Marketing Tools
The following tools provide useful ways to improve your marketing strategies using the Customer Experience approach:
o Research Strategy Form: This form helps you develop strategic direction for customer research projects.
o Purchase Experience Process: Improving the purchase decision process for customers will help you increase sales.
o Customer Insight over the Product Lifecycle: Using customer input at each stage of the product lifecycle will help you optimize development efforts.
o Abandoners Analysis: Gaining a deep understanding of your abandoned customers will help you maximize customer retention.
The purpose of this form is to provide strategic direction for customer research projects.
Name: (Name of research project)
Background: (Information already known and leading up to this project)
Objective: (What is the purpose of this research?)
Decisions to be made: (What decisions will you make based on the research results?)
Data needed to make decisions: (What data do you need in order to make the decisions above?)
Target Audience: (Who do you need to research and how will you reach these people?)
Timing: (When do you need the research results?)
Budget: (How much money do you have to spend on this study?)
Methodology: (What research methods will you use and why?)
Key Questions: (What questions do you want answered by the research?)
Key Roles & Responsibilities:
Driver- (Who is managing this project?)
Approvers- (Who needs to approve this project?)
Consulted- (Who needs to be consulted to help with the project?)
Informed- (Who needs to be kept informed?)
Vendor- (What market research vendor are you hiring to help?)
Purchase Experience Process Analysis:
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Aware |
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Purchase |
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Compare |
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Learn |
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how first
heard? brand image positioning/ USP |
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alternatives reviews &
articles features & benefits
pricing ease of use word of mouth |
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channel preferences &
expectations shopping habits impulse vs.
planned purchase triggers purchase
experience |
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Objective: Increase sales
by improving the purchase
decision process |
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all info sources most important info sources questions & concerns purchase objections demo/ trial |
Customer Insight over the Product Lifecycle:
Objective: Optimize development efforts by using customer input at each stage of the product lifecycle.
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Business Plan |
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Mkt
Requirements
Document |
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User
Specification
Document |
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Development |
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Alpha |
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Beta |
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Final Product Release |
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Product Launch |
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User
Studies |
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Customer Service Reports |
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Concept
Testing |
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Prospect Studies |
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Penetration/ Study Studies |
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Participatory Design |
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Press
Editor Feedback |
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Press
Reviews |
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Tech
Support Reports |
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Customer Suggestions |
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Usability Research |
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Alpha
Tester Feedback |
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Beta
Tester Feedback |
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Retail
Store Visits |
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Website
Usage Reports |
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Customer Profile:
demographics psychographics
behaviors needs how
compare to current customer segments |
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Reasons for Abandoning: stated reasons root causes preventable? |
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Prevention: how to prevent abandonment targeting ‘right’ customers Save/Winback Plan * response scripts based on reason * *try to fix problem via customer service try monetary offers (free month) |
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Objective: Maximize customer
retention by gaining a deep understanding of your abandoners |
About Suzanne Taylor
Suzanne Taylor is a marketing consultant who helps companies acquire more customers, create great products, and improve customer retention. Her area of expertise is building businesses through customer driven innovation. A member of Stanford University's faculty, she has taught four Customer Driven Innovation marketing classes through Stanford Continuing Studies and holds Stanford AB and MBA degrees. She co-authored a book titled Inside Intuit: How the Makers of Quicken Beat Microsoft and Revolutionized an Entire Industry published by Harvard Business School Press in 2003.
Taylor’s client list includes Intuit, Adobe, PayCycle, Yahoo!, Palm, Microsoft, and several high-tech startups. Taylor worked for Intuit, Inc. for eight years in a variety of marketing roles including Quicken product manager, customer insight, and corporate marketing. She also worked in brand management at the Clorox Company leading marketing efforts for Fresh Step cat litter and Formula 409 spray cleaner brands. Taylor has led product teams through the full product development life cycle and has managed all elements of the marketing mix, both online and offline. Symantec selected Inside Intuit for a company-wide management book club discussion in 2004. Taylor also served as acting VP of Marketing for NewTalk, Inc., a Silicon Valley based startup.
