Winning with Customers

Integrated Marketing and its Effectiveness

According to a 200-brand research project at the Centre for Integrated Marketing into what drives customer experience and business profitability, just 6 key leverage actions account for 50% of the customer experience that drives business profits.

These results come from a major 18-month survey by Professor Angus Jenkinson and the team at the Centre for Integrated Marketing and make fascinating reading. Participating brands received advance feedback and personal benchmark results.

The research identified 5 key customer experience features as key, plus 4 main business and marketing competencies that determine this experience. 6 key leverage actions account for 50% of customer experience.

Only 13% of UK companies, or one in eight, achieve an overall “strong” rating on Customer Excellence

• Only 13% of UK companies, or one in eight, achieve an overall strong rating at delivering a great customer experience
• Just 12% of UK companies are strong at 'Living the Brand', and one in six at 'Marketing Optimisation'
• Only 7% are strong at 'Customer Knowledge Management'

• Only one in eight brands are strong at 'Optimising Communication'
• 6 empirical performance factors - the leverage actions - determine 50% of customer experience and only 6% of British comapnies are on average strong across these factors

The data shows that most companies have significant opportunities to make easily-identified, targeted improvements that would prove very effective in improving business performance.

The analysis of the data shows you can identify how effective your company or brand is at managing key leverage factors that win with customers. And then move to get better. That’s a big breakthrough. By benchmarking against the leverage points correlated with success, leaders can create a tailored action plan to deliver the goods. By contrast, CRM and other researchers, including the excellent work by the QCi team, have reported real difficulties in identifying robust relationships between practice and business performance.

Your report: how do you compare?

If you wish you can apply to have your own report. It will show how you do against the key factors benchmarked against a cross-section of major UK brands and agencies, like those in the column. Particpating companies can have an in-depth analysis and then co-design an action plan to achieve or strengthen leadership. Just email for details or find out more about the ID tool.