The document discusses the need for B2B companies to recognize that their customers are human and to design digital experiences that meet human needs and desires. It notes that B2B marketing has traditionally differed from B2C but that distinction is fading as B2B buyers now expect consumer-like digital experiences. The document recommends that companies develop a "Brand OS" that centers on deeply understanding customers to ensure the right content reaches the right audiences through the most relevant channels. It provides an example of an airline that mapped customer types to channels to optimize content distribution and measurement.

1. The Human
Customer
Is there any other kind?
© 2016 Rightpoint

2. Your B2B customers are human, of course. We all
know that. But think about it. We spend most of our
time targeting companies; and the influencers and
decision makers in those companies. And maybe
(just maybe) the humans behind those roles and
titles don’t always get the level of consideration
they deserve.
Silly title. Right?
Here's why. Human connections are made through
emotions and impressions; something that suggests
need and generates desire. It seems the overriding shift
to sales and marketing in the digital landscape may have
occluded this fundamental truth. Turns out, creating
that oh-so-human context in a digital format has
presented some challenges. And continues to do so.
Still, things aren’t all bad. Awareness is on the rise and
we realize its past time to explore new approaches.
The smart move now is to take concrete steps to
increase effectiveness when it comes to recognizing
and addressing the needs of our human customers.
© 2016 Rightpoint

3. Historically, B2B sales and marketing has been
fundamentally different than B2C. There are
myriad reasons, including; longer sales cycles,
consultative sales methods, more complex
negotiations, a “relationship” sell and so on.
Consequently, over the past decade as digital
platforms took hold of the landscape, the
disparity between B2C and B2B continued.
B2C moved aggressively to the forefront of
developing sleek, effective efforts to attract
and sell to humans. While B2B ignored this
expanding requirement and, all but universally,
chose to lag behind.
B2B’s Great Migration to
Customer
Experience
in Digital
© 2016 Rightpoint

4. B2B can no longer claim such differences based on
traditional ideas of how it’s always been. There must
now be broad acknowledgement that experiences,
whether B2B or B2C, need to align with what
consumers (humans) want and desire.
Here’s the kicker The bottom line…
creating outstanding
‘consumerized’ digital
experiences in B2B
is now urgent!
© 2016 Rightpoint

5. Three factors have forced this imperative:
Millennials and the generation behind them (what
we’ll call Generation Touch), are rising in power and
position when it comes to B2B commerce.
Change is driven by
youth, and youth’s
influence pervades up
the demographic.
1
© 2016 Rightpoint

6. 50% of all B2B buyers
are millennials
• Increased from 27% just two years ago
• They demand convenience, collaboration
and customization
© 2016 Rightpoint

7. B2B buying experience must
reflect the consumer world
• The process should be as easy as buying online.
Offering features like:
– Streamlined mobile sites and apps
– Effective onsite search
– Customization and personalization
– Integration with other channels
© 2016 Rightpoint

8. Buyers have stated they will
pay 30% more for superior
customer experience
• On the other hand, experiences that lack will drive attrition
• Buyers are now inclined to pursue more savvy experiences
© 2016 Rightpoint

9. The choice for channels
is diverse and growing.
Moving forward, this change will be constant. Today’s
consumers (our human B2B customers) are happy to
explore new modalities and are adopting multiple devices.
We must interact with them wherever they are. The only
answer is to define effective means to anticipate where
they are headed, and meet them there.
2
© 2016 Rightpoint

10. Current channels include
Mobile, desktop, tablet, touch, adaptive and flash
Fast evolving channels include
Wearables, health and fitness sensors, vehicles,
regulators, voice, and haptics
As we continue to build our brands, new ideas
around making voice, sound and haptics the
drivers for brand experience and awareness
must be evaluated.
We must think deeply
about how our brands
intersect with clients via
these new interfaces.
© 2016 Rightpoint

11. 3
Digital (to this point) has
often been about chasing
the problem in front of us.
This will leave us a half-step behind at every turn. Since the
change has become undeniably perpetual and swift, we cannot
simply chase the current trend. It’s a losing proposition.
© 2016 Rightpoint

12. How do we build ourselves
into a better future state?Here’s the
question we
must answer.
When we think strategically about this, it demands
a radically new approach to the ways we’ve traditionally
planned for creating digital experiences. In short, we
suggest building a Brand OS. That’s right. We’re calling it
a Brand Operating System. Here’s the thinking behind it.
© 2016 Rightpoint

13. In absolute terms, an operating system is a component
of the system software in a computer system. (This you
already know.) But here’s the relatable bit — application
programs require an operating system to function. The
OS is a fundamental piece that allows the layering on
of appropriate apps offering the needed functions.
For our purposes, a Brand OS is a metaphor for an
ecosystem that, at its core, seeks to intimately involve our
customers in the decision making. It encourages us to step
outside of our revered tribal knowledge and build models
that elevate the voice of our customer, allowing us to hear
it more loudly and clearly than before. Then, we must use
it as a basis for defining measurable outcomes.
Make no mistake,
this is profoundly new;
as it must be to address
the three key challenges
already outlined.
• The rise of millennials, with generation
touch coming along next
• The swift proliferation of diverse
interfaces that customers will choose
• The absolute necessity to NOT play
catch up
© 2016 Rightpoint

