The document discusses the use of voice of the customer (VOC) research to enhance customer experience (CX) strategies through effective personalization, primarily led by experts Ernán Roman and David Page. It emphasizes the importance of utilizing 'human data' to create explicit and proactive personalization that aligns with customer preferences, moving beyond traditional transactional methods. The findings highlight a shift towards customer-driven data sharing, where consumers are open to providing personal information for better-tailored experiences, leading to improved engagement and business outcomes.

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Using
Human
Data
And
Reciprocity
Of
Value
For
CX
Innovation
Ernan Roman,
President,
ERDM
Corp.
David
Page,
SVP,
Brand
Strategy
&
Research,
Rent
The
Runway

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Ernan Roman
President, ERDM Corp.
Author, Voice of the Customer Marketing
Inducted into the DMA Marketing Hall of Fame based on the results companies
achieve with ERDM's VoC research-based CX strategies.
ERDM conducts specialized VoC research to identify CX strategies that
generate significant increases in revenue. Clients include IBM, MassMutual,
Gilt, QVC, HP, Microsoft and Norton AntiVirus.
His influential blog Ernan's Insights on Marketing Best Practices appears in
Forbes, Huffington Post, CMO.com, CustomerThink, CRMC and
Business2Community.
Named by the Online Marketing Institute as one of the Top 40 Digital
Luminaries and by Crain's B to B Magazine as one of the 100 most influential
people in Business Marketing.
Ernan's latest book is titled Voice of the Customer Marketing.
His other books are Opt-in Marketing and Integrated Direct Marketing.
ernan@erdm.com
www.erdm.com
@ernanroman
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David Page
SVP, Brand Strategy & Research
Rent the Runway
David has 20 years experience in advertising as a Strategist,
working in both London and the U.S..
During that time he has worked for a number of major agencies, including
Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Anomaly, DDB, BBDO, Havas, and Ogilvy in
both London and New York.
Clients have included Kraft Foods, Ford, Reckitt Benckiser, Jaguar, Unilever,
Coca-Cola, Mars, Volkswagen, Microsoft, Intercontinental Hotels, Barclays
Bank and Intercontinental hotels. His work has
been recognized with effectiveness awards from both the IPA and
the Effies; along with creative awards from Cannes, One Show and
the Andy's.
He joined Rent The Runway in 2015.

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Agenda
VoC research findings;
How you should use human data to achieve effective
personalization and transform your CX.
How Rent the Runway,
the world’s largest designer fashion rental business, is using
customer data and personalization to innovate many aspects of its
Customer Experience.

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Learnings from 15,000+ hours of VoC Interviews:

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VoC; Current CX & Personalization

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VoC; Current CX & Personalization
“What we receive is
not smart
personalization.
They aren’t
personalizing the
things that matter to
me!”
“What they
consider
personalization is
so
old-fashioned.”
“I want more
than just buying
history-based
emails.”
“With today’s
technology, I
expect emails to
reflect my
interests and
preferences.”

8. 8
CMO of a Fortune Company;
“We are using new CRM technology to automate
old bad behaviors…not guided by how customers define
improved CX. Result; high tech, irritating and brand
damaging spray and pray.”

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VoC; Transformational Findings
In spite of increased privacy concerns
(Apple/NSA/Snowden)…
BtoB and BtoC customers are willing to
provide trusted brands with deep business
and personal information in exchange
for more personalized offers and
communications.
This fundamentally reframes data privacy
concerns because of reciprocity of value!

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VoC-based Reciprocity of Value Equation
Consumer
Reciprocity
Recognition that;
to receive true personalization,
must provide deep
personal or business
preference information.
This marks the shift to explicit
vs implicit personalization.
Business
Reciprocity
Commitment
by marketers; to provide
“smart” personalization.
To be trulypersonalized,
must be based on
more than transactional,
overlay and inferential data.
+
“Human Data”
BtoB or BtoC opt-in
self profiled information:
• Key issues, needs,
expectations
• Decision-makingprocess
• Messaging and media
preferences
• Self-describedpersonality
types, attitudes,life stages.
+
CX
Innovation
=

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Transforming the Customer Experience

12. 1212
MassMutual; VoC Insights
“I don’t want marketing when it comes to these major issues.
You can market bread and laptops and cellphones and Toyota
Camrys, but this is my life you’re talking about!
I’m not looking to be marketed to.
I’m looking to make life decisions.”

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Self-defined Human Data; Driving New Value Propositions

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Results from Human Data Personalization
Year 1
1 Segment
Year 2
24 Segments
Year 3
24 Segments
Segments
Target
Response
rate
198
K
2%
365
K
4%
350
K
8-­‐10+%
One
segment,
generalized
messaging
for
all
Personalized
imagery
by
age,
gender,
channel,
language
Truly
personalized
&
segment
specific
content
and
imagery

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VoC-based Opt-in Email Pilot
Discussed financial
issues identifiedin
VoC. Combined
humor and
recommendations.
Tested providingepisode updates based
on Opt-in preferences vs. Control
population.
Created online
“edutainment” talk
show, SmartView.
Ongoing episodes.
Results: Opt-in vs. Control
94%
Higher open
rate
1,062%
Higher video
views
Zero
Unsubscribes
100%
Deliverability

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VoC Research: Explicit, Proactive Personalization
The Problem: Customers want explicit and proactive personalization.
The Solution: Empower customers to drive their personalization
• Example; use dialogue boxes to engage customers in explicit
personalization
• Make the customer feel heard by asking for feedback on helpfulness
• Ask, but don’t interrupt the shopping flow
• Distinguishbetween same brand, similar brand, similar product,etc., to
account for the intricacies of user preferences

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VoC: Explicit, Proactive Personalization
• Contextual Brand Favoriting
• Ask at the right touch points in the customer cycle
• Allow customers to explicitly tell Gilt when they like a brand,
rather than guessing
• Use these preferences to personalize the experience site wide
We’ve added this to your Waitlist.
7 for all Mankind
The Skinny Distressed Jean
Color: Authentic Ocean
Size: 06
Great! We will now let you know
when this brand is back on Gilt.
ü Favorite Brand Love this brand? Add it to your
favorites and be the first to know
when it’s on sale. Manage your
favorites in your profile.

