Measuring Customer Touchpoints

UPDATE: presentations were added.

"Customer Experience" was elected the hottest marketing buzzword of 2009. Yet... How can you actually measure customer experiences? How can you benchmark your company’s efforts? And consequently improve your marketing mix?

Our next Vlerick Marketing Informal is zooming into these questions by bringing you the experts in the field;

Keynote speakers

* Geert Martens
Managing Consultant 4C Consulting

"The Naïve to Natural model"


Geert will elaborate on a home-made methodology that enables a company to determine to what extent it is offering customer-centric experiences. Depending on the position of a company on the model, different action steps are outlined to improve the extent of customer-centricity. The model is backed up with data gathered in the Belgian market.



* Christophe Vergult - Director Customer Experience Research, Insites Consulting

"The Relationship Monitor"

What are today the success factors of a strong customer relationship? InSites Consulting's Relationship Monitor reveals the answer for 8 industries based on a in-depth study in 8 countries. The answer lies in compelling experiences tapping into underlying consumer needs, consistent with the brand promise over all touch points.



More info and subscriptions.
Subscribe today!

22nd Vlerick Marketing Colloquium



Thursday March 4, Handelsbeurs GHENT. (more info)


PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

Prof. Dr. Bernd Schmitt
Professor at Columbia Business School in New York and CEO of The EX Group, presents the concepts and tools of his CEM (customer experience management) framework.

Prof. Dr. Rik Riezebos
General Director of European Institute for Brand Management, will outline the importance of the Brand Biotope.

Jean-Paul Van Avermaet
CEO of Starbucks’s parent company Autogrill Belux, shares everything he knows about using customer experience in a growth strategy.

Michel Smit
Founder of Cultural Development, introduces us to a different world of customer experience, where creativity and ecology are key words.

Tom Grymonprez
Commercial Director Studio 1OO about telling stories and child experiences.

Anja Stas
Commercial Director at the Zoo of Antwerp, explains how the Zoo turned Kai-Mook's birth into a true customer experience.

Vincent Van Quickenborne
Minister of Entrepreneurship & Simplification on optimizing Citizen Experiences.


Find the full program on the Customer Experience website.


Partner Event: BAQMAR's "Digging for Gold"

Short introduction: BAQMaR is the Belgian Association for Quantitative & Qualitative Marketing Research. BAQMaR wants to make marketing research COOL again: well-known, popular and unique.


As a friend of BAQMAR we received one free ticket. Please react to this blogpost if you would like to attend this event on behalf of the Vlerick Marketing Alumni (offer exclusively for paying members).
BAQMaR 2009 Conference: “Digging for Gold

Thursday, December 17th 2009, Marriott Hotel Ghent
Company Package’: 5 tickets for 200 Euro!

AGENDA

19h00 – 19h30
Welcome drink and small appetizers

19h30 – 19h40
Opening session 2009 BAQMaR Conference: “Welcome to the Vein of Gold”

19h40 – 20h05
Presentation 1: Rolf Verlinden (Managing Director, Keystone Network)
Title: “Data Stress! The Journey from Data to Insights…”

20h05 – 20h20
The Gold Rush”: Golden Ideas Explained in 60 Seconds

20h20 – 20h40
Break with coffee, thee, juices and snacks

20h40 – 21h20
Keynote Speaker: Tom H.C. Anderson (CEO, Anderson Analytics – United States)
Title: “Text Analytics, from Survey Open Ends to Social Media”

21h20 – 21h45
Presentation 2: Sarah Van Laere (Customer Insights Manager, Nuon Belgium)
Title: “Risky Energy Business”

21h45 – 21h50
SMART 2009″: Who Becomes the SMARTest Student Researcher of the Year?

21h50 – 21h55
Closing session 2009 BAQMaR Conference

21h55 – 23h30
Talks, bites and drinks

Register today as an early bird for only 50 Euro

M3 Party: Thursday November 12th

Meet the Young Squad.
All info on Facebook

Alum.Nights IV: Wednesday November 25th


Dear Vlerick Alumnus or Student,

Once again all Alumni sections are joining hands to organize the 4th edition of the Alum.Nights in Café Dépôt (center Brussels). Be an active part of this broad network and get social on this informal gathering.

