CXM, or customer experience management is the next step in the evolution of CRM—customer relationship management and marks a clear shift from what experts call an “inside-out” view of dealing with your target market to an “outside-in” approach.
Organizations who are at the leading edge of innovation have migrated to utilizing CXM as a full replacement to the CRM framework. Consider the following three interviewed by CIO.com in Why CXM is the Next Step in Customer Interaction. Here’s what they say about the transformation:
“When CRM came of age in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the focus was on improving internal processes to better support customers, reducing cost and increasing satisfaction—with a heavy emphasis on reducing cost…It was an inside-out view of how to manage a relationship with customers…”
– Marchai Bruchey, chief marketing officer at Thunderhead, a provider of customer communications management services
“…CXM is proactive, even anticipatory…[It]proactively initiates contact, delivers content, preemptively solves problems and understands customer preferences, often before the customer requests it or knows they need it.”
– Peter Flynn, vice president of worldwide customer service with Stratus Technologies, an uptime service provider
“CXM seeks to address the experience customers have with companies over time, with the aim of making each interaction a positive one, so that there is a cumulative effect on satisfaction and on loyalty,”
-Richard Vermillion, CEO of Fulcrum, a company specializing in marketing technology and analytics
Know what to focus on.
This shift marks a change in focus. CRM is out. We no longer need to spend the bulk of marketing budgets or time on figuring out what customer needs are or even what target audiences look like. We know that stuff. The CXM approach, instead, focuses on enabling your customers to interact with YOUR brand and product. This experience of interacting with your brand and your product is what will drive more sales in 2016. Are you ready to jump in?
How can you reach your target with your brand’s message?
Let’s tap into what expert Julie Cottineau explains in the recent interview with Customer Experience Magazine:
“You really need to clearly define your consumer and direct your focus on them, specifically. One of the biggest branding mistakes I see small business make is that they target everyone. They have broad and generic advertising headlines and website copy. But when your brand stays at this very general level it is hard for your ideal consumer to see that you’re really speaking to them and it’s a struggle for them to feel connected or feel compelled enough to take action. But if you can put yourself in your customer’s shoes and understand what they need, what they worry about, what keeps them up at night, what – on a deep level –they desire – and how you can deliver that – you’ll reach more people who will be willing to take action and keep returning to your brand.”
-CXM Customer Experience Magazine, Brands Nurture Trust with a Twist
We’d love to help you innovate your customer experience. Whether it’s helping you understand some basic CXM jargon so you can apply fresh strategies or communicate more effectively across customer channels, or you are interested in how to get your hands on tools that do this, we can help.
