From the client to the Centre then to the client at the Summit - Customer Intelligence to build caring and memorable Journeys.

As many of you surely know, the word "client" is derived from Latin. The term was attributed to a liberated slave or a simple plebeian, particularly one who had a strong bond with their benefactor or master.

Understanding the evolution of this relationship that has led us to arrive at the concept these days where customer is "supreme" is a long and difficult path. Rather, what I believe to be more feasible would be to understand the market development and of the technologies that have led to the transition of the customer being "in the centre" to the customer being “at the top" with the last decade.

Discussing the importance of the customer in front of a Marketing or Sales Manager is "redundant" (I remember that 14 years ago, my boss used to smile ironically and had to express themselves with "linguistic creativity" at training courses on Costumer Centricity in the company, arguing that the organisation was taking away precious hours that could be put to more "effective" activities). The reality is that this would be like to tell a building contractor how the building’s foundations are important, and that - if they dissolve - everything would collapse. Would he smile ironically?

This leads to the question on what has changed in these last years? Why do we constantly and insistently talk about "Engagement", "Customer Experience", "Customer Journey", “BIG DATA analysis”, and of course "Customer Intelligence"? Personally, I consider the term Customer Intelligence to be extremely interesting, as we once talked about Marketing Intelligence; Intelligence had to be applied to the market, and now it has to be applied to the customer.

I will answer in the order of what I believe to be fundamental causes in the ascent of our Client to the Summit and his subsequent Crowning.

1- Many speakers on stage, few questions.

In periods of Recession, the demand is lower and as a consequence, those seeking to "ask" become a precious asset. I am reminded of a chapter of an Alberoni book that analysed "absence" as a fundamental reason for the genesis of attachment. In that case, he talks about emotional relationships but I think that it expresses the new phenomenon of customer attachment in a simple way. Naturally this analysis is valid for companies that work in BtoC or BtoB (in serial mode). Otherwise we could talk about what happens at a party when there are a hundred men and two women or vice versa.

2- A changeable customer. I want it here, I want it now.

The multiplication of the offer in comparison to the rate of demand has made the customer more demanding. In addition, there is the phenomenon "he saw it on the television", that is, in a nutshell, that everybody knows that somewhere in the world he can get what he wants. He is now ready to contact the companies who provide those goods&services. He wants a "unique" and "real-time" relationship.

The customer wants the best price and the best service / product today. In addition, he requires immediate access to information, support and the possibility to sign flexible contracts (the new On-demand economy is changing the game’s rules, and people are expected to be able to turn services on and off when they want it). Products and services will become more commoditised and will be proposed in "rent" and not "for sale".

3- A digital world. With lost confidence, a thousand new open roads.

The digital world is no longer "new". Access to price comparison information, benchmark between different products and solutions is now available to everyone. As such, developing customer loyalty becomes increasingly complex. As we all know, the rule of trust, which takes months to build and is lost in a moment, is valid for customers too. Nowadays the customer has a series of immediate ways to "get out" of the relationship using the online world, as it is free, fast and accessible for everyone.

Naturally, as a Consultant for Digital Marketing, Customer Experience and Innovation, and, above all, a person with a proactive approach, I think it is essential to talk about solutions now that the problems have been elaborated.

How would one identify and transform the prospects into customers?

1. How would one satisfy demanding customers and keep their loyalty to brands/products/services?
2. What web solutions would one propose to intercept customers disappointed by other brands/products/services?
3. How would one make a king fall in love?

Having defined that the customer is no longer at the centre, but at the top (as I think the image of the supplier no longer being on the same level of the customer, but is positioned on a different "Cartesian " level is clear), we now go to understand how to exploit a changing market to increase the business of our company. It is also good to remember that in all the moments of change and crisis, those who make the most of the opportunities gather their own fruits, along with those not seized by others.

3.a - Many speakers, few questions, but a new Intelligence (Customer Intelligence) to intercept them.

