconvertsengagementintovalue

forbothparties.Thisvalueexchangeisessentialtoreinforcing

strongandlastingbonds.

IMPERATIVE2:USEMEASUREMENTASACATALYST

FORCHANGE

Byviewingmeasurementasapowerfulcatalystforchange,youcan

buildaneffectiveframeworktotracktheoutcomesthatdirectlydrive

valueforthebusiness.Andbyaligninggoalstobusinessobjectives,youcanmeasurewhatmatters.

Createtherightcustomermeasuresbasedonwhatwillmakeadifference,notjustwhatcanbemeasured.Trackthingslikeperformance,experience,satisfaction,wordofmouth,growth,churnetc.,whichcanbemeasuredANDmeaningfullyconnectedtobusinessperformance.Whenyouexpandyourmeasurementtoincludetheitemsthatinfluenceoutcomesandrelationships,youcanimprovetheeffectivenessofyourexperiencesinnewandinnovativewaysaroundyourcustomers.

IMPERATIVE3:DELIVERCOMMERCEEXPERIENCESTODRIVENEXT-GENERATIONLOYALTY

Loyaltyispoweredbyemotion:consumerswantmorethanjustconvenience;theywantimmersiveandentertainingexperiencesthatformmeaningfulemotionalconnectionsbasedonsharedvalues.Intoday’sonlinesociety,allbrandsshouldviewthemselvesasdirecttoconsumer.Convenienceandefficiencyaretablestakes.Frictionlessinteractionsandseamlesslyalignedchannels(forshopping,customerservice,andeverythingelse)arebaselineexpectations.Andifyou’renotdeliveringthattoday,you’realreadyagenerationbehind.

Thereisalsoapushbyconsumerstowanttounderstandwhothey’redoingbusinesswith,beyondthebrandname,andtoconnecttotheheartofwhatmatterstoacompany.Theywanttoknowthatthedollarstheyspendarebeingdeployedresponsibly,supportingpeopleandorganizationswho,onsomelevel,sharetheirvalues.Inshort,theywanttoknowthestoriesbehindstores,thepeoplebehindtheproducts,andthevaluesofthevaluechain.Theexperiencesthatbrandscreateneedtotellstoriesaswellasmovemerchandise;tomorrow’sinternetwillrequirenotjustconvenience,butcreativity,meaning,andrelevance.

08

MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPSINTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE09

IMPERATIVEONE

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA

Dataisthecoreassetunderpinningthewaybrandsconnectwiththeircustomers.Andwithtoday’srapidlychangingmarketplace,it’stimetostartthinkingaboutdatadifferently–toditchthestrategyofcollectingvastamountsofproduct-andpurchasecycle-relateddata.Takeastepbackandaskyourself,“whyamIcollecting

thisdatainthefirstplace?”Dataisnolongerjustaboutidentity.Itinformstheinsightsthathelpmarketersbuildandrespondtocustomerinteractionsinwaysthatareappropriateforthetime,theplace,andtheindividual.

Experiencesarethecollectionofthesecontextualizedmomentsacrossmarketing,sales,commerce,andservice.Approachingdatathroughacustomerexperiencemindsetwillencourageadifferenttypeofcollection,interpretation,andactivation.You’llbegintoseekdepthofknowledgeandunderstandingofyouraudience’sneeds,passions,andmotivations–allwiththegoalofforminglong-lastingrelationships.

Forginghumanrelationshipsthroughamoderndatastrategyrequiresyoutoprioritizeavalueexchangeinwhichcustomerssupplyyourbrandwithusefuldataandreceiveengaging,relevant,andprivacy-safeexperiencesinreturn.Andit’snotaboutasingletransaction,buttheongoinggiveandtakethatbuildsastrongandlastingbond.Inthissection,we’lldelveintohowyoucanholdupyourendofthebargain.

12

QUESTIONSTOASKYOURSELFWHENRETHINKINGYOURDATASTRATEGY

•Whatareyouaskingcustomerstotellyou?

•Whatdoyouplantodowiththeanswerstheysupply?

•Whenareyouaskingforthisinformation?

