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Customer-centric CRM
The success of a CRM strategy hinges on a nuanced understanding of customer behaviour. How can marketers shape a robust and customer-centric CRM strategy? In this article, Kristoffer Rolfsson, Senior International CRM Manager Northern Europe at TIER Mobility (a Berlin-based e-scooter company, recognised as the world’s largest shared mobility provider), ventures beyond the surface of conventional CRM wisdom to delve into certain key aspects to consider in designing a customer-centric contemporary CRM strategy.
Elevating CRM Strategies by Understanding, Adapting, and Innovating
A well-crafted CRM strategy holds a significance equal to, if not greater than, a company’s goals and visions. While setting objectives is crucial, the way a company communicates with its customers—when, how, and why—ultimately shapes the customer’s perception of the entire business. Thus, crafting a CRM strategy that not only captures attention but fosters meaningful connections assumes great significance.
Here are the important aspects that Kristoffer highlighted for crafting an effective customer-centric CRM Strategy:
1. Understanding why Customers Share their Information
In the era of GDPR, every CRM manager must introspectively inquire: Why do we possess this customer information? What prompted them to grant us communication rights? Was it a pre-checked tick box, a desire for offers, news, or something else? Businesses can’t just assume that customers want everything and feed them everything every day. Instead, a strategic and thoughtful approach to delivering tailored content is imperative.
Here are some of the reasons why it is important for marketers to understand why customers share their information:
Building Trust and Credibility
By comprehending the reasons behind information sharing, marketers can tailor their communication to build trust and credibility, ultimately strengthening the brand-consumer relationship.
Enhanced Customer Experiences
Whether through personalised product recommendations, tailored content, or optimised user interfaces, understanding customer motivations for sharing information enhances the overall quality of interactions.
2. Focusing on Relevance over Personalisation
Kristoffer emphasised that one of the cornerstones of marketing is relevance and hence it is important to focus on relevance rather than only on personalisation. Elaborating on how they try to achieve relevance at TIER, Kristoffer explained that they analyse usage patterns to identify peak hours, commuter habits and shopping preferences. This data informs TIER’s segmentation strategies, allowing them to tailor their services for maximum relevance.
For example, consider a user who typically relies on public transport for commuting to work and occasionally uses TIER. In the event of a public transport strike, TIER can detect such users who suddenly increase their TIER usage. This indicates a shift in their transportation habits. To address their potential commute challenges during disruptions, TIER can proactively reach out to those who don’t usually utilise TIER, offering them an alternative mobility solution.
Here are the ways in which marketers can achieve relevance over personalisation:
Contextual Understanding
Understanding the contextual relevance of messages by considering the timing, location, and situational factors that might influence a customer’s needs or preferences and aligning content with the customer’s current context.
Behavioural Analysis and Intent Prediction
By leveraging tools like website analytics, purchase history, and user interactions, marketers can anticipate what a customer is likely interested in without relying solely on explicit personal data.
3. Focusing on the Next-Best Action, not the Previous Action
Kristoffer argues that dynamic content should foresee the next step and not just summarise the previous one. If a customer has just bought a Nike sweater, why populate the entire app with sweaters – that’s not going to be the customer’s next step, as that was their previous step. Marketers need to upsell, cross-sell and educate, not repeat the same behaviour.
Here is how marketers can focus on the next-best action instead of the previous action:
Real-Time Data Analysis
By dynamically assessing customer interactions, behaviours, and feedback in real-time, marketers can identify the next-best action that is most relevant to the customer’s immediate needs and preferences.
Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning
By incorporating these technologies, marketers can move beyond the limitations of analysing past actions. With a forward-looking approach, they can proactively recommend actions that are likely to resonate with customers in the future.
4. Taking a Granular Segmentation Approach
Kristoffer compared the process of segmentation to mitosis – one cell becomes two cells, two cells become four cells, etc. He advises marketers to start small, iterate, and analyse. He said – Don’t start with 10 segments just because you have the data. You’re less likely to reach significance that way. Start with two segments. Then, based on the behaviour within those segments, split them into four. Sometimes you see trends within those segments based on which you can further create six or eight segments.
Here are two important ways in which marketers can approach granular segmentation:
Behavioural Segmentation
Categorising customers based on their actions, interactions, and engagement with the brand. This approach goes beyond demographics and focuses on understanding how customers behave, such as their purchase history, website interactions, and responses to marketing campaigns.
Preference and Interest Surveys
They allow marketers to delve into nuanced aspects of customer preferences. Marketers can then create granular segments based on unique characteristics and desires. This method not only provides valuable insights but also empowers marketers to tailor their strategies to meet the distinct needs of each segment.
5. Challenging A/B Testing
Kristoffer dares marketers to challenge best practices like A/B testing. He argues that why only test two variants every time, spending weeks figuring out which one is better? He advises testing all variants at the same time and seeing the best-performing ones right away. It’s like having a group stage vs a play-off in sports, letting them all face each other and then in the end see who wins.
Here are the reasons why marketers should think beyond A/B testing:
Limited Insights into Complex Customer Behaviour
As customer interactions involve more than binary choices, understanding the nuances of customer preferences, engagement patterns, and the impact of multiple variables requires methodologies that can capture a broader spectrum of customer responses.
Dynamic and Evolving Customer Preferences
A/B testing often provides a snapshot of performance under specific conditions. Marketers should challenge A/B testing to explore more adaptive and continuous testing approaches that are agile enough to adapt to changing customer preferences.
About TIER Mobility
TIER Mobility is the world’s leading shared micro-mobility provider, with a mission to Change Mobility for Good. By providing people with a range of shared, light electric vehicles, from e-scooters to e-bikes, TIER helps cities reduce their dependence on cars. Founded in 2018 by Lawrence Leuschner, Matthias Laug and Julian Blessin, TIER is headquartered in Berlin and currently operates in 260+ cities across 22 countries in Europe and the Middle East. With a focus on providing the safest, most equitable and most sustainable mobility solution, TIER has been climate-neutral since 2020.
Kristoffer’s Journey into CRM
Kristoffer’s professional journey commenced at Nelly.com, a prominent e-commerce player in the Nordic region where he primarily engaged in graphic design, copywriting, creating marketing campaigns, crafting newsletters and undertaking basic email marketing and marketing automation activities.
He developed a deep appreciation for CRM when he moved to Sportamore, at the time Nordic’s largest e-commerce business within sports. The dynamic nature of CRM, allowing him to shift focus between marketing, technical, data, and analytical perspectives, perfectly suited his restless spirit. Eventually, during his one-year stint at Samsung’s Nordic head office in Stockholm, he decided to specialise exclusively in CRM, leaving behind the creative aspects. Later, during his time at Klarna, he honed his skills in CRM automation and crystallised his passion for CRM as his chosen profession.
Today, Kristoffer is spearheading the CRM strategy and setup for Northern Europe at TIER. His career journey, spanning six years, has evolved from the foundational tasks of drafting newsletters to embracing CRM as a profession, consistently aligning his career trajectory with his aspirations.
Final Thoughts
Kristoffer believes that CRM as a domain is a game of patience. He emphasises the necessity of investing significant time and effort, with iterative adjustments over longer periods—potentially a month or even six months—to uncover the genuine value of CRM.
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