Plugged In: The Brave New World of Customer-Centric

CONCLUSIONS PAPER

Plugged In: The Brave New World of Customer-Centric Manufacturing

Featuring:

Bob Parker, Vice President of Research at IDC Manufacturing Insights

Phil Hussey, President and Managing Partner at 89 Degrees

Wilson Raj, Global Director of Customer Intelligence at SAS

Insights from a webinar titled Getting to Know You: Why Manufacturers Are Getting Closer to Consumers

SAS Conclusions Paper

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Wired In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Manufacturing Maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Mature Marketing: The Move to Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Analyzing Data to Achieve Customer-Centric Marketing . . . . . . . . . . 4

Achieving Customer-Centered Marketing in Manufacturing . . . . . . . 5

Moving to Consumer Direct – Peacefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Justifying Social from a Business Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Getting More Precise with Customer Segmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Putting Data in Context with the Customer’s Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Closing Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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IntroductionManufacturers have traditionally stayed at arm’s length from consumers who use their products . While they’ve always captured some level of customer information from focus groups and product surveys, manufacturers have been primarily interested in maintaining close relationships with retailers and channel partners who sell their products rather than with consumers . Today this is all changing . Why?

Think of telematics as an example . The vehicles we drive today have hundreds of sensors that continuously capture data about performance and function . The navigation system captures data about where the vehicle is traveling as well as driving patterns . And there are interfaces that let consumers interact with all that data . “Like it or not, you’re plugged in,” said Wilson Raj, Global Director of Customer Intelligence at SAS . “Your product is plugged in, whether it’s a car or an ultrasound machine or a shoe .”

How should manufacturers respond to this influx of big data they’re receiving from digitally connected devices? According to Phil Hussey, President and Managing Partner at 89 Degrees, this world of data is ushering in the era of customer-centric manufacturing . Manufacturers must be prepared to put it to optimal use .

In the world of customer-centric manufacturing, said Hussey, manufacturers are going to start acting a lot more like retailers in terms of capturing data across the entire customer life cycle . That will range from influencing how a customer engages with the brand to collecting personal information from each individual customer and learning how he or she uses the product .

Wired InToday’s technology serves tens of billions of users, explained Bob Parker, Vice President of Research at IDC Manufacturing Insights . This “third platform” of technology, he said, is built on four pillars: mobile broadband, social business and social networking, cloud computing, and big data and analytics . The reach is massive when you consider not just all the consumers with mobile devices, but also their appliances and automobiles and many other products . It’s all wired in, said Parker – and that creates tremendous implications for the way manufacturers relate to consumers .

The good news, said Parker, is that manufacturers don’t have to be content to reach out to their consumers through partners anymore – now they can reach them directly . The bad news, he said, is that today’s consumers are so well-informed they may know almost as much about your products as you do .

2


According to IDC, the third platform is built on four pillars:1

• Mobile broadband. This refers to mobile devices for individuals as well as the bandwidth and networking enabled by fourth-generation wireless networking .

• Social business and social networking. With social platforms, manufacturers can reach consumers in the context of their lives, dramatically changing the nature of manufacturer-consumer relationships .

• Cloud computing. This technology creates economies of scale never seen before .

• Big data and analytics. Manufacturers can use the deluge of information they receive to better engage their consumers .

According to demographers, 30 percent of US households – known as the “graduate class” – have at least one college graduate . Consumers in the graduate class are very discerning and demanding, and they expect products to be tailored to their needs . This influential 30 percent represents nearly two-thirds of spending in the US . The other 70 percent are value shoppers who want certain features for the price, so they will shop around on the basis of price alone .

No matter which demographic group a manufacturer targets, said Parker, it’s important to recognize that all of today’s consumers are smart – highly informed, connected and resourceful .

How does success in a world like this look? “It’s all about being centered on the customer and using customer-centric marketing,” said Hussey .

Manufacturing MaturityOne way to understand where manufacturers stand in terms of marketing maturity is to compare them to retailers who have been in this game for a long time . Over the last 30 years, said Hussey, retailers have become expert at capturing customer data as well as using the data for analytics .

