Digital Marketing Design Diagnostic Tool

In the article " Service Model Canvas: A Framework for Designing Experiences That Exceed Customer Expectations" (Part 4), we explained that to enhance customer loyalty, it is necessary to provide experiences at customer touchpoints that exceed their prior expectations. We introduced that the transformation of business processes, systems, and data for both customers and employees required to achieve this is called "digital transformation."

This time, we introduce a framework for driving this digital transformation. The following diagram shows the overall picture.

While supporting digital transformation for companies across various industries using the approach described above, we identified items that require design consideration in every company. We organized these into a checklist, creating the "Tool for Diagnosing the Depth of a Company's Digital Transformation Design." It was created on November 11, 2015, and has been continuously updated.

This diagnostic tool consists of check items and evaluation logic that objectively assess the depth of digital transformation design, enabling companies to provide experiences that exceed customer expectations. The check items are organized into four categories: "Data (Customer Understanding)", "Channels (Experience Design)", "Operations (Analysis, Planning, and Execution)", and "Marketing Systems".

The checklist comprises a total of 50 questions across major, medium, and minor items. Through interviews covering these items, we assess the depth of a company's digital transformation design. The assessment method utilizes a program developed specifically for this diagnostic tool, which is an adaptation of the "Maturity Model" for organizational processes, primarily developed by universities in the United States.

We would be pleased to explain the specific diagnostic method directly, so here we provide an overview of the check items.

1.Regarding "Channel"
・Is target definition established?
・Is the customer experience evaluation at touchpoints understood?
・Is there a unified channel integration environment for centralized customer understanding?
etc.

2.Regarding "Data"
Regarding target customers
・Data attribute ownership (online/offline, anonymous/non-anonymous, internal/external, etc.)
・Data management environment (data matching status, policies, etc.)
etc.

3. Regarding "Systems"
・Policies regarding cloud usage
・Marketing system implementation environment
・Data integration design (between cloud and core systems, between internal and external sources, etc.)
etc.

4.Regarding "Operations"
・Management and operational environment for KGI/KPI metrics across organizations
・Structure and culture for data-oriented marketing
・Organizational, human resource, and outsourcing environments for operations
・Cross-functional process design for operations requiring inter-organizational collaboration
etc.

Design depth is assessed across five levels for both the overall digital transformation and each of the four categories.

We have supported companies primarily in the automotive, insurance, and energy sectors using these diagnostic tools. These industries often prioritize digital marketing as a management challenge requiring internal projects, especially when face-to-face sales channels dominate due to manufacturing and sales separation.

For such companies, we support initiatives like: creating optimal customer experience scenarios that integrate digital and face-to-face channels; establishing systems to integrate and manage manufacturer and dealer data; implementing mechanisms to remotely detect life stage changes and competitor interest using external data, thereby enhancing sales capabilities and operational efficiency; and introducing systems to automate and deliver customer experiences aligned with these scenarios.

Personally, I believe "digital marketing" currently struggles to engage targets who aren't ready to buy or sign contracts. Instead, I think the overall investment return is higher when it's tasked with efficiently approaching customers with the optimal angle for each event, detected in real-time from targets loosely gathered and nurtured via mass media, who have potential purchase intent.

This approach is called "event-based marketing," but I refer to this overall strategy as "Ikesu Marketing." Next time, I'd like to introduce the details of this concept.