Reader Positioning Content POSITIONING................................................................................................................................................ 2 Step-by-step plan for your positioning strategy............................................................................................. 2 Positioning step 1: Analysis.................................................................................................................................... 3 Positioning step 2: Determine positioning strategy..................................................................................... 6 Positioning step 3: Activation................................................................................................................................ 7 Positioning step 4: Evaluation............................................................................................................................... 8 Positioning and positioning strategy summarized.............................................................................................. 8 Communication plan in 9 steps.............................................................................................................. 9 1. Determine target group: who are my customers?....................................................................................9 2. Determine objectives: what do I want to achieve?................................................................................. 10 3. Formulating a message: what do you want to communicate?...........................................................10 4. Resources / media: which resource should I use?................................................................................. 10 5. Planning: the importance of timing!............................................................................................................ 12 6. Organization: who does what? Tasks and responsibilities.................................................................12 7. Finance: what should it cost and what should it yield?.......................................................................13 8. Monitoring: indenting and adjusting........................................................................................................... 13 9. Evaluation: measuring and knowing for the future...............................................................................13 Extra: What is in a communication plan?....................................................................................................... 14 Communication intersection explained............................................................................................ 15 What is corporate storytelling?........................................................................................................... 17 The added value of corporate storytelling..................................................................................................... 17 Seven tips to tell an appealing story................................................................................................................. 17 Brand Key Model...................................................................................................................................... 19 Brand Key model: introduction.......................................................................................................................... 19 Eight steps of the Brand Key model.................................................................................................................. 19 Customer journey map........................................................................................................................... 23 Who is the customer?............................................................................................................................................. 23 Create a customer journey map in 5 steps..................................................................................................... 24 Customer journey..................................................................................................................................... 27 Creating an optimal customer experience..................................................................................................... 27 Phases of the customer journey......................................................................................................................... 28 The Mentality Model............................................................................................................................... 42
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POSITIONING Step-by-step plan for your positioning strategy Are you going to put together a positioning strategy for your product or brand? Having a well thought-out positioning ensures that the target group sees you. Regard this step-by-step plan as a guide to the correct positioning.
What is positioning? Positioning is making a reasoned choice in terms of emphasizing aspects of the brand identity. These aspects should be relevant to the potential target group and give the brand distinctiveness to competitors.
Why position? Positioning is an instrument that is relevant to organizations, although the motives for creating a positioning strategy may differ. Some organizations only want to become more visible in the market through positioning, while others want to emphasize their distinctive character.
Positioning due to three developments Interest in positioning is high, due to three developments: ● ‘Explosion’ of products and services: the increase in the number of products and services; ● Organizational ‘explosion’: the increasing importance of the visibility of the organizations behind products and services; ● Media ‘explosion’: the enormous growth of media and advertisements.
Positioning: a practical step-by-step plan I am going to show you a step-by-step plan that can be used for positioning. I developed this step-bystep plan during the compilation of branding strategies for various brands and after a study of existing literature. This covers the following components: ●
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Step 1: Analysis ○ Mapping brand identity ○ Typing target group ○ Create persona ○ Carry out a positioning ladder ○ Mapping the customer journey ○ Analyze competitors Step 2: Positioning strategy ○ Brand Key model Step 3: Activation and POST method ○ Campaignable concept ○ Brand platform Step 4: Evaluation
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Before an investigation, you always formulate a main question. When writing a brand plan, you can choose from a number of variables. You write a brand plan to arrive at a positioning or positioning strategy.
Brand equity according to the Brand Equity model David Aaker 's Brand Equity model distinguishes five variables that affect a brand's value: ● Customer loyalty to the brand; ● Brand awareness; ● Perceived quality; ● Brand associations; ● Other features of the brand. You can focus on one or more variables. However, I advise you to focus your research on a maximum of two variables, otherwise you will make it unnecessarily difficult for yourself. For example, you can think of a new positioning to increase brand awareness and propagate the right brand associations to your target group.
Positioning step 1: Analysis The first step in achieving good positioning is to conduct an analysis of the current situation. This analysis is based on the BTC model (Brand Identity, Target Group and Competition). In addition, I am in favor of researching trends and developments first. These can have a major impact on the positioning you choose.
Mapping brand identity for good brand positioning It is important to map the brand identity of the organization in order to achieve good brand positioning. Before making any decisions about your positioning, you should know whether a positioning is appropriate for the organization in question and to what extent it is aligned with any other brands within the same organization. If, for some reason, the customers of your organization always buy brand X, it may turn out to be wrong if you devise a completely different positioning strategy for a sub-brand . For example, a subbrand is Cola Zero from the brand Coca Cola. Imagine Coca Cola positioning the Coca Cola Zero brand as a sports drink, for example. That could have harmful effects on the parent brand. With the steps below, let's take a look at how you can get your brand identity clear.
Six aspects of brand identity ● ● ● ●
History of the organization: history and important milestones of the past; Business orientation: what is the focus on: e.g. product quality, process management, external profiling or a 'grand' concept; Core competences: what are we good at? In other words: what makes us better than the competitors? Vision & Mission: What is our role in the market? How will the market look like in the future (vision) according to the people within the organization; and what growth objectives
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â—? â—?
have they defined for themselves in that future (mission)? For the growth objectives, I would like to refer you further to the Ansoff Matrix ; Organizational culture: how do we interact? What manners are there?; Organization and customer values: which values do we emphasize? What values are pursued within the organization?
Compile your positioning quickly and easily Typifying the target group The Mentality model by Motivaction is a handy model to characterize your target group. The target group is not only segmented according to demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and family composition. This is often the case. Motivaction uses various instruments and tools with which the target groups are mapped multidisciplinary and from different perspectives. This includes looking at lifestyle, media behavior, sustainability issues, political preferences, etc. An overview of the target group gives you the opportunity to zoom in on the underlying drivers and consumer profiles that make the difference for your organization or brand. Create persona It's easier for yourself to create a persona describing your target audience. Personas are tailor-made customer profiles to 'bring the knowledge about target groups' to life within your organization. They give a name and face to 'the customer' with motives, desires and goals in life. Personas indicate very concretely how to approach your customers. Below I have made an example persona of the target group upwardly mobile. The Piktochart website is a useful tool for creating your own persona. > example on the next page.
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Laddering Laddering is based on the 'why question': in an interview your respondent is asked why he finds a certain quality important and then why he finds the answer given important, et cetera. Laddering can be done in two ways: -
By direct questions; Using grouping tasks, such as Kelly's Repertory Grid and Natural Grouping.
It is important to discover the end values of your target group because the positioning must match these in order to arrive at a good positioning strategy. Below you can see an example ladder I made.
Customer journey We refer to the customer journey as looking at all the steps, also known as the consumer touchpoints, that your customers make before, during and after the purchasing and use process. An important element of the customer journey is customer journey mapping. By looking closely at the customer journey you can think about how you can make all contact moments with the brand even more valuable, so that you do not lose the customer during the journey and keep it for the next journey after the journey. Competitors and positioning During the last part of the MDC model, you investigate the competition. In most markets, the activities of your competitors have consequences for the positioning possibilities of your own brand. For a good positioning choice it is therefore important to know who you see as competitors and which positions they claim. I also always investigate among the target group who they see as a competitor or substitute for the brand in question, because this may differ from how the organization sees it itself. During the competitor analysis you investigate the Points of difference and Points of parity of your brand. â—? Points of difference: take some distance from the characteristic features of the product class.
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Points of parity : stick to (in a negative / positive sense) the characteristics of the product class.
In summary: the points of difference are the characteristics of your brand that differ from your competitors and the points of parity are the characteristics of your brand that are the same as those of your competitors. Positioning matrix To find out, it is recommended to create a positioning matrix. It assesses the brand in question against its competitors from the perspective of the target group.
Positioning step 2: Determine positioning strategy The Brand Key Model is a step-by-step plan with which you formulate the brand essence of your brand. ● 1: brand identity; ● 2: relevance to the target group; ● 3: categorization (POP/POD ratio); ● 4: Target group and competitor choice; ● 5: Brand values; ● 6: Meanings; ● 7: Advantages; ● 8: Evidence; ● 9: Brand essence = this is what it is all about!.
