"Change - A new way of talking business" IÉSEG Magazine - Issue #2

02

NOVEMBER 2019

A NEW WAY OF TALKING BUSINESS

A BETTER SOCIETY BUSINESS AND RESEARCH

Is the employee also a customer? /P.12

GOOD NEWS

Motivation to buy: what’s changed?

/P.16

NICE TO MEET YOU

Olivier Lluansi, Industrial Territories Delegate to the French Finance and Economy Minister and the Minister for Territorial Cohesion. /P.18

“The definition of customer has changed over time” /P.04

LOOK .

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE...

THANK YOU TO:

BUSINESS AND RESEARCH

Is the employee also customer?

/P.12

• Thomas Bonduelle • Ghislain Caudrillier • Yoann Convert • Raphaëlle Dessein • Estelle Dufour • Valérie Duret • Bruno de Fougeroux • Claire Jolimont • Gwarlann de Kerviler • Michel Leclercq • Élisabeth Lefranc • Olivier Lluansi • Bert Paesbrugghe • Pascale Patat Dubouis • Jean-Marc Piatek

BUSINESS AND RESEARCH

When customers become a community /P.14

NUMBER 02

The magazine that takes a new look at IÉSEG business IÉSEG 3 rue de la Digue - 59000 Lille 1 parvis de La Défense - 92044 Paris www.ieseg.fr November 2019 Publishing director: Jean-Philippe Ammeux Editor in chief: Sophie Guérin Editorial team: Alexandra Briot, Antoine Decouvelaere, Anne-Marie Deprimoz, Laetitia Dugrain-Noel, Manon Duhem, Andrew Miller Design and production: Caillé associés Editing: Caillé associés Photography: IÉSEG, Pixabay, Shutterstock, Istockphoto

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GOOD NEWS

Internal collaboration, the key to customer satisfaction

/P.16

GOOD NEWS

Motivation to buy: what’s changed?

/P.16

BETWEEN US .

TAKING A NEW LOOK AT BUSINESS In Mexico, the country most seriously affected by childhood obesity, a Mexican agri-food leader has recently faced a huge problem. As part of the fight against obesity, the manufacturer decided to reduce the sugar content in its products by 3%. There was an instant uproar: it immediately received hundreds of complaints from its customers, disgusted by the changes made to their favourite products. The story illustrates an age-old problem: everyone knows that the customer is king, but does that mean he is always right? Should we always listen to what they want? At the beginning of the 20th century, the industrialist Henry Ford was already aware of this. He said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse and not a car.”

The skill of the entrepreneur and the manager is to find the right balance between two imperatives: attracting customers to ensure the success of the business and asserting themselves as agents of change who convince their customers by explaining and persuading. In short, they need to combine an ability to listen to customers’ expectations with a gift for providing what they need, to reconcile long-term and short-term objectives and the turnover of tomorrow with the turnover in 2030.

“Finding the right

balance between attracting customers and asserting themselves as agents of change.”

The debate is now taking a new turn, especially as customers are becoming increasingly difficult to attract and all businesses face the challenge of winning them over and holding onto them. But how far should businesses go and where should they stop? Is it up to companies to educate their customers? And how do you get a head start on your customers’ future or untapped needs? How can businesses contribute to more responsible and sustainable behaviours and habits? How can they succeed in the challenge of - to quote the IÉSEG motto - empowering changemakers for a better society.

Sophie Guérin, Corporate relation director at IÉSEG

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“The definition of customer has changed over time” How do you define a customer in today’s world? What are their conscious and subconscious expectations? In a digital age, are we able to define their profile more precisely or does some mystery still remain in the relationship they have with brands and companies? What is the best way to attract and retain them? Élisabeth Lefranc, Doctor of management science, is fascinated by the evolution of the customer experience.

She gives Change her view of a subject which is as complicated as it is important to companies for whom winning over the elusive customer is an economic necessity.

When did we first start to talk about customers?

The term took on its contemporary meaning with the consumer society. In the early days of the industrial revolution, there were just a few companies meeting everyone’s needs, which made things simple when it came to customers. A famous example of this is the Ford T, which Henry Ford said was “available in any colour as long as it is black”. After the financial crisis of 1929, it became more difficult to sell products, which gave rise to the birth of advertising. From that moment on, it was all about attracting customers, listening to them and adapting to their expectations. From the 1950s onwards, increasingly fierce competition forced companies to differentiate themselves from one another, thanks in part to marketing. Little by little, they began to move towards the notion of the customer experience. It was no longer about trying to come up with the best product or the most relevant service; the stakes had completely changed. Companies could reinforce their values by being part of the experience economy. Managing experience was not limited to controlling quality or trying to win over customers by appealing to their different senses - what we may think of as experiential marketing. It was in fact a strategic new approach that could be adopted by any type of organisation: companies, public authorities, organisations etc.

Organisations are interested in what the customer experiences and feels, the boundaries are extended further: today, the customer may be a consumer but also a patient in a hospital, a supplier to an organisation, the employee of a company etc.

There’s a saying that the customer is king. What is meant by this and is it true?

