This book is not a science fiction novel… but comes close to it! The extended and augmented human being already exists. Each year is punctuated by new scientific advances in the fields of robotics, computing, cognitive sciences, etc., which make it possible to imagine a world marked by virtual or augmented realities, by the expansion of all kinds of networks and digital media, by the development of new humanoid robots (exoskeletons, for example), by the diffusion of the Internet of Things (IoT), by the improvement of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, by the exploitation of drones, etc. Every human being, whether a doctor, manager, customer or political decision-maker, can potentially benefit from new technologies and can have their cognitive (information processing), sensory or physical capacities considerably increased. This transformation of the world is already here, but we are only seeing the beginning.

Each of us is, within ourselves, the bearer of this imagination conveyed by literature, cinema or the media, where humans make technology an ally, an addition and a partner in our daily lives, rather than a substitute. However, the fear of seeing humans imitated and then supplanted by robots persists and regularly raises debates within companies (employment, growth, professions, training) and society as a whole (respect for privacy, individual freedom, etc.). The expansion of the robot questions, in mirror form, the role of the human being in our society and, in the field of customer relations, that of the consumer, the citizen and the user in relation to the tools and machines that surround them. Alternating between strategies currently underway in organizations and a forward-looking dimension that makes it possible to imagine multiple scenarios for the future, this book highlights how much the digital transformation impacts and will impact customer relationship management… but also the customers themselves.

Can we effectively consider that the customer benefits, in the same way as the company, from this “expansion”? Is the individual augmented, or are they alienated by the machines and technological tools that linger around their daily lives on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to solicit them? Digital technology has totally invaded our daily lives as consumers, customers, citizens, voters, etc. The digital barometer published each year¹ shows that this movement toward the greater connection of populations is not only inevitable but will also increase over time. In France, for example, nearly three-fourths of the population already own a smartphone, more than 80% a computer and nearly 50% a tablet. In the space of a few years, the smartphone has become the object of multiple addictions (hyperconnection, infobesity, “no life” phenomenon, etc.) and one of the major tools for connecting to social networks, personal messaging as well as corporate and ecommerce sites. Many French people today cannot do without the Internet for 3 days or their mobile phone for more than 1 h. They eat and sleep next to their smartphones, play, read and watch videos when they get bored, and struggle to disconnect from their work messages when they are on vacation. They can spend nearly 100 days a year reading their e-mails and the youngest (18–34 years old) can consult their smartphone up to 100 times a day, once every 10 min (Institut Omnibus study for the publisher Kana Software – 2014). Thus, even if this phenomenon of hyperconnection does not affect all French people in the same way, according to age, level of education and social status in particular, it nevertheless increases significantly each year and changes diametrically the way in which firms can reach their customers.

Against this backdrop, writing about tomorrow’s customer relations is a risky project, given the rapid pace of change and the changing environment. For marketing professionals, the last few years have been marked by a significant evolution in their profession, as a result of this incredible acceleration of technologies. These have considerably changed company practices, but also those of customers. AI, now established as the “right arm” of any self-respecting marketer, and the explosion of precise and abundant personal data held on customers, is already shaping a new landscape for companies and their customers. Customers, for their part, make extensive use of the multitude channels and tools available to them, as well as the wealth of information they have at their disposal to design their own customer journeys. What if the common point of all these scientific and technological advances was that they made it possible to develop augmented customer strategies?

• – Augmented, because the technological tools (applications, robots, chatbots, beacons, RFID technologies…) brought about by the digital revolution today represent tremendous opportunities that offer customers ever simpler, more fluid, rich and connected experiences.
• – Augmented, because the data now available on customers allow increasingly personalized and accurate actions, as close as possible to customer expectations and at a lower cost.
• – Augmented, because the digital transformation of companies allows ever precise evaluations of the effectiveness of marketing actions, thus allowing a better trade-off between different relational investments.
• – Finally, augmented because the customers themselves are assigned new roles alongside the company in the context of promotion, innovation and/or branding activities, which can, depending on the approaches, be similar to customer empowerment (cognitive, influential and sanctioning skills).

It is in this context that we have sought to reflect on the customer relationship, what it has become and what it will be tomorrow. This collective work shows to what extent customer relations in the age of digital transformation is a fertile ground for many paradoxes that have inspired the great French-speaking experts in the field, experts who have been asked to contribute to this book. This book proposes to extend the reference works on customer relationship management, in particular the book Stratégie Clients, edited by Professor Pierre Volle in 2012², by providing a resolutely forward-looking vision of the discipline. The latest advances in marketing research, which provides empirical validations of the importance of “customer-centric” approaches and gives high priority to societal and environmental concerns, are integrated. In addition to the rational effectiveness of marketing actions, it is the customer, as a citizen and in their daily environment, who will be discussed. Customers’ well-being is now invoked, rightly or wrongly, as a compelling reason to guide the hands of marketers.

