As the race to the end of 2021 hots up, we delivered one of our final two webinars. Firstly, we took a broad look at customer experience and positive customer experiences with neuroscience. Second, we plan to take a whistle-stop tour around the subject of planning for 2022. At today’s webinar, we had guests from both B2B and B2C corporates up and down the UK. Read on as we tell you a little more about the event and why we do them.
Positive customer experiences make sense
As business strive for growth, the temptation is to invest more in the purchase stage with campaigns or sales resource. Unfortunately, the pandemic isn’t quite over yet and so marketing budgets remain constrained. This isn’t purely a marketing phenomenon. With uncertainty in the air from rising Covid cases, the ‘pingdemic’, a shortage of lorry drivers and rising fuel and gas prices, cash is tight or being stockpiled just in case.
So, what makes sense to find growth? Is it growth through partnerships? Yes, we have seen examples in the news such as Gap taking concessions in Next stores and Next taking on the Gap website. Alternatively, is it growth through new markets and product launches? Yes, if the R&D is complete or variations of existing products are cost-effective, this is an option. Entering new markets is also possible though Brexit has perhaps dissuaded some. Ultimately, it could be time to look after what you have and take market share another way. Yes, accelerate your business performance through positive customer experiences as a differentiator and a competitive advantage.
Neuroscience and positive CX
So, what has neuroscience got in common with CX? According to Steven, our co-founder and today’s presenter, “neuroscience allows you to predict or measure the emotional and physiological response to multiple purchasing stages and touchpoints”. Steven adds, “it seems difficult for companies to ‘put themselves in the customers’ shoes’ so neuroscience helps you get closer”.
Using neuroscience, also termed neuroexperience, we have a range of techniques to study CX. This includes your brand, campaigns and other communications. This also covers your entire lead-to-cash journey and trouble-to-resolve processes. Steven notes that, “Rather than asking at the end of the process if it was good or bad, why not look at how the many processes and channels make people feel. For those wondering how to create positive customer experiences, retaining more customers, creating more advocacy and higher customer lifetime value, neuroexperience lifts the lid.”
Find out more in our article on ‘neuroscience in practical terms’ earlier this year.
Listening to positive and negative customer stories
Not all customer experiences are positive. For example, one attendee was unable to join using Google Meet which we need to understand. We recognise this and we strive to make the experience better next time. Both Steven and Mercè shared a few examples of personal B2B and B2C experiences to improve on.
This also led to a thought-provoking question from one attendee who asked, “Is there any neuro research into what it takes to turn a customer’s negative brand experience into them becoming an advocate?”. This is a great question. Steven explains that “A negative customer experience usually means a high activation of negative valence emotions. Unfortunately, this is likely to move a customer to consciously rationalise what their best option is. The ‘save’ is likely to be a short-term measure to retain an unhappy customer whereas the long-term value is in positive customer experiences. This creates the loyalty and advocacy we strive for and also increases customer lifetime value.”
Another keen attendee asked “Many organisations are trying to improve CX by using focus groups. I am wondering if there is an alternative approach?”. Steven added that “Although there are suggestions that focus groups are ‘dead’, we wouldn’t tell people to stop using them but to be aware of the potential for poor decisions. What we would recommend is that if there is a lot riding on the feedback, it makes sense to check more thoroughly. Neuroscience gives us an option that is less susceptible to bias in the responses.”
Another webinar down, one to go
Our final webinar for 2021 covers planning for 2022 and this is recommended for both B2C and B2B audiences. We also have dates set and content for 4 new 2022 events. As part of this planning process, we revisited why we run these events. Mercè, our founder, suggests that “Webinars are here to stay. They were part of content and demand generation activities before the pandemic. With a combination of Club-90 and our webinars, we have a great platform to do offline and online events. We want to share some of our thoughts on what matters to marketers and the C-Suite and how to improve it.”
Steven reiterated the point by saying that “We are a people business. It is important for us to connect with businesses that care about growth, performance, customers and value add. Our events in partnership with Colony Networking, our webinars and podcasts increase engagement. Ultimately, we want people to see us as accessible, professional and determined to help and support businesses.”
Some of the feedback from today’s session included:
“Thank you to Steven and Mercè for hosting this brilliant session!”
“Thank you for an informative session.”
“Thanks for a great session.”
“Just to say a thank you for the session – it’s been interesting.”
That’s a wrap and we loved the experience
As a marketing and business consultancy, we offer research, plan, change and enable solutions. These value-add solutions are offered to marketers and the C-Suite to help find new opportunities and accelerate business performance. Keep an eye out for our knowledge articles and news topics and other upcoming seminars and webinars.
So, if you would like to speak to one of our team, simply call us on 01565 632206.
Alternatively, why not send us a quick online message or email us at sales@think-beyond.co.uk.
Finally, why not check out our neuro services to boost your performance.