Hi everyone. My name is Mathieu HANNOUZ, and I am a Customer Experience Technologist. It is a great time to be in the CX Business. Our industry has seen numerous changes in business models, technologies, processes, and skillsets for the past decades. Our end goal, however, remains the same: Building exceptional and delightful experiences for our customers. 

Here are the three reasons I have decided to create this blog and share my thoughts around Customer Experience Management with a focus on D2C Retail. ‍

Reason #1: Great Customer Experience is good business.

A few years ago, I was invited to speak with a group of marketing professionals in a global retail company. One of the questions I got asked was on how best to define Customer Experience. Instead of answering the question from a marketing standpoint, I chose to respond as a consumer myself. Here's an experiment I ask you to try yourself the same way I asked the audience back then. Think of the last time you engaged and transacted with a brand. Pick anything. It could be subscribing to a new phone plan, remortgaging your home, buying a moisturizing cream, or getting a new pair of sneakers. Now I would like you to fast forward six months and consider this question: "How would you describe the experience with this brand?". As most people won't remember the specifics on what channels were used, the offer they got, and the number of times they interacted with the brand, I bet you will remember whether it was an excellent experience or a poor one. That's it! Customer Experience is the aftertaste your customers have from interacting with your brand, and it's up to you if you want this aftertaste to be good or bad, memorable or uneventful. 

I also go back to how Forrester defines Customer Experience.

"How customers perceive their interactions with your company." - Harley Manning's - VP, Research Director, Forrester.

The business of Customer Experience has been a focus for a long time now. With 58% of the world's population having access to the internet (that's 4.3 billion users) and 51% of digital commerce executed via mobile devices, consumers have changed how they communicate with one another and transact with brands. It is also a time when consumers are in high demand for a more personalized experience as they interact with brands. 73% of customers agree that customer experience helps to drive their buying decision (Source: PWC) and that 86% say that they are ready to pay more if it means getting a better customer experience (Source: Super Office).‍

With this in mind, it's no surprise that Customer Experience is ranked the top priority brands want to focus on to meet their customer's demands. By doing so, brands can explore some if the following benefits to their business:

— Increasing sales and customer loyalty;

— Expanding the customer base;

— Better brand reputation;

— Reducing marketing costs;

Reason #2: Direct-to-consumer retail (D2C) is booming.

As Customer Experience gets prioritized at the top level of many organizations, we are also witnessing the steady rise of D2C. Unlike the traditional retail model, where a business relies on a wholesaler, then a distributor, and a retailer, before it gets to the final consumer, the D2C model cuts the middle man with manufacturer brands selling directly to consumers. In a recent eMarketer study (D2C Marketing Trends Roundup - August 2021), the US direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce sales—including both digitally native and established brands—generated $111.54 billion, making up 14.0% of total retail e-commerce sales. These numbers are helping organizations demonstrate why the D2C model is more attractive than ever. 

At the same time, organizations are putting a much larger emphasis on their owned and operated channels and want more control over how best to market their products to their customers. Another strategic decision for organizations to consider a D2C model is to build a direct relationship with their customers. As a brand, this means that you can collect first-party data about your customers and have an up-to-date, more reliable source of who they are, what their expectations are, and a feedback loop on how they experience your products.

Reason #3: Putting my expertise and experience to use.

I am fortunate to be leading the Digital Experience Evangelism team at Adobe. My team's mission is to inspire brands on their digital transformation journey to become experience-led businesses. With over 15 years of experience in technology and marketing and a proven track record with c-level audiences through story-telling, I help brands create better experiences for their customers as I build a bridge between strategy and execution, with technology as the supporting conduit. 

I am passionate about how brands, whether digitally native or established, are redefining their business. As I put my expertise and experience to use more broadly, I aim to inform and guide organizations around D2C interactions, with personalization and engagement fueling the customer experience.

Conclusion.

‍What you'll find on this blog are my thoughts on the customer experience market, with a heavy focus on D2C Retail and the technology landscape to support it. I will organize my thoughts around two main sections: 

— The Big Picture - where I discuss strategy - this section focuses on big ideas and processes and how to think of a customer experience-centric strategy that makes sense for both organizations and their consumers. This is a chance to step back, understand where the market is going, and make informed decisions on strategy, process, and technology.

— In the Field - where I discuss execution - this section puts strategy into action as I discuss how to translate strategy into actions, including tactics, best practices, tips, and examples we see in our industry.

This blog is a forum where your comments and sharing of your experiences are welcome. The journey to power unique D2C customer experiences is a long and fascinating one, and it's certainly more exciting and rewarding when the ride is shared.

Welcome to this blog and talk soon.