This cliché has been the mantra of customer centric organizations for a long time, however, we often find ourselves at the cross-roads of believing in the principle, vs., living by it. How many times as a customer have we wished that the corporations were more responsive to our needs? If our customers are asking that question, then we need to look inward again and redefine our corporate strategy, products, processes, etc.
During the discussions with my clients, following themes around operational excellence emerged at the core of customer disinterest.
1. Not sure of the key success metrics as they relate to the consumers
2. Not sure of the primary metrics to focus on
3. Lack of adequate data tracking and analytics to support change
And if the above have been addressed, we run into the all powerful organizational processes and legacies that create greater hurdles to change!
I think the root cause is that we often try to do too much in one go through a “one size fits all” website experience.
The point I am going to make is to instead “we need to keep things simple.”
Take for instance, the page layout. A quick look at the click map will reveal the areas/links that 80% of our consumers click on. However, we keep the page cluttered and unappealing to please the other 20%. Once we decide to cater to the top 80%, we need to ensure that the pages are light and current, and in-line with the evolving consumer needs. In other words:
1. Identify the needs of the top 80% of your audience
2. Keep it current – consumer needs are dynamic
3. Leave some white space on the pages
Site navigation across the site is another sore point that clients have often mentioned as not the best across their site. I liken this to a shopping experience – if I can’t find the stuff in a shop, I can’t buy it. Moreover, if it takes me forever to go through the maze of aisles every time I come looking for it, I will probably find an easier store to shop at. Designing the best navigation experience is highly dependent on the consumer demographics, needs, relevance of the promotion, business unit strategy, etc. – a wider topic that should be well left for the next discussion.
If you are having these discussions, please share those and I would love to start a conversation about how do we nurture a customer-centric analytics culture.