START:18h30
END: 23h
Subscribe (for free)
Route

No suits, no ties. Just beers and stories.

The Alum.Nights Team.
[distributable flyer]

Photos Halloween Reunion 2009

Dear Alumnus, Student,

Thank you for participating to our Halloween Reunion 2009 edition. Being one of our foremost network events dedicated to all Vlerick Marketing Alumni we sincerely hope you got back in touch with your classmates and got to network with other participants.

The Pictures are Online! (Click link)






Stay Connected to all Vlerick Marketing Alumni through:
Facebook (Open to all Fans)
LinkedIn (Marketing Alumni Only)



In the latest ranking of Business Schools (Full MBA), Vlerick ended up 3rd concerning having one of the widest Alumni networks globally!! Consider benefiting from the breadth of our network and check the List of Benefits for paying members.



Special thanks goes out to Alumna Olivia Vanmoerkerke and AvenueCards.be for helping us create the stylish business cards which brought many of you to our site.

Halloween Reunion 2009

Be ready to board The Love Boat on Thursday, October 22nd, 7.30 p.m. for a brand new edition of the Halloween Reunion!

The venue is... Le Bateau, in Ghent ! It's the perfect moment to catch up with your old friends and classmates and it is free of charge for all Vlerick Marketing Alumni.

Subscribe now (exclusively for Marketing Alumni!)

Slimmeriken gezocht!

Mis deze buitenkans niet.

Op donderdag 4 maart 2010 is de Handelsbeurs in Gent de place to be voor marketeers die ook in crisistijd willen scoren.

U verneemt er alles over het hyperactuele thema ‘Customer Experience'

Ontdek snel de sponsorformule die het beste bij u past.
Mail Olivier De Ruelle of bel op 0475/96.08.42
of surf naar www.customer-experience.be.

Tot in de Handelsbeurs!

Olivier De Ruelle,
Colloquium-voorzitter

PS. Waarom sponsoren in crisistijd? Omdat u extra zichtbaar bent als
anderen zich verstoppen.

Presentations Marketing Informal: "FMCG"

As promised you can find the presentations of the Marketing Informal "Catch up with FMCG" underneath. We hope to see you next time!
(watch your mailbox)

Speaker 1: Prof. Gino Van Ossel (Vlerick)



Speaker 2: Tom Palmaerts (Trend- + Youth-watcher at Trendwolves)

Marketing Informal: Catch Up With FMCG

The world of FMCG has always been very responsive to cycles in consumer lifestyle. In the blink of an eye your brand loses its sex appeal and customers decide to switch to those competitors that did jump on the bandwagon.

It’s time to catch up.
It’s time to call in the experts on trends in FMCG and consumer behavior.


We have invited Prof. Gino Van Ossel (Professor at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School) as the expert in the field of evolving shopping behavior.

Moreover, to fully understand what’s ahead of us we have asked Tom Palmaerts (Trendwatcher & Youthwatcher at Trendwolves) who has interviewed 25.000 youngsters across Europe to disclose us his insights on what we have to be expecting.

We will be expecting you.

Please reserve Thursday-evening September 17th to attend our next Vlerick Marketing Informal event at the offices of Electrabel (Gewijde Boomstraat 46, 1050 Elsene). Alumni-members access for free and there will be sandwiches and drinks at your disposal.
Subscribe today.

PROGRAM
18u45 doors open: sandwiches & drinks
19u30 Gino Van Ossel
20u00 Tom Palmaerts
20u30 Q&A
21u sandwiches & drinks
23u the end

This event is sponsored by 4C Consulting and Electrabel GDF Suez

Alum.Nights III: Wednesday August 26

Dear Vlerick Alumnus,

You are kindly invited to the 3rd edition of the Alum.Nights, an informal get-together in the center of Brussels.