In purely economic terms, the customer is still king to the extent that he has the last word. Whatever the quality of the product and whatever experience a company wants him to have, it only takes one weak link in the chain to leave a bad impression and for the whole experience to be a negative one.

It’s their whole perception that counts and a billing problem can be enough to ruin the whole experience. This is what makes the notion of experience interesting because it takes into account this emotional aspect that plays an important part in a decision to buy something and to buy it again and can turn the customer into an ambassador.

There is an element of irrationality that plays a major role in customer loyalty.

However, we don’t necessarily deliver satisfaction by providing what the client asks for: the customer is king, but the king does not

always know exactly what he wants… The beauty of the experience approach consists of offering them something that will both provide satisfaction and exceed their expectations.

The digital boom has considerably changed business relationships.

Is Big Data the future for the client?

There has always been a need to analyse consumer behaviour. Computer data is everywhere and can collect the maximum information, but we still need to know how to treat all these psychological, sociological and cultural variables... We can assume some trends of course and come up with more finely-tuned business proposals. but the customer remains the final decision-maker. There’s an irrational element which means that marketing has never been and never will be an exact or predictive science.

As efficient as they are, algorithms are never more than just another tool.

(...)

A word that comes from afar It might be hard to believe, at a time when companies are trying to win over and satisfy new customers, that the client has not always been in a position of strength. Originating from the Latin word cliens, the word was first used to designate poor Roman citizens who placed themselves under the protection of a patrician. The patronus, or boss, was powerful and well-to-do and maintained a relationship of dependency with his clientele: the protection and financial support he provided was repaid by a series of small services, including votes in favour of their protector’s interests - an idea that still remains in the contemporary notion of clientelism. Synonymous with the word for a vassal in the Middle Ages, the term gained its current meaning only in modern times, when it gradually replaced the word for someone who buys something, or the practice of a trader, to become someone who chooses to buy goods or a service.

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A BETTER SOCIETY .

(...)

To put it bluntly, thinking they are a way to manipulate consumer behaviour may yield short-term results, but in the long run I doubt they will be in line with the quest for authenticity that characterises today’s customer.

What do today’s customers expect from a product or service? What are the most important criteria?

Price and quality are always key, especially for consumer products. However, adding value can change the behaviour of buyers who are more and more often deciding to turn to companies that guarantee a form of authenticity, even if they have to pay more for what they are buying. This is noticeable in the world of mass-market retailers, where shops are increasingly offering ethical, organic, local and eco-friendly products in line with a growing demand. Even a fast-food giant like McDonald’s is seeking to improve its image by emphasising its social responsibility, focusing on the origin of its products, for example, or on the fact that it is one of the biggest employers in France.

In your research, you emphasise that companies must engage in an organisational learning process to adapt to the way customers are changing. How should they do this?

73%

OF CONSUMERS, ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, SAY THAT THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THEIR PURCHASING DECISIONS. (PWC STUDY, 2018)

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Companies must define the experience they want their customers to have to really differentiate themselves - formalising the experience they want is as part of the company’s strategy. This builds on the company’s mission and is a powerful way of achieving its vision. It should also be inspired by an understanding of the experience expected, based on a real intimacy with customers.

Marketing, communications and sales departments all have a key role to play because they can contribute by not only having a detailed knowledge of their customers, but also in shaping the experience their customers expect. For example, when a sales representative interacts with a customer, he can try to discover needs beyond those the customer initially expresses. A critical, and often underestimated, step is the translation by the operational teams of the desired experience into the proposed experience. How this happens has a significant effect on the final experience. For this reason, managing the experience is like a business project with each employee bringing something to the table. The experience cannot be managed as such, because it is determined by the client’s reaction to what is proposed. With a dynamic approach, it is essential to understand it in order to be able to take corrective steps, or even rethink the desired experience altogether.

Élisabeth Lefranc, doctor of management sciences

Find out more: Élisabeth Lefranc, Customer Experience Management: From Strategic Marketing to Organisational Learning, CNAM, 2013

50%

OF RESPONDENTS PUT THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THEIR PURCHASING DECISION. (MEDALLIA/IPSOS, 2018)

Where are the customers?

Ok - let’s welcome the customers, but where? With the advent of the internet the ever elusive consumer can find, compare and buy whatever he wants, whenever he wants and wherever he wants, with a simple click.

But have their expectations changed? Has the high street had its day? We’re not so sure…

Let’s start with the obvious: in just ten years, it’s undeniable that the internet has made a huge difference to selling. Yoann Convert, Senior Account Manager at Adidas, said: «In Europe, online sales now account for 26% of business, compared to less than 10% five or ten years ago. The phenomenon is even more noticeable in some countries, such as Germany, where the figure is 40%. France is rather behind schedule in this regard.” And that’s to say nothing of the ubiquity of the smartphone, which complicates the situation even further in a sector already knocked off course by the internet during the previous decade: “The customer does not take the same approach with a laptop as on a smartphone. The first tends to be used in the evening, in peace, while the latter allows more instantaneous purchases, more immediately.”