•Doyouhaveadeepenoughrelationshiptoaskforspecificdatafromyourcustomers?

•Whatarecustomersgettinginreturnforprovidingtheirdata?(E.g.,betterexperiences,smoothertransactions,morerewards,morepersonalizedcontent,etc.)

•Howdoyouusedatatodelivermoreeffectiveexperiencesforcustomers?

•Whatinsightsareyoubuildingwiththedatayouhave?

•Howfastisthedatabecominguseful,andhowquicklyisitengagedinyouradvertisingandmessaging?

13

MAKINGEXPERIENCESMOREVALUABLEAND

RELEVANT

Increasinglysavvyconsumersexpectmorefrombrands’

communicationsthaneverbefore.Itisn’tenoughtotarget

efficientlythroughidentityresolution–youmustintroduceand

maintainanarrativethatpromotesthefidelityandlongevityof

yourcustomerrelationships.Toaccomplishthis,it’snecessaryto

expandyourcommunicationstrategies,followingnewlogicaimed

atwinningoverheartsandminds.

PracticeFunnelFluidity

Marketersarenolongerincontroloftheengagementstheyhave

withabrand’scustomers.Thecustomerjourneyisnowinthe

buyer’shands–shegetstodecidewhen,where,andhowto

interactwithabrand.Thisshifthaspermanentlyblurredthelines

betweenbrandanddemand,andawarenessanddirectresponse.

Thepurchasefunnelisstillthere,butitsboundarieshavebeenredrawn.Itnolongerfollowstheconventionofawareness,consideration,andpurchase;wenowseefunnelfluidity,inwhichexperiencesarecross-channel,self-service,andskewedtowardmobileandsocialenvironments.Thegoalforbrandsistofind,know,engage,andprovidevaluetocustomersthroughnewfunnellogic.Thisishowyouactivatecustomerrelationshipstoday.

ActivateMediaCommunications

Thinkofmediaasatapestryofstorytellingversusapuresalestool.Meaningfulmoments–createdattheintersectionoftechnologyanddata–cohereintoastory,whichinturncreatesanauthenticexperienceforaconsumer.Consumerscravebrandrelationshipsthatacquaintthemwithacommunityofcommoninterest.Ahealthybrand-consumerrelationshipexistswhenthere’safeedbackloop,suchasoneestablishedviacommunityengagement,tofurtherenhanceexperiences.

14

MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA

15

iii

ii

ExpandContentStrategiesBeyondtheWebsiteEcosystem

Funnelfluidityhasproducedacontentrenaissance.Withinnovations

incontentmanagementtechnologythatfocusoncustomer

experience,it’stimetoconsiderthewaysbywhichpeopleengage

withyourcontenttogleanwhytheyaredoingsointhefirstplace.This

typeofthinkingwillchangethewayyoubuildyourcommunication

plans,theassetsyoudevelop,andwhenyouaimtoengageexisting

andnewcustomers.Considerthefollowingexamples:

i

ii

iii

Apersonclicksonyourbrand’sadonasocialplatform.

Thislikelymeanshewasinfluencedbysomeoneinhis

networkwhohasalsoengagedinyourbrand’scontent

oradvertising.Yourmessagingneedstotakethis

environmentintoaccount.

Apersonvisitsyourwebsiteforthefirsttime.

Shemayhavelandedtherebecauseshewassearching forinformationaboutyourproductandwhetherit’sa fitforherneeds.It’ssmartertonurturethisrelationship throughempatheticmessagingandinformationversusa“buynow”mentalitythattriestoforceatransactionbefore someoneisready.

Apersonhasengagedwithyourbrandthroughmultipleformsofmediabuthasnotsearchedforyourproduct.

You’llneedtobuildyourmessagebasedonwhichmediawasengagedwithandhowoftenyouplantoreachthispersonwithyourmarketing.

i

16MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES17

ImplementNewTechnologyforCustomerExperience

Personalizationataone-to-onelevelisarequirementtoday.

