Touchpoint

Touchpoint (also touch point, contact point, customer contact, point of contact, brand touchpoint, and customer touchpoint) is the interface

• of a product,
• a service or
• a brand

with customers, non-customers, employees and other stakeholders – before, during and after a transaction, respectively. This applies for business-to-business as well as business-to-consumer markets.

Application area

ROI-oriented management aims to augment and optimize the impact and cost-benefit ratio of internal and external processes. As of 2011 a single communication channel seldom provides high-impact reach to all target-persons. This includes customer relationship management, buying and selling channels, distribution, service, internal and external communication, human resource management, and process-optimisation programmes. Transactions take place across multiple divisions and touch points that span the whole value chain of a company. For example, transactions may be made through classic advertising, intranet, or call centres, or through sales staff at the point of sale. Precise measurements taken at all touch points, accompanied by a systematic management of them, leads to an impact-oriented performance improvement of a brand's management.^{[citation needed]}

Touchpoint Analysis

The benefit of touchpoint analysis is that, while comprehending all relevant media and departments, it filters and measures all the relevant contact points from the target customer’s view. Touchpoint management allows companies to optimise all the interactions with the existing and potential customers, the internal communications and process management.

Example: touchpoints of a bank

A customer has vast possibilities to get in contact with a bank. Touchpoints in banking can include client service advisors, receipts, events, offerings, financial expert reports, website, intranet, IT-systems, research reports, sponsoring, Word of mouth, e-banking, regional office or contacts by phone with the client service advisors, etc.

Which touchpoints are relevant for success?

With bigger companies, during the inventory phase, often over a hundred touchpoints can be identified. This circumstance brings one specific question into focus: Which of these are relevant for the company’s success? The meanings of several touchpoints and the resulting consequences for the brand management must be specifically analyzed and assessed. The contact points, which are relevant for the company’s success, depend considerably on the industry, the product, the service and the target segment. From the whole interface universe, the central touchpoints can be identified and assessed regarding their meaning and impact. With the help of touchpoint analysis companies should be able to evaluate their processes, measures and engagements holistically. Future assets and budgets can be ideally employed and therefore should accomplish a sustainable contribution to the success of the company.

Touchpoint Management

Touchpoint management can be seen as a multi disciplinary strategic approach, which focuses on the optimisation of the performance in all internal and market oriented management divisions. Normally companies manage their touchpoints in different areas such as marketing, distribution, communication, service, public relations, investor relations or human resources. Due to specialisation, it involves the challenge of developing the contact points in a 360 degree view, which would enable a consistent brand experience over all interfaces and would simultaneously keep all the brand’s promises. For an efficient and consistent brand management and the build up of a distinctive brand experience, it is important to integrate the formal, content and time aspects of the communication activities.

Literature

General

• Spengler, C., Wirth, W. (2009): 360° Touchpoint analysis: Maximising the impact of marketing and sales activities. Content published in: io new management (Ed. ETH Zurich/Axel Springer Switzerland), nr. 3/2009, online: http://accelerom.com/uploads/tx_aspdfpreview/2009_io-new-management_Maximising-the-impact_EN.pdf
• Mueller, J., Spengler, C. (2008): Welcher Marken-Touchpoint zählt? In: Kaul, H., Steinmann, C. (Ed.): Community Marketing. Schaeffer-Poeschel, 2008. ISBN 978-3-7910-2757-9.

Customer Touchpoint

• Christoph Spengler, Werner Wirth, Renzo Sigrist: 360-Degree-Touchpoint-Management - How important is twitter for our brand? Content published in: Marketing Review St. Gallen (Hrsg. Universität St. Gallen/Gabler Verlag, Springer Fachmedien), nr. 2/2010, online: http://accelerom.com/uploads/tx_aspdfpreview/2010_Marketing-Review_360-grade-Touchpoint-Management_EN.pdf
• Christoph Spengler, Mona Issa: TV spot, PoS, Facebook & Co: What really works? Content published in: W&V Media GmbH, nr. 12/2010, online: http://accelerom.com/uploads/tx_aspdfpreview/2010_WuV_TV-Spots-PoS-Facebook_EN.pdf
• Christoph Spengler, Renzo Sigrist, Peter Sopp: Exploit innovation potential to the maximum Content published in: Swiss Innovation Guide 2011, online: http://accelerom.com/uploads/tx_aspdfpreview/2011_Handelszeitung_Exploit-innovation-potential_EN_04.pdf
• Franzen, Giep, and Moriarty, Sandra (2009): The Science and Art of Branding. (M.E. Sharpe) ISBN 978-0-7656-1790-3.
• Spengler, C. (2008): The competitive advantage of a brand typical client experience In: Handelszeitung & The Wall Street Journal (33), online: http://accelerom.com/uploads/tx_aspdfpreview/2008_Handelszeitung_The-competitive-advantage-of_EN.pdf
• Choy, Daryl (2008): What Exactly is Touchpoint? In: http://www.customerthink.com/blog/what_exactly_touchpoint