Manufacturers have just started to catch up, he said . As time goes on, manufacturers will have many more opportunities to know who their omnichannel (all channels at once) consumers are, and how they’re engaging with the brand . There’s also a unique opportunity for manufacturers to understand how consumers use their products .

Think of telematics in the automotive industry . The data that’s generated from vehicles’ sensors is just starting to be exploited by automotive manufacturers and others .

1 Source: IDC Predictions 2013: Competing on the 3rd Platform. Document 238044. November 2012.

3


For example, Progressive Snapshot is a user-based insurance that’s calculated on actual driving patterns . The driver attaches an accelerometer to his car, and it tracks exactly how he is driving . Based on that information, he pays an individualized insurance rate – not one based on a general cohort . This technique is revolutionizing the insurance world in terms of benefits to consumers, who stand to save a lot of money . While the approach raises some privacy issues, overall it’s a great opportunity for both consumers and manufacturers .

Nike+

Nike is a manufacturer of footwear and apparel . Yet consumers perceive the brand as one that helps them succeed in their athletic pursuits . Nike connects to consumers through Nike+, which offers a range of products consumers can use to connect digitally to the brand . For example, the Nike+ watch includes a GPS as well as a pace tracker, heart rate monitor, lap and interval marker, and more . Nike+ can even post to athletes’ Facebook profiles when they finish a workout . The valuable data Nike captures from consumers can be used in many ways, such as to customize products . The resulting network effect extends Nike’s brand influence across countless consumers .2

Mature Marketing: The Move to PrecisionWith traditional automotive advertising, manufacturers reached out to consumers through mass media like broadcast television . Does this approach work today? According to Parker, automotive manufacturers who still subscribe to traditional advertising methods may not achieve very balanced returns .

Manufacturers tend to see relatively balanced returns, he said, if they’ve been aggressive with things like search engine marketing and social media engagement . Such manufacturers see percentage increases in advertising that practically match increases in units sold . The reason, he suggests, is that they can capture and have a conversation with consumers at the time they’re ready to buy, as opposed to just when they happen to be watching a football game .

The point, Parker explained, is that it pays to have precision in your marketing . A five-phase marketing maturity model (developed by IDC’s retail insights group) shows that most manufacturers today – between 90 and 95 percent – are either at Phase 2 (convergence), or lower . This is the stage where they can look at messages across all channels, including call centers, physical contact points, social networking and the Web .

2 See nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/sport_watch/

http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/sport_watch/

4


A few manufacturers have moved to Stage 3 (precision), where they use omnichannel (all channels at once) commerce . These marketers can look at their messages from across all channels to become very precise . At this stage, he said, manufacturers know a good deal about their consumers, such as where they are in their life circumstances . As a result, they can accurately determine the next best offer to make .

3

Apple

Many consider Apple the pioneer of the connected digital experience . Apple’s Genius still represents a great example of how a manufacturer uses a simple, permission-based analysis of your iTunes® account with collaborative filtering so that it can recommend other music that you might enjoy . Everyone benefits . Consumers like it because they get exposure to music they might not have heard otherwise . Apple likes it because they sell more music on iTunes this way .3

Analyzing Data to Achieve Customer-Centric MarketingBeyond capturing data, manufacturers must figure out how to analyze and make use of their data, said Hussey . At 89 Degrees, he explained, the company developed a model to chart maturity . It’s called the “Pathway to Advanced Customer Engagement .” At the beginning stages, you simply optimize your marketing platforms . As you mature, you start to optimize and integrate channel data . Finally, you reach a point where you can optimize channel data at the consumer level, and then you start to use it for true customer engagement . “We find that a lot of manufacturing marketers are toward the lower end of the spectrum,” he added .

PROGRAMOPTIMIZATION

Who?

CHANNELOPTIMIZATION

How?

CUSTOMEROPTIMIZATION

What & When?

Increasing Customer Engagement

Incr

easi

ng D

ata

Leve

rag

e &

Imp

act

on

Pro

fit

CUSTOMERENGAGEMENT

ExperienceIntegration

Figure 1: The Pathway to Advanced Customer Engagement, from 89 Degrees.