Technology,suchasadynamiccreativeoptimization(DCO)

platform,leveragesdata–fromaconsumer’sactions,location,

preferences,andtimeofday–todeliveraradicallyefficient,

real-timestory.Thisapproachseamlesslyconnectsamessage

anditsrelevancytothemomentacrossalldigitalmediachannels,

includingdisplay,video,connectedTVandover-the-top(OTT)

advertising,audio,social,anddigitalout-of-home.Insightsfrom

consumers’cross-channelengagementscanthenbeusedtoinform

email,SMS,andyoursite.

TURNINGENGAGEMENTINTOVALUE

“Value”canmeansomethingquitedifferenttoabusinessthantoaconsumer.Andamongconsumers,theconceptofvalueisoftentiedtotheirmotivationsandgoals.Whileonepersonmayseevalueincustomersupportorspeedtopurchase,anothermayfindrelevantinformationaboutaproductmorevaluable.Howdoyoureconcilethemyriadperceptionsof“value”?

ValueEngagement,NotJustPurchase

Whenyourfocusisonsales,youfailtoconsiderthemoment-to-momentobjectivesofyourcustomers.Whenyouvalueengagement,youbegintopayattentiontowhatyourcustomerswant,whetherit’sinformationaboutyourproduct,anoffer,orawaytocommunicatewithyoudirectly.Meaningfulengagementscanbesharedwithaconsumer’sassociates,helpingtobringthemintoyourbrand’sorbit.Incentivizingcustomerfeedbackandinsightisasvaluableasincentivizingapurchase,foritmakesyourcustomerexperiencesbetterandmorevaluabletobothyouandyouraudience.

DesignYourOrganizationAccordingly

Organizeyourteamstoaddresswhathappensbeforeasale.Thismaynotbehowyourteam’ssuccessismeasured,butitwill

behowyousucceedinthefuture.

Why?Becauseyou’llcreateteamsthatthinklikeyourcustomersandcan,inturn,addresstheirneeds.Tossoutstaleacquisition,welcome,andretentionprograms.Buildclustersoflike-mindedcustomers,suchasthosewhovaluepriceoverproduct,orthosewhohaveimmediateversuslong-termneeds.

18

MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA

19

ThinkofExperiencesasProducts

Anotherwaytothinkaboutorganizingyourteamsaroundcustomers’valuesistothinkofyourbrand’sexperiencesasproducts.Let’ssayyouhaveagreatproductdemonstrationonyoursitethatdrivesapotentialcustomertoaskaquestion.Youwillgetdatafromthispersoninexchange,suchasemailaddress,reasontobuy,thetimeofdayandlocation,andpropensitytopurchase.Inthisexample,theproductalonedidn’tdrivethevalueforyourbrand–theexperiencedid.Ifyoubuildyourteamstosupporttheseexperiences,youwillachievethedialogueneededbetweenyouandyourcustomerstoderivevaluefromeverycustomertouchpoint.

THEROLEOFDATA:YESTERDAY,TODAY,ANDTOMORROW

Theroleofdatacontinuestoevolveasweexplorenewavenuestoengageconsumerswhileconfrontingsensitivitiesarounditscollection.Consumersareincreasinglyfocusedondataprivacyandwishtoengagewithbrandsthattheycantrustwiththeirpersonalinformation.Atthesametime,theyexpectbrandstoengagewiththemonapersonal,one-to-onelevel.

Understandinghowdata’srolehaschanged,whilestayingaheadofthecurve,shouldbeatoppriority.Whenitcomestodata,whathasstayedthesame,whatisabouttochange,andwhatcanyoudotostayahead?

What’sStayedtheSame

Forbrands,theprincipalroleofcustomerdatahasnotchangedovertime:it’sinformationthat,whenorganizedandexamined,helpsyoubetterunderstandyourcustomers.

Themorerelevantinformationyouhaveaboutanindividual,themorecapableyouareofbuildingandgrowingameaningfulrelationship.Notonlywasthistruecenturiesagoforface-to-face

interactionsatthelocalmarket,itremainstruetodayfordigitalinteractionsonatinysmartphonescreen.Interactionsofalltypescanbepersonallyaffecting,butonlyifthey’redrivenbyunderstanding.