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VoC: Explicit, Proactive Personalization
Filter for Me
• Engage shoppers to customize their experience –
based on a compelling value proposition
• Example; By adding sizes in their profile,they
can filter sales to show only what’s in stock that
will fit
The Takeaway:
Customers understand personalization.
They don’t fear it; they embrace it. They
want to it to be appropriate and they want
to customize it.

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“Smart” Personalization works!
Personalization drives engagement by increasing order conversion rates, return
visits, overall engagement and decreasing email unsubscribe rates.
Long-­‐term
A/B
test
for
email
Personalization
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
-1%
-2%
-3%
1 2 3 4 5
Conversion lift Unsub Rate Delta

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Agenda
VoC research findings;
How you should use human data to achieve effective
personalization and transform your CX.
How Rent the Runway,
the world’s largest designer fashion rental business, is using
customer data and personalization to innovate many aspects of its
Customer Experience.

21. Start with the customer…

22. The danger is to ask “what data do we need?”
And then go about finding a way to get it.
But if you start with the customer, the potential
benefit to them will be more readily apparent.
Their knee jerk reaction won’t be,
“why should I tell you that?”
You might be surprised at what they reveal…
…it will make life a lot easier

23. Rent the Runway
Reviews Platform

24. Rent the Runway
Reviews Platform
Not just good and bad reviews.
But reviews from women like them,
with pictures, and their statistics.
Searchable by “women like me”.
Helps them decide if a dress will
suit them, and fit them.
Women sharing data to pay it
forward and help other women.

25. 3X
CONVERSION ON
PRODUCTS THAT HAVE
REVIEWS
COMPARED TO
PRODUCTS THAT HAVE
NO REVIEWS
What’s good for the customer, is good for the business.

26. Make the most of
what you have!

27. Rent The Runway
Personalization Approach
Ask yourself, “what do we already know about
each customer?”
Building personalization strategy
primarily with existing data:
—Date searched
—Product views
—Short Lists/Hearts
—Previous orders
We know what people are looking at,
liking and renting…

28. 10XCONVERSION
8XCLICK THROUGH
Which allows us to do a lot…from a simple personalized email

29. +5%CONVERSION
+60%CLICK
THROUGH
…when we add personalized recommendations

30. Ask yourself, what can take
it from a marketing tactic,
to a business strategy?

31. We don’t know why they’re looking,
liking and renting…
We need to know the “event.”
It connects all the other data, it helps us
make sense of all the other data.
So this is the only piece of new
information we are seeking.
We’re missing one critical piece of
information…

32. This can transform our customer experience strategy
ONBOARDING
DYNAMIC
HOMEPAGE
EVENT HUBS
SELF-SERVICE
REFERRALS
REVIEWS
TRENDING
EVENTS
SHOPPING
BAG
RECOMMENDATIONS
DATE
VIEWS
EVENTS
NAME
PURCHASES
INSPIRATION
LOOKING
RENTING
PRE–EVENTEVENT
POST–EVENT
ADVOCATE

33. Digital experiences are
resetting analogue
expectations.

34. Carry personalization into every channel
If we “recognize” them online,
we need to do the same in-store.
As Beacon technology becomes
more commonplace, customers will expect
it even more.
Customer Service can’t act like it is the
first time you’ve spoken.
As shift from “case-based” model to
“customer-based”, true CRM model.

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Additional Information for You
• PPT & 12 Point CX InnovationCheck List
• Ebook; 8 Essentials for Effective Online
Communities
• Ebook; 5 Ways to Use Human Data to Drive
Deep Engagement
• Ebook; 5 Strategies for Transforming Your
Customer Experience
• Case Studies
• Blog: Insights On MarketingBest Practices

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CX Innovation Check List
3 strategies for delivering on
customer expectations;
• Capture individual
preferences
• Use preferences to drive
true personalization
• Establish guidelines for
safeguarding data privacy.
1
Don’t ruin the hard fought
gains by sending “spray and
pray” blasts which disregard
preferences in hopes of
generating extra sales.
2
Find the right mix between
implicit and explicit data:
using only implicit data is
not enough to power true
personalization.
3

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CX Innovation Check List
Consumers define
personalization as much more
than “those old-fashioned”
transaction-based
communications;
“Communications should
reflect my individual
preferences”.
4
Change company culture and
thinking;
• From “how does this
benefit us?” to “how
does this benefit the
customer?”
5
Insights from customers are a
privilege, not something you
are entitled to.
6

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CX Innovation Check List
Understanding the Seller’s
Journey (your sales channels)
is as critical as knowing the
Buyer’s Journey.
7
Enable preference-based
personalization across every
channel.
8
Motivate/incent customers to
provide ongoing feedback
about the relevance of your
offerings and
communications.
9

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CX Innovation Check List
To drive Change, shift focus
from E (Expense) to R
(Revenue).
10
Ensure that every department
and channel uses and
respects, customer
preference information.
11
Create programs that recruit
your best customers to drive
social engagement.
12

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