3 Read more in this MIT article: technologyreview.com/view/419198/how-itunes-genius-really-works/.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/419198/how-itunes-genius-really-works/

5


Being able to analyze this data will become a source of competitive advantage, said Hussey . Like retailers, manufacturers will soon start to develop:

• Data-driven customer segmentations. By segmenting customers based on actual consumer data – particularly data gleaned from consumer behavior – manufacturers can better understand the attitudes behind the behaviors .

• Predictive models. These models will help manufacturers find new customers who match the profiles of their best customers .

• Communication optimization algorithms. With sophisticated algorithms, manufacturers can identify the best times and channels to use for communicating with customers .

“For many reasons, I’d argue that manufacturers are in an even better position to ultimately capture and use customer data than retailers are,” said Hussey . “Because they will capture a higher quantity and quality of data directly from the products their consumers use .”

4

Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig processes and delivers food to consumers . But the company has wrapped itself around the consumer’s goal of achieving weight loss and nutrition . It offers a multitude of value-added solutions, like precision portions and applications and calorie trackers . The company has transformed what could have been a commodity business – and it has engendered tremendous customer loyalty along the way . 4

Achieving Customer-Centered Marketing in ManufacturingBased on the marketing maturity model and the presence of third-platform technologies, said Raj, manufacturers should strive to attain four main objectives .

• A single-customer view. Because of the empowered consumer, there’s a transparency between consumers and manufacturers today . Manufacturers no longer have to be removed from their customers through their various channels .

• Personalization and relevance. Gone are the days when you could rely on mass marketing (when you didn’t know what happened with about 50 percent of your advertising) . While advertising is good for brand awareness, manufacturers need to figure out how to personalize it, and how to create advertising that reaches and meets the needs of individual customers . Better yet, they need to be able to anticipate their needs .

4 Read about Jenny Craig: http://www.jennycraig.com/

“For many reasons, I’d argue

that manufacturers are in

an even better position to

ultimately capture and use

customer data than retailers

are. Because they will capture

a higher quantity and quality of

data directly from the products

their consumers use.”

Phil HusseyPresident and Managing Partner at 89 Degrees

http://www.jennycraig.com/

6


• Real-time responses. Many of today’s decisions are made in the social sphere through recommendation engines based on word-of-mouth reviews . And the customer’s “purchase” life cycle happens in real time . Manufacturers must be able to react to that immediately .

• Marketing effectiveness and efficiency. In a traditional life cycle, customers follow a clear path: discover, explore, buy or purchase, and engage . How can you use data and analytics to move customers to where you want them to be in the life cycle? Marketers must ask if their campaigns or touch points or engagements are effective in terms of cost to serve, options, budget, workflow, etc . Because the customer’s lifetime axis today is all about marketing effectiveness and impact on the customer – along with maintaining intimacy and a 360-degree view .

By evaluating its customers to determine how they use analytics, SAS has found common analytics and marketing goals that resonate with four different phases of the customer life cycle: discover, explore, buy and engage .

• Discover phase: Use analytics to reach the right prospects. At this stage, acquisition models (for example) can help you determine lifetime value, customer risk, customer propensity to buy, etc . One leading PC manufacturer uses “enriched” data from campaigns and call centers in different acquisition models to determine what kinds of laptops or PCs are most viable for each customer .

CustomerJourney Stage

DISCOVER Profile customers Segmentation

Evaluate prospects Lead scoring

Reach right prospects Acquisition models

Goal Analytics

Figure 2: The Discover phase.

• Explore stage: Use analytics to optimize and test your marketing. With analytics and data, you can mirror market behaviors and test hypotheses, either in a small segment or in a small region . Then you can start optimizing what your messages and offers should be .

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EXPLORE Analyze customer response Offer/contact optimization

Optimize marketing mix Marketing mix modeling

Test marketing A/B, multivariate testing

Goal Analytics

Figure 3: The Explore phase.

• Buy stage: Use analytics to gauge what to do next. Segmentation valuation models and next-best-action models can help you predict a customer’s future behavior to target him accurately and personalize marketing to his individual expectations .


