Customer is an important "entity" and is vital for existence of any business. Therefore it is so important to "Know Her". The presentation which I created for interaction with students at a business school talks about same. It has examples which i have shared from my learnings which anyone in field of marketing, business and brands can relate easily.

1. KYC
Learnings from a marketer…
Know Your Customer
Sunil Singh Rana
22ndNov’ 2014

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Learning Types

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Content & Flow
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Back to Basics
Key Learnings Summary
Explore Learnings
KYC @ MTS
Learnings from the case
Objective
Case –When the US Giants blinked
Q&A’s / Feedback / Querries…..

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Objective
•No Customer, No Organization (purpose of existence)
•Nurturecustomertogrow
•Repeatcustomeraremustforsuccess
The purpose of a business is to create a customer-Peter Drucker

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Marketingis the process of communicatingthe value of a product or service to customers, for the purpose of selling that product or service.

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Communication-Customer-Marketing
•Marketing Orientation Changes:
Production Products Selling Marketing
•Communication:
Activity of conveying informationthrough the exchange of ideas, feelings, intentions, attitudes, expectations, perceptions or commands, as by speech, non- verbal gestures, writings, behavior and possibly by other means such as electromagnetic, chemical or physical phenomena and smell.
It is the meaningful exchange of information between two or more participants
Technological advancement have made it more direct and focussed
•Customer v/s Consumer

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Industries which have evolved with mankind

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US Automobile Industry
•1899: Almost 60 car manufacturers open in US. 10,000 cars on-road, 25 mnhorses supplied most local transportation. Ford Motor Co established in 1903.
•Sep 1908: Billy Durant founds General Motors
•1908 -Ford introduces Model T. First-year production is 10,660 cars. Model T was unpretentious, reliable, and remarkably sturdy.
•1913: Ford installs the first moving assembly line, car building time dropped a record 12 Hr. to an average 1.5 Hr., with the capability of producing 1000 cars/day
Source: About.com

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The Shift in balance
•From the mid-1950s through 2008 -“Big Three” lost over 40% points of market share in the US, after having dominated the industry during its first 50 years.
•By 2008, Toyota, the largest Japanese automaker became the largest producer of vehicles worldwide (position that was been previously held by GM for 77 consecutive years)
1929
2008

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Event that made impact
•By 1910’s -Assembly line manufacturing Affordable Cars
•Better Highways network Growth to travel long-distance.
•Demand for automobile and aircrafts soared further by 1939 on account of WW II
•With the demand, the power/ size mattered for US manufacturer.
•Japanese started learning quality from quality Guru, W. Edwards Deming.
•First Fuel (oil) Crisis in Oct began in Oct 1973
Source: ThomsH Clair, Economic Perspectives, 2Q/2009

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Event that made impact (Contd..)
•1979 (or second) oil crisis. Though oil supply decreased by only ~4%, panic resulted price rise of crude oil from $39.50/barrel in a year
•1979 oil shock was accompanied by a severe downturn in the economy.
•Fortunes of group stabilized with the emergence of light truck —as a popular and fast-growing segment of the auto Mid-1990s,
•Six foreign producers started to compete in the light truck segment
•Starting in 1998, the price of gasoline was rising again, after having been essentially flat for over a decade. Gas prices approached $4/gallon
Source: ThomsH Clair, Economic Perspectives, 2Q/2009

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What went wrong and the Learnings
Demand for more fuel efficient cars
Ignoring the changing public taste for “Small Car” in 70’s
Power & Efficiency trade-off
Technological Innovations also change the customer taste
Know Your Customer well! (Who? Preference, taste, lifestyle, trends and changes)
#1

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What went wrong and the Learnings
Japanese kept on upgrading with technology including manufacturing. Priority for American was managing.
The Oil Shocks of 1973 & 79 were unplanned external events. The learnings of Oil Shock ignored with recovery of business (Restrict Innovation)
Concern for Global emission standards and need for clean fuel and rising globalization
Innovation is must to evolve with customers.
Technology and external factors can make you obsolete
#2

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What went wrong and the Learnings
Customer were looking for solution (fuel efficiency, Comfort, Style, Aesthetics etc.) and not products only
The manufacturing of small cars was costlier earlier also, however the segment existed
Post Oil Shock of 79, Mini Truck segment emerged which was catered well by them, however soon it saw competition
If you don’t serve your segment well, someone else will…
#3

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What went wrong and the Learnings
The competition was not only from the product boundaries which were becoming thinner as they served the same purpose, it was global too
The US Auto industry defended their turf and asked for protection. But to grow, The World is Your Marketplace
Apart from one “C’ of your KYC, you need to know the other “C” i.e. Competitor
#4

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Know Your Customer Well
•Demographics -asl; changes in asl; Virtual Existence
•Psychographics (Overarching mindset that leads to a perceptions and behaviors)
•Attitudes -toward the category or industry. Involvement Levels makes difference when it comes to changing behavior.
•Telling Behaviors -Actions and the extent these ‘telling behaviors’ will shed a lot more light on the psychograph
•Current Usage –Substitutes, Frequency, Competition, Usage Pattern
•Functional Needs
•Emotional Needs
Source: BrendaBence.com

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Know Your Customer Well
•Existing Customer / Potential Customer
•Source of data collection
Inbound Interactions
Outbound Activities
Secondary Sources (Market Research)
Virtual Activities
•Relationship Marketing
•Customer Life Cycle Management (CLCM)
•Every interaction is an Opportunity

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Few learnings…..
Upgrade your offering to stay relevant to the changing customer
New segment can be created
Your offering can’t hold customer and segment which evolve
Move up your offering with CLCM.

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Few learnings…..
Change in product positioning can create new segments
Regulations can kill your market
New segment can be targeted to expand
Technology can be a biggest disruptive force

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Few learnings…..
Customer pay for (brand) perceptions, Not products
Few things can be misleading about actual consumer
Observe your segments to understand their (unstated) needs, rather than asking them
The thin line in product categories are redefining competition

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Few learnings…..
Customer remain hooked to you, if your (Brand) are her inspiration
Invest to understand your customer and exceed her expectations
You can’t remain complacent being #1. Innovate
Loyalty is difficult to cultivate. Admit. Work Hard to retain.

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KYC
•Name
•Age
•Sex
•Location (Address)
•Phone Number (Alternate)
•E-mail ID
•Product Subscribed
•Usage (Quantity, Frequency, Time of Usage)
•Secondary Financial Products
•Social Activity
•Satisfaction Levels
•Feedback
Data
Sources
•Customer Activation Form (CAF)
•Activation Calling
•Call Center Interaction
•Store Visit
•Internal Data History
•Transactions (Retailer, Web etc.)
•Market Research
•Consumer Forums
•Site History
•Web Analytics (includes SNS)

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Key Learning Summary
Know Your Customer well!
With customer evolution, upgrade your offerings.
Protect your forte from competition and explore new segments.
Keep an eye on external factors –Technology, regulatory etc.
Interact to understand her, however do not offend her.
Follow your customer too. Invest in her and products
Do not create just customer, create advocates and ambassadors.
Use technology to gain insight, however do not breach privacy.
Develop relationship and gain trust by being one step ahead.
Surprise her with meeting unmet and unstated needs.

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THE MORE YOUR KNOW ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER. THE LESS YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING HIM.

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Reach Me / Feedback @
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(+91) 9925000293
sunilsinghrana@yahoo.com
www.sunilsinghrana.weebly.com