The document discusses the concept of a 'seamless customer journey' in retail, emphasizing the importance of a unified approach to data and communication across various sales channels. It argues that without common data, customers experience disjointed processes that lead to dissatisfaction and loss of sales, particularly when competing against agile e-commerce businesses. The author suggests that investment in systems that foster common data is essential to improving customer experience and staying competitive.

1. Implementing the Seamless
Customer Journey
Mike Wilks
Joules Clothing Ltd.

2. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• What does “Seamless Customer Journey” mean?
• To the customer – absolutely nothing – apart
perhaps a luxury garment that appears to have no
seams…………..
• It’s a phrase we have invented……….
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3. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• However – try taking your customer on a journey where
there are:
– Disconnects in your processes
– Contradictions in your processes and data
– Gaps in information about the customer (or your product etc.)
– Clunky processes
– Many interactions with different service agents with different
information
– Offers that are only available on a Wednesday online with a
special password that’s only available in Brighton…………..
• And your customer will quickly explain what’s wrong
– as they walk out the door or abandon their basket saying they
will never shop with you anywhere……..
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4. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• So our customer who doesn’t understand what seamless means will
tell you they’re not special or demanding - they simply want an
experience that lets them:
• Buy from any of your channels and
– Pay and take (new words for shopping) or
– have it delivered to or collect it from wherever and whenever it suits them
• return part of it together with items from a different transaction however it
suits them and
• pay with three different tender methods one of which will have expired before
they return anything and
• by the way an exchange should be much quicker than a return for a different
item and
• Connect Plus is so convenient and
• why should I have to pay for standard delivery and
• if you go out of stock between me ordering and you delivering that’s your
problem so please get it from one of your stores where there is stock and
• now I’ve exchanged it’s on sale so I want the new lower price
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5. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• Simples!
• But who is the guy in the background??
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6. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• But who is the guy in the background??
• Might just be the CIO (Sergio in this case) trying to
work out how to do at least some of this before next
• * Christmas/Black Friday/Thanksgiving/Easter
(*insert your trading peak here – whenever it is it will be too soon)
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7. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• So what does your “Sergio CIO” – and also your
CMO, CCO, CDO etc. need to deliver some of this?
• The answer is not rocket science or necessarily a
complete new set of systems although a great
solution like Dynamics with its reach and range really
helps
– It starts with two basic ingredients:
• Data
• Communication
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8. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• Data – why? I hear you ask – we’ve got more data than
we know what to do with already……
• Yes - but if you are going to do common things like selling
and taking payment and delivering across different
channels that probably have different and dissimilar
systems – data is your link and your lifeline
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9. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• Common Data - just imagine if every part of your
business had the same:
– And so on – construct your own list!
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Products
Hierarchy
Structure
Level of detail
Status Codes
Pricing
Common rules for price changes
Common coding
Common rules for promotions
Payment system data
Transaction tokens that any service
supplier can understand
Common gift card and promotion
card number ranges
Single common codes for reporting
Delivery and Fulfilment
Common delivery type codes
Common delivery pricing
Standardised return codes

10. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• Common Data - unfortunately many organisations have systems that have
grown together over time and some that go back to the dark ages **
• Getting to common data will not be an easy journey for some
– but if you don’t head in this direction your systems will increasingly make it difficult to
compete with the newer boys on the block – and particularly with pure play e-tailers
who add on bricks and mortar capability because their systems are typically newer and
more adaptable than the historic store retailer growing into online
• Therefore it is necessary to bite the bullet with investment in systems and
processes that will deliver common data
– It is much more difficult to do this by bringing together disparate systems
– Having a single system that supplies as much as possible of your application landscape
with common data and user interface makes this much more achievable
– If your single system is built around an industry standard database then constructing
single version of the truth reporting also becomes much simpler
** Before anyone invented multi-channel
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11. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
• Typical organisation chart
CEO
CDO CMO CCO CCO CPO COO CFO CIO
Digital Marketing Customer Commercial People Operations Financial Information
(e-commerce) (Traditional IT)
Although this is drawn for effect, to make the point, the CIO and CDO, or the
E-commerce manager and IT Manager need to work very closely together to
deliver a seamless customer journey. There needs to be a special relationship!
Is that the case in your organisation?
And by the way, if all systems, whether web delivered, or enterprise process
facing have common data, rules and standards – life becomes much simpler
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12. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
CEO
CDO CMO CCO CCO CPO COO CFO CIO
Digital Marketing Customer Commercial People Operations Financial Information
(e-commerce) (Traditional IT)
A quote: “My job as CEO is to ensure that my team of Directors are working together with
common aims, shared deliverables and great communications”
- Derek Lovelock, when CEO of the Aurora and Mosaic Group
Common Data allows sharing of aims, deliverables and underpins communications by
removing ambiguities – one version of the truth
If the majority of your application requirements are delivered by a single common system
this makes Common Data much more easily achievable
Great communication leverages common data to deliver the Seamless Customer Journey
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13. Implementing the Seamless Customer Journey
Common Data allows sharing of aims, deliverables and underpins
communications by removing ambiguities – one version of the truth
Great communication leverages common data to deliver the seamless customer
journey
Don’t delay the investment decision in common systems that will deliver common
data across your business. If you are standing still as an organisation then your
competitors are going past you and soon you will be unable to close the gap
This
And
Not
This
Mike Wilks - 2017
13

14. Implementing the Seamless Customer
Journey
The CMO trying to decide which 50% of his budget is wasted
(“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't
know which half.” John Wanamaker (1838-1922))
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15. Implementing the Seamless Customer
Journey
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16. Implementing the Seamless Customer
Journey
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Why the Meerkat characters? Well Joules is based in Market Harborough………….