If it is true that the demand (for some products and services) has decreased, then it is equally true that we have access to Evolved Technological Platforms for data analysis and a quantity of information available allow us to understand who our potential customer are and what they would want from us. We therefore have the opportunity to "customize" offers and services to respond to that "faint" question with confidence, and the certainty to bring results home.

The Internet and Mobile world, along with the intersection of data with the new concept of Customer Intelligence, gives us the opportunity to know this through simple and practical examples. For example if we discover than in the area of "Manchester", there are "30" people of "male" sex who have the exact profile of those who purchase our product "x" we can answer their questions even before they have consciously formulated it. The same applies to cross-selling activities on our acquired customers.

3.b - A capricious customer. Give him what he wants here and now. Then you can educate him. But first, you have to hold him (Customer Care)

Today's customer is like a child. He wants it here, he wants it now. He wants it blue and not pink. And when he asks "why?". Are we ready to answer?

You have to answer him immediately; otherwise he will go and ask someone else. Moreover, if there is an error or a disservice, t his will be equipped with a megaphone and shared with the world, showing them "how much our company" has behaved badly.

To understand what is going on, there would be a need to mention a few cases of entrepreneurs or CEOs who have spent some bad days (or nights) looking at Twit's avalanches that cite their name, the name of their company and the disservices they have rendered. Twits are not funny to manage and the digital savyy users are ready to put the right hashtags in order to increase the damage.

The solution is thus excellence. I would not feel like proposing any alternative route. Rather, aim for Excellence in Customer Service (Costumer Service, Contact Centre, Social Media Care). There are no shortcuts. The good news (negative for me on an idealistic level, as I work in the field of Innovation but positive for those at the starting line of the race) is that lots of industries and countries are underdeveloped. When talking about Connectivity, Human Capital (Innovation), Integration of Digital Technologies, Digitization, and Social Media Caring in enterprises, it is always extremely difficult to transverse due to a lack of a shared language.

This means that those who start running have a good chance of running alone, with the other players are still lacing up their shoes. Winning the fastest, geo-localized, customized service challenge is easier than you think.

3.c - A digital world. When they look for a road they will find mine (Customer Journey)

Now that we understand who our customer is, we need to look at how to avoid losing it for disservice, along with where are our prospects, as we have to build roads and paths that intercept our prospects (both those who still do not know they need of our product / service, that those who have lost the trust in a product / service similar to a competitor). This is the road that the company's dealers will travel daily, and it is a road that they drive by when passing through toll roads and setting up one-to-one meetings (depending on the business model). The road I'm talking about now is parallel to the one found in the virtual world.

It is a road that starts when the customer enters "service x" in Google and lands on our site (which must appear on the first page of the search engine results). This is where the Costumer Journey begins.

The ease of the journey of the customer would mean that navigation must be simple and guided towards our goal in an intuitive way (hence the importance of the analysis of the User Experience of platforms and technological solutions).

In short, if it is true that the customer has become "king", then we will need to have the tools to be the first to meet his needs, to work on the "experience" (Costumer Experience) and give our Brand/Product and Services the opportunity to be excellent. We can also be the first one to be found when they are "lousy" at using the web, intuitively lead them to their goal effectively.

It is also fundamental to insert in all these paths and "dialogues", along with the emotional ingredients required to create a relationship that is more difficult to rescind from in the future.

There will always be a time when there will be a disservice, a "nuisance" for the customer - also linked to "exogenous" factors. If the customers will stay with us, it will be thanks to the emotions and attachment that we have created, but that is another story. The story of the image and of the Brand Intangible Value, along with the emotional bond with the client is increasingly difficult to create. However, that is what will save us when excellence fails, and the "humanity" of the company appears. A company, like any human being, would make mistakes occasionally.

What is important to keep in mind is that any company is made up of human beings who will be wrong, and that the demand has diminished and the King is Capricious.

But the King is also NAKED (we have data and solutions to offer him the clothes he needs).

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