Posted on Mon, Nov 14, 2011
Welcome to Sandra Zoratti’s follow up to her excellent article concerning the marketing disconnect at the C-level regarding Customer Communications Management. In this segment, Sandra shares a powerful case study. Enjoy, and please share your comments below – Scott
In Part One of this blog, I wrote about the ever-changing and evolving marketing landscape. As a result of this shift, Precision Marketing has moved front and center as data-driven marketing practices are a must-have customer engagement and retention approach. Data-driven marketing requires the alignment and collaboration across functions such as marketing, IT, finance, CEO – no simple feat. Of course companies want more relevant and effective communications, however, many companies do not realize the “hidden” costs of ineffective communications. When Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) measured the cost of ineffective communications, it served as a strong call-to-action that helped to justify significant improvements in their customer communications.
LADWP, the largest municipal utility in the United States, serves the power, water and trash needs within the city of Los Angeles. Although this company enjoys a captive customer base, they have chosen to be very customer-centric in their business. LADWP measured the amount of call-center inquiries related to customers who did not understand their bill at 25 percent of the total call center volume. Not only were these calls a direct cost to the business, they also translated into lower customer satisfaction and late pay, partial pay situations. These factors served as the justification to change at LADWP.
LADWP adopted a resolution plan with the goal of reducing call center inquiries by 20 percent. In order to accomplish this goal, LADWP revamped its monthly statements to improve clarity and comprehension, create a more effective channel to communicate with customers on a regular basis and therefore reduce call center inquiries and raise customer satisfaction.
In order to ensure an increase in customer satisfaction and lower inquiries, LADWP utilized a customer-centric design process to re-engineer the monthly statement. Customer focus groups were conducted to identify the key elements to change in the new statement design. Internal LADWP were interviewed to ensure that capabilities were aligned to customer requests across marketing, IT and customer service. Additional customer focus groups were employed to validate the new design and further enhance the design as needed.
Key features of the re-designed statement can be seen in the LADWP video with Mark Townsend posted on www.gobeyondthemeter.com. The statement design included the addition of color and streamlining information to present it in a more engaging and concise manner and thus direct the customer’s attention to the most important information – such as payment due dates. LADWP also added easy to understand graphs and images to show customer usage patterns – tailored to each individual customer – and used visual elements such as icons for each service (water, power, trash), making the bill easy to follow and understand. Improving the readability of the document, and thereby decreasing the number of calls placed to the call center, was the first step in improving the statement’s effectiveness, driving down costs across the business and driving up customer satisfaction.
Originally, the LADWP statement utilized six pages of billing content. The new design reduced the billing content from six pages to four pages, allowing room to add two additional pages of marketing content. LADWP uses the marketing content to create monthly customer touch points to help proactively educate and engage customers and foster a stronger relationship. The marketing section includes information about services, news and issues relevant to customers based on their utility usage and geographic information. This allows LADWP to provide customers with clear information about saving energy, spending less money and fortifying environmental sustainability.
In April 2011, the new LADWP statement went live to the entire customer base. The new statement has garnered positive reactions from LADWP customers. The company is also on track to reach its targeted percentage of reduced call center inquiries and is continuing to track information on how customer behavior has changed, including energy consumption and emissions – information they can use moving forward to continue providing relevant, targeted messages to customers.
Click Here to View the Old Statement >>>.
Click Here to View the New Statement >>>.
In addition, LADWP has done something very valuable for its business. By looking at the measurable costs of ineffective communications, LADWP was able to create an unbiased fact around which to build a case for change. This facilitated cross-functional collaboration and the impetus required to undertake a project that would drive customer satisfaction to higher levels while saving the company money and helping to enhance LADWP’s commitment to environmental sustainability. LADWP represents a win on multiple levels and is a great role model for best practices in cross-functional collaboration around a highly customer-centric and customer-driven initiative.
Do you know of other examples similar to this? If so, please share
Best,
Sandra
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How do you feel about this topic?
Agree? Disagree? I look forward to your feedback in the comments section below.
Join me next week as we continue to examine how to bridge the “Great CEO-CMO Divide.”
Scott Baker
VP Worldwide Channels at GMC Software AG
Posted on Mon, Oct 10, 2011
For the past number of weeks, we have been examining the basic issues that have contributed to the “Great CEO-CMO Divide” – the disconnect between these C-level roles regarding marketing vison, measureable results, business goals, etc. Sandra Zoratti, VP of Marketing for Ricoh, as well as an articulate and knowledgeable expert on Precision Marketing, will be blogging for the next few weeks to discuss what is required to alleviate the disconnect and to effectively leverage Precision Marketing techniques and projects. Welcome, Sandra! -Scott Baker
By Sandra Zoratti, Ricoh Production Print Solutions
If you’re an avid reader of OutputLinks like I am, you may have seen some recent blog posts talking about CEOs, CMOs and the true ROI of Precision Marketing tactics like TransPromo. There’s been debate amongst the Output Links community as to how marketers effectively implement these tactics, as well as how they achieve buy-in from the C-level suite. One thing that is certain is that Precision Marketing is evolving from a nice-to-have competitive advantage to a critical, must-have customer engagement and retention best practice – making it crucial for marketers to get it right.
