Closing the Customer Gap with Customer Salience
By FlexMR
- article
As much as stakeholders would like to think the decisions their companies make on a daily basis are driven by insights, in reality, only 37% of businesses consistently embed analysis, data and evidence-based reasoning into their decision-making process. In a recent CMO Council study, 73% of senior executives believed customer centricity was crucial to their success, but this is a stark contrast to the 14% that think customer centricity or salience is a hallmark of their brand.
There are new studies emerging year on year that depict the large discrepancy between what businesses say they do with insights and what they actually do – which is also known as the Customer Gap, a challenge that insight teams have been struggling with in their efforts to increase insights activation across industries. New Customer Salience tactics, methodologies and strategies are increasing the chances of insights activation and embedding the voice of the customer into business decisions across the board, but insight experts have a long way to go before businesses fully embrace Customer Salience without any qualms.
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The Customer Gap is still thriving despite our best efforts, and has manifested in some questionable business decisions, which have incited some interesting discussions in online spaces.
An Exercise in Controversy
The Current Issues with Smart Meters
While energy companies continue to preach the importance of smart meters in commercial and domestic establishments, there have been some significant issues emerging on how smart meters operate and this is causing operational and satisfaction issues for certain customer segments. The differences in technology used in the South of Britain to the North of Britain affect the way smart meters work, with smart meters in the South, Midlands and Wales using cellular technology to send data to energy providers while smart meters in North England and Scotland relying on less reliable long-range radio frequencies. This leaves the latter customer segment still having to send in manual readings and receiving estimate bills, all of which contradicts the point of having a smart meter.
Relying on different technology for different customers is sometimes unavoidable, but there are some areas in the North where radio signals don’t reach, but 3G or 4G cellular signals do, so it seems a little baffling why some customers are treated differently than others due to outdated government regulations. As much as smart meters do help lower carbon emissions and bills, the technology issues and bad reviews due to technology issues naturally put people off. While there are certain governmental regulations in place to take into account with this venture, a Customer Salience strategy would still seek to rectify the customer experience discrepancies through customer-focussed research and insight.
The New Jaaaag
It would be extremely hard to miss the controversy surrounding the new Jaguar rebrand. Some view the rebrand as “absolutely genius” and , while others believe the car manufacturer is “throwing away [their] heritage” and that Jaguar “walked away from some of the iconic… icons that have been in the brand DNA for generations.” The rebrand, or even just a spruce up of the brand, was needed, with every Jaguar sold in 2023 there were six Land Rovers sold. The once popular manufacturer was trailing behind, and with the new injection of electric vehicle targets Jaguar needed to communicate their shift in values and priorities somehow.
However, the drastic transformation from the once iconic sophisticated Jaguar branding to the new brand defined by diversity, “fearless creativity”, modernism and exuberance, has not hit as well with consumers and industry professionals and Jaguar anticipated. Jaguar’s Managing Director Rawdon Glover released a statement after the backlash, condemning the “vile hatred and intolerance” online and defending the brand’s move as a way to stick out amongst the crowd and avoid drowning out in the automative competitive landscape.
However, the design, launch and response to the backlash could have been handled better with customer insights. At least Jaguar could have used customer insights to mitigate and field the critical onslaught from major decisions, or even taking it back to design something more in line with customer insights might produce a better reception, a la Sonic the Hedgehog style. The motivation to make amends can be a powerful move to show customers that the brand is listening and values their opinions. I’m not suggesting they go back to the old branding, but Jaguar might take this exercise as an opportunity to learn and grow with a new, more targeted Customer Salience strategy.
The Aid of Customer Salience
In the face of controversy, brands typically have two options: double down or take it back. No matter what they do, the one thing these examples have in common is a need to close the Customer Gap. The significant issues surrounding the customer experiences of both Jaguar and smart meters, with simple solutions to both: Customer Salience. In order to fix the issues brands have in these areas, they need to work with customers. Using effective market research strategies and marketing tactics in line with business objectives, there is undoubtedly a way to hit all the internal goals while also providing a brand and customer experience that consumers will appreciate.
The challenge insight teams have is communicating this to business stakeholders in a way that will make them listen and take a chance on Customer Salience. Using relevant case study examples such as the two above and others in the news (like Tesco’s Clubcard misadventures, Ticketmaster’s damning data breach and customer experiences, and Bumble’s billboard debacle), we do stand a chance at convincing stakeholders of how Customer Salience can help guide brands in the right direction.
For now, while insight teams work to close the Customer Gap with Customer Salience, industry professionals are looking to Jaguar and the energy companies promoting smart meters as two compelling examples of what not to do, and to see how they fix their issues. How they respond to the masses of customers crying out for a better experience, better communications, and more impactful solutions.
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