September 2015

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 sep 2015

Design thinking is used by organizations to spur innovation. It is often a source for product innovation teams to generate radical new product ideas and concepts. Once applied effectively and become a part of organization's culture it can emerge as a sustainable competitive advantage. According to Professor Michal Herzenstein, who teaches marketing at University of Delaware, 'Radically new products are products that allow consumers to do something that they couldn't have done before. They are products that create a shift in consumption - how consumers respond to and use products.' Her chapter 'Optimal Design for Radically New Products' alongwith Prof. Steve Hoeffler of Vanderbilt University and Tamar Ginzburg of Vanderbilt University, appears in PDMA Essentials book titled, 'Design and Design Thinking' by Michael I. Luchs of College of William and Mary, Scott Swan of College of William and Mary, Abbie Griffin of University of Utah. Prof. Herzenstein provides six processes that product innovation teams need to implement to create ideas for radically new products. Large organizations can use them in an ascending sequence with a focus on communicating the goal of achieving breakthrough product to innovation team. While smaller companies and startups can pick any process that they feel will assist them to learn more about developing radically innovative product ideas. The six processes are - (1) Communicate the Challenge Goal Toward Radically New Products. (2) Shift Time Frames to Future and Past. (3) Promote an Emerging Technology Focus Across the Product Consumption Chain. (4) Promote the Use of Analogical Thinking. (5) Look for Novel Ways to Solve Simple Problems. (6) Leverage More Ideators Via Crowdsourcing. Read on...

Product Innovation Educators Blog: 6 Processes for Generating Ideas for Radical Innovations
Author: Chad McAllister

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 sep 2015

In a highly competitive market, brands can utilize excellent customer service strategies to differentiate themselves. Listening to voice of the customer, understanding their behavior and analyzing their interactions, can provide companies the needs and wants of the customer. Companies can use these insights to better serve their customers and that has direct impact on their bottom line. According to Defaqto Research, '55% of consumers would pay more for a better customer experience.' Study published in Journal of Marketing (2004 Edition) by team of researchers, Prof. Eugene W. Anderson of University of Michigan (now at University of Miami), Prof. Claes Fornell of University of Michigan and, Prof. Sanal K. Mazvancheryl of Georgetown University (now at American University, Washington DC), quantified the consequence of quality customer service on shareholder value. Study points out, 'Among 200 businesses represented in the Fortune 500 across 40 industries, a 1% improvement in customer satisfaction increased a firm's value by US$275 million.' Danny Wong, co-founder of Blank Label and digital marketer, explains the importance of customer feedback and how ecommerce stores can turn this into a competitive advantage through effective engagement, building relationships and developing better products and services. According to him, 'Develop an intimate understanding of what your customers know, want and need to establish a competitive edge that helps you improve how you do business and the value you offer to end consumers. Start by categorizing reasons for why your customers purchase your products i.e. their primary motivations.' He suggests stores to source high-impact feedback and utilize the following tactics to expand the scope of their customer research - (1) Audit the reviews competitors receive (2) Conduct surveys (3) Dive into your analytics (4) Encourage user-generated content (5) Track public conversations. Once the research is at hand, stores need to summarize actionable takeaways and use the following three steps to build a strong business case for doing anything - (1) Quantify its impact (2) Measure its market opportunity (3) Get leadership buy-in. To implement new changes the stores can use gradual strategies to first consider the high-impact initiatives that are easy to do and then to implement moderate changes and finally move on to more resource intensive projects for long-term meaningful outcomes. Companies should incorporate excellence in customer service into their corporate culture and should consider the opportunity of every interaction with customers to build lasting relationships. Read on...

Huffington Post: How to Leverage Customer Feedback to Improve Your Ecommerce Store
Author: Danny Wong

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 sep 2015

Retailers need to identify their most valuable customers to specifically target and focus their specialized marketing campaigns for building long-term customer relationships with them. Most valuable customers are to be retained for maximizing profitability. But according to the study 'Engaging Customers Across the Lifecycle Journey: How Clienteling Helps Enhance Customer Relationships' by Yes Lifecycle Marketing and Retail TouchPoints, based on the survey of nearly 200 retail marketing executives, most retailers are still struggling to utilize customer data effectively to find and nurture these important customers. Main highlights of the study are - 52% say identifying and engaging their most valuable customers is one of their top business challenges; Nearly 1/3rd of respondents (32%) say they're not able to integrate or analyze their data in a timely fashion; Employee access to data is uneven and most who need it don't have it (44% of C-level executives have customer data while only 27% of store managers and 13% of store associates have access); Only 27% of retail marketing executives have their customer's lifetime spend on file and only 18% have data related to shopping preferences of customers. Read on...