Throughout the 16 chapters of this book, some 30 researchers discuss the main issues that drive customer relationship management professionals, students as well as the marketing scientific community.

Chapter 1 is an introduction that provides an overview of the projects to be carried out in order to adapt customer relationship management to new technological, social and environmental challenges. Indeed, based on the hot topics identified by a team of researchers from the Association Française du Marketing (French marketing association), Gilles N’Goala makes the link between these current topics and customer relationship management. Jérôme Baray also offers us a focus on the challenges of AI.

To meet these new challenges, this book is then structured into three parts that allow our readers (1) to better understand the customer in the digital age, the augmented customer; (2) to produce augmented customer experiences; and (3) to help rethink the organization of customer relations, ultimately benefiting an augmented organization.

Part 1: Understanding the Augmented Customer

• – Chapter 2: Brand Practices when Faced with Augmented Consumers

This chapter, written by Nathalie Fleck and Laure Ambroise, provides a better understanding of who the customer is in this new digital environment. In response to this new consumer, the authors question the opportunity and necessity for brands to change their practices.

• – Chapter 3: The Augmented Customer Relationship: the Increasing Importance of the Customer’s Role

In this chapter, Sylvie Llosa and Lionel Nicod show how the customer has become a proactive actor, a source of competitive advantage for companies, while this customer was, in the past, considered a simple purchaser of products and as the passive beneficiary of the interaction with the company. This customer has become more powerful and is now taking on new roles.

• – Chapter 4: Innovation Augmented by the Customer: from Ideation to Diffusion

Among the roles taken on by the customer, Thomas Ruspil, Cyrielle Vellera and Andreas Munzel propose, in this chapter, a perspective of two new roles for customers upstream and downstream of the launch of a new product or service and its commercialization: the customer becomes a co-innovator when they participate in the processes of developing new ideas and designing new products or services, and can then facilitate the dissemination of this product or service by becoming a co-marketer who promotes the offer. This chapter is enriched by Patrick Kleer’s reflection on the co-creation approach implemented by Crédit Agricole Centre-Est bank, of which he is Deputy CEO, and from Yohann Melamed’s experience as a co-founder of Agorize, a company specializing in organizing open innovation challenges.

• – Chapter 5: The Customer’s Voice: Toward New Listening Tools

Beyond the new roles identified in Chapters 3 and 4, Andreas Munzel, Jessie Pallud and Daria Plotkina raise here the question of the nature of the conversation between the company and its customers and its management. Listening to the customer, who now has the opportunity to be heard instantly and broadly, requires companies to be more responsive and to set up genuine social listening.

• – Chapter 6: Redesigning the Customer’s Role in a Connected World

To close this first part, Pauline Folcher, Sarah Mussol and Gilles N’Goala ask in Chapter 6 what it means to manage customers in an increasingly connected world. The authors describe three major changes: the new faces of customers, sometimes users, sometimes buyers, influencers, collaborators, citizens, etc., which must be managed as a whole; new forms of marketing, between invisibility and speed of execution; and the challenges of taking into account the global experience of customers whose various products/services co-create value.

Part 2: Producing Augmented Customer Experiences

• – Chapter 7: The Augmented Customer Experience: Between Humanity and Robotization?

Régine Vanheems explains to us, in this chapter, why and how it is no longer simply a question of reducing the customer’s efforts or satisfying them at each touchpoint, but that it is necessary to rethink the entire process, which has sometimes become too complex. The goal is to construct a pleasant, rewarding and memorable omnichannel experience, and digital tools can assist with this. However, the author notes the need for consistency between all touchpoints in order to ensure a satisfactory experience.

• – Chapter 8: Designing Your Customer Experience

Echoing Régine Vanheems’ comments, Florence Jacob helps us define the concept of customer experience, but above all to “design” successful customer experiences. This chapter thus makes it possible to position the concept of experience and to understand its importance, both from a strategic and an operational point of view.

• – Chapter 9: Customer Relationships and Digital Technologies: What Place and Role for Sales Representatives?

