Omnichannel Experience Strategy

Process Management has the potential to be a powerful enabler for transformation programs—but only if organizations can connect the dots within their own models.   To achieve this, artifacts must be built in the context of the business, creating meaningful connections across multiple stakeholder perspectives. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many organizations fall short. They develop point-in-time models tailored to a specific project or purpose, only to find those models lack utility beyond their initial scope.   That’s where the importance of the Unified Model comes into play. The goal is to create artifacts that holistically describe the organization and serve the needs of diverse stakeholders—while maintaining a seamless connection from strategy to detailed execution. This requires a playbook that outlines these relationships through a well-defined meta-model.   At the core of this approach is a comprehensive Process Inventory, which provides the foundational "What" for all transformation efforts.   The Unified Model (see below) integrates Business Architecture and Business Process Management into a cohesive framework. This integration enables strategic decisions made by senior leadership to be directly traced to process owners and resource owners—across people, processes, and technology.   By aligning these elements, the Unified Model drives: - Greater efficiency in strategy development and execution. - Enhanced transparency in resource utilization. - Stronger alignment with enterprise architecture design. - Improved risk management capabilities.   If we can ground transformation efforts in this integrated approach, we can unlock the true potential of process management as a transformative enabler.   To learn more about this Unified Model, check out my book 'Digital Transformation Success' https://a.co/d/0ebJwfAr

Today at Groceryshop I had the opportunity to sit down with Neil Reynolds and discuss how branded CPGs can find growth through combining physical product distribution and digital demand creation. Neil is Global Chief Customer & Digital Commerce Officer at Mars Snacking, a role he’s held for nearly a year, prior to which he ran Digital Commerce, so giving him a rich perspective of how to bring physical and digital together at a large CPG. Mars Inc. remains a private company, and Neil shared this give the advantage of talking a planning horizon that is “generations, not quarters”. During an insight rich and really enjoyable conversation, Neil concluded that Driving growth in snacking today requires integrating strategy, people, capabilities, and tech across all channels while keeping the shopper and the customer at the center. His three key takeaways were: 🍫 Start with your vision – At Mars Snacking Connected Commerce is about meeting shoppers where they are, not prioritizing online vs offline.  Make it simple, be relentless and consistent in how you tell the narrative. 🍫 Invest in people capabilities and the cultural shift to a digital mindset. Once the vision is clear, it’s all about the people. 🍫 Be flexible, recognizing that consumer journeys are evolving fast.

Your customer journey map is missing the 8 touchpoints that matter most. You've optimised your ads, polished your landing pages, and A/B tested your emails to death. But whilst you've been obsessing over the obvious touchpoints, your customers have been forming opinions about your brand in places you've completely overlooked. These hidden moments of truth determine whether customers stick around or silently disappear. The good news? Your competitors are probably ignoring them too. 1. Pre-awareness Influences • What it is: Social conversations & word-of-mouth before formal brand discovery • Why it's missed: Difficult to track & attribute • Optimisation tip: Create shareable content specifically designed for peer-to-peer sharing • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2. Post-Purchase Onboarding • What it is: The critical first 24-48 hours after purchase when buyers seek validation • Why it's missed: Teams focus on acquisition, not retention • Optimisation tip: Create "success accelerator" emails with usage instructions • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3. Product Documentation • What it is: Help guides, FAQs, & support materials • Why it's missed: Often delegated to technical teams without marketing input • Optimisation tip: Inject brand personality into help documentation • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐ 4. Customer Support Interactions • What it is: The conversations with service teams that shape perception • Why it's missed: Viewed as cost center, not marketing opportunity • Optimisation tip: Create scripts that highlight complementary products/features • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5. Digital "Dead Ends" • What it is: 404 pages, out-of-stock notifications, & other negative pathways • Why it's missed: Seen as technical errors, not opportunities • Optimisation tip: Transform dead ends into discovery points with recommendations • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐ 6. Transaction Confirmations • What it is: Receipts, shipping notifications, & order confirmations • Why it's missed: Treated as operational communications only • Optimisation tip: Include personalised next-best action recommendations • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 7. Post-Usage Check-ins • What it is: The period after customer has used your product for intended purpose • Why it's missed: Customer journey maps often end at purchase or initial use • Optimisation tip: Create timely follow-ups based on typical usage patterns • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8. Community Participation • What it is: Customer-to-customer interactions in forums & social spaces • Why it's missed: Difficult to scale & often understaffed • Optimisation tip: Identify & empower customer advocates within communities • Impact potential: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Your marketing doesn't end where your analytics dashboard stops tracking. The brands that will win tomorrow are already investing in these invisible touchpoints today. Which one will you optimise first? ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network.  ⚡ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