EURIB Brand Key Model
Like creating a persona, creating a mood board is a useful tool to visualize the strategy. A mood board is a visualization of a concept, idea, thought or feeling. It is a tool with which you can make choices and with which your goal or wish becomes tangible: you collect all kinds of images and texts that reflect the atmosphere and content of the goal you want to achieve.
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A mood board helps to capture the essence of the brand in images. I find it easy myself to also make a mood board of the "old situation", so you can see what the change will be at a glance.
Positioning step 3: Activation After the strategy has been formulated, activations will have to be devised to make the new strategy known to the target group. Before you come up with the activations, you formulate a campaignable concept, this is the central theme that is reflected in all expressions. Choose which theme is suitable based on the POST method : ● People: who is the target group? Can the target group be convinced of the brand essence on the basis of this theme? ● Objectives: what should the target audience pick up on? What are the goals to be achieved? ● Strategy: will the chosen strategy be realized with the theme? ● Technologies: where and how will the theme be transferred?
Brand platform Now it is time to devise the activations. The brand platform is a tool to classify the activations into: ● Before purchase; ● During purchase; ● After purchase, You don’t have to have an activation for each phase, only when necessary. It depends entirely up to which phase you emphasis. Every activation is a 'touchpoint' with your target group. Each touchpoint is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with your customer.
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Positioning step 4: Evaluation What do you need to measure after a year, or after a few years, to assess whether your proposed strategy and activations have been successful? This is where it turns in the evaluation phase. You formulate these objectives in a so-called spider web. You should put percentages in it for two different years. The first year is the 0 measurement and the year for which the objectives have been formulated is the 1st measurement. Based on the results of the survey, you can enter percentages for the first year. How does the target group currently think about it? For year 2, you fill in percentages that reflect how you expect the situation to look like.
Positioning and positioning strategy summarized The usefulness of a brand essence is that the essence of the brand is described in 1 to 2 words. The brand essence serves as the basis for your positioning. You can load your brand around this word(s).
There are several ways to get to what you want to know, of course. In my view, a marketoriented company is at least outside-in. A company that is focused on its products and the product is inside-out.
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Communication plan in 9 steps A communication plan has many advantages: ● A communication plan creates order for all layers in the organization ● A communication plan ensures that everyone uses the same style for writing and speaking ● A communication plan makes it easy to prioritize your communications to the outside world ● A communication plan helps the organization to consider the mission, vision and strategy Moreover, a communication plan is often part of a change process in which other elements of process management are of course also important. In this article, we will point out the most important elements of an effective communication plan. Making a communication plan is easier than you think. By working systematically you can build your communication plan in 9 steps.
1. Determine target group: who are my customers? Determining your audience helps you in the detailed drafting of a communication plan. Concrete points to consider in this first step are: is my target group within or outside the organization? Can I use jargon that is common in the relevant sector(s), who does the communication focus on, for example more on the company top or on the responsible employees and above all: what is important for the target group! But also think about the type of media that your target group uses a lot. Also important are other groups with which your own target group comes into contact. When you draw up a broad communication plan, it is wise to also have several target groups. Decide who you want to reach: ● Which target group(s) are there? ● What are the characteristics of the target groups? ● What is the main target group?
Determine target group In order to be successful with your business, it is necessary to define the target group and focus on your ideal customer. Here are five questions to help you get started in determining your target group. Answer these questions and you will get a good idea of your target group. 1. Who is your target audience? Keep it fairly general here. What is the industry, type of official, level of education, decisionmaking authority, gender, average age? This gives an image, without a face, of your market. 2. What is their lifestyle? Get more specific here. Think about the customer you're trying to reach - what are their values, personality, ideals? What do they find important in their work? Think of their behavior and thought patterns. These questions concern individuals, but also help define your market. If you sell welding machines, your ideal customer is probably not a 98-year-old church going woman.
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3. Where is your target audience? Location (geography) is important. But also consider where your customers get their information and spend their working time. Are they more represented in a particular region? Is your target group located in the Netherlands or abroad? Are there any countries that are more interesting than others? You want to reach them, so it is important to know where they are. 4. What is your target audience looking for? Use this question to analyze whether your business plan is in line with what your customers need. The answer also helps to further develop your business. If you know what the market demands, you can change with the market. 5. What can you offer your target group? If you know your target audience profile and what they need, you can develop a strategy to promote your business.
2. Determine objectives: what do I want to achieve? Determine the objective you want to achieve per target group. Make it clear, concrete. Make it SMART: Specific: clear to explain Measurable: being able to measure afterwards whether it has been achieved Attainable: there must be activities attached to it Relevant: the objective must be achievable Time-bound: there must be a beginning and an end An example of a good objective is: 'In 2021, company X with product Y must achieve a turnover growth of 20% in Poland, compared to the turnover of 2018.'
3. Formulating a message: what do you want to communicate? What do you want to tell the target audience? Choose one message per target group that matches the world of that target group. Then the message hits! The backgrounds of the target groups are different, such as education level, hobbies, age, etc. What is your message? In this step, also indicate what the target group ultimately needs to know about you, what they can do with you or what they can do for your company. The message is a kind of summary of the communication objectives, formulated in an attractive way for the target group. A handy method that you can use for this is the gossip technique: " Did you know that ... " or " Did you hear that ... "
4. Resources / media: which resource should I use? Find out which means of communication your target group uses the most. It is then easier to use this medium to inform your target group about the communication plan and its progress. Do not use too many means of communication, at most two. Too much use of different media causes chaos rather than overview. Reader Positioning
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Which means / media will you use to communicate the message to the target group? Select the best resources for each target group. Think of: leaflets, advertisements, TV advertising, outdoor advertising, trade fairs, internet, social media, etc.
The approach B?
Define all actions you will take to achieve the desired objectives. In short, how do you go from A to
Ask yourself who you want to communicate with, what you will communicate with, how you will communicate your message and when. In this step, also indicate what the division of labor will be, so who will do what.
The communication Before you select the means of communication, it is time to think about a good communication strategy. Betteke van Ruler 's communication crossroads is a good tool in this regard.
Within the intersection you first determine whether you want to send or whether you want to receive in addition to sending. In short, do you want to use one-way traffic within your communication or do you want to use two-way traffic? Then you decide whether you only want to make the target group familiar with the information or whether you want to influence them. Having made these two fundamental choices, this results in one of the following communication challenges: ●
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Inform You communicate information to the target group. However, the target group has no way to respond to this. Opinion is left to the target group itself. Persuade If you want to influence your target group via one-way traffic, this is called persuasion. Usually this is done via mass communication. Dialogizing You will talk to the target group. You use this strategy if you want to create support. Think for example of a work meeting. Forming When there is mutual influence, it is called forming. With this strategy you want to Reader Positioning
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convince the target group by entering into a dialogue. A good example of this is lobbying.
5. Planning: the importance of timing! Indicate a schedule for each communication activity. Usually you indicate which message is planned for which period. Because you often achieve the goal of your plan step by step, you also have to plan every step. Keeping good planning makes it easier to monitor the progress of the communication plan. Good timing is very important in a campaign. And that's why planning is essential for a communication plan. Planning means the order in which resources are deployed or the message is built up. There are various options, for example offering the same message to the target group via different media. This can be spread over a longer period (10 advertisements in 10 weeks), but can also peak in a short time (10 advertisements in 2 weeks).
6. Organization: who does what? Tasks and responsibilities Who does what within the organization? It seems like an open door, but often creates misunderstandings. It must be clearly established in advance in the communication plan who has which tasks. Not only internally, but also when engaging third parties, such as advertising agencies.
Activity plan To activate your marketing strategy and tactics you need an activity plan. This is often referred to as the annual marketing plan. The annual marketing plan is an annually recurring plan that sets out marketing activities in the coming year. You can also choose to revise a previously developed marketing strategy in this annual marketing plan. With that you make your marketing plan dynamic instead of static.
