“Everything is about the customer experience today.” “In the past, producers of goods and services were the ones who determined the distribution channel to the customer. Today the product is becoming more and more secondary.

The success of a product or brand today no longer depends primarily on the product. Far more important is the customer experience. For the best possible customer experience, companies need to integrate many areas, from IT through product development to marketing and sales. They all have to work together to get to know their customers as well as possible. It starts by systematically collecting data and making meaningful use of it. Smart Data helps one to better plan marketing strategies (online and offline). Businesses know more about what customers are interested in, and they allow to identify trends, correlations and potentials. Other important factors that contribute to a good customer journey are automation, successful social media marketing, artificial intelligence or virtual and augmented reality. If, for example, customers can project a piece of furniture virtually into their own living room using data glasses, this greatly expands the possibilities of online shopping.

The customer of the future

The future success of your business depends on whether succeeding in creating a unique experience for each client. Customers today are exposed to an overabundance of information. As a result, they tend to refuse to accept more generic offers that do not address a targeted type of customer. Personal contact is the name of the game. In addition, customers are now used to having goods available anywhere, anytime. Companies must therefore be able to deliver products without losing time. Businesses also have to adjust to a new consumer behavior. This helps to look at young consumers who have grown up with the Internet. The consumers of today do not necessarily have to own products either. The Share Economy shows that many people follow the motto “sharing instead of having”. Other important factors in purchasing decisions are sustainability, environmental protection and social responsibility. The company Mud Jeans, for example, has responded to these developments by not selling jeans anymore but lending them. If the customer no longer needs the pants, he sends them back and Mud Jeans processes them into new clothes. The company also guarantees fair wages and sustainable cotton cultivation.

To control sales, especially in the B2B area, businesses use a CRM system. However, theymust implement it properly and use it to actually benefit. This starts with the business understanding CRM not just as a system, but as a strategy that aims to manage and grow customer relationships. CRM systems need to be closely intertwined with the company’s sales philosophy.

I have worked with CRM sytsems on a daily basis. That made me aware of how important it actually is to work as efficiently as we did. Collecting all important data was mandatory to deliver an outstanding customer service. Not only for research of the data but also for us as little agents interacting with the customers, knowing who we are talking to, how to reach them the best and so on. CRMs made the whole selling circle much easier for both customer and agent. The customer felt appreciated and we had a way easier job.