Physical shops

With everyone glued to their screens, are real shops dying, deserted by customers attracted to the speed and ease of apps or marketplaces like Amazon? Although it’s long been presented as an inevitable development, this point of view is no longer a certainty today. Proof of this says Yoann Convert, is that major sportswear brands such as Nike or Adidas are opening more stores than they are closing, especially in big cities: «A few years ago, Adidas and Nike only owned a single shop under their own name in Paris. Today each brand has around ten.” He thinks it’s a question of culture more than technology and points to different buying behaviour depending on the country: “In France, the customer remains very at-

tached to physical retail spaces.” And if there’s something else that works in favour of shops, it’s the fact that the digital natives and Generation Y, said to be more into new technology than their elders, have not yet taken precedence. “It’s often said that in 2025, 45 to 50% of consumers will be millennials. But what about the other 50%? Their purchasing power will be higher and their expectations different. How do you talk to them? What advice, what human connection and what interactions will be on offer to them? This is a key question because the trading relationship is about more than its commercial aspect,” said Valérie Duret, an expert in development strategies and repositioning retail and merchandising in the luxury sector. The art of small talk, authenticity and discussion does not only affect the luxury sector: it directly concerns all the retail sector and it is no coincidence that all

Valérie Duret,

expert in development and repositioning and in strategies for retail and merchandising

the major brands are currently seeking to rethink their model, even to the extent of getting rid of huge retail sites in favour of more intimate spaces. This is something which will have serious consequences in terms of HR: only experienced and customer-oriented salespeople will be able to respond successfully to this evolution, hence the need for soft skills, or even training in social networking in some sectors: “The brands will need advisers able to lead a discussion but also to know what is being said and the buzz on social networks to engage in the conversation and so the business relationship.” (...)

Yoann Convert,

senior account manager at Adidas

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A BETTER SOCIETY .

The meaning, the key to customer relationships The founder and long-time director of Décathlon and founding chairman of the organisation Plus de Gens Plus Heureux, Michel Leclercq has always put meaning at the heart of a successful relationship between a brand and its customers.

Is the customer the best person to define the product they need?

To begin with, the customer is not necessarily the same as the user. Parents buy food for their babies but they are not the ones who eat it: if we could listen to the babies, they would probably ask for sweeter jars of baby food, which does not correspond to the needs of the children. To go one step further, designing a product obviously presupposes listening to the person who is going to use it, but it is up to the designer to come up with the best possible solution by carefully observing the user in real-life situations to determine what their expectations are - some of which they may not even be aware of. Let’s face it, until Steve Jobs came along, nobody knew they needed a smartphone ...

But don’t we sometimes create a false need?

Anyone whose aims are purely commercial will try to come up with invented needs, appealing to people’s sense of pride, for instance. But the notion is relative: is buying flowers useful or useless?

What some might consider pointless or useless - a beautifully cut suit, cosmetics or a luxury car - is quite the opposite for those who see it as a way of improving their self-esteem. That’s why I think the question of “meaning” is essential. A product is imbued with the meaning of the business. At Décathlon, a seller who suggests a child’s parents buy a ball is not not only selling a ball, but also a means of training, fun, generosity, respect for others … it is by helping people to bring out the best in themselves that we form an attachment with them.

Offering products that are consistent with our values means creating a lasting relationship with customers.

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(...) Phygital continuity

This is something that concerns everyone: contrary to popular belief, says Valérie Duret, “teenagers do not restrict themselves to the internet.” She believes that real shops still have strong appeal. “We go for several reasons, ranging from the need to try things on and a desire to find other products, but also to get our hands on a product immediately. Apps have often made it possible to ensure this through real-time inventory tracking.” Another good example is bookshops. The time when salespeople were raising their eyebrows at teenagers reading comic books in the shop is over ... Nowadays, readers expect the bookseller to be warm and welcoming with a knowledge of publishing and literary news of the kind Amazon will never be able to offer online.

It’s something of an irony that the American giant, long accused of killing off the bookshop, is now opening a network of physical bookshops in the United States to create a type of connection that simply doesn’t exist online.

And it’s not just limiting itself to books: at the beginning of the year, Amazon had 600 physical points of sale including Amazon 4-Star, the concept of shops with no cash and no staff, Amazon Go, the Amazon Books stores, the delivery service AmazonFresh Pickup and the organic brand Whole Foods - which alone has 400 points of sale - with a turnover of $4.3 billion in the second quarter of 2019. With phygital continuity, we are at the crossroads between the physical and the digital. “You will not always find the full range or all the products in store,” said Yoann Convert, “but you will be able to get advice and enjoy the experience. In Paris, the new Adidas store on the Champs-Élysées has a sales area, but also a lounge bar offering vitamin drinks and smoothies ... You can also try out footballs or basketballs and spend time there, which is important for parents who can relax and leave their children while taking the time to shop.” All these cool, friendly spaces are designed to make life easier for consumers.

They’re taking a gamble: creating the conditions to turn a visit to the physical shop into an immediate purchase or not, with delivery solutions or click’n’collect if the product you want is not in stock. The customer is everywhere - and so are businesses.