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Dynamic marketing plan The marketing annual plan is often combined with a quick scan to find out whether the marketing strategy is still satisfactory. It is not smart to develop a complete marketing strategy every year. It is much smarter to determine your marketing strategy once every three or five years and to conduct a short evaluation every year to make adjustments where necessary. This way you keep your marketing plan dynamic and current and it is not a dusty document in the closet. You can do this by adding a short scan of your market and internal environment at the beginning of your annual marketing plan. You can then compare this scan with last year's confrontation matrix to determine where you see the need to make adjustments. Compared to last year, make the necessary adjustments briefly at the strategic and tactical decision level and then implement your new activity plan.
Annual activity plan Whether you are based on a revised or completely new marketing strategy, in both cases you will have to determine the activities for the coming year. The annual plan consists of various parts, namely planning in the form of a Gantt Chart, annual targets and annual financing . The activity plan aims to inform those involved about their activities and goals. All these activities contribute to a larger plan focused on the long term.
7. Finance: what should it cost and what should it yield? The implementation of a communication plan costs money. You can list all costs in a cost estimate. Think not only of media placements, but also of the creation costs of advertisements, etc., rights to photos, involvement of agencies and the unforeseen post (5-10% of the total budget).
8. Monitoring: indenting and adjusting By setting interim measuring points, you can see whether the activities are delivering enough. If not, you can adjust things. By monitoring well, you can assist in time to achieve the desired result.
9. Evaluation: measuring and knowing for the future Mission accomplished? Then it is wise to gain insight into the process. What went well? What didn’t go well and where? These and other questions are answered during the evaluation. By making this transparent, you ensure that you can make an (even) better communication plan in the future. Reader Positioning
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Extra: What is in a communication plan? The components in a communication plan are different for every organization. However, there are a number of parts that are used as standard: ● Introduction: What is the goal and who is the target group? ● Situation: In many cases, the current situation is first analyzed and described. A commonly used method for this is the DESTEP analysis or a SWOT analysis . ● Problem analysis: The next step is to look at the problems of the organization. ● Solutions through communication: Can the problems be solved and can they be solved with communication? ● Strategy: An approach must be worked out for the problems that can be solved by means of communication. ● Execution analysis: What resources are needed to execute the strategy? ● Realization within organization: What needs to be adjusted within the organization to realize this plan? ● Evaluate: To measure is to know.
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Communication intersection explained
When a communication professional and organization has at least a non-one-sided (uncontrolled one-way) vision of communication, they can use the communication crossroads. This intersection is a tool for choosing communication strategies. Not all problems, decisions and changes lend themselves to the same strategy. With this communication intersection, the communication professional can see per situation which strategy should be used to communicate correctly with the public groups / stakeholders. How does the organization choose the right strategy? By looking at what nature and which result of the contact is aimed for. Van Ruler splits the nature of the contact into controlled one-way and two-way traffic. The American communication scientist Grunig calls this asymmetrical and symmetrical communication, respectively . Controlled one-way traffic means that there is no fully passive receiver. It is therefore incorrect to claim that the recipient plays no role in the communication process. The idea is that the recipients 'experience' the message, as it were. The effects can vary, however, because not everyone is the same and therefore not every recipient 'undergoes' the message in the same way. Through feedforward and feedback, the message can be adapted to these differences among recipients, so that the desired results are achieved.
The communication crossroads Van Ruler splits the intended result of the contact into disclosure and influencing. When you compare these in a diagram, you get four quadrants, or four strategies: “subfields of communication management, each of which has its own theories describing the conditions under which they can work and can be used realistically as a strategy �. The communication hub of Van Ruler is a practical tool for organizations that want to determine their communication strategy. Informing : Type of contact : controlled one-way traffic. Intended result : Disclosure
This is about informing, about transferring information, when the organization wants people to think and form an opinion. “The emphasis is on the distribution process to the groups to be reached. Although it is considered who should be reached with the messages, they do not think about what they do with the messages. Through feedback and feedforward, the information is tailored as precisely as possible to
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the target groups (eg in the language of the target groups and distributed via the media used by those groups), so that there is more chance of achieving the desired result. Persuasion: Type of contact : controlled one-way traffic. Intended result : influence
This concerns 'steering of knowledge, attitude and / or behavior'. The emphasis is on reaching and “editing predetermined target groups in a certain way”. The organization can use this strategy when it wants to convince people of a point of view or of the value of certain knowledge (management of knowledge) or wants to steer in their attitude / attitude or behavior. For example, they should learn about the dangers of fireworks, get a positive image (image) of the organization or start behaving in an environmentally friendly way. Via feedback and feedforward, the message is tuned as precisely as possible to the target groups, so that there is more chance of reaching the desired result. Dialogization: Type of contact: two-way traffic Intended result: publication
This is a dialogue with the stakeholders. Van Ruler consciously speaks of stakeholders and no longer of target groups. Communication ensures knowing everyone's points of view. The strategy fits in with interactive policy-making and work meetings or a small-scale brainstorm. In this way, the organization can map opinions and opinions and collect possible solutions to problems. The communication professional assumes the role of intermediary in this strategy. He 'mediates' as a kind of cabinet informator between parties (the organization on the one hand and the stakeholders on the other) by hearing positions and communicating them to the other party. Formation: Nature of the contact: two-way traffic Intended result: influence
This is about coordination between organization and stakeholders. Communication creates dialogue and pooling (alignment) and ensures the maintenance of relationships. This can be of value when there are conflicts, with different interests. This strategy helps in dealing with “opposing stakeholders”. The communication professional assumes the role of intermediary in this strategy. He 'mediates' as a kind of cabinet formator (hence 'formation') between parties (the organization on the one hand and the stakeholders on the other) by bringing them together and stimulating them to 'acquire shared understanding'.
In order to effectively use all four strategies, an interactive / intermediate vision on communication is required. After all, you don't get real (symmetrical) dialogue or coordination if you actually see communication as controlled one-way traffic.
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What is corporate storytelling? The added value of storytelling for organizations People need inspiring leaders with a strong vision. The corporate story and corporate storytelling help leaders to communicate their vision to their community. What is corporate storytelling? An explanation of corporate storytelling begins with understanding what storytelling is. Storytelling is the way in which people naturally communicate. Consequently, stories are a powerful and effective means of connecting people. While the businesslike way of communicating using facts and figures informs, storytelling allows people to experience what this data means. Storytelling is essential for human life. Stories enable people to give meaning to their existence, pass on knowledge, change behavior and understand their history and future. Storytelling is aimed at dialogue and interaction and is ideal for community building.
The added value of corporate storytelling Corporate storytelling turns the flame used to light the corporate story into a fire. The essence of your organization is recorded in this story and it brings the written story to life. Corporate storytelling is an inspiring means of communication that involves people in messages and removes obstacles. Corporate storytelling has an extremely wide range of uses: more commitment in the organization, 'all noses pointing in the same direction', new fire and passion in the organization, developing leadership, promoting cooperation. Corporate storytelling brings the story of the organization to life. People need to be part of a larger whole and contribute to a shared goal. Storytelling can reinforce the culture or can steer an organization through a process of change. Employees are involved in the core and the future of the organization, make connections themselves, speak out about their personal experiences and their connection with the company, and share anecdotes about memorable events.
Storytelling is all about connecting people People make organizations. The employees of today and tomorrow continue building on the work carried out by people before them. With storytelling we connect the past, present and future to form a single story. The story everyone can identify with. We also like to stay true to our own personality.
Seven tips to tell an appealing story Telling an appealing story is more than just having a good story. An appealing story motivates and inspires. Because it touches people and therefore gets them moving. But how do you attain an appealing story? Seven tips are given here. Telling an appealing story goes beyond informing or inspiring. An appealing story "involves": with feeling and meaning you make your listeners an active part of your story. You get them moving and you take them to a true and real image of the future. Whether your story is appealing is ultimately
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determined by the audience. Personal, well-told stories, based on their own experience, have the greatest chance for succeeding. Below seven tips to tell your story in an appealing way.
1 Sharpen target group and core message Tune the content and form of your story to what concerns your target audience. Get into their skin so that you really understand what moves them. Connects to their experience and offers a new perspective from there.
2 Imagine the message Imagine every part of your vision. Describe from a point in the future what happened to make the vision come true. This view of the future works stronger than telling what needs to be done from the present. In this way the message becomes concrete, true and real.
