Igniting Customer Connections: Fire Up Your Company's Growth By Multiplying Customer Experience & Engagement

Chapter 3Atomic Moments of TruthThey're Small and Plentiful, and Have the Power to Make or Break Your Brand

Now that we have examined the elements of a strong customer connection, we will look to how you activate those connections in the market. The notion of a linear customer journey and monolithic buying decision, one that marketers are constantly nudging consumers toward, is no longer an accurate portrayal of reality. The new marketing landscape requires new ways of thinking about consumers. The fact is that consumers are communicating all the time—with brands and with each other. They're looking for information, generating feedback, commenting on brands, and buying products. Right now. And I like to call each of these tiny decisions an atomic moment of truth. Here we take a look at atomic moments of truth, where they can happen, and some of the challenges that marketers face in this new, atomized world.

The Power to Create or Destroy Value

Harnessing the power of these moments is the goal for marketers now and in the coming decade. Every atomic moment of truth is an opportunity for a brand to understand and impact engagement and experience, and to create value for a customer (and for the brand)—or to destroy it. In this context, winning requires handling each consumer interaction—and there are many of them—in such a way that it creates value. As we'll see, it's a challenge, given the diversity and sheer volume of these moments.

Figure 3.1 Marketers need to recognize ...