Direct Marketing News: Infographic - Retailers Fail to Fully Leverage Customer Data
Authors: Elyse Dupre, James Jarnot

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 17 sep 2015

Innovations in certain industries take longer for adoption and proliferation in the consumer market. Consider the case of healthcare industry where innovations take years to diffuse into the market. Sandeep Acharya, Vice-President of strategy and new business at One Medical Group, explains how the healthcare innovation works, provides reasons for longer time the innovation takes to reach healthcare consumer and suggests the role that consumers can play to bring changes in healthcare and accelerate the pace of innovative products and services to reach them. The three main reasons why innovation in healthcare takes longer to reach consumers are - (1) In healthcare, the consumer is not the payer: Most patients don't pay their healthcare bills directly. Large corporations are payers and in order to generate revenue for the innovative service they have to agree to imburse patients for it, and doctors have to recommend it. The process may take years for entrepreneurs to pass through. (2) All healthcare is local: Healthcare decision makers - physicians, hospital systems, insurance companies and regulators - vary from state to state and sometimes even cities. For healthcare innovation to get adopted more broadly, entrepreneurs have to navigate a different set of decision makers for every new market they want to serve - each with its own rules, politics and dynamics. (3) The healthcare industry is used to moving slowly: Healthcare industry has seen too many great ideas stall. Over time, optimists became skeptics, and some even became cynical. When it comes to change, many in the industry have accepted the slow pace as a given. But to bring the necessary change in the pace of healthcare industry, consumers need to be proactive. They should expect more, demand more, provide timely & impartial feedbacks & reviews, do thorough research and be informed about latest health products and services. Read on...

USA TODAY: Why is healthcare innovation taking so long?
Author: Sandeep Acharya

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 08 sep 2015

Healthcare industry in US is undergoing transformation driven by multiple factors that include technology, changes in consumer behavior, rising costs, legislation etc. Employees are becoming more independent in making their healthcare decisions that were earlier influenced by their employers. Healthcare providers are now dealing with more proactive consumers. Healthcare marketers need to understand consumer preferences, adapt to the changing needs, create products and services that fulfil needs and satisfy customers and utilize consumer insights to develop effective marketing progams. Brent Walker, Chief Marketing Officer of c2b Solutions, explains the drivers that are leading to shifts in healthcare and how marketers should adapt and succeed in this new healthcare scenario. According to him, in addition to rising costs, the three main reasons that we are evolving towards consumer-driven healthcare are - (1) Demographic and Socio-Economic Realities: More pronounced health issues and chronic conditions of aging Baby Boomers; Lack of health insurance for a sizeable population; Heterogeneous population; Expensive healthcare products and technologies. (2) Legislation: Healthcare system is adapting to Affordable Care Act; Health insurers have to deal with individual consumers; Healthcare providers are investing in infrastructure; Integrated Electronic Health Records and Big Data technologies; Reimbursement based on medical outcomes and patient satisfaction. (3) Technological: Digital media is a catalyst of consumerism; Informed consumers due to internet and mobile apps; Improved transparency; Better ability to assess cost and quality, and research about products and services with more choices; Inclination towards prevention and wellness. He explains three implications that healthcare providers have to plan for - (1) Massive investments are required for technological upgrade and update of systems to facilitate integrated patient record sharing and also reporting care quality. (2) Business models must change. Physicians are leaving smaller firms to join large healthcare systems due to IT investments and scale necessary to control costs and manage risks. (3) New competitors are entering as a result of advancement in technologies and consumer-driven approaches. In this changing healthcare landscape marketers have to continuously evaluate and assess their direction. He suggests four dimensions to do so - (1) Data: Right data to understand and reach the target audience. (2) Systems: Infrastructure to understand consumers, create insights and build valueable customer-firm relationships. (3) People: Have consumer marketers in team with experience in latest web and mobile technologies. Combine industry experience with consumer insights and customer behavior understanding skills. (4) Processes: Newer sales methods. Analytics and measurement of marketing effectiveness. Focus on analyzing consumer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Read on...

