5 Tips CMOs Can Use to Improve the Customer Experience

Experiential marketing begins with the CMO. From hiring the right marketing team to making customers feel special, CMOs can craft a marketing strategy that can mimic a five-star hotel. “Hospitality has been one of the most successful industries for centuries,” Steve Olenski writes on Forbes.com on Aug. 30. “Why? It breeds strong leadership and consistently strives for high customer service. Five-star appreciation is its bread and butter, from the first marketing connection through the final checkout. This great leadership may start at the corporate level, but it flows steadily down to customer service.” Here are Olenski’s five tips for CMOs interested in improving their experiential marketing: Set an Example Be the leader who hires intelligently and expects leadership qualities and ideas from everyone. Have this as your definition of leadership. “It includes anyone who leads by example or has a positive attitude,” Olenski says. “When you hire the right people and create an engaging culture, your employees will naturally feel empowered to lead.” Create a Culture That Inspires A company that values its employees creates a culture that fosters positive customer interaction. In the same way that marketers expect employees to be brand ambassadors, CMOs know that positive customer experiences begin with brands that value employees. Olenski writes: Inspira, a marketing agency that specializes in designing live consumer experiences, has put culture front and center while growing from just three employees to more than 300. “When team members see themselves as cultural stewards, they’ll start everything from bagel Fridays to company-changing initiatives,” according to founder and Chief Inspiration Officer Jeff Snyder. “Entry-level employees eagerly rub elbows with veterans to shape our organization’s future.” Hire for Passion Are job candidates passionate about your industry? While passing the background check is important, it’s more important to hire the right person, Olenski says. It costs about $4,000 to onboard an employee, but about 30 percent of a staffer’s first-year salary is lost to hiring the wrong person, he writes. Build Service Around Personalization Experiential marketing involves predictive analytics — or simply marketers who know customers well enough to anticipate their needs before the customers even know they have them. Olenski cites examples including hotel guests heading to the beach getting water bottles and directions from the valet, and customers buying computers learning at the store that free classes are available. Sweat the Small Stuff One way to ensure marketers pay attention to details is to have a set process in place. Olenski explains: Make it a point to have your employees pay attention to details. Create processes for your employees to cover each touchpoint for the consumer. This will help save time and reduce errors, and it will ensure that each customer receives the same experience. What do you think, marketers? Please respond in the comments section below.

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5 Tips CMOs Can Use to Improve the Customer Experience

Heather Fletcher

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Heather Fletcher