RESOURCES · E-NEWSLETTERS · THINK · JUNE 2006

ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Marketers are not doing a good job of communicating directly with their customers, according to a recent study by the CMO Council. This finding is both surprising and disconcerting when you consider how often the customer centric mantra is touted in the marketing world. After all, a basic tenet of customer centricity is the importance of understanding your customers. One of the best ways to achieve this understanding is through direct interaction with your customers. We all know that two-way communication with customers is paramount in creating solid brand and marketing campaigns based on actionable insights.

If this seems like marketing 101, why aren't more marketers doing it?

The study from the CMO Council finds that marketers are surprisingly out of touch with customers, with many not taking advantage of opportunities to gain insights from sources such as customer service, distribution channels, customer organizations or communities (including online customer networks).

Approximately 75% of marketers surveyed said they had neither a formal nor informal advisory committee of users or buyers.
Of those that do, only 6% said the advisory committee was "very critical" in product innovation.
More than 66% said they did not have a formal customer word-of-mouth program in place.

So how do these companies develop the best products and services for their customers? According to the study, most of these companies have data driven Customer Relationsip Management (CRM) systems in place. The study also says that these marketers tend to rely too heavily on data driven systems versus talking with their customers. Interestingly, however, the marketers surveyed expressed little confidence in the CRM systems they do have, further indicating a need for direct contact with customers. While it is important to have CRM systems, it is equally important to have qualitative customer information to ensure a well-rounded picture of your customers.

Direct contact with customers is important for many reasons. In addition to helping make customers feel more valued and more invested in your products and services, it can give marketers insights into any of the following areas:

The success of marketing communication campaigns
How current products and services are perceived
Ideas about new products and services
Issues that may become problems down the road

Many factors may contribute to the current lack of direct customer contact among marketers. These can range from budgetary restrictions to a lack of clarity within organizations about who owns that responsibility. Nevertheless, it is important and it should be a priority. Marketers can initiate direct customer contact in a number of ways, to fit budgets of any size. These include but are not limited to:

Focus groups
Feedback forms on websites
Listening in on chat rooms
Blogs
Events or contests for customers to help develop products or services

It is time for marketers to stop talking about talking to customers and actually do it. The benefits will be obvious.

Source of Research: CMO Council

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