Former US Chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide, and widely respected authority on business strategy Robert H. Bloom, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about his visionary and results oriented book The New Experts Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers at Their 4 Decisive Moments.
Robert H. Bloom describes the revolution that has been taking place in buyer behavior that has placed the customer in control of the marketplace.
Thanks to Robert Bloom for his time, and for his interesting and thought provoking answers.
What was the background to writing this book The New Experts Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers at Their 4 Decisive Moments?
Robert Bloom: The background to writing the book is my background in the business trenches – as an ambitious entrepreneur in my family’s Dallas ad agency and as USA CEO of Publicis Worldwide, one of the 4 largest global marketing services firms.
In this context, I had the opportunity to observe and learn from business leaders with demonstrated success. Along the way, I discovered that:
A “disciplined, imaginative strategy” is the single most essential element in business success
Looking “around the corner” – rather than just looking ahead – is the single most important characteristic of highly successful business leaders
In my first book, The Inside Advantage, I provide an uncomplicated way to create a “disciplined, imaginative growth strategy”. From my experience with companies of every size and type, I found that every business has an undiscovered or underutilized strategic asset that – when identified and strengthened - will generate business growth with little or no investment. I offer growth-challenged companies an easy-to-use, four-step process to capitalize on its uncommon strategic asset - its Inside Advantage.
In The New Experts, I attempt to look “around the corner” by revealing the emergence of a new generation of internet-empowered customers and describing the serious damage these aggressive, often-ruthless “new experts” are inflicting on businesses everywhere. I emphasize that future generations will have access to far more advanced technology and be far more adept in using this technology for their personal or business benefit. I encourage business leaders to confront this dangerous problem by aligning their entire organization behind the creation of Customer Preference.
You write that business people mistakenly consider their economic challenges are related to the overall economy and an evolving global marketplace. You point to a deeper and more permanent change. What is this change and why is it important?
Robert Bloom: This change is the profound transformation of “customer purchasing behavior”; it is the result of three recent developments:
1. Instant access to unlimited information on the internet;
2. Vast choice of goods and services in every category of commerce and from every corner of the globe;
3. The introduction of mobile technology that enables customers to compare the attributes, including price, of all competitive offerings at the time and place of purchase on ever-more-powerful hand-held devices.
Why has no one noticed this revolution in buyer behavior before?
Robert Bloom: I believe that many sellers, marketers, and business authorities noticed the change in customer behavior, but were reluctant to explore it, understand its origin, or write about it, because they thought it was merely a manifestation of the persistent recession – a temporary, inconsequential, controversial, and risky issue to address. On the contrary, I believe this change in customer purchasing behavior is permanent, irreversible, consequential, and while controversial, the bigger risk is not to explore it, not to reveal its origin, and simply allow the business world to suffer its consequences.
Robert H. Bloom (photo left)
How has the internet changed buyer behavior in ways that has given consumers much more control of the market?
Robert Bloom: This has been and will continue to be a sequence of changes:
The internet gave customers a way to communicate.
The search engine gave customers access to invaluable information that was previously the exclusive province of marketers and sellers
New technology and the rapid introduction of an enormous variety of apps gave customers the ability and authority to use the information concerning products and services for their personal or business benefit.
The recession gave customers the necessity and urgency to use their new power to negotiate for price concessions, freebies, and service deals – a customer habit that will not cease when the economy improves – a way of buying that will endure, intensify, and become a habitual customer behavior.
Social media gave customers a way to share and compare their purchasing experiences instantly with millions of other interested people around the world, effectively exposing sellers to both favorable and unfavorable customer experiences, real or perceived.
QR codes – like the one on the back of my book jacket - and the next generation transmission codes that will soon enable customers to compare, negotiate, and buy direct from the manufacturer or service provider. Customers will use their ever-newer hand held device to scan codes embedded in TV commercials and print advertisements at home or on their hand-held screens anywhere, anytime. This development will eliminate “middlemen” such as dealers, distributors, and retailers or permanently change the role of “middlemen” (example: car dealers will cease to be sellers and instead, become customer care specialists).
