Content and "Customer Touchpoint Management"
It’s 10:00am. Does the rest of your organization know what your Web site is doing? We’ve all heard of (and probably work in) the fateful “siloed” organization, where each business group does its own thing. Sometimes there are good reasons for silos. Communicating across groups takes precious time, money, and patience. But, at times, silos can wreak havoc on the customer experience.
Customers are exposed to silos when systems don’t talk to each other real-time, like when inventory data in one place says product is in stock when its really not. But, very often, silos occur with content—in particular, with promotions, campaigns and new product launches. When marketing groups aren’t in lockstep with channels, the customer ends up confused or frustrated because the information they get from one source doesn’t match up with another source.
This week I went to order an item I saw in a catalog. The catalog advertised it as “on sale”, which was the main reason I decided to order. And, I like to order from the Web. It’s usually very simple and fast, plus, I don’t have to wait to talk to anyone, and I won’t get pressured to buy other stuff I don’t need.
When I went to the site, it didn’t show up on the “sale” promo page, nor did the sale price appear when I did find the item online. Darn. Now I have to call to place my order, otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t get the lower price.
This is an example of three “customer touchpoints”: Print Catalog, Web, Call Center. In theory, I could place an order in three different ways: mail or fax, click my mouse, or pick up the phone. It’s nice to have those choices. In fact, it’s great. But, when the content on one of those touchpoints is inconsistent with the others, it causes me distress and affects my perception of the company.
Now, I don’t know why the “on sale” info wasn’t on the Web. Maybe it was on purpose. Maybe internal communications were out of synch. But it does underscore the importance of having the same content available to all channels at the same time.
When working on getting your content under control, it’s helpful to think not in terms of just the Web, or just the marketing brochure, but all the places where customers interact with you:
Key Customer Touchpoints:
- Print – brochures, catalogs, point of sale materials, signage, advertising
- Electronic– Web site, e-mail messages, ads
- Personal – store employees, call centers, field sales reps, service reps
The more you can work to create and publish consistent content across all the touchpoints, the better. Your customers will thank you for it.
Rita Warren of ZiaContent, Inc. is a veteran of the software and digital media industries with more than 10 years experience helping companies deliver content in compelling and sensible ways. Well known in her field, Rita served as technical editor of the first edition of Bob Boiko's acclaimed book, the Content Management Bible. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences and contributor to content management industry publications.
