ACQUIRING CUSTOMERS

Recap
Two core characteristics of relationships

Three organizational competencies for implementing CRM

Three modules of CRM software

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Customer Relationship Cycle

Acquire Develop Retain

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Session objectives
By the end of the session, students are expected to:
 Learn about key factors related to customer acquisition
 Appreciate the role of value propositions in acquiring customers
 Understand the concept of customer experience
 Synthesize learning through case analysis

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Customer Acquisition
B2C Business
 Campaign Management
 Promotions
 Sales funnel
B2B Business
 Business Prospecting
 Event Based Marketing
 Referrals
Core characteristics 

LEAD GENERATION
LEAD MANAGEMENT (HOT, COLD)
 Value (Value Proposition)  OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT
 SALES PIPELINE
 Experience  CONVERSION RATIO

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Value & Customer Value Proposition
Provide value to customers Value = Benefits
 Benefits Sacrifices
 Costs (money, time, psychic costs ~
risks)
Value Proposition
 Explicit or implicit promise made by
a company to its customers that it
will deliver a particular bundle of
value-creating benefits

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Customer Value Proposition (B2C)
Value Proposition – B2C context
 Touch Points
 Moments of Truth
Touchpoints
 Customer intimacy
CVP enhancing factors Moments of Truth
 Communications
 Visual identity Engagement
 Product presence
 Co-branding
 Websites and electronic media
 People

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Customer Value Proposition (B2B)
Three approaches – ‘All Benefits’; ‘Favourable points of difference’; ‘Resonating
focus’ (Anderson, Narus & van Wouter, 2006)
Favourable Points of
Value Proposition All Benefits Resonating Focus
Difference
All favourable points of One or two points of
All benefits that
Consists of: difference (own vs next best difference – Greater value
customers receive
alternative) to customers

Answers the customer Why should we Why should we buy from What is most worthwhile
question: purchase from you? you instead of competitors? about your offering?

Knowledge of how our

Knowledge of own Knowledge of own & next
Requires: offering provides superior
offering best offering
value to customers

Requires customer value

Potential Pitfall: Benefit assertion Value presumption
research
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Customer Value Proposition
Substantiate Demonstrate
Superior Business
Customer Value Customer Value in
Performance
Propositions Advance
• ‘Value word • ‘Value case • Distinctive
equation’ histories’ • Measurable
• Demonstrate • Proof of Concept • Sustainable
savings

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Customer Experience
Internal and subjective response,
customer have to any direct or indirect
contact with the company
Planned vs. unplanned
 Planned customer experience - Engage
the customer in a positive and
memorable way
Positive vs. normative
 Positive customer experience – ‘As it
is’
 Normative customer experience –
‘Ought to be’
Commodity vs Unique
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Customer Experience Concepts
Touch point
 Touch points - Virtual or concrete contact with a company’s products,
services, communications, places, people, processes or technologies
Moment-of-truth
 Moments of truth occur during customer interactions at touch-points (when
customers form evaluative judgements, positive or negative, about their
experience).
Engagement
 The customer’s emotional and rational response to a customer experience
Why Customer Experience is critical?
 Designed customer experience evokes strong, positive engagement.
 Engagement – Expressed in a sense of confidence, integrity, pride, delight or
passion
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How to understand customer experience?
Experience mapping (Journey Cycle)
Process mapping
Customer activity cycle (shadowing)
Ethnographic methods
 Participant observation
 Non-participant observation
Mystery shopping

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Customer Experience Clues
Communication
 Company-generated messaging such as
advertising, brochures, newsletters and
annual reports.
 Customer-generated messaging
through user groups, chat and blogs.
Visual Identity
 Brand names
 Logos
 Livery
Product Presence
 Product design
 Packaging
 Display
 Brand characters
 Point-of-sale
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Customer Experience Clues
Co-branding activities
 Event marketing
 Sponsorship
 Alliances /Partnerships / Licensing
 Product placement
 Co-operative campaigns
Spatial Environment
 Retail stores, office spaces, lobbies, car
parks, buildings, gardens, and public
spaces.
 Environmental stimuli
• noise, temperature, odour, colour,
architectural design, traffic, spatial
arrangements
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Typical Journey Map

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Customer Journey Maps

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Discussion: Competing on Customer Journeys

Use new technologies and processes to lead the customer journeys

Google Earth ‘Live’ sales rep

Mail to prospect Calculations on
image of house for query
with unique URL energy savings
with solar panels resolution

Post-installation
Financing Project progress
References performance
Options dashboards
dashboards

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Competing on Customer Journeys
Four Key capabilities
 Automation
 Proactive personalization
 Contextual interaction
 Journey innovation
Automation
 Digitizing and streamlining of steps in journey
 Allowing consumers to take decisions, installing products / applications
 Use cutting edge technology (API, collect and analyze data across multiple
platforms)

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Competing on Customer Journeys
Proactive personalization
 Past interactions analyzed to customize
shopping experience
 Tracking customers across different
channels (e.g.,Clickfox)

Contextual interaction
 Track where the customer is on the
journey
 Provide contextual suggestions (e.g.,
Starwood Hotels)

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Competing on Customer Journeys
Journey Innovation
 Ongoing experimentation
 Active analysis of customer needs
 Linking with other service providers to provide
comprehensive journeys (e.g. Delta + Uber)

Organizational Change
 Build experience management team

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Customer Experience Priorities

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Technology for Customer Experience

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