What has happened to brand and company loyalty because of this revolution?
Robert Bloom: “Customer loyalty”, long in decline, has virtually disappeared. Here are just two startling examples of this fundamental alteration in customer behavior:
• In 2009, only 20 percent of car buyers were brand loyal, compared to 80 percent in the 1980s, according to CNW Marketing Research (Bill Vlasic, “For Car Buyers, the Brand Romance Is Gone,” New York Times, October 20, 2009).
(What an incredible opportunity for those former car dealers to become “customer care specialists” where they can create Customer Preference and reverse the negative trend in purchase behavior).
• In 2009, only 36 percent of business travelers claimed that they were brand loyal, compared to 42 percent in 2007, according to Forrester Research (“In Pursuit of Loyalty, New York Times, December 1, 2009).
You describe four decisive moments in the consumer buying process. What are these four points and why are they critical for companies to understand?
Robert Bloom: The Four Decisive Moments in every purchasing progression are:
1. The Now-or-Never Moment—first brief contact
2. The Make-or-Break Moment—lengthy transaction process
3. The Keep-or Lose Moment—customer’s continued usage
4. The Multiplier Moment—highly profitable repeat purchase, advocacy, referral
Companies must understand these Decisive Customer Moments because they are sequential and co-dependent. If sellers fail to win prospects at the Now-or-Never Moment and the two successive Moments, they will not reach the Multiplier Moment where they will benefit from highly profitable re-purchase, advocacy, and referral.
Can the four customer decision making points be turned into a positive and competitive advantage for a company that is paying attention to this shift in consumer empowerment?
Robert Bloom: When buyers no longer care where they buy, “Customer Preference” is the only differentiator – the only way sellers can become their customers’ 1st Choice
Customer Preference, from the customer’s perspective, is deliberately making a choice - deciding from whom or where to purchase in order to obtain a valued benefit. Here is how a customer might explain his or her way of selecting a vendor:
“My preference is based on how good you are at meeting my wants, needs, and aspirations and reducing my apprehensions, concerns, and fears. I have many choices, and I will decide where to buy after looking at all of my options. Given all of my options and all of the factors in my purchase decision, I prefer you”
Think of Customer Preference in terms of the specific advantages it offers sellers:
The buyer will go a little out of his or her way to buy from the seller
The buyer will be willing to pay just a bit more for the seller’s products or services
The buyer will buy from the seller without always demanding a bid or a discount
The buyer will buy from the seller more frequently
The buyer will be slightly more tolerant when the seller’s staff
fouls-up
Individually, these benefits may not make or break the seller, but collectively they will be the fundamental difference between growing and declining in today’s fiercely competitive world.
“I Prefer You!” These three words give sellers a potent advantage over their competitors – they make the seller 1st Choice.
Specifically, how can business leaders utilize this knowledge to enhance their relationship with their customers to create long-term loyalty, referrals, and brand evangelists; and how can customers be engaged without incurring added costs to the company?
Robert Bloom: Embracing Customer Preference does not require a wholesale rethink of the business plan nor does it require investment in infrastructure or advertising. Sellers can create Customer Preference with big ideas and small ideas. However, sellers must align their entire organization behind the mission of creating Customer Preference consistently at each of the Four Decisive Moments, customer-after-customer and day-after-day.
What is the first step a company must take to become leaders in this new experts revolution?
Robert Bloom: Business leaders must first recognize that the New Experts are a reality – that this change in customer purchase behavior is permanent, irreversible, urgent, and very dangerous.
What is next for Robert Bloom?
Robert Bloom: I hope to continue to be a vocal advocate of disciplined, imaginative business strategy and the increasingly critical need to “look around the corner” in a business world where the velocity of change will demand constant anticipation, preparation, and invention.
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My book review of The New Experts Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers at Their 4 Decisive Moments by Robert H. Bloom.
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