Reaching for the stars At a time of consumer rating and the five stars that are familiar to users of Amazon or Uber, the issue of influence and recommendation has become an essential one for brands. How do they adapt when the customer becomes the one who advises, recommends and influences?

Figures vary from study to study, but it is estimated that two out of three internet users consult blogs or social networks before buying. What are they looking for? The advice of their neighbours on the one hand, but also the people they follow on social media - the famous influencers, much mocked in their infancy and now sought out by brands.

Is the phenomenon of the expert customer, advisor and curator really so new? Yes and no, says Gwarlann de Kerviler, Director of the Ghislain Caudrillier, marketing and negotiations department at media, digital & influence strategy IÉSEG who reminds us that good old wordmanager at Orangina Suntory France of-mouth did not start with the internet. The former researcher for Danone and Staples, has noticed two new phenomena, becoming more apparent in the last decade: the questioning of the discussion around brands on the one hand and the megaphone effect of social media on the other.

Gwarlann de Kerviler, professor at IÉSEG

And it’s a trend that is enough to make companies break out in a cold sweat: the youngest consumers are also the most critical of conventional marketing rhetoric, which they don’t find particularly credible ... “The customer’s voice counts because he expresses an authentic, sincere and unfiltered judgment to his community,” said Gwarlann de Kerviler. The typical consumer is already receptive to what friends are saying and this effect is multiplied as soon as influencers are involved. Where once they were pro-

minent athletes or famous actors, their profile has now diversified and the internet is full of examples of people who rose to fame on YouTube, or even with a simple blog. You might feel Squeezie, Enjoy Phoenix, and Cyprien are talking to you, but Wendy Swan and Carnets de Traverse less so. And yet with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, the first account is emerging in the world of lifestyle, and travel agencies are snapping up the couple behind the second.

And be aware: this influence owes nothing to chance, says Gwarlann de Kerviler: “To have a big account, you must have talent, know how to pick up on a trend. It is a profession in its own right knowing how to show the way you can live the experience, emotionally and subjectively.”

Buzz and influence

From the point of view of the brands, the quest for influence has become a major issue, said Ghislain Caudrillier, media, digital & influence Strategy Manager at Orangina Suntory France. Like at Orangina when we developed the B2B2C: “By using digital we can speak directly to our end consumers, while in the world of mass consumer goods we always have an intermediary in the big shops or cafes, hotels and restaurants ... “

(...)

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Interview Bruno de Fougeroux, General Manager, Danone Water France & Benelux, looks back on the links he has made with his B2B customers, particularly in supermarkets.

Who are your customers and how has your business approach evolved in recent years?

We work with the major retail brands, with the hotel catering sector and with shops such as Relay and the Paul bakeries ... The difficulties that mass retail is experiencing have complicated the situation. We have long sought to build shared strategies between suppliers and distributors. Price wars have forced us to move to more transactional exchanges where cost and logistical excellence have become key elements. However, in order to keep their own customers, large retailers need brands and seek to differentiate themselves by offering products, exclusively, which should work in favour of a more consensual commercial relationship.

Is it different in the hotel and restaurant sector?

The relationship has always been more partnership-based and warmer than with retail. The personal and the emotional play a considerable role in the customer relationship.

They are often looking for specific partnerships, such as when Paul Bocuse wanted his signature and name on bottles of Badoit.

What does Danone get out of working alongside companies like Relay and Paul?

For brands like ours, it’s more a question of visibility than turnover. Being on the shelves in Relay means we are visible in every airport and railway station in France, which they are very aware of. This makes for a very professional relationship, focused on visibility and marketing issues in particular.

Bruno de Fougeroux, general manager of Danone Water France & Benelux

(...) “We can do it in one of two ways,” said Ghislain Caudrillier. “One

solution is to create tailor-made brand events, such as the Villa Schweppes parties. We invite influencers, journalists and the general public, who have no commercial stake, although we hope of course that they will spontaneously share content with their communities. The second possibility is to create specific content with influencers chosen for their creative talent, this time as part of a formal contract. For example, Oasis made a deal with the YouTuber Maskey, who has 1.3 million subscribers and is known for his rap videos and his high popularity with teenagers. For Oasis, Maskey has created original content by mixing his world with the brand’s iconic P’tits Fruits, drawing inspiration from artists such as PNL, Damso and Niska. And it’s proving popular, there have been 3.7 million views at “Nobody is fooled the last count ... We need to know how to capitalise on the brand’s strengths: “For Orangiand everyone na or Oasis, we use humour to give a personality to our drinks and create attachment by knows that the big making people smile,” said Ghislain. “It works Orangina’s quirky image, inherited accounts are because from its role as a challenger to Coca-Cola, is strongly not new - people who are over 30 will remember Orangina Red ... Sometimes it seems as encouraged to if everything stems from this period. The the Bottle campaign played on the facarry positive Shake mous slogan “Orangina, shake the bottle, messages.” wake the taste”. The brand installed a drinks distributor in front of the La Défense district of Paris that needed a nudge with the shoulder to make a can drop out. It was fun, referential and simple, the campaign was a hit and the videos posted in its wake triggered an immediate take-up. One question remains: will consumers who have turned to influencers rather than brands to quench their thirst for authenticity continue to follow them when they are increasingly sought after by the brands?