Forbes: The New World Of Healthcare Marketing: A Framework For Adaptation
Authors: John Greenfield, Kimberly A. Whitler

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 08 sep 2015

The relationship between consumers and businesses is continuously evolving. Technology is playing an important role in creating a shift in consumer behavior. Smartphones are providing consumers with connectivity that is driving this change. Ori Karev, US CEO of Gett, explores the reasons that are leading to transormations in consumer dynamics and how they interact and connect with brands. According to him, 'Consumerism has shifted from a world of physical images and personal communication to a world of imagery and perception. Regardless of industry, product or service, vendors that enable instantaneous access and deliver on their digital promise will survive.' Consumers have become more pragmatic. They have access to tools and services to research for best solutions at best prices that are available with just a tap on their phones. Online consumers have become more like business-to-business consumers. But they do have emotional attachment to brands that can provide them with the best experience. The power is shifting towards consumers and businesses are getting more and more consumer dependent. Mr. Karev explains, 'On-demand industry has gone through such a rapid change of behavior within a mere five years. The swift change stems from two factors: the availability of smartphones, and people's desire to maximize the convenience and efficiency of procuring services and products.' He further points out that certain fundamentals of consumer-seller relationship will remain - 'Shoppers want to do business with companies that are fair, so this treaty must hinge on veracity, transparency, credibility, honesty and good will.' Today people place most value on fulfillment and satisfaction. They have concerns regarding how a vendor treats its employees and suppliers and would get influenced by these factors while making purchases. Online research, decision and purchase behaviors have now made consumers a strong part of businesses. Companies that understand and fulfil the consumer expectations - real-time, always-on support; competitive pricing; respect and transparency towards vendors and suppliers; ethical corporate culture - in the current on-demand environment will be the one that survive and succeed. Read on...

ReadWrite: The Changing Face Of Today's Consumer
Author: Ori Karev

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 sep 2015

'Digital Marketing' utilizes online technologies and provides opportunities to add prospective customers at the top of the sales funnel and nurture them to build a strong customer base for products and services. Advancement in technologies have provided multiple ways and channels through which marketers can connect and engage with the prospects and build strong relationships. One of the most important aspect of digital marketing is the measurability of the campaign through analytics. The availability of metrics provides marketers with clear understanding of the audience, their interaction with the brands and success of the marketing campaign. According to Jamie Turner, founder of 60 Second Marketer and co-author of 'Go Mobile', the 7 essential channels of digital marketing are - (1) Responsive Websites (2) Search Engine Marketing (SEM) that includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Paid Search (3) Online Display Advertising (4) Video (5) Social Media (6) Mobile Marketing may include Mobile Website, Mobile Search, Mobile Display Ads, In-app Display Advertising (7) Email Marketing. The action steps required to leverage digital marketing include - Taking the initiative and start using digital marketing; Implement gradually with complete understanding and continuously analyze campaign progress; Use analytics to measure and track campaign results, make adjustments and optimize the process for better ROI. Read on...

Business 2 Community: Digital Marketing - The 7 Essential Channels
Author: Jamie Turner

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 04 sep 2015

Use of technology for customer interactions, particularly for large businesses, is often seen as an automation and cost cutting exercise. And for customers it may not all be a pleasant experience. In case of small and medium businesses (SMBs), considering their limited budgets and other challenges, use of technology as a customer support tool should be a well thought out decision. It should provide them with cost savings alongwith building lasting customer relationships. Varun Shoor, founder and CEO of Kayako, provides ways in which SMBs can utilize technologies to enhance customer experience and create best value for their businesses - (1) Understand customer context: Have clarity of purpose; Evaluate context of customer inquiries; Availability of fast and easy access of information to resolve customer iquiries; Updating and sharing information with other departments (2) Deliver personal service at scale: Try to know your customer better; Understand customer's interaction points across all channels; Seek customer's needs and wants through surveys (3) Stop firefighting, start anticipating: Find ways to interact with customers even if they aren't; Use effective CRM tools; Utilize customer analytics (4) Customers want to help themselves: Provide them with self-explanatory information and tools; Give access to effective FAQs, intelligent search, tutorials and videos. Read on...

Tech.co: 4 Ways Technology Helps Build better Customer Relationships
Author: Varun Shoor

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