Читать книгу Orchestrating Experiences - Chris Risdon - Страница 17

The concept of channels is just that—a concept. Channels help functions and support reaching a company’s objectives—from marketing to operations to products.

This is where the challenge rears its ugly head again. Channel specialists, working in isolation, lack an overarching view of what customers will experience in other channels. They see their channel as the primary (if not only) point of customer interaction, not as one of many possible enablers for meeting customers’ needs.

Put another way, defining channels as destinations obfuscates their supporting role of enabling and facilitating customer moments in different contexts. A customer shopping in a physical store while using her mobile phone to talk with her spouse and comparison price-check via an app does not represent three separate users in three different channels. She is a single person in a decision moment in which each channel can help or hinder her experience.

When a passenger books a ride with a ride-sharing service, she receives a confirmation message. This message can be delivered by text, push notification, within the application, or via a phone call from the driver. Each option, delivered via a channel, supports what really matters—the passenger knows the car is on its way (see Figure 1.7).

FIGURE 1.7 Multiple channels can deliver a confirmation message. Which channels are used by a customer depends upon their needs, context, and the capabilities of their mobile device.

Viewing channels as serving customer moments can empower you and your team to work backward from customer needs to which channel(s) will best facilitate meeting those needs. Instead of starting with one channel—digital—start with your customers’ needs, context, and journey. What role could print, mobile, web, environment, voice, or people play to support those needs? Can you combine channels in interesting ways? Can you build bridges between channels that help customers move forward easily?

And, most importantly, how do these channels support great customer moments?