eMarketer Interviews John Caruso about Building an Organization Centered on the Customer Experience | MCD Partners

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May 20, 2016

eMarketer Interviews John Caruso about Building an Organization Centered on the Customer Experience

Digital marketing research firm eMarketer recently published a report titled, “The Customer Experience Mandate: Brand Strategies to Meet and Exceed Customers’ Always-On Expectations” featuring insights from MCD Partner’s own John Caruso.
The report explores customer-centric organizations in the age of the digitally connected consumer—and how customer expectations are putting pressure on brands to keep up.
“Customer experience is the sum of all customer interactions across all touchpoints throughout the customer journey,” said Caruso. “Technology is changing expectations at such a rapid pace. Customers expect everything to work across all devices, platforms, and services.”
Today’s always-on customer expects more from products, services, and brands as a whole. And as companies like Uber, Amazon, and Airbnb continue to personalize their customer experiences, they’re setting the bar for everyone.
“Having a customer-centric philosophy isn’t something you can fake in an organization,” said Caruso, noting the initiative often starts in the C-suite. “[It’s] a major differentiator and I think senior executives understand that experience is actually becoming a primary reason to choose a brand or service.”
So what’s a company to do? Focus on customer and the customer experience, Caruso says, and make it a company-wide initiative. Then use customer-centric approach to reset thinking and re-evaluate business challenges.
“One of the things we do strategically with our clients is take a business problem and frame it as a customer problem.” Using sales as an example, Caruso explained how it’s not about the bottom line—it’s about the customer. Are they having trouble finding what they need? Do they not understand the product? Do they find the checkout process cumbersome? If a company can address the problems a customer has with their sales experience, they can solve their business problems.
Because in the end, it really is all about the customer.
Read the eMarketer article. The full report is available to subscribers.
 

About eMarketer
Founded in 1996, eMarketer is a leader in digital market research and data. They provide insights and trends related to digital marketing, media, and commerce.