Hi, tell us about yourself and your current role.
Sure! In all fairness, I don’t have much to tell about my career, as I just graduated in International Management at the Università degli Studi di Torino, in Italy. Before that, I spent one year as Junior Marketing Assistant at Nembol.
Currently, I’m Head of Marketing. My team and I cover multiple aspects of customer relations, among which is the Customer Care service.
How did you first start working in the CX space?
During my Erasmus in Düsseldorf I discovered the study of Behavioral Economics. When I returned home, I kept on studying this field of economic science and eventually wrote my dissertation about it. I’ve always been interested in the irrational side of consumer behavior and consumer decision-making.
Then, when I started working for Nembol, one of the first things I was thought is that good communication with customers is the most vital driver of product development, especially in tech. For this reason, I spent a humongous amount of time talking to our customers, and I still do. Most of my work consists in understanding how our customers feel along the whole customer journey. I’ve never been much of an empathetic person, so this is an everyday challenge for me!
What are some of the common misunderstandings related to customer experience?
Cool, the hard questions already started. Working in the eCommerce business, I’ve noticed that most people tend to underestimate the emotional facet of a purchase. Today, it’s all about the experience. Some try to make it the less painful (1-click purchase), others the most exciting (especially in the luxury industry). Sometimes, all you need is to keep it real, as weekly markets do in small towns. What really makes the difference is moving the focus from the monetary transaction to the feelings that get involved.
Have you seen any interesting new trends in eCommerce this year? eCommerce boomed in 2020, and consumers started leaving more product reviews online. How can we make the most out of this momentum?
Well, the digitalization of (local) commerce is a process that started a long time ago. Living in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic, I couldn’t help but notice that some countries, which were late on this transformation, had to catch up. Quickly.
This accentuated another ongoing process, which interests me way more: the shift from marketplaces to personal eCommerce websites. I believe that we’re witnessing the democratization of eCommerce. Brace yourself, Jeff Bezos.
What are some CX companies/solutions you’re keeping your eyes on right now?
You should ask me this question next year. I will tell you which ones we should have kept our eyes on!
So many things changed in 2020. While some things are going to return to “normal,” what are new trends and habits you think will stay with us in the long term?
CXFor sure, baking bread at home it’s not one of them!
I haven’t double-checked the data, but I can tell for sure that cashless payment, smart-working and online reservations have increased during the last 18 months. These are going to be the new normal.
Take this as an example: before COVID, very few restaurants in the Italian hinterland had their menus online, along with updated opening hours. Now you can book a table online, without even having to pick up a phone.
I will also keep an eye on how smart-working will affect migration towards geographical areas with a low population density (e.g. from the North to the South of Italy). We may see a reversal of intra-country migratory flows.
Last but not least, what is your favorite CX metric?
Call me old-fashioned, but to me, the Customer Lifetime Value is the ultimate key metric. If you break down most of the marketing and investment strategies, you will notice that they all depend on this value. But maybe it’s just because it’s the first metric I have ever learned!