“Nobody is fooled and everyone knows that the big accounts are strongly encouraged to carry positive messages. Not to mention the contractual agreements that some stars have with brands, they get some products for free,” said Gwarlann de Kerviler. “Everything depends on their credibility and their expertise. It’s up to them to remain vigilant so as not to spoil their own image: Norman is always going to be more credible talking about music or video games than talking about wine.”

75%

OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH INFLUENCERS ARE ON INSTAGRAM (REECH, 2019)

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Food revolution “Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are ...” With a mixture of mistrust and new dietary requirements, the expectations of consumers are changing and putting the entire supply chain of the food industry under pressure. How does a group like Bonduelle react to this?

We asked Thomas Bonduelle, Commercial Director of Bonduelle’s Europe Food Service Transparency, nutrition and local products ... Are the new food trends we see in the media, a reality?

Thomas Bonduelle,

commercial director of Bonduelle’s Europe Food Service

“We are a point of reference for the whole world, which is a huge responsibility.”

In France and throughout the world, there is certainly an increasing shift that affects both producers and manufacturers as well as distributors. While for a long time price was the most important factor motivating consumers, the theme of “better eating” has moved to replace that (see box). Behind this awareness are various concerns, ranging from the environmental impact or carbon footprint of products and their nutritional qualities through to support for local products and fair remuneration for producers.

What action has Bonduelle taken?

As part of our CSR strategy, we have set ourselves clear goals by committing ourselves to reducing our carbon footprint by 20% by 2035. Another firm commitment is to only use 100% recyclable plastic packaging by 2025. Keeping to our goals has meant a considerable effort in R&D, which is why we have set up a European centre of innovation in Villeneuve d’Ascq which has enabled us to increase our expertise and speed in canned and frozen foods.

What advantages does Bonduelle have for adapting to this new strategy?

Ever since the company began in 1853, proximity to the agricultural community has always been at the heart of our business.

We are a point of reference for the whole world which is a huge responsibility. This responsibility ranges from the most effective recyclability of our packaging to the production of organic and pesticide-free products. We strive for a pioneering and positive dynamic that will have repercussions for our competitors and our partners, especially farmers, to lead them to modify their cultivation methods. In exchange, we help them to make these changes through supply charters that guarantee them minimum incomes.

91%

of French people say they have changed their eating habits as they have become more concerned about what they eat (in terms of wellbeing, health scares, the impact on the environment etc). This was one of many lessons learned from the survey of citizens carried out last spring by several agribusiness players (Bonduelle, Danone, System U, INRA etc) on the citizen platform Mark.org. The survey involved more than 460,000 participants and 1.2 million votes.

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BUSINESS AND RESEARCH .

Is the employee also a customer?

Until recently, the idea that you might think of your employees as customers would probably have seemed absurd. And yet the most important standard bearers for a company’s image - its employees - are valuable assets to be attracted and retained. Estelle Dufour, Leader Talents in Boulanger’s Human Resources Department, analyses this phenomenon.

Should a company be “selling itself” to its own team? Are today’s employees also customers?

The notion of a commercial exchange that marks out the customer relationship is obviously lacking in a company’s relationship with its staff: a customer buys, an employee is paid. On the other hand, it is true that human resources departments are increasingly thinking in marketing terms. They talk, for example, about symmetry of attention or looking more closely at the expectations of candidates and employees who show a growing need to be listened to and paid attention to. What is emerging more generally is a need for companies to take more interest in the person behind the employee.

Why did this HR approach emerge?

What are the issues involved?

The world of work has changed. A few years ago, we began our working lives with the idea of doing the same job until retirement, often in the same company. Nowadays employees are increasingly expressing a wish to diversify in order to continue growing and evolving. Companies want to hold on to their lifeblood, so the challenge is to retain employees by enabling them to have several careers in one. This is particularly important with the younger generation who are very focused on the possibility of having different experiences over time.

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Is this a general trend? Or is it particularly applicable to certain jobs?

For a brand like ours, the rarity of some types of candidate - for example in the digital sector - is further complicated by the fact that recruiting candidates is not so easy everywhere, depending on the catchment areas. As a rule, it is easier to attract talent in the Paris region and in major cities than in medium-sized cities.

Does this wish to respond in a very specific way to employee expectations extend to offering highly personalised, tailor-made solutions?

Estelle Dufour,

How do you measure what your employees are thinking?

“What is emerging more generally is a need for companies to take more interest in the person behind the employee.”

Boulanger now has more than 8,000 employees and it’s pie in the sky to think we can offer every one of them an individual package. It is however possible to listen and to come up with career paths, programmes and training more in line with their needs.

That being said, there is also another strong trend and one which applies to everyone: a desire to to be part of a community.