Lou Gerstner walked into IBM in 1993 expecting a strategy problem. What he found was worse. Here's what leaders need to learn: Every division had a strategy. Every executive had a vision. Every team was chasing a different goal. Engineering was building for one future. Sales was selling into another. Marketing had its own roadmap entirely. At his first exec meeting, each leader presented different success metrics: Revenue. Market share. Innovation. NPS. Same company, completely different definitions of winning. Gerstner didn’t write a new strategy. He did something more powerful: He mandated one framework for priorities. Same metrics. Same language. Same scorecard. Within 6 months, misalignment became visible. Within a year, IBM started moving as one. I saw the same pattern play out in a Fortune 500 basement. The quarterly review was nearly over when the Head of Ops paused: “I need to be honest. I don’t even know what our top 3 priorities are right now.” Silence. Then heads nodded. The CMO had been focused on brand. Sales thought revenue was the priority. The CTO was deep in infrastructure rebuild. The CFO was chasing cost control. 9 executives. 27 different priorities. 3 overlaps. That’s not a team. That’s a collection of soloists. Strategy isn’t the problem. Alignment is. Everyone knows the strategy. But what are they actually optimizing for this week? I’ve seen it again and again: • Monday: “Retention is everything” • Friday: Sales signs three bad-fit clients to hit quota • Product starts chasing new features • Success never gets the memo 5 days. Alignment gone. So how do you fix it? 1. Make priorities visible weekly Every Monday: top 3 org-wide priorities, posted publicly. No guessing. No side quests. 2. Create explicit handoffs Marketing, sales, product, and success - define the exact criteria for every handoff. Spotify did this. Discovered 40% of handoffs had misaligned expectations. 3. Run weekly alignment checks One question: What are you optimizing for this week? If it doesn’t match the org’s top 3, you catch drift instantly. 4. One source of truth No more 50 dashboards. Microsoft did this with their Customer Success Score. Every division had to contribute to the same North Star. Alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It deteriorates by default. Great companies don’t assume alignment. They build it systematically. That Fortune 500 team? 6 months later, they went from 27 priorities to 3. Revenue grew 18%. Engagement jumped 43% → 71%. All because they stopped guessing. Want more research-backed frameworks like this? Join 11,000+ execs who get our newsletter every week: 👉 https://lnkd.in/en9vxeNk

The most important competence for building a sustainable DTC strategy: Data-Driven Customer Insights. Over the last decade direct-to-consumer marketers have suffered a 15% CAGR in CPM inflation for digital #advertising, according to research by Frederic Fernandez & Associates, dramatically increasing cost per acquisition. #DTC companies hence need to much better understand their target consumers, their path-to-purchase metrics, barriers/ drivers/ triggers & 4Ps preferences, and design a new omnichannel acquisition strategy. In my view, its time for DTC companies to build truly immersive and personalized customer acquisition strategies based on data driven customer insights. Data-driven customer insights are essential in the following 5 marketing areas: 🙋 Understanding Customer Behavior: To create personalized experiences, brands need to understand their customers' behaviors, preferences, and pain points. #Data analytics enables companies to track and analyze customer interactions across all touchpoints, providing deep insights into their journey and decision-making processes. 🎯 Personalization at Scale: Leveraging customer data allows brands to segment their audience and deliver tailored content, offers, and recommendations. This level of #personalization can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, as consumers are more likely to engage with content that is relevant to their needs and interests. 📢 Optimizing Marketing Efforts: Data insights help brands to optimize their #marketing strategies and campaigns. By analyzing which tactics are most effective, companies can allocate resources more efficiently and improve their return on investment. ❤️ Enhancing Customer Engagement: Real-time data analysis enables brands to engage with customers at the right moment with the right message. This timely #engagement can drive higher conversion rates and foster a stronger emotional connection with the brand. 📈 Continuous Improvement: Data-driven #insights provide a feedback loop that allows brands to continuously refine their products, services, and customer interactions. This iterative process helps in adapting to changing customer expectations and market trends. By investing in data collection, advanced analytics, and skilled personnel, #DTC companies can create truly immersive and personalized customer experiences that drive engagement and loyalty.