3 Describe the exciting future Deepen your future journey. Tell how you overcame the inevitable problems. Describe the problems and challenges you met. Share how you faced those challenges. Especially emphasize how you remained rationally and emotionally upright.
4 Explain coherence and meaning Indicate how (future) performance has meaning for the bigger picture. For example the continuity of the organization or your personal growth. Tell the contribution to this and the "logical" next step from that coherence.
5 Share experience and feeling During the journey, constantly share what you feel when you reach an important point. Take people into your experience. Share your feelings. That makes a strong connection between you as a speaker and your audience. An essential ingredient of a successful story.
6 Emphasize with personal anecdotes Make your story more powerful with personal anecdotes. Choose 3 keywords and tell an appealing anecdote for each keyword. The anecdote illustrates why you think it is so important.
7 Use catchy examples Abstract words do nothing in our head. They don't "touch" us. The right metaphor evokes an image that gives meaning and lingers. A famous example about innovation says more about the meaning than the literal definition of the word. These 7 steps are tools for a story that affects people. But become an appealing storyteller you mainly reach by doing it!
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Brand Key Model The Brand Key is a positioning model. It is used in various organizations, has different shapes and names (for example 'Brand Box') and its origin is therefore not entirely clear. Within Unilever, the shape is used as shown here. The advantage of the model is that it makes almost all relevant steps of positioning clear; The disadvantage is that the emphasis is heavily on an 'outside- in' approach, which makes the model less suitable for brands where an ' inside-out’ force is relevant (such as with service providers).
Brand Key model: introduction The Brand Key is a model that you can use to position a brand. The model has different shapes and names (for example 'Brand Box') and its origin is therefore not entirely clear. At Unilever, the form is used as shown in figure 1. The model distinguishes eight steps / phases that can lead to a distinctive and relevant positioning of a brand: (1) competitive environment, (2) target group, (3) insight, (4) benefits, (5) values & personality, (6) credibility, (7) distinctive power and (8) brand essence. For the Brand Key, the essentials must be written down for each of these eight steps (approximately one A4 in total). You can describe the current situation, which is referred to in this model as the 'master key'. But you can also describe the future, desired situation; the so-called 'vision key'. A separate Brand Key is also filled in for each extension within Unilever. Below we explain the eight phases of the Brand Key . At the end of this article, we briefly consider a later added phase, that of 'root strengths '.
Figure 1: The eight steps to be taken according to the Brand Key in determining the positioning of a brand.
Eight steps of the Brand Key model If a brand manager uses the 'brand- key model' to position a brand, he must complete the eight steps in the order given below.
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Step 1: Competitive environment
The first step towards clear positioning is to identify the competition. By this we mean those brands / products that a customer considers when making a purchase decision. These can be direct competitors (think Coca-Cola / Pepsi-Cola), but also less obvious competitors. For example, a brand of water that also responds to thirst lessons. At this stage, you need to identify which brands can compete with your own brand. You also have to determine how these brands position themselves in the market. And what associations customers / consumers have with these brands. A useful tool for identifying competitors, the five forces model of Porter .
Step 2: Target group
In this step, the (desired) target group is identified; not only in terms of demographic characteristics, but also in terms of attitudes and values. Here you have to answer the question why the brand is the best choice for the consumer.
Step 3: Consumer insight
For a brand to be successful in the market, it must respond to a relevant consumer insight . A 'consumer insight' refers to a latent purchase motivation (motivation) of the intended target group with regard to the product. A consumer insight does not simply answer the question of why consumers buy a certain brand product. But it refers more to the latent needs that underlie the purchase of a product. The important thing here is to discover why consumers buy a product and why they do not buy. To illustrate, we can mention the 'consumer insight' behind Coca-Cola Zero. Research showed that men think Coca-Cola Light is too feminine. The Coca-Cola Company then introduced the Coca-Cola Zero variant, a 'cooler' looking drink that matches the men's world of experience in terms of name and 'look & feel'. The insight here is why men don't buy Coca-Cola Light; Coca-Cola Zero is ultimately based on that. The description of the relevant insights for a brand may slightly overlap with the description of the target group. Especially when it comes to values and attitudes.
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Step 4: Benefits
Where steps 1 to 3 were externally oriented (competition, target group and insights), step 4 focuses on the internal side of the brand. At this stage it is all about identifying the benefits of the brand. These benefits can be functional in nature (for example: emphasizing the presence of certain building materials in a margarine brand). But these benefits can also be psychosocial in nature (by responding to the feeling of mother care with margarine).
Step 5: Values & personality
The central question in this phase is what values a brand should appeal to (what does the brand stand for and what does it 'believe' in?). Brands that appeal to values are expected to make a better click with the consumer. This not only leads to better recognition, but also to a higher degree of consumer recognition. Well-known value systems are Mitchell's VALS typology and Rokeach 's stainless steel typology. Two aspects are important when naming values. First, it is preferable not to communicate values explicitly, but to allow them to be reflected in the advertising message. Second, you should realize that values often do not emphasize the distinctive character of a brand. Rather, the distinction between brands lies in the question of how you translate values into practical consequences. You can also put values into practice by personification. This means that you describe your brand in terms of personality traits or character traits. In marketing communications, this can be accomplished by using celebrities who possess these traits (think George Clooney for Nespresso).
Step 6: Credibility
The point here is to name arguments based on which the target group believes that the brand is the best choice. You can express this in a sentence such as: 'I buy brand X because ...'. You can use these arguments in communication. Concrete customer contact moments can also be arranged in such a way that they provide consumers with 'proof' that a brand stands for what it claims to stand for. To illustrate this: a travel agency that claims to be very 'inexpensive' with a bit of a messy interior design . For example, a delay was built into a scientific search engine afterwards, because users mistrusted the outcome because of the rapid feedback of the results.
Step 7: Distinctive power (discriminator)
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It should be made clear here what the actual difference compared to other brands is. You can express this in a sentence such as: ' Only brand X has ...'.
Step 8: Brand essence
This is a summary of phases 4 to 7. The key here is to describe the essence of the brand in one or two words; for example at Blue Band 'mother care' and at BMW 'driving pleasure'.
Step 0: Historical strength of the brand (root strengths) Later another step was added to the Brand Key, the historical strength of the brand (root strengths). At this stage, you need to identify what made the brand big and what it can build on. Describing the 'root strengths' precedes the eight phases described above.
Brand key: strengths / weaknesses The advantage of the Brand Key is that it makes almost all relevant steps of positioning clear. A disadvantage is that the model is based on an 'outside in' approach. This makes it less suitable for brands where an ' inside out' force is relevant. The ' outside- in orientation' is expressed, among other things, in the fact that the 'values & personality' are mapped fairly late in the model (phase 5). When positioning a brand that rests on an ' inside-out ' force, values & personality are often given as a starting point in positioning issues; that is why it is more difficult to use this model with service providers, for example.
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Customer journey map Mapping the customer journey as the foundation for your customer strategy Customers are increasingly using different contact moments or 'touchpoints' to get in touch with companies. To create an optimal customer experience, weak links in the customer journey must be identified and then optimized. This is done with the help of customer journey mapping.
Who is the customer? In the past, many small and medium-sized companies knew exactly who their customers were. The owner of the local supermarket greeted you cheerfully by your first name when you came shopping. Larger companies took a little more effort, but it was also possible for them to find out who those people were who visited their stores. That has not been the case for a long time. The large increase in online sales leads to more anonymous customers and a strong expansion of competitors. With the push of a button on the computer you can compare products or services. This is also possible 24 hours a day, from any device and in almost any country in the world. Determine customer strategy Yet there are also ways in the digitizing consumer society to find out who the customer is and how he or she wants to be served. The latter is necessary to lead the customer to a purchase with the right sales funnel and to bind it to your company. In this article we discuss what it takes to determine a good customer strategy, using customer journey mapping. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Who is the customer? Determine customer strategy Customer journey definition What is a customer journey map? What are customer journey touchpoints ? What is a customer journey map for? Create a customer journey map in 5 steps 1. Determine goals of the customer journey 2. Customer Personas make 3. Customer data for customer journey 4. Analyzing the customer journey map 5. Action plan and optimizing the customer journey
Customer journey definition A customer journey visualizes the processes and services that the customer goes through when purchasing a product or service. This makes the customer journey model a perfect way to map out customer experiences, because it shows how a product or service is purchased. Literally 'customer journey' has the meaning; 'customer journey'. What is a customer journey map?