START:18h30
END: 23h
Subscribe (for free)
Route


No suits, no ties. Just beers and stories.


The Alum.Nights Team.
[distributable flyer]

Presentations Vlerick Informeel: "Research"

As promised; underneath you will find the presentations of the Marketing Informeel. Have a look at the pictures on Flickr (Press "slideshow" upper right)

NB: For Arnaud Petre's presentation, please click "view on slideshare" at the bottom.



Informeel: Research & Product Innovation


Research & Product Innovation, but NOT as you know it.

Are modern technologies changing the way we do business? We think YES! Should you be interested in how? Definitely YES! During this upcoming Vlerick Marketing Informeel (evening event) we are zooming into the newest trends in consumer research and product innovation.

It is thanks to new research technologies that marketers can now evaluate campaigns and product innovations on an individual level (brain scans) and a social level (online communities).

All info and subscriptions.


PROGRAM


18H30: Open doors, Open bar, Open sandwich table
19H: Start presentations


1. Dr. Christel Claeys (Assistant Professor HUB)
“Neuromarketing: Just another hype or legitimate science?”

2. Prof. Arnaud Petre (Owner Brain Impact, Teacher ULB-Solvay)
"Neuromarketing: Case Studies”

3. Maxim Schram (Founder & CEO RedesignMe.com)
“Online co-creation communities: Concept & Case Studies"

20H30: Start reception


PRACTICAL INFO

Please reserve Tuesday-evening June 16th to attend this event at KBC Antwerp (click here for the route). Alumni-members access for free and there will be sandwiches and drinks at your disposal. As usual.

Subscribe here.

Don’t go home empty-handed!


We have over 20 Samsonite giftbags and 15 fokkie-chamina’s (Miletta) to divide among those participants who invest 5 minutes of their time in filling in this 9 questions survey. We will present you the survey-results the same evening. Thank you for contributing.

Nabeschouwing 21ste Vlerick Colloquium

Vacature 21 maart 2009

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, THE NEW BATTLEGROUND

Op donderdag 12 maart arriveerden 230 marketeers in de Handelsbeurs te Gent voor het 21e Vlerick Marketing Alumni Colloquium. Aan het onthaal werden we door een lompe hostess nogal onbeschoft onze naambadge opgespeld en ons informatiepakket toegeworpen, wat daarna bij het aangeboden ontbijt heel wat reacties opleverde. Snel werd echter duidelijk dat het hier om een geënsceneerde verwelkoming ging, en direct was het belang van de ‘customer experience’ benadrukt, even in hard times.

Qaalfa Dibeehi van Beyond Philosophy beet de spits af, en had het over het belang van het emotioneel engagement dat je als bedrijf met je klanten moet aangaan. Customer Experience is de nieuwe ‘battleground’, want een trouwe klant kan je pas zo benoemen als hij bereid is iets op te geven om bij jouw bedrijf klant te blijven.

Onder het motto “de klant wil voelen en zien” meldde Gonda Storms (Dexia) ons dat het, zeker in deze tijden, prioritair is voor de bank om de verwachtingen van de klant gelijk te stemmen met de eigenlijke customer experience. Johnny Thijs (De Post) merkte nadien op dat in zijn bedrijf het vooral de customer experience en sastisfaction waren die al de nodige veranderingen hadden gedicteerd, en dat ook in de toekomst zullen doen.

De term “all-in-one-vastgoed” werd geïntroduceerd door Lorin Parys van Uplace. De nieuwe consument wil immers zijn tijd zo efficiënt mogelijk vullen dus dient de work-life-play balans in evenwicht te zijn. Uplace pakt dit aan door ervaringsbestemmingen te creëren, de winkel wordt de ultieme CRM tool. Met andere woorden; winkelen zal nooit meer hetzelfde zijn!