90% of companies don’t manage their Customer Journeys as a portfolio. Yet, just 20% of journeys deliver the proverbial 80% of company revenue. Do you know them by heart? Have you put them on autopilot? Industry outperformers don’t leave this to chance—they productize their marketing output and manage Customer Journeys as a portfolio. Outperformers recognize that some Customer Journeys are: - Just beginning - Ready for refinement - Primed to scale Each stage requires a radically different mindset. Enter the Hack, Pack, and Stack approach—a mental framework for maturing Customer Journeys with intention. 1. Hack – Drive future revenue through experimentation to find problem-market fit. (Led by Marketing.) 2. Pack – Improve margin by refining MVPs to fine-tune product-market fit. (Led by MarketingOps.) 3. Stack – Drive current revenue with a scalable stack to develop platform-market fit. (Led by IT.) The path from Hack to Pack to Stack isn’t just about driving efficiency with Martech. It is so much more. It’s about anticipating true customer needs, deliberately orchestrating experiences, and staying relevant at critical moments of truth. How are you managing the maturity of your Customer Journeys? Love to hear your thoughts! #Marketing #CustomerExperience #Martech #CX #CustomerJourney #GrowthHacking #MarketingOperations

The first section of my upcoming book is about Insight Foraging. Simply put, an Insight is a specific piece of information gleaned directly or indirectly from customers. It gives you a nuanced understanding of why customers do what they do. When pieced together, these Insights answer crucial questions about your business, such as: What should I sell? Who should I focus on? What makes my business special? How can I attract better leads? Why should people care? What follows are my six guidelines to unearth customer Insights from any source (such as customer interviews, surveys, review mining, testimonials, talking to customer-facing staff...): Guideline #1 Do not expect to get the full story whenever you talk to a customer or read an online review. Sometimes, nothing interesting will come up. While other times, you might strike gold by getting the full story from one source. Guideline #2 You want to be open and curious about their thought process from start to finish. Yes, you might miss some details occasionally, but this is how you learn and gather Insights. Think of yourself as an adventurer who’s here to explore. Guideline #3 Every time you come across an Insight, record it with care. Once again, this could be the piece of information that could be used as the core of standing the f*ck out against top dogs. Specifically, record what you hear, see, or read without summarizing it. Guideline #4 Add depth by noting the emotions that you can sense. Are customers using negative, emotionally charged language to describe their anger, fear, or even disgust? Or are they using positive language? Also, pay attention to non-verbal cues like facial expressions or body language. Guideline #5 Only pay attention to Insights coming from people who have recently invested resources — such as time, money, and/or effort — to address the problem you're interested in solving. Oui, oui, it bears repeating. If you have any doubt or sense something’s wrong, always trust your judgment. Guideline #6 Don’t let others pick Insights on your behalf (if possible). It could be tempting to outsource this entire process to a human (or a machine) in order to save time. But I must caution you against it. Of course, you don’t have to do all the groundwork yourself, but you do need to take part in the journey one way or another to ensure you don’t miss subtle details that could give you an edge. 🐔