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Almost the entire buying process of the customer is mapped with a customer journey map. The processes are viewed and visualized from the customer. This makes it clear at which customer journey touchpoints the customer experience can be improved. What are customer journey touchpoints ? Customer journey touchpoints are (potential) moments of interaction with the customer. By responding to these touchpoints you can optimize the customer journey as a marketer. Touchpoints are therefore an essential part of the customer journey map. What is a customer journey map for? Now that all definitions surrounding the customer journey are clear, we will discuss the functionality of the customer journey. After all, companies are increasingly using this. But what exactly does a customer journey map serve? A customer journey can be used for various purposes within the strategic marketing plan. Some examples: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Strengthening the brand experience among customers Accelerate the service Determine core factors of customer satisfaction Reduce dropout times in the purchase process Increase conversion Uncover growth opportunities and areas for improvement Create loyal customers and ambassadors Help develop new products or services Provide starting points for putting together a customer-oriented marketing mix
Customer journey mapping for better customer relationships To improve customer relations, it is first necessary to clarify how the customer interacts with a company during the entire buying and customer process. For this you travel with the customer through the purchase process. We look at which contact moments determine the customer, what the customer thinks and what he feels. The most important question when creating a customer journey map is: Which contact moments are decisive to captivate customers and bind customers? Differentiate from competition At these contact moments or customer journey touchpoints , the company can distinguish itself from the competition and strengthen the customer relationship. Moreover, thanks to the mapping of the customer journey, marketers can respond to the customer's journey towards making a purchase.
Create a customer journey map in 5 steps A few steps are followed in customer journey mapping: ● ● ● ● ●
Step 1: Know who you are as a company and determine the goal of the customer journey. Step 2: Create customer personas. Step 3: Enter the customer journey and customer journey touchpoints per persona. Step 4: Analyze the customer journey and identify areas for improvement in the customer journey. Step 5: Create an action plan for change and get started.
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Step 1 of 5: Determine goals of the customer journey In general, customer journey mapping must therefore lead to better customer relationships in order to achieve certain predefined goals of the company. Therefore, first determine the goal of your customer journey. It should involve who the company is, why you do what you do, how the company does it and what makes your company unique. Only then can you make a good customer journey map. A model that can help determine the goal is Simon Sinek's Golden Circle.
Step 2 of 5: Make Customer Personas Determine who the target group is, because this forms the basis for forming customer personas. A customer persona is a characterization of a certain type of customer. This includes the following features; age, gender, interests, place of residence and estimated income. Customer personas can provide good support in setting up multiple online marketing activities if the persona is of good value. Creating customer persona is an essential part of a customer journey model, because a customer journey is different for every customer. With the help of customer personas you can generalize the customer journey for an entire target group. 1. Determine goals 2. Customer personas 3. Customer data 4. Make analysis 5. Action plan
Step 3 of 5: Side data for customer journey mapping In order to properly map the customer journey, a lot of data about the customer journey must be collected per customer persona. The following questions can be asked: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Which different customer journey touchpoints can the customer encounter? How are the responsibilities within the organization divided on these touchpoints? On which touchpoints does the company already score optimally? Where does the company not score well or are improvements possible? How do customers experience the different stages or phases in their customer journey? What is the decisive moment for the customer before purchasing a product or service? Which customer journey touchpoints are the most important for the company to tackle?
Customer journey touchpoints Measuring customer interaction is essential to map out the customer journey. Before you look at the various customer journey touchpoints that appear in the customer journey. You can map this per customer persona. Examples of customer journey touchpoints Touchpoints can take many forms in practice. It starts with the orientation of the customer, for example on the website or in the company's webshop , an advertisement in the bus shelter or on Facebook , a newsletter or a recommendation from the neighbor. But contact with a sales employee, the helpdesk, telephone customer service and other representatives of the company are also seen as 'human touchpoints'. The presentation of the product in a store, the location of the business premises or physical aspects of the product are other examples of customer journey touchpoints. The moments of
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contact extend to the time of purchase of a product or service, but also include using the product or service, customer loyalty and creating brand ambassadors. For a comprehensive overview of customer journey touchpoints that you can encounter during all phases of a customer journey, see our article on the customer journey. Focus on relevant customer journey touchpoints Not all touchpoints are vital for performance improvement within the company. That is why not every customer interaction needs to be measured, because it provides so much data that it is difficult to extract the right insights from this data. By focusing on the right relevant touchpoints per customer person, you only invest where the organization actually delivers.
Step 4 of 5: Analyzing the customer journey map In the analysis of the customer journey map, all phases of the customer journey are considered. This concerns 1) phase of latent and / or concrete need, 2) the orientation phase, 3) the consideration phase, 4) the decision moment, 5) the purchase phase, 6) the delivery phase, 7) the use phase, 8) the loyalty phase and 9) the ambassador phase. It examines which questions, emotions or problems each customer person has during this phase and how the company can respond to this. It is recommended to do this in a brainstorming session or workshop with several people within the company, to get as much input and insights as possible.
Step 5 of 5: Action plan and optimizing the customer journey All ideas can be summarized in a total overview. Now it is time to consider what is feasible, which problems or challenges in the customer journey need to be addressed immediately and which can be addressed in the longer term. This creates a practical roadmap ; a roadmap with customer needs and action points. The implemented solutions can then be measured again in order to optimize the customer journey as gradually as possible.
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Customer journey Creating an optimal customer experience Creating an optimal customer experience by extensively mapping the customer journey A successful company knows what its customers and prospects are doing and how they want to be served. To predict which steps customers and prospects will take and to help them with their choices, the customer journey is recorded in a customer journey. In this article we explain in detail which phases you go through in mapping the customer journey and which resources can be used to realize an optimal customer experience.
What is a customer journey? The customer journey is the 'journey' that a customer takes to purchase a product or service. The customer journey includes the model in which this 'customer journey' is mapped. Potential customers are also included.
Good customer relationships are increasingly challenging The challenge of (larger) organizations is to not lose sight of the customer and to be close to him. Despite the growth of the company and the presence of many different employees and departments. That is a difficult task; on the one hand, the internet is causing many developments in the relationship between consumer and company. For example, comparison websites can lead to declining customer loyalty and the 24/7 online lifestyle of the consumer creates high expectations with regard to online accessibility of organizations. At the same time, the consumer wants to be addressed personally and to know who he is dealing with within the company. Realizing a positive customer experience Investigating where customer contact improvements are possible and clearly mapping the customer journey helps to achieve a positive customer experience and build long-term customer relationships. To map the customer journey model, you use a customer journey map.
What is a customer journey map? The customer journey or 'customer journey' is mapped through a customer journey map. With this method, processes are viewed and visualized from the customer ('mapping'). The customer journey map provides insight into where the customer experience can be improved. Why is customer journey mapping important?
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To be successful as an organization, you need to know what the customer and prospects are doing and listen to them carefully at all times in their lives. Fortunately, using online and offline communication tools, data sources, statistics and tools, it is very possible to map out where customers and prospects are in their ' journeys '. This makes it possible to predict which steps they will take next and they can be helped in their choices. That is why mapping the customer journey , or customer journey mapping , is an important part of any company's marketing strategy.
Phases of the customer journey The customer journey consists of several phases; from the still unknown latent need or the already known concrete need, to the decision point at which the purchase takes place. But the customer journey continues even after the purchase of a service or product. The ideal customer eventually becomes loyal and even an ambassador for the brand, product or company. To show how a customer journey map is made, we explain the different phases of the customer journey using the layout of Digital Marketing strategist Bart van der Kooi.
