California Family Kicked Off Delta Flight After Argument Over Toddler’s Seat

American Airlines investigates after video shows mom in tears

Delta Employees Asked Man to Leave Flight After Using Restroom

United Airlines Passenger Is Dragged From an Overbooked Flight

I don’t share these incidents to bring judgement upon the airlines or its passengers. The reason I share this is because I think as marketers, we can learn a lot from these situations. We can learn from innovative successes and groundbreaking products, as well as communication breakdowns and errors in judgement. Each of these stories should cause us to reflect and have meaningful discussions in our businesses.

As we consider each of these incidents, what is one thing they have in common? They reflect a breakdown in the customer journey. You’re likely saying, “Yes, we know all about the customer journey, there’s no problem here. We understand the touchpoints, as well as how we engage customers along each step of that journey.” That’s great. However, have you put your customer journey in front of your customer? Would they agree with each touchpoint? Have you considered missing touchpoints that maybe only your customer sees? The director of marketing at each of these airlines likely did not see the journey that included unhappy customers that are asked to voluntarily leave their flights each and every day.

So what does this mean for our marketing automation efforts? We should consider this a wake up call to how we engage our customers at each and every step and with each and every interaction. And that includes the interactions we may not always see or acknowledge.

• Re-assess the Customer Journey:

  Your customer and marketplace are not, and should not be, static. If the way your customers find, access or engage you continues to evolve, then so should your customer journey.

  “A customer is never on a predetermined course – they are unpredictable! By ‘understanding the customer journey’ brands run the risk of pigeon holing their customers and losing them, by trying to control the process.” (source)

  This is significant. Don’t get lulled to sleep by believing that once you’ve outlined your customer journey that it is in “set it and forget” mode. There is a risk to not consistently evaluating each touchpoint. Even touchpoints you think don’t exist.

• Review the Data and Verify:

  One of the most valuable elements of marketing automation is the ability to segment and communicate directly to the needs of our audience. But how often are we reviewing the data and verifying that the value is meaningful?

  “If the enterprise does not augment the product experience with accurate, timely, and relevant information (according to the user’s location, channel and time of usage), users will be left dissatisfied, disoriented, and disengaged.” (source)

  Don’t forget to periodically monitor click throughs and open rates to ensure your content is adding value to your segments at each and every stage.

• Find the Gaps:

  As you reassess your customer journey, not only must you constantly be speaking with you customer facing team, but you must be speaking directly with customers at each stage of the customer journey. Why did that potential customer not place an order? Were there unmet needs? Are there touchpoints that we haven’t addressed?

  “As part of this 360-degree view of the customer, brands need to connect data from both physical and digital touchpoints in order to bridge the gap between the two.” (source)

  These gaps reside in our day-to-day interactions with customers, but also in the digital handoffs that occur as we provide our products and services.

• Add Value at Every Stage:

  Whether your customers are loyal or encounter an unforeseen roadblock, it is incumbent upon you to add value. We are in a sharing economy. The challenge we face as marketers is that every potential customer should be seen as a potential advocate for our business whether they are a customer or not.

  “The art of creating added value starts with the ability to see your business through the eyes of your customers.” (source)

  So walk in their shoes, talk with them directly. Sometimes the best data is not in a report, but directly interacting with the people you serve.

In summary, what can we learn from the challenges airlines have been experiencing over the past couple of weeks? That no matter how long you’ve been doing business, and what you think you know about your customers, there is always an opportunity to learn more and improve the customer journey before, during and after they interact with your business.

For more information about how to create your own custom journey in Mautic, check out our video on the subject.

It begins with some self-awareness. Marketing holds the organizational mantle on creativity. They pride themselves on having all the right tools for assessing and understanding the customer need. They focus group test. They A/B test. Then after all the data has been gathered, they develop the most engaging campaigns ever. Sales is no different. They are one of the key pillars for organizational success. They stand in that magical circle called the “Moment of Truth”, and close deals. They brush up on their emotional intelligence skills. They develop deep client knowledge and wield it at the perfect time to bring the sale across the line.

This still happens today. Many organizations still rely on traditional marketing and sales teams to reach customers and deliver sales. But are they focused on the right metrics? The customer is more informed than ever before. The tables have been turned. The customer is now in the driver’s seat. Marketing and sales need to better understand the customer journey in a digital sense. Investing in new social and digital tools are not bad. But if sales and marketing don’t work together, they will never accomplish what they can together. And it begins by adding value.

At the Intersection of Value

Consider the graphic below. It has two lines. The gray line is representative of the customer journey. It has a beginning and a perceived end, which we’ll discover is not really an end at all. The black curved line is your business. As we move from left to right, the goal is to maximize the moments where these two lines intersect. Segments of the journey are indicated by brackets. They are Discovery, Research, Moments of Truth, and Customer Engagement. As these buyer touch-points occur, it’s our job to create and provide as much value as we can. It is in these moments where buyers form their thoughts about your brand. You must help them meet their need by providing value at every point along the way.

Marketing and sales have a unique opportunity to work together to deliver value at every stage of the customer journey. They first need to align on the major segments of that journey. After this is agreed upon, they must align on the value that is delivered at each one of those stages.

Creating Value at Every Stage

We’ve talked about the marketing/sales funnel and how it’s broken. We are in agreement that this is not where we have been before. So how do we know what value we should create at each buying stage? I’m so glad you asked. Let’s look at four typical stages along this customer journey.

• Discovery: The first area we need to tackle is when the buyer learns they have a need. Understanding this stage is a challenge. Start by asking your existing customers about what caused the need. What were they doing when they first discovered they needed your product/service? Where were they? This causal effect will assist you in determining the right content/value approach you should take. It will also help you understand what sites and channels are used when they discover it.
• Research: We all do it. The data doesn’t lie. Research shows that we are going online to find answers to all manner and kinds of questions. And your customers are doing it too. This has never been more true even in the car buying experience.
  

  Today, half of all car shoppers with mobile devices use their smartphones while at the dealership. The top action people perform with their phones while on the lot, not surprisingly, is confirming that they are getting a good price on a vehicle. Searches for Kelley Blue Book and competing dealers occur more often when at the dealership. – Think with Google

  These answers are the key to developing the value we seek to create. Learn as much as you can about where your customers are coming from. What sites do they visit when researching? Are they visiting your website? What content are they viewing? Is it valuable to the research they are doing?

• Moments of Truth: The buyer has become aware of the need. They’ve researched all the solutions. They will now enter the zone that we affectionately call the “Moment of Truth”. It is in this space where your potential customer will make a decision to buy. Our job is to engage the buyer with the reassurance of their buying decision. Sure we will have an amazing call-to-action. The button will be the perfect color and be in the perfect spot. But where is the value? When buyers make a decision, we must create the most value-filled buying experience possible. Is it easy to buy a product on your site? What does your follow up look like?
• Customer Engagement: Now that the buyer has become a customer, the value changes again. It now becomes a matter of user experience and engagement. When was the last time you used your own product? What questions popped up? Was it easy to find the answers? What if the answers were sent before you had the question? It is important that your customer sees the value in a long-term relationship.

Listen and Verify

But it does not stop at providing value. This does not automatically get you the sale. As any marketer worth their credentials will attest, you must always be listening. Each one of these touch-points should be tracked. It will provide you with the data you need to “listen” and verify that it is the right value being provided at the right stage.

For sales and marketing to be successful, it must retool. But more importantly, they must align their focus on providing value to the customer at every stage of the buying journey.

Marketing automation tools are valuable in helping you learn more about your customer. But the value doesn’t stop there. It can be assist you in creating a value-based customer journey that equips the buyer at every stage.