The role of managers is essential in that they are the first rung of HR. Part of their job is to listen to their teams to find out how best to answer their wishes, needs and development projects, in keeping with the company’s interests, of course.

leader talents in Boulanger’s human resources department

Data, at the service of customer satisfaction At a time when visits to actual shops are in decline, retailers are counting on higher customer satisfaction. But how can they collect and analyse customer feedback?

This involves a series of managerial tasks to add to their regular procedures, such as annual interviews. The results of these are consolidated at national level, which allows us to gather enough information to identify major trends. This also involves regular exchanges with social partners, within the framework of regulatory bodies and beyond. Finally, in September, we set up a monthly questionnaire predicated on a certain number of indicators and questions, one of which seems particularly important to me: “As employees, would you recommend Boulanger to other people?”. It is a type of Net Promoter Score (NPS) - one of the most popular customer satisfaction indicators adapted for use internally. We still have to make progress on the additional services that we can provide: ways of working, working conditions, human relations etc.

If the employee is treated as a customer who must be acquired, maintained and satisfied, is there any risk of forgetting that the relationship with the employer is by definition a subordinate relationship?

A customer is not bound by a contract of employment, even if the working relationship at the heart of a human community obviously doesn’t boil down to that. The company remains a place where we work together to the same end.

Jean-Marc Piatek, who in 2010 co-founded the company Kalicustomer, which specialises in the continuous measurement of customer satisfaction and experience, says there needs to be more efficient analysis, in near real time: “Everyone collects data, but few companies really analyse it. To analyse the feedback properly it is essential to understand what a customer has liked, what he disliked, what annoyed him ... And for that, it is essential to contact him as soon as possible after a purchase and obtain satisfaction ratings to pass on for semantic analysis.

The next step is to allow the point of sales to use these hundreds of examples Jean-Marc Piatek, manager of feedback to put in place corrective action commercial director to enable him to better meet his customers’ Mediatech-cx expectations.” To be effective, for example in “winning back” a customer who was dissatis(Kalicustomer et Mediatech) fied due to an inappropriate range of products, the analysis of the consumer response must be thought of in “Put in place corrective terms of the constraints known to employees on the ground, says action to enable him to the Jean-Marc Piatek, whose solution better meet his customers’ has already convinced brands like Nature & Découvertes, Gautier, expectations.” Cyrillus, GiFi and Optic 2000 and financial companies like Crédit Agricole, Oney or Cofidis. What his company offers is a responsive and easy-to-use app that hides an advanced technical solution, designed by an R&S team specialising in semantic analysis.

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BUSINESS AND RESEARCH .

Brand content: why have brands become media?

Brands in all sectors are devising and publishing their own content in a bid to attract customers’ attention and offer something other than a product or service. This trend is analysed here by Pascale Patat Dubouis, Academic Director of the Commercial Management and Business Development Programme at IÉSEG. What is a brand hoping to achieve by turning itself into a content editor?

It is a way of responding to increasing consumer mistrust of traditional advertising that consumers find intrusive, repetitive and not very useful, a phenomenon that digitalisation has only reinforced. To strengthen the bond with their customers, brands are using content. It is not a new development: in 1900, Michelin was one of the first companies to go beyond the remit of its core business to retain customers with its famous guide, whose editorial content gives the consumer something useful. What has changed, however, is that this trend affects all sectors and all types of customer, including B2B.

What form might this content take?

Beyond traditional forms of media - magazines, reportage, podcasts - we are seeing the development of original content, such as when Leroy Merlin offers DIY lessons or when a chain of supermarkets gives cookery lessons. Depending on expectations, every company builds its own strategy by proposing content that could be useful, entertaining or fun. It’s a way of positioning themselves as a supplier of services while going beyond a purely commercial relationship.

When customers b community Raphaëlle Dessein spent seven years as Retention Manager at BlaBlaCar, the world leader in car pooling, and in April joined the Paris fintech company Bankin’, the money management app. Two different worlds, but with one thing in common: having to manage and moderate a community of users.

Raphaëlle Dessein, Pascale Patat Dubouis, professor at IÉSEG

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head of retention - Bankin’

become a At Bankin’ and at BlaBlaCar, are you speaking to customers or your peers?

BlaBlaCar is the link between drivers who advertise their journey and passengers who book a place on it. We have therefore always considered our users as members of a group who share common values, in this case for sharing, for making social connections and for reducing their ecological impact. At Bankin’, the group is different insofar as the personal banking data is obviously not shared. On the other hand, Bankin’ users can help each other make better decisions.

How exactly?

Collective intelligence feeds artificial intelligence to help people make financial choices.

We ask for and we value the opinion of our users to highlight the banking products, life insurance, associations etc. which seem to them the best value for money or the most original. Those who join benefit not only from the opportunities detected by our algorithms but also from the advice of advisors and the opinions of the community.

*

How do you build and strengthen a community?