BUY Predict future behavior Propensity models

Target accuratelySegmentation, valuation models

Personalize marketing Next best action models

Goal Analytics

Figure 4: The Buy phase.

• Engage stage: Use analytics to engage your customers and keep them coming back for more. This is an opportunity for manufacturers to align with retailers, and to engage customers using loyalty models or voice-of-customer analysis so they can ask what else the customers want . What are the customers’ sentiments toward my brand or product, or toward their channel or dealers?

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ENGAGEExpand breadth of customer interactions Cross-sell/upsell

Increase depth of customer interactions Loyalty models

Incorporate customer feedback

Manage customer attrition/defection

Maximize customer value

Churn/attrition models

Lifetime value models

Voice of customer analysis

Goal Analytics

Figure 5: The Engage phase.

For success, Raj explained, make your marketing process both marketing- and customer-aware, and put analytics at the center of the process . Consider how you’re planning for your marketing, how you’re using information analytics, how you’re orchestrating interactions and, finally, how you’re managing the customer experience . Are you capturing it in real time and in a personalized manner so you can cycle back through the loop again?

“The important thing in marketing is that I’m making a brand promise,” said Parker . “If I don’t execute against that process and fulfill that promise, it’s an empty promise . So in addition to marketing technology, manufacturers need to think about how to fulfill – in an onmichannel way . How do I make sure the consumer gets what he wants when he wants it, in a reliable way? It’s a much larger platform that has to be connected . Being customer-centric isn’t just about tailoring the message . It’s tailoring my whole business .”

Moving to Consumer Direct – PeacefullyThe lines between manufacturer and retailer are blurred today . And that presents a range of potential channel conflicts for manufacturers, said Parker . Consider consumer products like groceries . It’s hard to distinguish whether a grocery store has become its own manufacturer, because there’s so much private label in the market . And most cities have an outlet mall with stores where apparel manufacturers sell actual products – so they’ve become retailers, too . These are examples of an essentially peaceful coexistence .

There are other manufacturers you wouldn’t think of as being consumer industries . Take Boeing or Airbus . They’ve invested a lot of money in understanding how people want to fly and how much they want to pay, said Parker, and they’re trying to tailor their products accordingly . That’s more of a partnership between manufacturer and retailer, because there isn’t a lot of conflict there . It’s not as if Boeing is going to start selling seats on airplanes .

“Being customer-centric isn’t

just about tailoring the message.

It’s tailoring my whole business.”

Bob Parker Vice President of Research at IDC Manufacturing Insights

9


It’s the middle ground that gets more contentious, he said . Consider a dealer network that has traditionally controlled the consumer experience but perhaps hasn’t added a lot of value otherwise . There can be some degree of channel conflict in this arena . But even here, he said, there is movement toward partnerships and an understanding that to be successful, precision marketing needs to be a shared effort .

“The idea, I would hope, is to keep the customer at the center of the equation,” said Hussey . “The focus needs to stay on competitive advantage and how to connect to consumers in an appropriate way while at the same time having a relationship with the retail channel – if there is one – or with other channel partners .

“But I don’t think any of that should prevent a manufacturer from establishing an ongoing relationship with its consumers . I think there are many ways to potentially collaborate between the two, and it’s going to continue to evolve .”

There are many channel opportunities that can be mutually beneficial, he added . For example, a retailer may have a website with products from different manufacturers (say appliances) . If you track that Web behavior, you’ll know if a consumer recently viewed a certain product . With this information, manufacturers can put together – and fund – a program to put the right offer in front of the right person at the right time . So there’s an opportunity to share data both ways, to reach those kinds of objectives .

Justifying Social from a Business PerspectiveThere is sometimes a rush for businesses to be on Facebook or Twitter without a lot of necessary consideration, said Parker . But being uncool is not a business problem, as one of his colleagues likes to say . The business justification for social revolves around conversion rates, said Parker . How well are you converting that interaction into a sale?