14. Only through this model
will we adaptively
embrace and exploit new
channels, and benefit
from all of the tactics and
disciplines available for
engaging with
our customers.
A thoughtfully developed Brand OS provides
a methodology that:
• Supports you in understanding what is important
to your customers
• Gives clear indication of where the content/
message is most relevant
• Provides a structure you can use to build
a careful hypothesis
• Allows you to build something and get it working
• Offers the means to measure it over time
• Affords marketing an elevated role designed
to drive the business and impact sales
© 2016 Rightpoint

15. What behaviors must we adopt to get us there?
Foremost, we need to KNOW OUR CUSTOMER.So, where
to start?
Still, embracing a customer mind set requires careful
consideration and analysis of who there are, where
they are, and what they are interested in.
Let’s examine how one of our clients, a major airline,
endeavored to inhabit the minds of its customers.
The methodology used offers a proven framework.
Really know them.
© 2016 Rightpoint

16. The problem statement
The large, legacy airline had recently merged
with a competitor and needed a refresh on
their digital business strategy. Essentially,
they were aware of a variety of problems:
• Content and customer interaction was disparate
• Audience included numerous constituencies
• Delivery vehicles for content was wildly diverse
• Numerous business lines and stakeholders were vying for attention
• Multiple systems claimed ‘truth’ for what they were trying to accomplish
• Needs-based customer experience was an imperative
© 2016 Rightpoint

17. When content was created for the main website,
it was very difficult to repackage, repurpose or scale it
back for another delivery vehicle; such as a kiosk or
flight information display. And the strategy for what
content would be delivered where, had little basis in
whether or not that content was actually relevant to
the audience that interacted with that channel.
Here's how it went. Consider this. The loyalty program owners said
when they got a product pricing idea or some
other promotional element worked out, it took
more than two weeks to get that content to
market. The lag time created a significant loss.
Every day the tactic or promotion wasn’t in play,
the company lost more than a million dollars in
potential revenue. On top of that, the content
was being delivered to some channels that
the intended audience didn’t frequent. So the
relevance was often lacking.
© 2016 Rightpoint

18. The solution,
in hindsight,
is intuitive.
KNOW the customer.
Whittle the customer down to every core part,
or constituency. Then work to understand what
content is actually applicable and relevant
to whom, and where it’s relevant.
© 2016 Rightpoint

19. This chart will illustrate.
Essentially, it’s a heat map that helps
understand customer by type, and
evaluates channel based on relevance.
AUDIENCE PUBLIC WEBSITE MOBILE SITE MOBILE APPS KIOSKS
GATE INFORMATION
DISPLAY (GIDS)
FLIGHT INFORMATION
DISPLAY (FIDS)
FLIGHT BOOKERS
IN-PROCESS
TRAVELERS
LOYALTY
PROGRAM
PROSPECTIVE
LOYALTY PROGRAM
MEMBERS
EMPLOYEES
© 2016 Rightpoint

20. This exercise revealed that
a great deal of content was
missing the mark. The outcome
was transformative and inspired
a whole new way to think about
how to optimize content and
content distribution.
FIDS
.COM
(FR)
.COM
(JP)
SOCIAL
SITES
Content
Hub
Tech
ORG
LOYALTY
PROGRAM
PARTNER
SITES
KIOSKS
GIDS
. MOBILE
PUBLIC
WEBSITE
© 2016 Rightpoint

21. The next step was to build in a measurement
methodology, based on the customers’ voice.
This should be used as a living, breathing
construct. Tangible steps are as follows:
• Collect Data
• Assimilate, digest and analyze the data
• Glean insights and define recommendations
• Set benchmarks
• Activate
The Content Hub is not just a place, but a
governing framework. This framework supports
and surfaces what is most important overall;
what is important to a particular customer; and
the associated channel(s) of relevance.
This decision structure allows
distribution of the right content,
to the right channels, ultimately
impacting the right customers.
© 2016 Rightpoint

22. The velocity of change is undeniable. With the new
generations come a multitude of new attitudes
and ideas. New devices and channels propel the
proliferation of other highly-innovative delivery
mechanisms. And, perhaps most important, our B2B
customers are enthusiastic about the ride.
Embrace and Anticipate
Constant
Change
© 2016 Rightpoint

23. The experiences we offer must exceed
expectations in terms of valuable content
and channel relevance. Not to mention,
the necessity for outstanding user
experience design, but that’s a topic for
another discussion.
For now, let’s start with the
very real requirement to stop,
carefully look at and consider
our B2B customers.
You know, the
human ones.
© 2016 Rightpoint

24. Rightpoint is a design and technology services firm with core practice
areas focused on helping organizations establish a long term digital
strategy, design intuitive and visually engaging interfaces, and build
easily maintainable and scalable public facing websites and intranets.
We utilize content management solutions, collaboration sites,
business intelligence interfaces, business applications, and CRM
solutions to deliver these platforms.
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