A Look Back at Customer Experience in 2011

By Chelsi Nakano (@chelsi) Dec 28, 2011

Last December experts from around the globe predicted that 2011 would be all about Customer Experience, and boy was it. As a result we've seen huge shifts in every major area of B2C. Here's a look back at our related trials and tribulations, as well as some key advice for overcoming challenges in 2012.

The New Customer

We've always been a vocal bunch; compelled since the beginning to discuss our thoughts on brands, customer service, and general business. But in the past few years this tendency of expression has been enormously augmented by social media and mobile devices. In 2011 especially, we saw the combination of these two platforms act as legs for opinions, carrying them beyond our living rooms to the ears of strangers and, ultimately, influencing their judgment.

In other words, the new customer is not only vocal, but inadvertently more social than ever before, and that means they're wielding a tremendous amount of power. We now know that understanding this shift and responding appropriately is absolutely crucial to successful CXM.

"…the focus should be on the customer, not on your product or content," wrote Martijn van Berkum in "CEM: The Customer is King, Not Content, and he's Switching Channels". "The customer should be the center point of attention, and organizations, processes and technology need to radically adapt to realize this."

Michael Brito, vice president over at Edelman Digital, offers a good starting point. His article, "An Overview of the Social Customer", breaks down the different types of temperaments and suggests how one should manage them. In summation:

The Venting Customer: The attention seeker. He/She is never too threatening, and usually there's no need for reply. In many cases, these customers make statements such as, “I love my Dell laptop, but it’s way too heavy,” or “I just got Comcast installed. The high definition is amazing, but the cable box doesn't match my furniture."
The Passive Customer: This customer is definitely in need of customer support but isn’t actively seeking a response. Usually, these customers aren’t overly vocal or complaining like other customers. They’ll likely tell their networks in hopes that someone they know can help them directly.
The Used-to-Be Customer: This customer is angry and needs assistance immediately. These customers have most likely expressed their discontent several times online and either haven’t been responded to or haven’t had their problem resolved. They’re consistently telling others about their negative experiences.
The Collaborative Customer: This customer is happy with the product, service or company. Often these people seek out venues for suggesting new products or enhancements to an existing product.
The Customer Advocate: These customers talk about a brand, product or service without incentives, even if the brand isn’t paying attention. They talk about the brand because of how it makes them feel or of its value to their lives.
The Future Customer: This customer, also known as the prospect, is one of the reasons CRM systems came into existence. They can either be new customers or customers who are considering an upgrade to a new product or service.

Content, Commerce & Community

Often times, acting wisely when it comes to engagement seems as simple as putting yourself in the customer's shoes. And while that may be true, this year we also learned that it takes a bit of finesse to squeeze into them. If you're finding this part of the shift to be particularly difficult, or don't know where to start, worry not. Experts like Kevin Carlson of Optaros have determined moments with exceptional opportunity for success: