Put Your Customers First Or Perish, Seriously

The article "Put Your Customers First Or Perish, Seriously" by Ron Miller, published on TechCrunch on August 18, 2014, argues that in the era of digital transformation, businesses must prioritize customer-centricity for survival. The author posits that traditional business models, where companies controlled the message through marketing materials, are obsolete. Today, customers conduct their own research and rely on peer recommendations, making a positive customer experience paramount.

Miller illustrates this point with a personal anecdote about a product-of-the-month club. Despite an intriguing concept, the company failed to manage his experience due to operational glitches, unmet marketing promises, and disagreements over return policies. Even though the merchandise was satisfactory, the poor overall experience led him to cancel his membership. This experience underscores that even a good product can fail if the customer journey is fraught with obstacles.

The article highlights the emergence of "Customer Experience Management" (CEM) as a key business buzzword and strategy. Companies like IBM, SAP, Adobe, and particularly Medallia, a cloud service provider, are focusing on helping major brands understand and improve their customer interactions. Medallia's recent $50 million funding round from Sequoia Capital, bringing its total to $105 million, signifies the market's recognition of customer experience as central to changing market dynamics.

Borge Hald, CEO of Medallia, states that customer-centric companies that excel in both marketing and delivery will "inherit the earth," while those that fail to execute and remain accountable will struggle. He identifies customer turnover as a primary metric for measuring customer-centricity, as dissatisfied customers will leave.

Medallia's approach involves collecting data from various sources, including user surveys and online chatter, and making it available in real-time to specific individuals within an organization. This data allows for strategic and tactical decision-making. The company also focuses on an "action phase" to help customers resolve issues, such as identifying and fixing problems with underperforming properties. Medallia provides analytics to help organizations assess their success in managing the customer experience.

Hald differentiates Medallia from social media monitoring tools, emphasizing that Medallia monitors operational sites (like stores or hotels) and integrates social signals, online reviews, and direct customer data. He notes that many companies recognize the need for CEM but struggle with implementation, as internal business processes are being disrupted.

The article concludes by reiterating that while approaches may vary, the core principle remains the same: understand customer needs and deliver smoothly and consistently. The piece also includes promotional content for TechCrunch events and mentions related articles.