What’sChanging

Thedataitselfischanging–whatwasoncemostlytransactionaldatahasexpandedtocustomerbehaviorbeforeandafterthetransaction.Whilethesheeramountofdataisstaggering,moreisn’talwaysbetter.Ratherthanacquiringmoredataforthesakeofvolume,acrucialstartingpointdemandsastrategiclearningagenda.Corequestionsmustbeconsidered,including:

•Whatdataisnecessarytounderstandthecorebehaviorsofyourcustomer(versusnicetoknow)?

•Willunderstandingthisdatadirectlyinformdecisionmakingandnewtactics?

•Howshouldthedatabecollected,organized,andaccessed?

Theanswerstothesequestionsandmanyotherswillformulateyourdatastrategy.

20

MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA

21

Whatarethenewrules?

Privacyrestrictionshaveinstalledguardrailsfordatausage.WeexpectmorestringentrestrictionstoemergeinthewakeoflegislationliketheEU’sGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)andtheUS’sCaliforniaConsumerPrivacyAct(CCPA).Broadlyspeaking,complyingwiththenewdataruleswillentail:

•Apersistentwatchonprivacylawandmonitoringofyouractivities’compliancetotheselaws.

•Strategiestoaccommodatethedeprecationofthethird-partycookie,includinghowitwillimpactadvertisingtacticssuchasretargeting.

•Aneyeonpublishers’modificationsoftheguidelinesarounddata.

•Flexibleprocessestoallowanimbleapproachtoarapidlyevolvingspace.

Howhastheconsumerchanged?

We’vealreadyaddressedtheneedsoftoday’sconsumers:theywantvaluefrombrandsinexchangefortheirdata.Thisvalueisderivedfromwhateverispersonallyrelevanttotheirneeds,whetherit’svalidation,information,connections,orrecommendations.Perhapsmostimportantly,today’sconsumersdemandthatorganizationssafeguardtheirpersonalinformationanduseitresponsibly.

Surprisingly,someorganizationsrushthroughthevalueexchange,notmakingitclearwhatcustomersreceiveinexchangeforthedatatheyprovide.Avaguevaluepropositionisoftenareasonwhyorganizationsfailtoestablishmeaningfulrelationshipswithconsumers.Thisalsohasarippleeffectontheorganization,sinceyouremployeesarealsoyourconsumersandpartoftheholisticvalueequation.

22MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA23

EXPANDTHEVISIONFORCUSTOMERDATA25

HOWDOYOUSTAYAHEAD?

Areprivacylawsandthedeathofthethird-partycookieat

oddswithdeliveringrelevancytotoday’sconsumer?Arewe

movingtowardalessdata-drivenandmoregeneralizedfutureof

marketing?Theanswertothesequestionsisaresoundingno;you

justneedtothinkdifferentlytostayahead.

CollectingNewData

Alternativesolutionscontinuetobedevelopedtosupporttargetedadvertisingandmeetmarketdemand.Yetwiththefuturestillundetermined,werecommendfocusingonwhatiscertain:thepotentialvalueoffirst-partydata.Therightamountofinvestmentwillbedeterminedbasedonmanyfactors,includingindustry.Settinggoalsforacquisitionandenrichmentofdatawillsetthefoundationofyourapproach.

MakingNewConnections

Buildingthedesiredcustomerexperiencerequiresadisciplinedapproachtoexaminenotonlyhowpeopleexperienceyourbrandintheirlivestoday,butalsohowyouenvisionitbeinthefuture.Identifythemomentsthatmatteranduncovergapsintheprocessesortechnologyneededtoconnectexperiences.

Investmentincloudsolutionswillcreatenewpossibilitiesforreal-timeandtwo-wayconversationswithyouraudience.Thecloudenablesspeedindialogueandwillshapethefutureofhowdataisutilizedinyourmarketingprograms.

UnderstandingYourCustomer’sWorld

Investintheinvestigationitself.Dataholdsclues.Ifyoulookforthem,youcanunlockbusiness-drivinginsights.Theseinsightsmayhelpyoudevelopanewproductfeaturethattargetslapsedcustomers,improvemessagingtoreachagrowingaudiencesegment,orimplementanewserviceofferingexclusivelyforhigh-valuecustomers.