The dilemma, he added, is that social isn’t necessarily a platform for commerce; it’s a platform for communities . “Your investment should be in understanding the sentiment in social networks . You need to understand what’s being said about you and engage the community in a meaningful way, with the understanding that you’re getting the conversion rates down the road,” said Parker . “But you won’t necessarily get a transaction right now .”

“The key is to focus more on the goal – the customer’s goal first – and not think about social,” added Raj . “Don’t plug your business into social . Plug social into your business . Identify a particular goal along the journey, whether it’s awareness, buying or engagement . And then ask the question from a social perspective . ‘Is this platform viable? Are the data and the interactions in that social environment going to be primary to my decision making and the customer’s value?’ You can use social not so much as an ROI measure, but directionally . Is it pointing you in the right direction financially in terms of your marketing investment?”

“The focus needs to stay on

competitive advantage and how

to connect to consumers in an

appropriate way while at the

same time having a relationship

with the retail channel – if there

is one – or with other channel

partners.”


“Don’t plug your business into

social. Plug social into your

business.”

Wilson Raj Global Director of Customer Intelligence at SAS

10


The biggest opportunity with social media, said Raj, lies in collecting customer sentiment and preferences . You can get a much richer view of the customer by using analytic techniques to mine those things and combine them with corporate data – such as transactional data, purchase data, attrition and call center notes . And with predictive modeling, you can ask what this group will look like in the future . What are some of the emerging groups? What are some of the hot topics in the social sphere related to my brand?

Even in the oil and gas industry, said Raj, manufacturers are mining social media data around brand sentiment and green environmental topics . They’re asking things like “How is my brand resonating with this? Which people are passionate about this? How do we engage with those people?”

Don’t forget, Parker added, “Manufacturers should monitor social networks for what’s being said about their competitors . It’s not just sentiment about you that matters – but sentiment about your competitors .”

Getting More Precise with Customer SegmentationMany manufacturers have a growing interest in and focus on more precise consumer segmentation, said Raj . Certainly that means working through their channels, or their dealers . But it also means wanting to have more customer insight, because ultimately that’s going to feed back into their own product innovation and product needs .

For example, the data from telematics in the automotive industry are going to be the basis of designs for future model years . In the trucking industry, manufacturers consider warranty analytics and parts returns in terms of not just how much money they can save, but why a part is being returned in the first place . What are the conditions? Who’s using it? Customer insight that’s fed back to manufacturers not only can make warranty programs better – it can also improve parts .

Manufacturers grasp the principles of precise customer segmentation, said Parker . “But right now, most are in a ‘whack-a-mole’ situation . My sense is they’re investing in the technology, and they’re running these uncontrolled experiments with the whack-a-mole . They may hit it once, but there’s very little repeatability .” The manufacturers that have been more successful, he said, are the ones who have been willing to blow up their historical segmentations .

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Coca-Cola

One manufacturer that has been willing to break out of its traditional molds is Coca-Cola . It has placed machines at quick-service restaurants that allow kids to mix different sodas together – something kids call a “suicide drink .” Through sensors in the drink machines, some of the combinations are reported back to the home office . Coca-Cola uses that information to identify the most popular combinations and proportions . Now they’re formulating new sodas from that information .5

Putting Data in Context with the Customer’s LifeWhen developing segments, explained Hussey, recognize that your business should have multiple segments that change over time, depending on the consumer’s relationship with the brand . Most important, he added, you should base your segments on actual consumer data .

“Our experience is that if you base segmentation on attitudes, it’s impossible to find those consumers . If you base it on behaviors, then you can find those consumers . So our approach is to understand behaviors and then understand the attitudes that drive those behaviors . That’s the best foundation for segmentation .”

The behavioral component is critical, agreed Raj . “During my experience in the medical device industry, the ultrasound devices had sensors in them that showed how the devices were used, what parts needed servicing, and why . That was all connected to the network and everything was plugged into a laptop . Over the life of these diagnostic imaging devices, you could see usage by sonographers and even patient information . That data was used to help manufacturers understand some of the behaviors that could be applied to break/fix scenarios . It was also used to improve the product, and it provided insights to develop better training for users and a better user experience .”