Step 1 of 9 Latent need and concrete need At the start of the customer journey, the question is; is the target group already aware that they need the products or services of your organization? Or should they still be convinced of this, perhaps because the products or the brand are not yet known to them? Latent need Latent need is a 'hidden need' in which a person does not yet know that he needs something. That is, for example, due to ignorance; someone wants to buy a house, but is not yet busy with the mortgage involved. As a mortgage lender you can respond to this latent need. But a changing situation can also create a latent need, such as family composition or age. There may be a latent need not only for potential new customers, but also for current customers if they are not yet aware of a new product or new form of service. Tools for research into latent needs To investigate whether a product or service meets a latent need, you can use different sources, such as search volumes in Google Trends or Google Keyword Planner, public datasets (for example; how many homes are sold in a certain region and how many potential mortgage customers belong to them) thereby), current figures and predictions or data from own customers. Concrete need After the latent need comes the concrete need; this is the phase of the customer journey in which the target group must actually be reached in order to convert the latent need into a concrete need. This phase of the customer journey is about visibility where the target group is or will be in the future. Incidentally, it is also possible that a person is immediately in a state of concrete need without there having first been a latent need. That is why we see latent need and concrete need in this case as one phase of the customer journey , but they can also be split into two phases. Examples of concrete need Examples of a concrete need are the summer holidays (need for a family holiday), changes in someone's life (new job, renovation), planned moments (expiring a subscription) or special moments such as birthdays, births and marriages.
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Responding to the concrete need through visibility Visibility for a company, product, service or brand can be created in various ways, for example through display advertising, bannering or video ads on the websites of others, affiliate marketing, offline advertising, content marketing, advertising on social media or via your own newsletter, website and social media channels. Success in this phase means that the target group knows what you are doing, who you are and why you should be with your company for a specific product or specific service. Customer journey touchpoints The latent and concrete needs ensure the first customer journey touchpoints ; the moment and the way in which a person and a brand meet. Different customer touchpoints together form a total customer experience. There are therefore several important touchpoints in the customer journey . Latent and specific needs are important phases of the customer journey ● The concrete need is the starting point for the (potential) customer to orientate on a type of product or service, the brand and the possible providers. That is why the phases of latent and concrete need are very important moments to respond to the customer journey. This must be traced; From which moment in the life of the target group the concrete need for a product or service arises. ● Whether current customers have a specific need for other products or services in the range. ● Whether there are different moments when a concrete need arises for the various products or services in the range. ● Which trends and developments in the market stimulate the concrete need.
Step 2 of 9 Orientation phase The way in which (potential) customers orient themselves when purchasing products or services has developed considerably in recent decades. Thanks to the online world, orientation is now possible from any device, at any time of the day and even across borders. It is important in this phase to investigate when you can come into the picture as a brand in the orientation process and how you can add value for the target group that is orienting itself. It is important to get a good picture through objective advice. Orientation process in the customer journey How do you identify people who are in an exploratory phase? There are several ways to go, such as; ● ● ● ● ● ●
Concrete search behavior via search engines. Certain products are stored and collected on digital bulletin boards such as Pinterest or WeHeartIt . Social media is used to ask family, friends and other acquaintances for opinions and experiences with products and services. Forums and discussion groups are used to exchange experiences. Independent websites and blogs that compare products and write reviews are used. This also includes videos where certain types of products are compared. Selection pointers and comparison sites help to make a choice, for example websites that compare health insurers or energy companies.
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Current customers visit your companies and competitors websites for additional information.
Gaining insight into the orientation process The behavior of the prospective customer can be monitored by looking at the query using monitoring tools such as AdWords Keyword Planner and Google Trends. Current customers can be monitored by looking at Google Analytics, click behavior from email marketing, social media channels or polls. Reaching the target group in the orientation phase The orientation process is the perfect time to reach or help the target group as best as possible; a good touchpoint in the customer journey. There are various marketing tools that you can use: ● ● ● ● ●
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Content marketing : via blogs, videos, white papers, ebooks, infographics, etcetera. SEO (search engine optimization): ensures findability of your content via search engines. SEA (search engine advertising): to stand out through the paid way. Social media: where opinions are asked of acquaintances. Forums or discussion groups: where opinions are asked of strangers. The target group can be reached by proactively offering service in these places and by answering questions objectively. Webcare and proactive advice: in this phase people ask questions about a product or service via their own website, for example through live chatting. Message board marketing: Channels like Pinterest are used to create wish lists of products or activities. After the 'pin', there is a good chance that you want to buy the pinned product or book the holiday. Offline: you can also be present and stand out as a company during fairs and events where enthusiasts come together. Consider, for example, the annual Holiday Fair.
Step 3 of 9 Consideration phase In the consideration phase, the choice of the target group for a brand or supplier of products and services is considered. Brand preference is quite unstable nowadays because it is very easy for consumers to compare products or services on comparison platforms; one can search 24/7 for providers and the whole world is accessible. To be successful in this phase, a company must be able to counter these threats and seize the opportunities. Which factors play a role in the consideration phase? The choice of brand and provider is based, among other things, on the following factors: ● ● ● ●
Price Brand awareness Experiences of acquaintances and unknowns Service level
Of course, additional factors may play a role per sector and per target group, such as certain apps that are used in the services. Recognize target group in consideration phase
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A company can recognize the people who compare various providers or brands in the consideration phase. That is important to be able to respond to this. The target group can be identified as follows: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Searches for brands / providers in online search engines. Consult comparison sites and review sites. Asks for strangers' experiences in forums or discussion groups. Searches for experiences of acquaintances on social media. Watch product demonstrations on YouTube. Visits provider websites for additional information. Asks questions on the company's website via the chat function on WhatsApp.
Gaining insight into the consideration phase Tools that can be used to identify the target group in the consideration phase are various paid and unpaid online monitoring tools. Free tools include Google Trends , Answer the public and Uber suggest . Reaching the target group in the consideration phase In the consideration phase, it is important to be emphatically present as a brand or provider in the places where potential customers search. This is an important customer journey touchpoint. The target group can be approached in various ways: ●
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SEO (search engine optimization): responding to branded search trends (specifically looking for your brand) and non- branded search trends (looking for products, services or information). SEA (search engine advertising): score through paid advertisements. Conversion optimization: lead website visitors to the right action through a good sales funnel. Remarketing: Chasing past website visitors with ads to bring your brand back to the attention. Comparison websites: are present on the important comparison sites in your industry. Review Marketing: Encourage current satisfied customers to leave a review on important websites in your industry and always respond comprehensively and correctly to negative reviews. Webcare: giving fast and correct advice with questions on social media and on the website chat. Mobile marketing: optimizing the website for mobile use and geo-targeting (targeted placement of online advertisements based on the geographic location of the user).
Step 4 of 9 Decision time At the decision point, the consumer weighed everything up and chose a product, brand, provider, shop and organization where the purchase will take place. An important moment in the customer journey , because after this the purchase will take place. However, many drop-off moments can still occur after the decision point.
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Step 5 of 9 Buying phase Purchases are increasingly made online. The Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor, the study into online consumer spending in the Netherlands, estimates the number of online purchases by Dutch consumers in 2017 at around 200 million. An increase of 13% compared to the previous year, with a total amount of over € 22.6 billion (+ 12%). We will mainly discuss online dropout times here. Avoid dropping out moments With every purchasing process, both offline and online, it is important to avoid dropouts. 'Purchase' refers to purchasing a product or service, registering for a course, booking a holiday, etc. On your website, in the store or in the app. Because the buying phase can take place in many different ways and the process is different for every company and for every customer, it is not straightforward to reduce and preferably to eliminate drop-out moments. The buying experience can be different for every customer and often consists of many actions online; fill in details, create an account if necessary, add products, choose delivery time and pay. There are several moments in the process when the consumer can drop out. Possible dropouts for the consumer An overview of the most common drop-off moments: ● ● ● ●
Additional costs: for example additional delivery costs. Not satisfied with payment options: for example, only pay via credit card or not via paypal. Not satisfied with delivery time: for example, delivery next week, but the customer wants the product at home tomorrow. Temporary termination or pause of the online purchase: for example due to missing information, no time, want to think longer.