Na de lunch was het de beurt aan Annita Beysen (U-sentric Belgium) & Justin Knecht (Centre for Design Innovation Ireland) en Linda Galle van Thomas Cook Belgium. Zij observeren, elk op hun manier, de consument in zijn eigen omgeving en gebruiken deze kennis om de customer experience te verbeteren.

Het belang van shopper insight werd benadrukt door Philippe Schaillee, van Sara Lee North America.
De shopper is namelijk niet altijd dezelfde als de uiteindelijke consument. Dus een geïntegreerde marketingaanpak is noodzakelijk. IKEA is uitgegroeid van meubelfabrikant tot een heuse destination store. Olivier Baraille lichtte een tipje van de sluier op over hoe zij de customer experience aanpakken voor, tijdens en na het aankoopmoment.

Laatste spreker van de dag was Suzanne Piët, auteur van o.m. ‘De emotiemarkt. De toekomst van de beleveniseconomie’, tevens managementboek van het jaar. Met de nodige humor verklaarde ze de behoefte van ieder van ons om zich regelmatig een nieuwe identiteit aan te meten, zij het met een zonnebril, een mobiele telefoon of een Hummer.

Het slotwoord was voor Andreas Van Gysegem, voorzitter Vlerick Marketing Alumni. Hij bracht een korte samenvatting van de belangrijkste topics van de dag en bedankte ook Olivier De Ruelle, die als nieuwe voorzitter van het Vlerick Marketing Alumni Colloquium een geslaagde editie op zijn naam mag schrijven.

(Source: Vacature)

21ste Vlerick Marketing Colloquium

Mag het iets meer zijn? Jazeker!
http://www.customer-experience.be

De voorbije jaren waren de jaren des overvloeds. Van koopkrachtdaling en consuminderen was nog geen sprake. Terwijl critici ten strijde trokken tegen overconsumptie, shopten we ons karretje lustig vol. Langs kleurrijke koffiecapsules en een muur van confituur.



Maar wat als de consument met zijn overvolle winkelkar botst tegen de realiteit van een economische crisis?

Hoe moet u met uw merk best inspelen op deze veranderende omstandigheden? Hoe kunt u als value en experience creator toch het prijsaspect uitspelen? Kiest u voor een low cost business model of zet u de beleving van uw consument meer dan ooit centraal?

Kortom: hoe maakt u van deze crisistijd een opportuniteit?
http://www.customer-experience.be

Presentations Vlerick Informeel: "Pricing"

As promised.
Thanks for attending. Love to see you again in a few months.

Informeel: PRICING (Feb 25th)

For YOU who's often involved in setting up marketing/communication plans, client-proposals, B2B discount promotions...
pricing strategies matter (especially now)

We are organizing an evening conference (2 hours) on Wednesday the 25th of February in Vilvoorde. We believe it’s worth considering.

Program starts at 18h30;

- Prof. Dr. Deva Rangarajan (Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School): "Theoretical framework"
- François Delvaux (The House of Marketing): "Pricing in times of economic crisis"
- Kurt Boons (Belgian Post International): "Case study Belgian Post International"
- Reception: “Free sandwiches and drinks”

Event language is English.
All info: www.vlerickalumni.be/pricing

Great content, Excellent conversations.
See you soon.

Vlerick Marketing Colloquium: What To Expect?

Slimmerikken Gezocht


Mis deze buitenkans niet. Dat zou pas een crisis betekenen!

Op donderdag 12 maart 2009 is de Handelsbeurs in Gent de place to be voor marketeers die ook in crisistijd willen scoren.

U verneemt er alles over het hyperactuele thema ‘Customer Experience, even in hard times’.

Ontdek snel de sponsorformule die het beste bij u past.
Mail Olivier De Ruelle of bel op 0475/96.08.42,
mail Andreas Van Gysegem of bel op 0499/69.19.52
of surf naar www.customer-experience.be.

Tot in de Handelsbeurs!

Olivier De Ruelle,
Colloquium-voorzitter

PS. Waarom sponsoren in crisistijd? Omdat u extra zichtbaar bent als
anderen zich verstoppen.