Beclearaboutthefactthatmetricsarenotinsights.Insightscomejustasmuchfromdiggingintotheexperiencesofthecustomersyoudidn’tacquireastheonesyoudid.Theyrequireanunderstandingofwhatishappeninginyourcustomers’world:whichothercompaniesaretalkingtothem,theirsocialdynamics,andhowtheyareengagingwiththeircommunities.Today’smarketermustredefinemarketingmeasurementtoincentivizeinsightdevelopment.

IMPERATIVETWO

USEMEASUREMENTASACATALYSTFORCHANGE

26MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

SHAPINGCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPSINTHENEWAGEOFEXPERIENCE27

Ifyouchangewhatyoumeasure,youcanchangeyourteam’sbehaviors.Andwhenteamsexaminenotonlytheperformancein theirareaoffocus,butalsohowitconnectstotheorganization’sgreatervision,theycanachieveamazingthings.So,it’simperative tocreatemeasuresthatgiveyourteamsaunitedandcommonpurposeandbreakdownsilos,ratherthanreinforcethem.AsLouGerstnerfamouslywroteinWhoSaysElephantsCan’tDance?,“Peopledon’tdowhatyouexpect,theydowhatyouinspect.”

Whyisthisimportant?

Thisisnotanimperativeaboutreportingordashboards.Itisaboutdevelopingtherightsetofconnectedmetricsthatalignthebusinessaroundacommonpurposeandtrackfocusinthecorrectareasthroughwhichtoachieveit.

Byapproachingmeasurementasapowerfulcatalystforchange,youarebuildinganeffectivemeasurementframeworkthatgaugesalldepartments’activitiesinrelationtotheirimpactonthebusiness.

Ifyoumeasureit,youarefarmorelikelytoreachit.Gettingthererequiresyouto:

•Identifyasharedpurposeacrossyourorganization.

•Implementanunambiguousmeasurementframeworkthatstraddleseverypartofthecustomerecosystem(i.e.,across

Inafiercelycompetitivecustomerexperienceeconomy,adjustingyourmeasurementframeworkfromfocusingonwhatyoucanmeasuretowhatyoushouldmeasurecanmakeaworldofdifference.Brandsmiredinlegacyapproachestomeasurement,disconnectedteams,andmisplacedfocuswillunwittinglycommitthemselvestomediocrity.Andmediocrebusinessessetmediocrestandardsforsuccess–somethingyoucanavoidifyoumeasurethefactorsthattrulyimpactbusinessoutcomes.

marketing,sales,commerce,andservice).

•Aligndataandtechnologyacrossthebusinessinserviceofdeliveringagainstthisframework.

•Adoptanagileandadaptivemindsetgearedtowardasharedvisionofthefuture.

28MERKLE2022CXIMPERATIVES

ACTIVITIES

INPUTS

Long-term

OUTCOMES

OUTPUTS

Intermediate

results

Intermediate

(staged)

OUTCOMES

Commercial

IMPACT

What’satstake?

Thegoalistopresentaunitedfrontthatoffersvaluetoyourcustomer.Ifoneteamworkstowardasetofgoalsthatareatoddswithanotherteam’s,yourisklosingtocompetitors’moreseamless,cohesive,andrelevantexperiences.Ifyoumeasurethewrongthings,youproducethewrongbusinessoutcomes.

STAGE1:

MAPDESIREDIMPACTTOTHEOUTCOMES.

Whatoftenhappenswithinorganizationsisthatthebusinesspurposeissofarremovedfromwhatemployeescanaffectthatit’shardtoseehowaCEO’svisiontranslatestoconcreteactions.Forexample,aVP-levelexecutiveforamajorbrandremarkedafteraboardpresentationthatthebusiness’sambitionwastomovefromnumber14(outof16)incustomersatisfactionrankingstonumbertwowithinthreeyears’time.Heandtheteambelowtheboardhadnoideahowtobreakdownthisgoalintopracticaltasksthatwouldchipawayatthatambition.And,toboot,theyhadnowayofmeasuringtheirpro