Start with your value proposition when you’re trying to become more customer-centric, said Hussey . Whether it’s small or large, there is a value proposition for every product . Part of finding it revolves around capturing data – but it also involves analyzing data, in context .

Think about paint . Today consumers use augmented-reality applications to see how paint would look in a certain room . For paint manufacturers, the data from this paint application can help them learn a lot about their consumers – such as their preferences and their reasons for taking certain actions . “Whatever your value proposition is, and whoever your consumer is, you should start with that and ask: ‘What does this customer need?’ Then you can figure out how to respond to that and capture data at the same time,” said Hussey .

5 Learn more in this interview: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/driving-the-top-line-with-technology-an-interview-with-cokes-chief-information-officer

“Our approach is to understand

behaviors and then understand

the attitudes that drive those

behaviors. That’s the best

foundation for segmentation.”


http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/driving-the-top-line-with-technology-an-interview-with-cokes-chief-information-officer

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/driving-the-top-line-with-technology-an-interview-with-cokes-chief-information-officer

12


Going beyond the value proposition, said Parker, it’s important to put it all in context . Parker gave an example . “I can remember my father pointing at the curtains in our kitchen and saying ‘Those curtains cost me $20,000 .’ The reason was that it started with changing the curtains, but that changed the room’s color scheme, and then we needed to change the cabinets, the appliances and finally the paint .

“You have to understand the context of the life events,” Parker elaborated . “Can I pick up signals from things in social networking that trigger me to know that now is the time to make that paint offer? For example, if you know that a customer recently changed her bedding, you’ll know that she probably wants it to match her paint .”

Closing ThoughtsIn a utopian society, analytics would be infused across the life cycle of a customer-centric manufacturing platform . But manufacturers tend to focus on awareness, said Raj: good advertising, good brand awareness – and not enough on the engagement side .

Manufacturers should listen to the signals they get . What is the context? “Don’t just look at it from your product perspective – look at it from a lifecycle perspective and in terms of engagement,” said Raj . “Are there clues, signals that indicate you have an opportunity not just to sell, but to engage and provide value in a customer’s life?

“Don’t think about finding the best analytics for the right phase . Instead, think about your culture and organization . Are you ready, mentally and competency-wise, to make that change? And it doesn’t matter if you’re not, because there’s always a starting point .” Start with something small, he explained, and then bring in other departments that have customer information – customer service, retail, warranty and parts . “If you start connecting culturally,” said Raj, “the analytics will follow .”

Parker shared more advice for those moving to customer-centric manufacturing . Modeling is something manufacturers have to come to grips with, he said, especially in information technology . Systems engineers by training, IT groups in manufacturing tend to break down workflows into their component parts, and then build them back up in the classic V-shaped system engineering fashion . “You can’t do that with this,” he said . “This is a predictive model that you need to interact with . You need to model the behavior as opposed to trying to create a system to capture everything that you might want to do .”

Once you have the model, he said, think in terms of experimentation . The manufacturers that are proving more effective with customer-centric approaches are those that are willing to have fast failures . Think of e-commerce where you make one offer to one consumer and a different offer to a second consumer – and then you ask which one has the greater uptick . Then you can create some momentum behind the one that’s proving to be more successful .

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“Manufacturers aren’t all of a sudden going to become driven by analytics,” said Hussey . “But a step in that direction would be to make sure you have a consumer intelligence function that’s legitimately focused beyond survey research to doing actual data analytics wherever the data exists today . Then you can develop a road map of where it should exist tomorrow – because it’s here to stay .”

Learn more

Learn more about SAS® Customer Intelligence solutions at: sas.com/ci

Read the latest from IDC Manufacturing Insights.

Find out more about 89Degrees.

http://www.sas.com/software/customer-intelligence/index.html

http://www.idc-mi.com/home.jsp;jsessionid=5F7C98F8C8CA649786CA413F60F440B4

http://www.89degrees.com/

SAS Institute Inc. World Headquarters +1 919 677 8000To contact your local SAS office, please visit: sas.com/offices

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2013, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. 106425_S112129_0713

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Documents

Plugged In: The Brave New World of Customer-Centric