Tribal Worldwide London About us Work Thinking Events News Join Us Health Stronger Than Before: The New Connected Experience Organisation: Tribal Worldwide Keynote speakers: Chris Evans, Volkswagen Victoria Buchanan, Tribal Worldwide Alex Ringhofer, Tribal Worldwide When: 11/03/2021 Location: Online 2020 was all about connecting with the customer with flexible and convenient experiences, in 2021 and beyond, brands will need to think past their traditional touchpoints and innovate their digital total experience to become more discoverable, engaging, and immersive. With the rapid acceleration to digital and the in-store experience changed forever, learn how brands like VW are prioritising innovating and delivering a total experience. From browser to the dealer to aftersales, hear how their digital ecosystem is shaping the brand to connect with the customer and exceed expectations to drive growth. We were joined by Chris Evans eCommerce Operations manager at Volkswagen Group UK, Victoria Buchanan, Executive Creative Director, and Alex Ringhofer, Associate Managing Partner at Tribal Worldwide London, who are at the forefront of creating the new connected experience. Key insights include: How can one get ready to deliver connected customer experiences that differentiate, drive commercial value, and meet the needs of consumers in 2021 and beyond? The reinvention of physical retail, what experience you should be giving your consumer that goes beyond the product and gives them a reason to be there. Picking the right time to interact with your customer, building your data through creative valuable interactions that put the customer first. Brands must know when to shout and when to whisper about their product or service as part of the personalised journey. Watch the recording of the event Read more on how Volkswagen has delivered an innovative frictionless Total Experience across every touchpoint, from browser to dealer to aftersales. Victoria Buchanan, Executive Creative Director at Tribal Worldwide: “I think it's very easy to look at the connected journey as a technology problem and with a technology solution, it's such a marriage of science and art. You mustn't forget the super technology but the super creative side of what you're making as well, and that creative, part of it is what engages people it's what builds trust, and then you build trust, and you build a relationship and it's really important that you have both. A connected journey can be six months, could be one day or 10 minutes. And all of those touch-points on that journey need a consistent tone of voice, a consistent conversation, and that familiar feeling to everything that holds it together becomes one big thing. We have as human beings, and especially now and after this year, such high expectations of what these experiences should be like, we only notice some stuff when it doesn't work.” Agility and flexibility If my local shop can create a great customer experience why can’t the higher purchase, multinational brands do this? Chris Evans eCommerce Operations manager at Volkswagen Group UK: “Size is great. Size gives you strength, makes you more versatile but structures and setups are there for a purpose, to keep things safe and right and proper. But actually, at the same time now, you've got to be able to have that thread I think through your business. That means you can react as you need to, at speed, with the right partners. You need to make sure that they can create that customer experience as it needs to be today, you know, you've got to be able to have quick.” How to create connected customer experiences in a disconnected organisation? Chris Evans eCommerce Operations manager at Volkswagen Group UK: “People can be very habitual right. Asking someone to do something different after they have done it a certain way for a long time is hard. So, you can't just force it you’ve got to have the realisation that you will need to explain, and you may need to strong-arm in some ways with incentives, but actually, it's much better to be able to get that kind of organic resonance with it and get them to believe. Usually, if you can find in some circumstance or relate to somebody in their world as to why this thing means something to them. And suddenly the message becomes clear, they don't see it as a separate thing on a pedestal. They can see it as to why they would use it and why they would expect for now well.” How can businesses meet the high expectations of consumers to create seamless, personalized experiences? Victoria Buchanan, Executive Creative Director at Tribal Worldwide: “Well, I think it's finding the necessary connections your customers need, and having your true value behind everything, it's horrific when you start interacting with a brand and there's a signup form. So, I think it's being aware of when you are going to interact with your customers are you considering the environment, they're in making it as easy as possible so they can join in. If there's a minimum connection interest of a telephone, then just let it be a telephone for that first connection and then build up your data. After that keeping it easy and keeping it relevant. It's all for when someone talks to you at the wrong time. And that context, we're sensitive to that now. I just expect them once I've invested in someone to build a proper relationship with give and take. So, you have to be careful that your interactions are valuable to me. And if they're not, then it just ruffles my feathers and starts making me not like you. There's got to be a genuine reason behind it. And I think there's no reason to sometimes be or shy away from what it is.” What’s does the future of the physical role look like in a blended experience? Victoria Buchanan, Executive Creative Director at Tribal Worldwide: “It's the evolution of that of the experiences we want you know I'm just down the road from the new Amazon shop in West London, where you walk in and walk out. And that's efficient. It’s simple. It's not complicated, but I think the reasons for going to interact with a product or brand. That's one end, the other end there's the other extreme where the retail experience needs to be much more immersive, it needs to be, such as the Samsung experience stores. There's a lounge there's a kitchen, you can go and have is a proper lovely experience you've walked through these different environments. You can test all the products you can take your kids in and play with everything you can sit at the table, and then you can start drawing, and then there's a coffee machine that's real, and there's drink in the fridge. It's a blended thing. If you stopped noticing you're being sold to and you start living and breathing and imagining life with this product and I think that's when clever retail spaces. They have to be that magical now, and it's a reason I get out of my little COVID bubble and go somewhere. You know I want an experience I can do all of this online and I can connect all and I can check my account and reorder and have a subscription, but it needs to be an experience like that to get me out of my house if there's a world I can go and experience this and put an hour of my time into that and it's really enjoyable. The kids like it, and therefore the whole family enjoys it. It's a win-win. isn't it a lovely experience it's not like being sold to or being attacked in a showroom or a shop is a completely different experience and I'm totally in control.” Top tips for creating great connected experiences Don't go back to where you were. Don't go back to last year, you have learned and done so much this year, you have learned so much about your customers and your business. And I think it's just such an exciting time to stand strong and keep moving forward. Start with the customer pain point, because the chances are, that's where you can make the biggest difference for your customers but also your business. Have a genuine reason why you're doing what you're doing, the path that you're taking. Remember the stakeholders in the middle and probably the translation that you've got to put in play for each of those stakeholders. What you were doing now might be great for last week, or month or year, but be prepared to change. Sometimes it's not the big complex tech that makes a difference in connecting things, sometimes it's a simple artefact that can delight people or they can make things easier for people, like an email or QR code. Dial things up and down with the right tone and at different points in the customer journey, including personalization serving those up at the right time, so that it isn't too pushy when you're not ready. Using tone, language, and type of content correctly at the different stages. Have proper copywriters writing a tone of voice guideline for you. When you start getting into personalization, your systems need to be watertight legally and experience-wise because you don’t want to get it wrong and lose that trust. Keep pushing your minimal viable products. Get some real face-to-face feedback from your customers, because that's what you need to hear and understand and you need to hear their fears and understand what they're worried about, and then that will help you prioritise what you should focus on straightaway coming out of this. The Stronger Than Before webinar series takes place every month for those leading the way in digital transformation. If you would like to attend one of our events or have any questions, please email katie.delacruz@tribalworldwide.co.uk. Tribal Worldwide London 12 Bishop's Bridge Road London W2 6AA, United Kingdom +44 (0) 207 262 0011 Map Tribal Worldwide Offices New Business jamie.willey@tribalworldwide.co.uk Recruitment recruitment@tribalworldwide.co.uk Press & Media sarah@pumpkin.uk.com +44 207 287 2007 LinkedIn Instagram Twitter © Tribal Worldwide London 2021 - All Rights Reserved Gender Pay Gap Modern Slavery Act Cookie Policy Privacy Policy