Exclusive Interview: Using Consumer Insights to Make Smarter Business Decisions

In our next episode of the Inside Insights Podcast series brought to you by Consumer Insights Canada, I am fortunate to sit down with Consumer Insights Canada keynote speaker Kelly Harper, who is the Director Customer Experience Learning at BMO INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING, to discuss how the power of consumer insights help to make smarter decisions in business.

Harper goes into how important customer experience is when it comes using customer insights to make the best business decisions possible. You need to think about what type of experiences your organization is giving your customers.  Your consumer insights allows you to understand what is broken in your current experience you are delivering and what is really important to the customer – what are those elements that you have to get right each and every single day. Consumer insights will help you identify and keep track of what is most important to the customer.    

Consumer Insights Canada is a conference that showcases the local Canadian culture in its storytelling. With new entrants like Target Canada, rapid changes in technology and increasingly discerning customers, the Canadian retail industry is in a constant state of change, challenging players to adapt strategies and tactics to remain relevant.  This conference was created for our insights community that focuses on the power of insights in motivating smarter decision making and shines a particular lens on the local flavor of shopper insights in Canada.

Check out the full interview here: 

Download this episode (right click and save)

If you’d like to hear more from Kelly, don’t miss her keynote session, “How to Embed a Culture of Customer Experience in your Organization” at Consumer Insights Canada on Tuesday, September 30th at 10:15 am. The event is taking place this September 29-October 1, 2014 in Toronto, Canada. For more information about the event and to register, please visit our website: http://bit.ly/1khTaTJ

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Incorporating the Rational and Emotional in the Client Experience Journey



 Photo by paul bica

"The customer’s perception is your reality." - Kate Zabriskie, learning and development industry veteran

Your customer's journey is both rational and emotional. When your clients are your customers, asking purposeful questions to understand their needs and intrinsic motivators builds trust, deepens relationships and drives loyalty.

During the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit in April, Jill O'Neill, Director, Client Strategy and Execution, Bank of Montreal, shared how to incorporate the rational and emotional into the client experience journey. She also emphasized that investing in people and communications throughout your journey are important to ensure behavioral change sticks.

The journey begins by engaging leaders as client advocates:

• Identify what you are trying to solve for
• Create a roadmap to drive expectations
• Establish a communications strategy and plan

Next, engage employees in the process:

• Recruit key influencers
• Map the current client journey
• Identify the gaps and opportunities in the current experience
• Map the desired client experience

When designing the client experience:

• Create survey questions that are rational and emotional in nature
• Ensure you can take action on what you learn
• Encourage full employee participation (quantitative and qualitative)
• Analyze priority touch points and attributes
• Understand the employee mindset

Finally, when delivering the client experience program:

• Hardwire insights into new disciplines
• Set clear expectations for employees
• Make emotional connections with clients. Set expectations for a different experience focused on non-financial goals.
• Identify and prioritize client goals

Peggy L. Bieniek, ABC is an Accredited Business Communicator specializing in corporate communication best practices. Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and on her website at www.starrybluebrilliance.com.