Does your thought leadership deliver a positive customer experience?

Originally published by Source Global Research 

According to a recent McKinsey publication “Almost every successful company recognizes that it is in the business of customer experience.” And, frankly, based on the thought leadership I’ve been reading recently, everyone seems to agree: Customer experience really does matter.

But what about the customer experience of the people accessing your thought leadership? Are your customers having the experience you’d recommend they themselves deliver? Do they feel that they are valued, that what you offer is relevant to their lives, and that they have a personal connection with your brand?

For anyone who finds themselves reading KPMG’s customer experience publication Making Memories, the answer to all of these questions is likely to be a resounding “Yes”. Extensive investment in research–in this case, about what brands are doing to create strong memories–ensures that the reader feels valued. The clear structure and engaging tone makes the report easy to read, and conveys a helpfulness and warmth that encourages further interaction. And stories are used throughout, stories that engage the reader in the moment and are likely to be remembered long after the report is read.

Inspired by this report, here are four of KPMG’s recommendations about customer experience that can and should be applied to thought leadership:

1. “Accurately setting, managing (and often exceeding) expectations is an art that organisations need to master.” We often see reports that, through the title and opening page, promise much but then fail to deliver. Whatever your topic, be clear about what you are offering your audience and then beat their expectations about the value you can deliver.
2. “Effort is a big driver of loyalty. The psychological law of least effort tells us that customers will take the line of least resistance.” Thought leadership often requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader whether this is in understanding what research has taken place, reading through volumes of text to find the key messages, or trying to make sense of opaque diagrams. Most people will take the line of least resistance and give up. Make your report easy to read–put the effort in so that your audience doesn’t have to.
3. “We remember those things best that we care about. Those things that are personally meaningful. Neurochemical tags are added to memories that are emotionally important to aid retrieval and influence our future behaviour.” Much content is bland and unengaging, and very easy to forget. Use stories and analogies to make your audience care, to bring your messages to life, and to make them stick.
4. “Last impressions are about making the customer feel good and leaving them on a positive note.” It’s all too easy, when the hard work has been done, to accidentally end on a low note. Ensure your ending is strong and give them something very tangible to apply to their own situation.