The reason why is very simple – relevancy today is not an option, it is a necessity. Consumers are making it clear that brands that do not present them with targeted and relevant content and information won’t make the cut. Studies have shown that customers are defecting from brands they feel don’t know them and continue to send them irrelevant messaging[1] – such as a company that delivers consumers an advertisement or promotion for a service or product they already have from that company.
This shift in behavior and control of marketing messages has made Precision Marketing a much-needed approach for marketers to remain effective. More importantly, Precision Marketing allows marketers to quantify the cost of ineffective customer communications, which can be a crucial point for securing C-level buy-in across the organization.
Think about some of your clients’ customer communications. Whether they communicate primarily through transactional documents, such as monthly statements, or through a mix of channels such as mobile and e-mail, think about whether the information being sent to customers is tailored to that consumer. Are they sending information about services customers are likely to use based on their demographic or previous purchase history with that organization? If not, those marketers may be missing a major opportunity. The good news is, the information they need to customize these communications is likely accessible through programs and databases across their business. By working more closely with these stakeholders they can leverage existing information to maximize current investments and create more relevant and effective customer communications that will bolster marketing efforts and you can help them do this.
By looking at how much money is being spent on ineffective channels, it makes it easier for marketers to make the business case for investing in improvement, like data-driven, customized communications that drive significantly higher ROI and require alignment between the CIO and CMO. Precision Marketing actually better enables marketers to speak to language of business, making it easier to gain support from not only the CIO, but the CFO and CEO as well.
In the next instalment of this blog I’ll share an example of one large organization that recently followed this approach by identifying ineffective customer communications, investing in data-driven communications and creating cross-business initiatives that are getting rave reviews.
Be sure to check back! In the meantime, if you’ve got a great success story of your own, or a burning question about Precision Marketing, please feel free to share below!
Sandra Zoratti is the Vice President of Marketing for Ricoh Production Print Solutions (RPPS).
Posted on Mon, Oct 03, 2011
By Scott Baker, GMC Software AG
One of my favorite activities at the recent Graph Expo was hosting the panel discussion “Understanding the Role of the CMO and Adjust Your Business Strategy.” Beyond having an engaging group of panelists – Harry Stephens, CEO of Datamatx, Liz Miller, CMO Council, Sandra Zoratti, VP of Marketing at Ricoh, and Roger Gimbel, President Gimbel and Associates – the session was well attended and covered many questions related to the “Great CEO-CMO Divide” debate.
Three key points from the session –
1) The general consensus of the panel was that most marketers do “get it” – the need to align marketing metrics with overall company goals and KPIs. Roger Gimbel added, however, that it is imperative that partcipants in any CCM project agree to not only document, but also to share results that are achieved. Sandra Zoratti concurred, highlighting the importance of conducting pilot projects to validate assumptions concerning response expectations and ROI goals. Providing a CEO’s perspective on the CEO-CMO disconnect highlighted in the article, “Can CMOs Successfully Promote TransPromo Opportunities? CEOs Say No!”, Harry Stephens stated that it is the CEO’s responsibility to ensure that the CMO and his organization are aligned with their company’s goals.
2) Liz Miller introduced an interesting insight to the dialogue, stating that many CMOs were not actually performing the role for which they were hired. Rather than focusing on brand revitalization, initiating strategies and marketing campaigns to generate top-line growth, CMOs are increasingly becoming responsible for their firms “customer experience.” The pressure to create, monitor, manage, optimize and expand a company’s social media and web presence is falling squarely on marketing and the CMO, who may not be equipped to handle it. “Building and executing a winning marketing strategy is difficult. Many CMOs are really challenged by this change in role.”
3) “I make the decisions in my organization,” stated one CEO in the audience when I asked how his firm evaluated and acquired CCM solutions. However, he pointed to the CMO as the focal point of any HTVO solution buying center. “It is my CMO’s job to select solutions that ensure we will achieve our goals and then to sell me. I am interested in results…” Does piloting TransPromo or other CCM projects ensure successful adoption by HTVO firms? Has the role of the CMO really morphed into something different? Has this change contributed to the “Great CEO-CMO Divide” identified in the Fournaise study? Should the CMO be the buying center focus for both vendors and internal champions of CCM/Precision Marketing initiatives?
