Accelerating Customer Journeys

Customer experience has never been as vital to a brand’s success as it is today.

In fact, research shows that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. By 2020, customer experience is expected to be the key brand differentiator among consumers leaving price and product behind.

No one knows this better than Nicholas Kontopoulos, Head of Commercial DX Marketing at Magento Commerce, the leading e-commerce platform. With more than 20 years experience in the industry, Nicholas has always been a CX evangelist and passionate about putting customers at the heart of a brand.

GETTING CX RIGHT TAKES WORK

Even though omnichannel was a hot topic, Nicholas realised there was substantial FUD around its practical application within organisations. Putting the customers’ needs first as opposed to selling to them required thinking and operating differently. From the C-level down to customer-facing teams, decision-making now needed to focus on the customer. Business silos had their own operational structures, processes, and technology. Breaking down these silos and developing new capabilities around People, Process and Technology to deliver a differentiated, personalised experience seemed highly intimidating.

Having led several digital transformation projects, Nicholas began looking for ways to share his expertise and knowledge.

A TEAM EFFORT

As the producer of these webinars, Maryel Roman-Price, Field Commerce Marketing Manager, was instrumental in bringing the series to life.

Acting as the enthusiastic bridge between Magento and PaperplaneCo, she ensured each webinar covered multiple viewpoints in an engaging way. Whether it was finding and coordinating speakers and panelists, getting statistics or information about the webinar platform, or providing deeper insights into who our audience is, she made the most out of our content by promoting the series across new and established audiences.

CREATING ACTIONABLE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The question we asked ourselves was: how could we help break down a vast and evolving topic like CX transformation into digestible, practical knowledge? How could we instill in the audience the confidence to make the shift?

Piecemeal resources such as research papers, blog posts and webinars on the omnichannel experience are freely available across the web. What we wanted to create was a series of webinars, much like a TV series, that would serve as a complete guide towards developing and implementing an omni-channel CX strategy.

The Magento Accelerator Webinar series, would help companies understand their customers’ needs, and use that knowledge to plan and optimise their buying journey. Retailers would then be able to provide a seamless, personalised experience to their shoppers across channels, keeping them coming back for more.

DESIGNING WITH THE CUSTOMER IN MIND

Nicholas was single-minded about the audience: mid-market enterprises, and later stage SMEs who were looking for an e-commerce platform to further their business growth.

Having a clear idea of the audience was crucial. Without this clarity, the webinar would need to appeal to a broad audience and lose its purpose to deliver meaningful content.

We broke down the webinar series to address each stage of the customer journey to enable the audience to step into the shoes of their customer. Each episode explored what the customer is thinking, doing and feeling, together with strategies on how to tip them into the next stage.

FINDING THE STORY IN THE FACTS

We knew that the knowledge we had to share could have a big impact on how businesses approach e-commerce, but we were also aware that we were offering a new perspective and the information could become quite dense.

Content strategist, Tim Marsh, enjoys challenges like this because he believes complexity can seem simple when delivered in the right order. “Developing each episode starts with a deep dive into the customer psychology, and how that’s being met in the marketplace. At first the bulk and variety of concepts can be almost overwhelming. Then when it begins to crystallise and become clear, I get this rush of enthusiasm. It becomes like a revelation that I can’t wait to share.”

Asked if this is what he likes about his role, he replied, “Having your work really appreciated by people such as Nicholas and Maryel who certainly know their stuff, and then seeing them turn it into so much more when delivered, that’s what keeps me interested.”

MERGING PERSONALITY WITH INFORMATION

Nicholas is a natural thought leader and host for the series because he has a genuine passion for optimising every customer experience. His charisma is born of a desire to really help people. We worked to capture this instinctive ability while providing structure and supporting research for his content. To achieve this, we share many engaging conversations with him, and then work his patterns of speech into the script. This results in a smooth and confident delivery of material that Nicholas relates in his own words.

Using visual storytelling tools, each episode is designed to be engaging and energising with plenty of audience participation. To make the series relatable and interactive, we incorporate fireside chats, polls, and audience Q&A. We also examine useful tools, and use real-world case studies and success stories to translate theory into hands-on practical action.

IT PAYS TO BE INVESTED IN YOUR CUSTOMERS

From the beginning, we wanted to create not just a webinar but a whole learning universe. Apart from the webinar, Magento’s Accelerator Series also offers the audience opportunities to view Demos On Demand, participate in live events, workshops and self-assessments.

The Q&A session is highly interactive, with members from the audience peppering Nicholas and guest speakers with questions and sharing their own experiences. The active participation in polls is evidence of a high-quality, highly-engaged audience.

Almost in its second season, the webinar has been well-received with 500 viewers registering for its first episode and an average of 290 registrations taking place per episode. On average, each episode is attended by about 100 participants.

While the audience’s attendance speaks for itself, every new lead generated through the series is an opportunity for Magento to continue the conversation and nurture prospects on their customer journey.