Page 10 - AeM_Dec_2018

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

The Customer Journey is a matter for the boss

When it comes to customer-centricity, Customer • Define the organization framework: Often, the
Journeys are the melting pot of all disciplines and confusion already starts with the terminology within
perspectives. Evidently, the enterprise around the the company, regarding touchpoints and customer
customer journey in the daily business routine is initiated journeys. For instance, IT works with personas for
and managed by individual departments, such as the digital journey, marketing addresses different
marketing, sales, IT or service. As a result, despite types of advertising target groups, and product
considerable initial success, the creation of positive development works by segmenting the industry
customer experiences, or winning of more new association. Every department pursues a different
customers, often falter due to insufficient internal support strategy and uses a variety of different approaches,
of such projects. So, how can that be prevented? such as customer experience management or
marketing automation. That way, it is easy to forget
We recommend to:
that all departments actually interact with the same
customers - or at least should try that. Tasks,
• Promote inter-divisional cooperation: In order to competencies and responsibilities must therefore be
create positive customer experiences, companies regulated in the company. For the development of
must shape the customer journey holistically. This customer journeys, for example, it should be
means, in addition to purely technical elements, clarified in advance for which market development
content, procedural and organizational aspects must
be coordinated as well. That customer journey processes and / or target groups the customer
journeys need to be created; where the customer
management can only really succeed if employees journeys should begin and where to end, or which
work together across all departments and hierarchy off- and online touchpoints are included.
levels goes without saying, since silo-thinking stands
as usual in the way of success. Concurrently, an • Provide a basis for decision-making: A
active engagement of the senior management measurable touchpoint management with a 360-
accelerates the whole process and motivates the degree view of (potential) customers objectifies is
employees.
crucial to constantly improve and have confidence in
making decisions. At the same time, it increases the

10 December 2018 - Customer Experience & Customer Journey