Q: How can leaders rethink CX improvements to drive loyalty?
A: First, many organizations often associate great CX with adding something to the CX, but that’s not the case. Instead, leaders should examine what they can subtract to enhance CX, and move away from additive thinking that can lead to unnecessary complexity, effort and cost.
With marketing investments being more carefully examined in the current environment, a reframe makes sense for brands. In fact, the Gartner 2024 CMO Spend Survey found 73% of CMOs report their organization faces pressure to do more with less to deliver growth.
When CMOs adopt a “minus mindset” and incorporate subtractive thinking into an organization’s CX, they can generate unique values and ideas, improving CX. In order to spark subtractive ideas, leaders should ask prompts like, “Which customer communications are duplicative or overwhelming for customers?” and “At which stage of the customer journey is there information overload, and how do we reduce it?”
In addition to analyzing the most promising subtractive opportunities in the customer journey, marketing leaders should identify the customers to whom the brand is best positioned to deliver exceptional CX. When a company focuses on their most loyal customers, they can more easily align brand, customer and employee needs.
Knowing where to focus, whether that’s on an opportunity or a steadfast customer, is key to building brand loyalty.
Q: How important is brand to customer experience, and what can leaders do to strengthen that connection?
A: Customers should see themselves in a company's brand, not just in their products - in the mind of a customer, they are actually one and the same. Unfortunately, brands and CX often operate independently, creating issues where CX delivery doesn’t match the brand promise.
Gartner research shows, however, that CX and brand are more powerful together. When brand leaders connect brand experience and CX, they are more likely to exceed their ROI expectations.
When brands focus on centering their brand promise around the value that customers’ would get out of their relationship--personal benefits--they are better positioned to create a strong commitment to the brand. Personal benefits serve as the bridge between CX initiatives and a brand promise.
Brand leaders should focus initiatives on customer-centric experiences that deliver on personal benefits to create an emotional connection to the brand. That connection to the customer enhances brand commitment and drives business outcomes, including an increased likelihood to complete a purchase and a willingness to pay a premium for a brand.
Q: How can marketing leaders reassess their brand’s social media presence to build loyalty?
A: Brands should reevaluate how they show up for their customers on social media, and listen to customers talk amongst themselves rather than just at the brand.
By analyzing what their presence looks like across different channels throughout the customer journey as well as determining how customers use social channels, leaders can better understand consumer openness to branded content. For example, on Facebook and Instagram, engagement and receptiveness increases with goal-driven content, such as tutorials and success stories, as opposed to pure branded content.
In addition, leaders should use social listening to learn about customer’s goals and needs, spotlighting three themes to keep an eye on:
Customer fulfillment of a need outside of what a company’s brand is offering
Customer discussion of common challenges in an area where a brand is positioned to help them
Customer search or questioning about a topic, or how-to’s around reaching a goal
Gartner clients can learn more in the report: “Increase Brand Loyalty by Integrating Customer and Brand Experience.”
About Gartner for Marketers
Gartner for Marketers provides the objective, expert advice, and proven tools that CMOs and other marketing leaders need to seize the right opportunities with clarity and confidence, and to stay ahead of the trends that matter. With in-depth research and analysis, Gartner for Marketers helps you focus on the opportunities with the greatest potential to deliver results. More information on Gartner for Marketers is available online at www.gartner.com/marketing. Follow news and updates from the Gartner Marketing practice on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG. Members of the media can find additional information and insights in the Gartner Marketing Newsroom.
About the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo
The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo is taking place June 3-5 in Denver, providing marketing leaders with actionable advice about the trends, tools and emerging technologies they need to deliver business results. Follow news and updates coming out of the conference on the Gartner Newsroom and on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG.