How do you feel about this topic?
Agree? Disagree? I look forward to your feedback in the comments section below.
Join me next week as we continue to examine how to cross the “Great CEO-CMO Divide.”
Scott Baker is VP Worldwide Channels at GMC Software AG.
Posted on Tue, Sep 06, 2011
Crossing the Great CEO - CMO Divide – Segment 3
Click here for Segment 1, Click here for segment 2
By Scott Baker
As I continue to drill into the back-story underlying the “Great CEO-CMO Divide” via interviews and conversations with executives and marketers, there is general agreement that a big gulf exists between CEOs’ expectations related to marketing and CMOs’ delivery of programs and results. The position most marketers take is succinctly summarized in the following quote from the MAANZ Smarter Marketing Group on LinkedIn:
“Two key problems come to mind: first is that many CEOs are thinking short term: if an immediate impact is not felt on the bottom line, they do not see the value. And while some on the creative side of marketing are waiting for the shuttle to land, most are solid business pros. Indeed, every CMO with whom I have had a conversation (including sales presentations) have been driven by factors such as cost, profit, etc. Marketers do ‘get it’.”
While the observations above seem somewhat defensive, if we accept the premise that marketers do “get it,” why are the perceptions of CEOs captured in the source Fournaise study referenced in Andy Plata’s July 25 article,
“Can CMOs Successfully Promote TransPromo Opportunities? CEOs Say No!”so dramatically different? Is the “meaningful results” message from CMO to CEO getting lost in translation or buried within myriad web and social media statistics? Is there really a lack of alignment in marketing organizations with key company KPIs, or does marketing just have to do a better job of telling their story? OutpuLinks is bringing the “Great CEO-CMO Divide” to GRAPH EXPO! Please join us for the live panel discussion on the show floor –
Session Title: Understanding the Role of the CMO and Adjust Your Business Strategy
Where / When: Theater Booth No. 3457. Monday Sept. 12, 3- 3:30 p.m.
How do you feel about this topic?
Agree? Disagree? I look forward to your feedback in the comments section below.
Join me over the next few weeks (months?) as some fellow contributors and I examine how to cross the great (C-Level) divide.
Scott Baker
VP Worldwide Channels at GMC Software AG
Posted on Mon, Aug 29, 2011
Crossing the Great CEO - CMO Divide, Segment 2
Click here for Segment 1
By Scott Baker
Many to whom I have spoken recently concerning the “Great CEO-CMO Divide,” especially in marketing, acknowledge that the disconnect in the executive suite between CEO and CMO is real, but they are reluctant to go “on the record” with their opinions. However, two recurring themes have emerged through my discussions -- 1) short-term focus on quarterly results by CEOs, especially given the state of the world economy, makes it difficult to deploy any marketing initiatives that require longer term investments, and, 2) the “buzz” surrounding social media and e-marketing, as well as the perception in the executive suite that e-marketing generates immediate results and is much less expensive to deploy than traditional marketing channels, negates focus on other marketing initiatives. As one CMO stated to me, “[Our CEO] is convinced that e-marketing is almost free.”
Sandra Zoratti, of InfoPrint Solutions, recently pointed out in responding to the original article -- “Can CMOs Successfully Promote TransPromo Opportunities? CEOs Say No!” – that the critical alignment is that of the CIO and CMO when presenting and deploying CCM initiatives:
“Among the biggest drivers for CIO/CMO alignment are how technology underpins customer experiences, access to crucial customer intelligence and digitally driven consumer engagement. To emphasize these points, the study [from the CMO Council] reveals that 65% of CIOs and 50% of CMOs attribute technology as the underpinning of customer experience, and 53% of CIOs and 55% of CMOs acknowledge that access to and leverage of customer intelligence is a key competitive differentiator. IT is the foundation of data-driven marketing and Precision Marketing cannot be leveraged unless CIO-CMO collaboration is firmly established”
Can better alignment between CIO and CMO help bridge the credibility gap between CEOs and CMOs?
Do the CIOs and CMOs in your organizations, or to whom HTVO vendors are currently speaking, view technology as “the underpinning of the customer experience”?
Are CCM/Precision Marketing/Data-driven Marketing initiatives even on the radar of C-level executives?
How do you feel about this topic?
Agree? Disagree? I look forward to your feedback in the comments section below.
Join me over the next few weeks (months?) as I and some fellow contributors examine how to cross the great (C-Level) divide.
Scott Baker
VP Worldwide Channels at GMC Software AG
Posted on Mon, Aug 29, 2011
Read the first blog and comments here >>>
The article published in the July 25 edition of the OutputLinks newsletter -- “Can CMOs Successfully Promote TransPromo Opportunities? CEOs Say No!”