A Case for Change
The Customer Excellence Enterprise + The Customer-Centric Marketer Newsletter + Real-World Practice
Research + Insights
Practice notes, best-practice research and case studies to support the journey to Customer Excellence.
Synopsis. The Starbucks Mobile App exemplifies how a highly successful digital innovation can inadvertently strain physical operations, impact employees, and erode brand equity. Its super-optimized, convenience-focused features drive increased order volumes from drive-thrus, mobile orders, and delivery, often overwhelming the in-store staff. The resultant bottlenecks and pressure on employees underscore the strategic challenge of balancing digital experiences with sustainable in-store operational performance to maintain both employee well-being and the integrity of the brand promise.
Synopsis. Presented as a letter from a long-time customer, this case examines Starbucks' (intentional or unintentional) shift from its original comfort-oriented "third place" brand proposition to a convenience-driven approach emphasizing mobile ordering, drive-thrus, and delivery. While these modern offerings cater to today’s convenience-seeking consumers, they risk eroding the emotional resonance that has long defined the brand. The dissonance between these priorities underscores a fundamental challenge for Starbucks: maintaining a balance between meeting the demands of convenience-oriented customers and preserving the comforting experience cherished by its legacy audience. Failing to bridge this gap could result in brand inconsistency, leaving customers questioning whether Starbucks sees them simply as transactions or if they are truly valued for their long-term loyalty and relationship.
[PRACTICE NOTE] Stronger Together—A Path to a Better Future for CX REFERENCE: “The Customer Excellence Enterprise: A Playbook for Creating Customers for Life”
Synopsis. With short tenures relative to others in the C-Suite, the role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is increasingly challenging. They must shift strategies and resources from platform to platform to match the ever-changing preferences of diverse customer cohorts. They must ensure that brand promises remain authentic and relevant in markets that are noisier and more crowded than ever. However, these challenges also present a unique opportunity for CMOs to renew their value propositions by being intentional about taking the lead in a critical transformation: guiding their companies through the structural transition from a tangible to intangible value exchange with today's discerning customers. As global economic activity and demand continues this seismic shift, CMOs are uniquely positioned to transcend traditional marketing boundaries to spearhead this evolution. To learn more order “The Customer Excellence Enterprise: A Playbook for Creating Customers for Life” at all major booksellers.
The time to act is now, and those who embrace this change will future-proof their careers and their companies. The marketers who adopt this new model will be indispensable resources, the ones to shape the future of marketing by helping their companies create truly unique selling propositions, and defensible competitive advantages and deliver value in ways that transcend traditional product and brand factors.
As the digital marketing landscape becomes increasingly commoditized, the future of marketing is experiential, human-centered, and customer-driven. To reset, rejuvenate, and future-proof their careers, marketers must take accountability for their own professional development. This requires upskilling in areas that go beyond traditional marketing tactics and tools. Marketers must embrace the experiential commerce model and integrate customer experience and customer-centric behaviors into the very fabric of their marketing strategies, making them an organic part of a new customer-centric commercial model.
CASE-IN-POINT: Reimagining Marketing and Sales for Experiential Commerce BOLD MOVE: The Customers for Life Imperative. The Shift: Experiential Commerce
[WHITE PAPER] With artificial intelligence (AI) poised to automate much of digital marketing, marketers risk being removed from the value chain entirely unless they take decisive action. At the same time, the tools that once differentiated careers—Google Ads, Facebook, HubSpot, Marketo—are now widely accessible, eroding their competitive advantage. Marketers who survive and thrive in this environment will not simply be digital experts; they will be strategic leaders who guide their organizations to become structurally, culturally, and commercially rebuilt around the customer. These leaders will leverage AI and other emerging technologies not as ends but as tools to create meaningful, defensible value.This white paper explores why marketing careers are at risk, outlines the transformative changes required to future-proof marketing roles, and provides a roadmap for marketers to shift from transactional campaign execution to leading the charge in Experiential Commerce.