At BlaBlaCar, the sense of community was apparent right from the start because it is common values that lead users to register on the platform, designed around the concept of sharing time, costs and a journey, in the first place. After that, the strength of the community resides in the fact that it was created using the advice of drivers and passengers. The comments they leave allow some to achieve a level of experience that makes them ambassadors, something they are proud of. To help members identify one another, we send carpool stickers and in December 2018 I launched an international campaign that allowed them to get badges related to their achievements over the year: the number of kilometres travelled, reviews received etc. We received a lot of positive feedback. At Bankin’, the size of the community* allows us to negotiate preferential rates to save money on a daily basis, thanks to a system of exclusive promotional codes.

What tools do you use to listen to what your clients are telling you?

At BlaBlaCar, this involves getting a report from members on their journeys with satisfaction questionnaires. At Bankin’, all chat tools with users are connected to the product team, which receives instant suggestions for improvement. On the CRM side, I set up opportunities to share and measure satisfaction throughout the user cycle to get opinions regularly. It’s no good waiting for them to leave and then trying to win them back!

How and why do users become customer ambassadors? How does this work?

At BlaBlaCar, the promotion is public because it is thanks to the opinions and status of ambassadors that recognition is earned and that each journey is routinely full or almost full. At Bankin’, promotion is private and very personal. The app allows us to stay close without being intrusive by promoting the members’ experiences. They are proud to have saved money and share their success through a sponsorship system that allows the person doing the referring as well as the person being referred to make new savings. The approach is different but is based on the same notion of promotion and pride.

More than 3 million users.

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GOOD NEWS .

Internal collaboration, the key to customer satisfaction The B2B market has seen its practices evolve in a business market marked by ever greater demands made by buyers who are in a strong position.

“In many respects, buyers behave like individuals,” said Bert Paesbrugghe, Assistant Professor at IÉSEG and a specialist in relations between buyers and sellers. The market works ever more in their favour as with the internet, they have access to all the information they need to compare different deals and they can obtain products from all over the world. As with B2C, customer satisfaction becomes a key issue so as not to be outdone by competitors able to provide a better service. So what is the best way to do this? By breaking down walls, says Mr Paesbrugghe: “The departments responsible for operations are focused primarily on operational performance.

However, this alone does not guarantee customer satisfaction.” Hence the importance of creating the conditions for more integrated cooperation between commercial and the departments responsible for production, but also finance, supply, IT, logistics etc. It is a way of working transversally. “The aim is to prevent the commercial department from making promises that it can not keep before asking the production department to find an urgent solution,” he said.

Bert Paesbrugghe, professor at IÉSEG

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Motivation to buy changed?

What triggers a purchase? What are customers most susceptible to today? What makes them turn to one product rather than another? We talk to Tim M. Boettger, Professor of Marketing at IÉSEG. How have marketing and advertising evolved to make people make a purchase?

In recent decades, three changes have had a significant impact on the marketing and advertising industry. First, a number of markets have become more mature. Along with increased competition between companies, some once-unique features have become the norm. To make themselves stand out, more and more companies are moving away from product-oriented marketing to the marketing of ideas and solutions. Secondly, consumers are becoming better informed by an explosion in the number of information channels competing for consumer attention. For marketing specialists, this means providing the right information where consumers will see or search for it. Finally, the advent of digital methods allows an element of customisation that has changed the way marketing experts and advertisers perceive customers and their journey. Marketing and advertising have become more complex than ever.

How have new methods overtaken the traditional approach?

The internet and the ubiquity of smartphones have undoubtedly had a huge influence on our behaviour. It’s easier than ever to order a product or service

At PingFlow, the customer is at the heart of the solution

y: what’s in a few seconds with a swipe on your smartphone, or even voice activation. This has greatly shortened the time between having the idea and actually making the purchase. It has become essential for companies to be there when their customers realise they need something.

How should start ups take into account customer feedback? We talk to Claire Jolimont, CEO, of PingFlow, and the company’s project manager Christophe Zanetto. “Since 2013, PingFlow has specialised in visual management as a tool to reinforce operational excellence by improving collaboration and the flow of information between very diverse teams - production, logistics, IT, HR etc - on a digital and collaborative wallboard that can be adapted to the needs of all our customers, including Toyota, Safran, Leroy-Merlin, CAF and BPCE group. The feedback from users is absolutely essential in the sense that it allows a constant dialogue to be maintained, to move things forward. That’s why each assignment starts with design thinking sessions aimed at finding out exactly what is needed. In two to three days, you can then go to a prototyping phase that helps them to project and identify the indicators and data that are really useful to them.“

What are the main motivations that trigger a purchase today?

There are many internal and external factors that influence the behaviour of customers: product quality, price, social influences, cyclical factors etc. What is certain is that it is no longer enough to simply satisfy customers: in most industries, a high level of satisfaction is the norm.

To increase sales and increase customer loyalty, marketing managers must strive to inspire them with new ideas.

Can you give an example of this?

Pinterest is an interesting case. The site, which describes itself as a catalogue of ideas from all over the world, presents products in a visual, playful and aesthetic way. Its business model centres on the notion of inspiration: Pinterest doesn’t actually sell anything, but gets its revenue from the traffic it generates to businesses. Its 250 million active users suggest that such services have become necessary for consumers ...