The customer experience and B2B relationships are also strongly impacted by the advent of digital technology. In this chapter, Eric Julienne, Maud Dampérat and Romain Franck question the place and role of the seller in the era of social media and artificial intelligence. The authors question (1) the development of social selling, which is already well underway and is profoundly disrupting the relationship between sales people and their customers, and (2) the development of AI and its prospects in terms of customer relationship management. AI has announced a profound change in the world of work and a fortiori in the commercial profession. The authors propose three prospective scenarios, oriented toward future technologies and which may exist concurrently in the medium to long term: (1) the augmented seller, (2) the sale without a seller and (3) humanoid robot sellers.

• – Chapter 10: Engaging Reciprocity from the Complainant Customer in the Digital Age

Françoise Simon, in this chapter, proposes to focus on a specific and potentially crucial aspect of the customer experience: the complaint. The author shows that, in a connected and globalized world, customer complaint management is at the heart of the new challenges facing brands. By offering dissatisfied customers new spaces to express themselves, Internet ecosystems tend to divert them from a direct dialogue with brands, with the risk of deteriorating their e-reputation. Based on this observation, the author helps us to better understand how to manage complaints and shows the key role of reciprocity.

• – Chapter 11: Firms’ Emphatic Capacity: a Social Neuroscience Perspective for Managing Customer Engagement in the Digital Era

To conclude this second part of the book, Mathieu Lajante relies on one of the paradoxes of digital transformation relating to the need to forge a strong bond with customers while trying to rationalize and make their experiences smoother, with the help of chatbots and other AI that potentially lead to a loss of physical connection with the customer and an absence of perception of emotions which would be spontaneously felt by the user. In light of the latest research in neuroscience, this chapter highlights that the company’s empathetic capacity contributes to shaping a virtuous customer relationship management that creates value for both parties.

Part 3: Toward an Augmented Organization

• – Chapter 12: Data Marketing for Customer Intimacy

Grégoire Bothorel and Virginie Pez-Pérard show, in this chapter, that we are witnessing the development of service offers that put technology and associated data at the service of a totally (and perfectly?) personalized offer. By using a variety of customer data sources (home, media, touchpoints, cars, etc.), data marketing transforms the customer approach and makes it possible to be present where the customer consumes content, at the right time and with an adapted offer.

• – Chapter 13: The Dark Side of Customer Relationship Management Practices in the Data Age: Managing Resistance and Perceived Intrusion for Responsible Practices

Caroline Lancelot-Miltgen, Aïda Mimouni and Virginie Pez-Pérard highlight the paradoxes of customer relations and help us to understand the dark side of customer relationship management in order to build more responsible practices. On the one hand, the customer is often encouraged to develop their average shopping basket and/or frequency of purchases through promotional offers or reward mechanisms, and can therefore make unnecessary or too expensive purchases in relation to their budget. In addition, an exclusive relationship, a favored objective of loyalty shown, would deprive the customer of their freedom and lock them into an often unbalanced commercial relationship. How can we not fall into these traps? This chapter is enriched by Fanny Reniou’s reflection on the management of the deviant customer and Audrey Porte’s reflection on the interest in transparency. The authors advocate a responsible approach to restoring trust with customers.

• – Chapter 14: The Legal Basis for a Data Economy Based on Trust

Marketing practices based on customer data, and the resulting privacy and data protection issues, have led the legislator to take up the issue. In this chapter, Isabelle Landreau deciphers the legal context relating to personal data by presenting the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and proposing prospective reflections.

• – Chapter 15: Information Systems Security: Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Tools

The GDPR refers companies to a set of responsibilities, including information system security. In this chapter, Philippe Cohard points out that, in a context where customer data already represent, today and tomorrow even more so, the basic foundation of customer strategies, it is more than ever in the interest of companies to organize their information systems in such a way as to be able to store and use them correctly, while complying with the jurisdiction in force. In this regard, management faces several threats, particularly those related to the organization’s employees, that need to be assessed.

• – Chapter 16: Organizing the Augmented Customer Relationship

To conclude this part and the book, Isabelle Prim-Allaz and Pierre Volle raise in a more global way the question of the structure of the augmented customer relationship and the role of the various stakeholders. The authors start from the observation that the implementation of a strategy, and the structure that goes with it, is necessarily a source of paradoxical tensions. This chapter proposes to answer, in part, the management of these paradoxes by first asking the question of the governance of customer strategy within organizations, and then, in a second step, by questioning the role of the various stakeholders. The question of the internalization versus the outsourcing of customer relations is also raised. Finally, as a conclusion, the authors discuss the interest in thinking about a coherent implementation of customer strategy through configuration theory.

Gilles N’GOALA, Virginie PEZ-PÉRARD and
Isabelle PRIM-ALLAZ
February 2019