Oana Sav presented the consumption chain analysis as introduced by Rita McGrath and Ian MacMillan, could be a great instrument for marketers to plan their customer experiences initiatives that could help their organizations differentiate from competitors.

1. Institutul de Marketing
How to differentiate through
Customer Experience?
May 20th 2016

3. Why focus on Customer Experience?
• 84% of organizations think that their market is comoditizing and 76%
think that this is affecting their profitability;
• When everything is equal, people buy on price; “ the emerging
experience economy”;
• 47% of companies think of them as product oriented;
• 60-70% average probability of selling to an existing customer; 5-20%,
probability of selling to a new prospect; On average, loyal customers
are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase;
• It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative
experience;
• 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an
intended purchase because of a poor service experience;
• Just 1% of customers feel that companies focus on their emotional
needs.

4. TOOL: Consumption Chain Analysis*
Map the consumption chain and the entire
experience with a product!
Rita Mc Grath, Ian Mac Millan
Awareness of the need
Search. Selection
Order and Purchase.
Payment. Delivery. Financing
First experience
Repeated experiences with
the product/service
Repeat purchase
• What?
• Where?
• Who?
• When?
• How?
+ CONTEXT

5. AWARENESS. How do people
become aware of your product?
Are consumers aware that you can satisfy their need? Are they even aware
of the need?
Oral B patenting the blue dye to tell the customers when the toothbrush
should be replaced. Only Oral B patented the process!
The Coffee Shop where you pay by the time spent ( PR )
Priceline.com, "Name-Your-Own-Price" (NYOP), reverse auctioning,
consumers set the price.

6. SEARCH. How do consumers find
your offering?
Differentiate by designing a new search and selection experience!
Google – the first different by focusing on user experience, search behavior,
search intent and moments of truth ( ZMOT- zero moment of truth)*
E.g..: Herbal Essences making search easier.
Provide guidance, useful content, educational material.

7. SELECTION. How do consumers
make their final selection?
• Can you make the process more simple and less irritating?
• Minimize consumers information sources;
• Making it easier to evaluate options: De Beers’’s 4 C; Carmax, Auto
Nation;
• Personalization of the customer journey: Amazon;
• Transparent referrals, including decision criteria; JC Penney: using
haul video in their ad strategy; transparency; Disney , World Moms
Panel.

8. ORDER, PURCHASE. How do
consumer order and purchase your
product/service?
Making the process easier, more
pleasant or memorable :
offline ( waiting time in store,
complicated procedures) ,
online ( easy to fill in forms,
additional help, phone );
Amazon, the first to use and
patent one click order;
Creating ease if use and also
customer soft lock in: easy
reorder, extra benefits ( costs
control, invoice, time saved),
American Hospital Supply.

9. DELIVERY. What happens when your
product/service is delivered?
Design better experience
through innovations in the
value chain, partnerships.
PC Connection – “next day”
delivery – distribution
facilities and warehouses
located near Airborne
Express.
Ebay and Argos click and
collect.
Amazon lockers.

10. DELIVERY. What happens when your
product/service is delivered?

11. PAYMENT. FINANCING, RECEIPT.
• Quick or innovative
Payment solutions: RFID;
mobile payment;
• Promoting installments via
fixed amount;
• Progressive insurance:
giving clients quotes from
its competitor; mobile vans
to settle the claims.

12. INSTALATION. How is the product
installed?
E.g.: Chicco, the easiest infant seat to install;

13. STORAGE. TRANSPORTATION?
How is the product stored? Moved
around.
Often overlooked and cost effective
ways to differentiate;
BOC gases built gas plants near
clients' to overcome the problem of
storage and keeping competition
away;
Pills storage and dispensers offered
as a bonus.

14. USE. How is the product used?
What support might customers need when they use the
product? What might happen and how can we help? How
could brands reduce stress and anxiety related to product
use?

15. SERVICE. What help do consumers
need when using the product?

16. DISPOSAL. What happens when
your product is disposed of or no
longer used?

17. CE initiative should be strategic
Cost leader Self –service optimization that delivers
simple and efficient experiences
Differentiator ( offers consistently
innovative products and services)
Proactive guidance that educates
customers as they adopt breakthrough
products and services
Segmentor ( offers products and services
that fit a narrowly targeted market
segment)
Tailored intimacy that creates deep
connections with customers through
personalized interactions
Source: Forrester Research
CE strategy means delivering the brand promise and suitable to corporate
strategy and value chain. Support from the top is a must!

18. Differentiation trough Customer
Experience is only possible if…
1.Planning is indeed customer – centric and no other way
(fragmented, siloed), 7 Ps, not just 4 Ps or 1P (promotion);
delivered promise; values lived and shared through
culture;
2.Continuous focus on consumption chain, customer
journey, ‘moments of truths’ and’’ triggers’’ along the way
and brand management extends before the
design/production of goods/services and after (feedback,
loyalty);
3.Initiatives are strategic, not just tactic. Suport from the top.
Management buy in.

19. Further reading
• Customer Experience 3.0: High-Profit Strategies in the Age of Techno
Service, John A. Goodman, 2014
• The Customer Experience Edge, Reza Soudagar , Vinay Iyer , Volker
Hildebrand, 2012
• Discovering New Points of Differentiation, Harvard Business Review,
Ian MacMillan, Rita McGrath, 1997