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Cancellation of the purchase process due to new circumstances: for example, the purchase of a house is canceled because the mortgage will not be settled. Unclear or incomplete product information: for example, want to buy coffee online, but when adding to the shopping cart it is not stated whether it concerns beans, ground coffee, cups or pads. Other obstacles in the sales funnel.
Optimize purchase process with handy tools With various statistics packages and analytics software you get a good insight into the drop-off moments and you can optimize the purchasing process. The most important tools at a glance: ●
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Google Analytics: set up Analytics so that it is clear when you go back to a previous step, when you drop out, whether there is a difference between drop-off moments on desktop and mobile, etc. Heatmaps: this software measures mouse movements on the website and provides insight into improvements. A well-known heatmap tool is Hotjar. A / B testing: Run tests on your website with different versions of the same page that will help you understand which page (A or B) is performing better. User surveys: under the guidance of an expert, people from the target group are asked to perform certain actions on the website with the aim of finding out whether this works and how the user experiences it. Eye tracking can also be discussed; an analysis based on eye movements.
Facilitate target group in the buying phase In the buying phase, a company must ensure that it facilitates the target group as much as possible to make a purchase; a crucial customer journey touchpoint . This is possible in several ways: ● ●
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Conversion optimization: making the sales funnel as optimal as possible using the above tools. Email marketing: send customers who have not completed their purchase an email to complete the order or offer a notification option for temporarily unavailable products, for new courses, etc. Affiliate marketing: collaborations between relevant publishers and advertisers. Remarketing : retargeting of website visitors who have not completed their purchase or who still have something in their online shopping cart. Social sharing : enthusiastic buyers share the purchase directly via a button on the thank you page or in the confirmation email.
Collect customer data In the buying phase , the company often obtains a lot of data from the customer; name, address, email address, telephone number, etc. A good CRM system ensures that these customers also have a positive experience in the coming phases of the customer journey .
Step 6 of 9 Delivery phase The delivery of a service or product consists of more variants than just the package deliverer who delivers an order from an online webshop . Depending on what is delivered, a 'delivery' can look like this: ●
Buy a product in a physical store.
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The said home delivery from a webshop. Start of a service for a longer period (for example energy, internet, telephone subscription, online marketing subscription). Start of a service for a shorter time (for example, a flight, a plumber's or an electrician's service). Downloading e-tickets (for example for a concert, festival or theater show).
For services that are not literally brought to the home of the buyer, the delivery phase can also be emphasized by, for example, announcing; "from now on you can use the online marketing services of company X". There are many opportunities for a company that is able to convert the delivery phase from a dull moment in the customer journey into a positive customer experience and even enthuses customers. Customer journey risks in the delivery phase The delivery phase entails various risks regarding the customer journey; moments when the customer can still drop out. That risk is greater if there is some time between the purchase and the time of delivery: ● ●
The customer can cancel an order after the purchase but before delivery. The customer can return an order after delivery in case of dissatisfaction or if something is not right.
Limiting risks through communication The risks in the delivery phase can be reduced by continuing to communicate well with the customer during the bridging period. For example, content can be communicated in the period between purchase and delivery, which makes the customer enthusiastic and prevents cancellations. For example usage tips, previews and an introduction to the brand or product. In the period between delivery and use, the risk of returns can be reduced with communication during or immediately after delivery. For example, with a survey about the delivery, the quality of the shipment, etc. In this way dissatisfaction can be limited or prevented. Customer journey touchpoint in the delivery phase The delivery of the product or the start of a service is an important customer journey touchpoint at which the target group can be informed and enthusiastic. For example through: ●
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Email Marketing: Send emails informing the customer of the status of the delivery. Surveys and questionnaires about satisfaction can also be sent by e-mail, so that the customer can share experiences before, for example, doing this publicly. Content marketing: content with user tips or installation tips can be sent to the customer while waiting for delivery by email marketing, but can also be shared on the site, a blog, via SMS or in a personal customer environment on the website. SMS marketing: keep the customer informed via SMS. SMS is currently more accessible than WhatsApp , because it requires permission from the recipient of the apps . Chatbots : a chatbot is a pre-programmed conversation partner that is used on websites and Instant Messenger programs to answer frequently asked questions properly, quickly and 24/7. Questions about the status of an order and changing a delivery date can therefore easily be answered.
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Webcare and customer service: questions that are 'not standard', or in the absence of a chatbot, can be answered by webcare employees and customer service employees.
Step 7 of 9 Use phase The phase in which a product or service is used offers many leads that provide insight into the customer and moments when communication with the customer can take place. This is an important moment in the customer journey, because it provides valuable information for optimizing future products and processes, to respond to any dissatisfaction and to be able to bind customers to your brand or product. Obtain customer information in the usage phase Usage information can be retrieved in different ways, depending on the channels the target audience uses to find information and share (dis) satisfaction. For example: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Complaints or questions that come in via email, telephone or chat. Analyzing information from the personal customer environment on the website, provided that 'my environment' offers added value for the customer. Use online monitoring tools to scan the internet for use of brand and product names, for example on social media and online forums. Proactively responding to public messages to turn negativity , offer solutions and learn from them. Analyze usage data from products or services that require online login. Analyze search results on Google and YouTube (analyze keywords, analyze manual videos search results). Use Google Analytics to find out whether customers are looking for product information or manuals on their own website. If usage cannot be analyzed online, such as in an amusement park or museum, the behavior can be monitored using tracking on walkways or beacons to see where the visitor is located.
Customer journey touchpoints in the usage phase In the use phase, the goal is to keep the customer satisfied through communication and to use opportunities for cross selling and upselling through marketing. For these reasons, the usage phase is an important customer journey touchpoint in the customer journey. The target group can be reached in this phase as follows: ●
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Email marketing: informing the customer with personal and relevant emails that respond to the purchasing behavior of the customer (for example; the customer has booked a trip to Thailand, then the e-mail marketing must focus on Thailand instead of general mails about worldwide holidays). Content marketing: using blogs and social media channels to provide the customer with useful information about product use or services. The ability for the customer to respond promotes customer satisfaction. Video Marketing: YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google. Manuals and infographics can be communicated by video. Website optimization: a clear distinction between information for prospects and information for customers on the company's website provides a good touchpoint . SEO
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(search engine optimization) and conversion optimization ensure that the customer can also find this information. Online monitoring: online monitoring tools help intercept messages from customers who have questions or seek help with a product or service, for example on social media or online forums. This can then be responded to with proactive webcare . Chat: online contact through a chat function or app provides quick solutions to questions or problems of the customer.
Step 8 of 9 Loyalty phase A loyal customer is committed to your brand and product. But brand loyalty poses many threats because switching to a different provider is becoming increasingly accessible and new entrants to the market are a danger. The competitiveness of the company is of course important to survive in a competitive market. With a good marketing strategy , organizations can create added value for the customer and distinguish themselves from competitors, such as with the value strategies of Treacy and Wiersema or the generic competition strategy of Porter. However, that does not immediately lead to loyal customers. How can customers be stimulated to become loyal to a brand and product? We explain this using two different forms of loyalty. Transactional loyalty The first form of brand loyalty is 'transactional loyalty'; be loyal to a brand for price benefits or gifts. Think of savings programs, such as the Flying Blue airmile program from KLM, where you save for discounts on flights and free upgrades. And to Eurosparen for Friesland Campina brands where you save for discounts on trips, such as amusement parks and zoos. However, the question is whether true brand loyalty can be transactional . There is no great sense of bonding with the customer; "People are only loyal to the idea of always being able to find an even more competitive price somewhere," Yoshi Tuk writes in Emerce . Emotional loyalty A more sustainable form of brand loyalty is therefore 'emotional loyalty'. These customers are attached to the brand and feel an emotional connection. They are 'fans' of your brand and they will not want to exchange their positive overall experience at the brand for the discount of the competitor. Emotional loyalty is common with likeable brands such as Nike, Harley Davidson or Apple, with certain popular fashion brands and, of course, with many sports clubs. Customer Decision Journey and Loyalty Loop from McKinsey The well-known consultancy firm McKinsey developed the Customer Decision Journey in which the traditional sales funnel (according to the AIDA model or a variant thereof) with funnel is replaced by a circular funnel with a ' loyalty loop'. In other words; At the funnel, the company invests to convince customers to come and see them and make a purchase. After that, the customer receives his purchase, there may be another review from the customer involved and that is where the funnel ends.
