Customers, Channels and Horseless Carriages

For those who don’t know, the very first cars weren’t called cars. People called them horseless carriages because that was their point of reference. The same happened with the invention of the “iron horse” (train) and more recently “snurfing” (snowboarding). All are examples of how legacy language attempts to describe entirely new paradigms.

The same thing is happening today as digital transforms the marketplace, brand positioning and traditional channel approaches. Some contend that digital is a channel unto itself. Others talk about cross-channel, and more recently omni-channel, in attempts to reshape traditional channel models to fit increasingly empowered, immediate and personal customer needs and behaviors.

Since digital is so pervasive and disruptive, it's far more than just another channel. The growth of digital is turning the whole notion of channel or even cross-channel into a horseless-carriage conversation. Legacy language is being used to describe entirely new paradigms:

• Digital is pervasive — channels are intentionally discrete.
• Digital is people-centric — channels are traditionally product and internally focused, driven by company objectives, structures and processes.
• Digital is dynamic, contextual and personal — channels seek to focus, organize and standardize.
• Digital enables community — channels optimize distribution.

From Channel Centric to Customer Focused
It’s perhaps easy to dismiss the discussion as simply a matter of semantics or buzzwords. Besides, marketers and agencies have been talking about being "customer centric" for decades, right? So how is this any different?

The issue isn’t just about labels; it’s about a fundamental change in the marketplace in which channel-focused companies are unable to respond efficiently and effectively to changing customer expectations and behaviors. Today’s customer-centric marketplace is driven by the right engagement at the right time and place, as well as critical “moments of truth.” In other words, there are often fleeting opportunities that can no longer be defined and controlled by marketing calendars, media plans, in-store programs or channels.

Forrester’s Welcome to the Era of Agile Commerce puts forth an excellent model of the customer-centric tomorrow. This research provides one of the more clear visualizations of the nature of customer journeys and the almost random manner in which customers choose to engage brands, businesses and products.

In a practical sense, the concept of customer centricity plays out daily with an increasing number of consumers roaming retail aisles while getting advice from friends, reading reviews from other consumers, comparing competitor prices, or viewing ads while touching base with the babysitter and keeping up on the news (and then buying online to avoid the hassle of checkout). The question remains: Who owns that channel — omni or otherwise?

Even the easily defined separation of B-to-B and B-to-C is quickly unifying into B-to-X (i.e., an undefined audience), as our experiences as consumers often set expectations in the workplace. The shopping and buying behaviors of construction contractors, small business owners and bench scientists are looking more like the above retail shopper every day.

It’s a Business Problem That Marketing Alone Can’t Solve
This shift from a channel-focused to customer-centric business model is creating significant challenges for companies. Most responses start at the marketing department and the inevitable alphabet of strategies (m-, e-, t-, w-, s-) in an attempt to better synch multiple campaigns, messages and programs across brands, business units and markets.

But marketing alone can’t do what’s needed. Seamless brand experiences across products, solutions and portfolios are all but impossible to deliver in siloed, sandboxed business environments. Sustainable success depends on more than a marketing transformation or excellence in brand positioning. It often depends on significant business transformation to deliver the brand promise that impacts departments across the organization, including:

• brand management;
• sales;
• service;
• supply chain;
• technology;
• intelligence;
• products/portfolios;
• innovation/R&D;
• finance; and
• external partners.

Building a Better Buggy Whip?
It’s easy to set a goal of adopting new paradigms and business processes that focus on the customer, but harder to execute successfully. The horseless carriage was derided by many as too noisy, too slow and too expensive compared to existing horse-pulled carriages. We can imagine that the buggy whip makers weren’t too keen on these new innovations either. But making better buggy whips didn’t drive the innovation of cars.

Success is far from ensured, and the path forward is far from obvious. However, something is becoming increasingly clear: Continuing to ask channel-focused questions can’t deliver the customer-driven answers, ideas, innovation and fundamental change needed to build sustainable advantage and growth.

Steve Duesbury is director of digital strategy at Acquity Group. Steve can be reached at steve.duesbury@acquitygroup.com.