Another example is the “Story“ shop at Macy’s in New York. It reinvents itself every four to eight weeks, changing the theme, the shop layout and the products. Consumers know they will always find new products and ideas, which increases the number of visits.

Claire Jolimont, CEO of PingFlow

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NICE TO MEET YOU .

When the customer redefines the industry Olivier Lluansi, Industrial Territories Delegate to French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Minister for Territorial Cohesion Jacqueline Gourault, worked in the public sector and in industry before taking charge of the Industrial Territories programme in January last year. This dual role allows him to take a detailed look at the issues of French re-industrialisation ...

And it’s not what you would expect. It’s a snapshot of an industrial sector that is transforming, evolving and reinventing itself by becoming more and more focused on the needs of its customers.

The share of the secondary sector in the French economy has steadily declined in recent decades and industry accounts for only 10% of French GDP. How did we get to this point and why should we support it?

Olivier Lluansi, Industrial Territories Delegate to the French finance and economy minister and the minister of territorial cohesion

“Industry is moving away from being purely product-oriented to an approach that combines products and services.”

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The media image of the industrial sector focuses on bad news, which serves to distort the view we have of sector, which is much more varied and innovative than we think.

The reality remains that the massive deindustrialisation we have experienced since the late 1970s has had social and economic consequences as marked as those that accompanied rural depopulation. Why should we support it? For a number of fundamental reasons, starting with the fact that the restoration of our trade balance necessarily involves having a competitive industrial sector, since industrial goods account for 80 to 90% of world trade. It is also an important issue of technological sovereignty, that rests primarily on an industrial sector that accounts for 75% of patents and 80% of private R & D investments. Thirdly: the expansion of the

tertiary sector has led to a polarisation of trades characterised by a small number of key positions and a large number of lowpaid and low-skilled trades. This has serious consequences for our social stability, since the balance of a democracy is largely based on the existence of a middle class ... Last but not least: the tertiary sector focuses on large cities to the detriment of rural areas and medium-sized cities . Only manufacturing is relatively well distributed across territories.

What is the role of the Industrial Territories initiative that you are leading today in French industrial policy?

After several decades of expansion of the tertiary sector, public authorities have made greater and greater efforts to support the industrial sector in the last ten years and have established a number of means to support the research, innovation and financing of these sectors… In this global landscape, Industrial Territories is a new initiative that focuses on supporting the 141 territories

“Industrial Territories”, spearheading reindustrialisation Launched by French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe in November 2018, the “Industrial Territories” programme is designed to revitalise French industry while tackling major development issues. More than €1.3 billion will be channeled to the 141 territories, along with significant human and technical resources. The initiative has four major aims: to recruit, innovate, attract and simplify day-to-day life for industry and project leaders.

that have been identified. It’s up to them to identify and carry out the projects they wish to support, according to their requirements.

The overall coherence is then approved at regional level before going through a financial engineering phase that allows each project to be completed using existing arrangements that may be little known.

This issue is all about customers.

What place will customers have in the industry of the future?

Manufacturers have always been concerned about their customers, but they are becoming increasingly important. Changes as huge as those that revolutionised the telecoms sector in the space of 20 years are happening in all areas of manufacturing.

The first touches on a need for more and more customisation. The era of standardisation as typified by the Ford model is over, in favour of individually designed products.

However, while everyone knows how to customise their production, the challenge is how to do this for the same price as mass production, hence the need to improve flexi-

bility, for example by embracing digital, among other things. The second strong trend is connected to a requirement for speed, and has a considerable impact on supply chains and stocks. Manufacturing a product in China at low cost but having to wait three or four weeks for it no longer meets the expectations of customers ...

Beyond this is the idea that changing consumer expectations are leading to a rethink of the very notion of manufacturing.

cesses. This is why we are seeing more and more companies adopt start-up methods and proceeding by trial and error, creating incubators or small entities to test models, products and services with companies and their clients.

What do you mean by that?

Industry is moving away from being purely product-oriented to an approach that combines products and services, often digital what English speakers call servitization.

I believe this is a broader revolution in that it is no longer merely a question of changing the method of production, but is about redefining manufacturing and expanding its meaning. Industry is no longer limited to the production of manufactured goods: there is data, finance, the health industry etc. In each area, listening to the customer will be essential to come up with new manufacturing pro-

€1.3

BILLION

EARMARKED TO SUPPORT INDUSTRY

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Where do young IÉSEG graduates work?

MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES, IN FRANCE AND ABROAD

Administration, Finance, Accounting

Marketing

13.9%

15.4% Commercial

15.4%

Innovation, technology transfer

Auditing-financial management

0.9%

11.1%

Consultancy/Information systems

1.5% Project management 2.8% Communication 3.4%

Consultancy

10.8%

Human resources 4.3% Other service

10%

General management

4.6%

Buying, supply management, logistics

5.9%

90.9%

of graduates in work have found a job before leaving school (79.2%) or within two months (11.7%)

26.8%

42 076 €

begin their career

gross average

abroad

(including bonuses)

of graduates

Annual salary

Survey by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles on employment found in 2019 by the graduation class of 2018 on the Grande École Programme.