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With the ' loyalty loop' the customer starts with inspiration, followed by orientation, selection, transaction, experiencing the product, service, interaction and involvement. In this model, a personal relationship between customer and company is of great importance, because loyal customers keep coming back. Customer intimacy plays an important role in this.
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Customer intimacy for high brand loyalty Customer intimacy is a value strategy of Treacy and Wiersema in which excellence in customer partnership is central to the marketing strategy. Companies pursuing a customer partnership or customer intimacy do not believe in one-off transactions. It is the long-term customer relationships and an individual customer approach that set the tone in their marketing strategy . This organization achieves intimate relationships with their customers by delivering tailor-made products or focuses their policy entirely on attention to the individual customer and customer loyalty. A good customer relationship management program (CRM) plays an important role in this. If the customer intimacy strategy is properly executed, it leads to high brand loyalty with the customer. Recognizing loyal customers Satisfied customers are not necessarily loyal customers. Therefore, in order to identify loyal customers, measurements must be taken. The degree of customer loyalty can best be measured by the behavior of the customer. Customer loyalty is evidenced by the customer's purchasing behavior and the customer's emotional relationship with the brand or company and his positive attitude towards the brand or company (loyalty). Measuring in Google Analytics and CRM system Getting started with the data from Google Analytics and the CRM system or administration yourself is of course also a good option. This means, for example, that the following things can be measured: ● ● ● ● ● ●
How long have people been customers. In which age category do customers stay customers longer. The most loyal customers live in which region. Data about the visit to the 'cancel' page. How often they look for conditions to terminate a contract, for notice periods or other options for cancellation. How often the option to file a complaint is sought.
With this data, you gain insight into the success KPIs (Critical Performance Indicators), but also the opportunity to reach the target group before they cancel and ultimately transform them into loyal customers. Customer journey touchpoints in the loyalty phase Some marketing tools can be used to create and retain loyal customers. It is important to communicate the right message to the right customer (or non-customer), in the right phase of the customer journey . The following resources can help: ●
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Data / statistics: login data from the customer environment on the website, visitors to the 'cancel' page and data about the period that elapses between purchases provide insight into customer loyalty. Webcare and appcare : online presence on the right social media channels and of course on WhatsApp or Messenger ensures shorter lines with customers. Live chat: Live chat on their own website is a good way to serve customers directly with questions and to retain or ask people who want to cancel. Surveys: Asking questions about satisfaction provides insights and offers the customer the opportunity to vent his / her heart.
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Email Marketing: Relevant grinds with specific content (personalized and segmented) ensure customer involvement. Content marketing: distributing various forms of content (textual, video or image) on the right channels (such as your own website or social media), whereby a clear distinction is made between different target groups (existing customers and prospects or noncustomers). Advertising via remarketing : people who have visited the company website can be chased through remarketing with advertisements, where they see very specific products in which they have shown interest on your website. Monitoring: monitoring social media (for example specific Facebook groups within your industry), forums and discussion groups leads to the identification of trends and the ability to respond appropriately to questions that were not directly addressed to the organization.
Omnichannel marketing Also omni channel is an important strategy when it comes to customer loyalty. Customers expect to tell their story only once when they contact the organization. If they have already submitted their problem or question to the telephone customer service, a good omnichannel ensures that the customer does not have to tell the story to the webcare department the next day . Consistency in the way customers are treated and addressed is also important. Omnichannel therefore includes both technical components and mindset components. Omnichannel leads to a better customer relationship, which can increase customer loyalty.
Step 9 of 9 Ambassador phase In addition to loyal customers, there is of course a superlative; the ambassadors. Ambassadors are not only satisfied and loyal to the brand or the company, they also bring in new customers. What is an ambassador? Ambassadors are customers who are so happy with the brand or product that they are willing to advertise themselves. In addition, there are ambassadors who need a push and who should be asked Reader Positioning
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whether they want to write a review, for example. And there are spontaneous ambassadors who share their enthusiasm, solicited and unsolicited, with acquaintances and strangers. How is an ambassador recognized? Offline ambassadors who recommend your product or brand to friends and family are difficult to trace. But there is a large group of ambassadors who are active online, and that can be monitored: ●
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Monitoring tools can find out how many and which fans spread their message on social media, forums and in discussion groups. And also whether, for example, YouTube is used to test products or share user videos. Real fans not only express their enthusiasm on online platforms, but also answer questions from prospects and defend the brand or product if there are negative reactions. E-mails from customers who think along or provide tips for improvements are intended to help and may come from ambassadors. Within email marketing, ambassadors can also be recognized by how often they click through within a newsletter and how often they share or forward content. All of this can be measured within email marketing platforms.
Reach and facilitate ambassadors Ambassadors of your brand or product should not only be nurtured but also facilitated to easily spread their positivity about the brand. Reaching this target group is therefore an important step in the customer journey . This can be done as follows: ● ●
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Share: make it possible to share content, purchases or product pages on social media, via email and WhatsApp . Reviews and recommendations: ask customers to leave a review on important review websites, your Facebook page and in Google and also ask them to place a review on their own website. Email Marketing: Ensure that fans and ambassadors are offered different content in newsletters than 'regular customers' or prospects. They have different needs and expectations. WhatsApp: communication via messaging apps such as WhatsApp creates a more direct link with ambassadors. Monitoring of online media: identify your loyal supporters by monitoring forums, discussion platforms and social media. People who talk a lot about your brand here and who have a wide reach are ideal ambassadors. Member actions: facilitate ambassadors with the right tools so that they can encourage others to become customers. Content Marketing: Brand ambassadors can write a blog, newsletter or article or create a video to make content marketing very personal. Custom Audiences : Custom Audiences is an ad targeting option that allows advertisers to target a target audience from an uploaded customer list. Target your list of ambassadors so that they continue to spread positive messages about your brand.
No customer journey is the same Now you have an overview of all phases that occur in the customer journey . It is important to know that not every phase of the customer journey is equally important for every organization. Just like that not every customer journey touchpoint is equally important. Every company will have to map the
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customer journey for its own product or brand. You can investigate where customer contact improvements are possible to achieve an optimal customer experience and to build long-term, valuable customer relationships. Customer journey in the strategic marketing plan The customer journey model can be used in various ways in the strategic marketing plan: ● ● ● ●
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Mapping the customer journey helps identify growth opportunities and potential benefits to be gained across channels. The customer journey helps to develop new products or services. In case of changes in the organization, the customer journey map helps to explain why parts of the organization should be classified differently. At an operational level, the customer journey map ensures that the organization views itself from the customer's perspective and thus gains insight into opportunities for improvement and change. The customer journey offers starting points for classifying the marketing mix. The organization implements its marketing strategy using the marketing mix (the 4Ps, but especially the customer-oriented 4C model and the SIVA model ) . The mapped customer journey helps determine how the different marketing instruments should be used and which mutual interaction is desired, from the customer perspective. The customer journey model provides insight into the customer experience and is very valuable as a basis for optimizing the total customer experience.
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The Mentality Model Mentality™ is the result of Motivaction's unique, large-scale value and lifestyle research that offers an effective look at target group segmentation and suitable marketing strategies. Using this tool, organizations are able to better define, classify and approach their target audience. As a result of researching individuals' experiences since 1997, organizations who use Mentality have more insights into, and an understanding of, what motivates their target audiences, how trends arise, and how they should operate in a broader context. Traditionally, social and demographic characteristics have been considered highly influential to explain and predict individuals' opinions and behavior . Over the years, these traditional divisions based on age, gender, education and income have become less powerful at successfully distinguishing different target audiences. Mentality™ has proven itself as a better means to explain and understand individuals' behavior. Additionally, the Mentality model allows us to understand why traditional divisions cannot provide fitting answers. Your marketing and communication strategy need to connect with the world as your target audience experiences it. To discover this world, and to offer you the most effective input for your marketing and communication strategy, Motivaction developed Mentality™. Would you like to experience Mentality? You can take the test below. Mentality Test
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