Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Available Online Now: The Role of Brands in a Service-Dominated World - Journal of Brand Management - Customer Experience Special Issue

Long gone are the days where a brand was merely a logo or trademark that distinguished a company's products from those of competitors. The fastest-growing sectors of the modern economy are dominated by companies whose offer is complex and delivered in the context of long-term service...

Read the FULL article for free HERE
Click on the [PDF] from google.com link

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Customer Experience Management - Fad or Future?!

In a ground-breaking study under the leadership of Dr Phil Klaus, Professor of Marketing and Sales at ESCEM School of Business and Management, cooperating with Professor Bo Edvardsson, Karlstad University, Director of CTF Center for Service Research, and Dr Stan Maklan, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing at Cranfield School of Management, the research team explored current Customer Experience Strategy and Management Practice. The team validates the 5 key dimensions of CE practice as: CE Definitions, Scope, and Objectives; Governance of Customer Experience; Management of Customer Experience; CE Policy Development; and CE Challenges. After an extensive analysis they developed a "best practice" model, linking practice to positive financial outcomes for the organization.

Please download our paper for free HERE.





Monday, August 8, 2011

Oltre il CRM. La customer experience nell'era digitale. Strategie, best practices, scenari del settore moda e lusso

Le nuove tecnologie hanno alterato per sempre il modo in cui il cliente vive il mondo della Moda e del Lusso stimolando un processo che ha ridimensionato la centralità del prodotto e dello stile a favore di un’espansione dell’esperienza di fruizione e di relazione con la marca. In altre parole, il cliente è ora collocato al centro di “regole del gioco” diverse, con un paradigma nuovo, che molte aziende di questa filiera devono ancora al meglio interpretare, utilizzare, valorizzare.
 
Oltre il CRM esplora questo paradigma e illustra come aziende leader della Moda e del Lusso (nell’area prodotti e servizi) abbiano saputo, non solo implementare progetti efficaci di Customer Relationship Management (CRM), ma anche sperimentare e trarre vantaggio competitivo dal nuovo scenario di mercato e dalle tecnologie innovative dell’era digitale. Ecco da qui aprirsi l’offerta per i clienti, di una Customer Experience, una dimensione e un’esperienza di acquisto nuove, differenzianti e strategicamente vincenti.

Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus, Quo vadis, customer experience?
Creare strategie di successo; La "visione d'impresa" della customer experience; La storia si evolve; Le sfide; Il business case per la customer experience; Il potere dei sistemi di misurazione; Quo vadis, customer experience?; Le tecnologie digitali; Le sfide come opportunità.


Beyond CRM

Beyond CRM - Customer Experience in the Digital Era. Strategies, Best Practices, Scenarios in Fashion and Luxury

So-called “new” technologies have altered forever the way in which customers experience the world of fashion and luxury. Product and style, traditionally center-stage, have conceded to the experiential dimensions of brand experience and interaction. The client sets the rules of the game, and for companies and brands, the playing has gotten rough. The recent economic downturn, which has affected the fashion and luxury sector heavily, and the rise of digital media have exacerbated these changes and called for new customer-oriented marketing paradigms.

In this market scenario, winning brands are the ones which are able to offer a differentiated, consistent and value-driven Customer Experience, and to leverage information technologies and digital tools along the entire value chain.  Beyond CRM aims to illustrate how some fashon and luxury companies (products and services) are indeed leading the way by leveraging both effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies and experimenting with, and drawing competitive advantage from, innovative digital technologies, from design to distribution and beyond.

The themes explored in the book have been mentioned in publications in Italy and abroad but to date none have specifically focussed on the current and future scenarios of the fashion and luxury sector; Beyond CRM is the first in the Italian language to explore the subject matter in its complexity.  It will be appreciated by professionals and fashion, luxury and technology aficionados, as well as consultants, teachers and students.

For more information visit: 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

PODCAST: Phil Klaus discusses Customer Experience

Conversation with Stan Maklan from August 2008: Listen to Phil talk about customer experience, how he believes it is a much larger concept than customer service alone.

Access the podcast here

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Quantifying Quality - MARKETING WEEK EXCLUSIVE

New research by Cranfield School of Management’s Phil Klaus looks at what triggers consumer purchasing behaviour in the financial services industry and why people choose one brand over another.

With the results of his brand tracking tool EXQ (Experience Quality) as evidence, he argues for the need for companies to deliver a ‘superior customer experience’. In an exclusive blog article Klaus lays out his case:

“Today’s businesses seem to be obsessed by brands. Managers are constantly exposed to stories emphasising the importance of the brand for their organization. Crucially, we need to be reminded of the relationship between cause and effect. The brand is only the effect of the company’s actions. The source of the brand, and the only part the company has influence over, are the actions leading to the brand and brand image. These actions and their impact on consumer behaviour can be investigated through the customer experience. Managers need to step back and work on the cause of the brand – the customer experience, rather than the effect. Why the customer experience?

Read more here

La customer experience: il pezzo mancante per la creazione della vera fedeltà

La customer experience: il pezzo mancante per la creazione della vera fedeltà

L'obiettivo principale degli intermediari finanziari è fidelizzare i propri clienti. Secondo la ricerca presenata in questo articolo, la customer experience, cioè l'esperienza del cliente nei confronti del marchio, costituisce il presupposto della fedeltà nei servizi finanziari e, di conseguenza, la base per conseguire maggiori ricavi e profitti. 

For more click here

MK La rivista ABI di marketing e comunicazione in banca

Monday, August 1, 2011

What really creates loyalty? Why customer lifecycle management matters? Do we really need mobile advertising? How crucial is behavioral segmentation? Find answers to these key questions below…

What Really Creates Customer Loyalty?
The Importance of ‘Value-In-Use’?
Phil Klaus from the Cranfield University School of Management discusses how ‘value-in-use’ can help build customer loyalty. Access this valuable information here.

Why customer lifecycle management matters.
In previous editions Phil Klaus of Cranfield University has established the importance of the customer experience. In this article he looks at how customer relationships evolve over time and suggests why you should care. Read more here.

Do we really need mobile advertising?
That is the question posed by Phil Klaus, resident expert on customer experience at Cranfield University School of Management. Read all about it here.

Cause and Effect.
Phil Klaus, a regular contributor, guides you through an holistic approach to market segmentation. He explains here why it is vital to understand why customers are driven to behave in a certain way and the crucial role segmentation plays in all marketing activities.




Saturday, July 30, 2011

The role of brands in a service-dominated world

Long gone are the days where a brand was merely a logo or trademark that distinguished a company's products from those of competitors. The fastest-growing sectors of the modern economy are dominated by companies whose offer is complex and delivered in the context of long-term service partnerships. In such a service-dominated economy, we must re-conceptualise our notion of brand so that it provides the context in which such service-based marketing flourishes.

Read more from our Journal of Brand Management article here