We have the 5 Forces of Competitive Strategy -- but what about the 5 Forces of Customer Experience? They're related: (1) CX strategy is a competitive strategy, and (2) the place to start is to situate yourself in context - your competitors, dynamics, rationality, buyers, sellers, etc. This is a way to answer the question: "Where do I start when building a customer data & tech strategy?" For my new book "Customer 360," written with Andrea Lin, I propose this new 5 Forces of Customer Experience framework. The forces pivot around two axes: ->> The Business -- from the inside out, the ways you reach customers and the specifics of your technology stack. Front End --> Back End. ->> The Environment -- from the outside in, considerations are customer expectations and the realities of your world (laws, budgets, etc.). Inside (Customer) World --> Outside World. And finally, right in the middle, is: ->> The Data -- data as an asset and its limitations Now clockwise from the top: (1) Touchpoints - How do you reach customers, literally? There aren't all that many ways: websites, apps, messaging, ads. Channels of choice are dictated by what you offer - that is, your internal capacity to support the touchpoint - and consumers' preferences. (2) Expectations - What do consumers in your industry expect? This can be derived from competitive intel, syndicated research, testing. Customers bring assumptions to their interactions with you, set by their own #Disneyland, and you ignore these at your peril. (3) Environment - What are outside factors that impact your business? This force makes life interesting but forecasting difficult. Of course it affects competitors too, but you're in a different position to respond, either better or worse. Included here are the economy, politics, regulation, sentiment, even weather, which is changing everything. (4) Technology - What technology is available, and what can you use? The tech picture includes your existing (legacy) tech stack and contracts, and also what is available - state-of-the-art - and what you might use. Also your particular organization's ability to make use of said tech, which is a gate. (5) Access - What customer/account data do you have and how available is it? We all know the importance of customer data, esp. 1st party and Zero party, in the Customer 360 - but to be useful it must be accessible. How do we calculate Access? Voila the 3 Sub-Forces of Customer Data Access: ->> Availability - What data exists? Is it organized for use, e.g., using a #CDP like Salesforce Data Cloud? ->> Authority - What permission do you have to use it? This reflects rights as well as expectations. ->> Authenticity - How accurate and timely is the data? Inaccurate data is actually worse than no data at all for obvious reasons. For more on this - and many related topics - pre-order a copy of "Customer 360" from Amazon today at the link in the comments.

Brand strategy is not a marketing function. It’s an organisational one. When people hear "brand strategy", their minds often jump to logos, colour palettes, and that poor team of marketers working overtime. But here’s the truth: Brand strategy isn’t what your marketing team does It’s what your entire organisation lives. - It’s how leadership makes decisions. - It’s how sales talks to prospects. - It’s how customer service shows up every single day. - It’s how product is built and improved. When your whole team thinks, acts and behaves on brand, that’s when alignment happens. - That’s when things feel… effortless. - That’s when you become impossible to ignore. If you think brand strategy is expensive, try running a business without one. Because in a world of copycat products and feature fatigue, the real cost is misalignment. When everyone pulls in different directions, you don’t just lose speed, you lose trust, clarity, momentum… and a whole lot of money. The brands that win? They don’t just move fast. They move together. Effortlessly. Before you go: Remember that how well a brand performs externally depends on how well it performs internally.

One of the best conversion wins? Actually listening to your customers. It’s easy to get caught up in optimising buttons, headlines, and landing pages. But often, the real answers are already out there — if you know where to look. Last month, a founder I work with was stuck at a 2% conversion rate. Instead of diving straight into CRO tools, we did something simple: 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 15 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. What we learned: 💡 Their biggest buying fear wasn’t addressed anywhere 💡 The pricing page created confusion rather than clarity 💡 The language on the site didn’t match how customers talked But we didn’t stop there. We also layered in 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 — pulling insights from reviews, competitor reviews, social posts, and forums — to add a broader view on top of the direct conversations. The result? Depth from interviews. Scale from social data. A full picture of what customers really needed. And after updating the messaging, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 2% 𝐭𝐨 7.8%. No ad spend. No new tools. Just better understanding. Real growth starts when you stop guessing and start listening — properly. When’s the last time you checked not just what your customers say to you… but what they’re saying when they think you’re not listening? #CustomerInsights #GrowthStrategy #ConversionRateOptimisation