Customer touchpoints – what on earth are they?

This is actually a bit of a favourite topic of mine.  I think many businesses don’t really understand a how often their brand touches a customer, and how critical it is that their brand is represented consistently every time.

So what on earth are customer touchpoints anyway?!

I actually think this term is perfect as it really helps you to think about your brand.  It’s refers to any point where a person is “touched” by your brand.

So, its not just where they see your advertising or your logo, its anywhere they experience your brand – when they see / touch / smell / hear your product or service – when they see it on facebook, or hear a friend talking about it, read about it in the paper, see it on someone walking down the street, walk past your shop, see you online in your store or on your blog, see your pinterest page, see you in a magazine, try it on, the list goes on.

And lets not forget about the people that are your brand – every single person that represents your brand in the consumers mind must represent the values your brand espouses to possess.  Sales staff, Customer Service staff, your CEO, your media spokesperson, the delivery person, any personalities that endorse your brand, your social media gurus – YOU!  These people are you brand guardians.

All of these are opportunities to make a positive impression on your ideal customer, so many places, and the reason it is so important to clearly define your brand and make sure you communicate this to all stakeholders.

A great way of exploring this is to look at a day in the life of your ideal customer.  Have a little brainstorm and think about all the places they might experience your brand.  When they get up in the morning, listening to the radio, dropping their children at school, on the train, at the gym, on their favourite blog, on Facebook. will their friends be fans already? Think about everywhere they could possibly be touched by your brand, and then think about what you can do to make sure that gives them the most positive experience at all these touchpoints.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Kate