Special thanks to Vitamix for hosting EDGE’s InnoQuest (Innovation) and Sales & Marketing groups and sharing how its approach to “Customer Experience” has transformed its marketing and product development strategies and turned its customers into advocates. 

Customer Experience is made up of three parts:

1. Customer journey
2. Brand touchpoints the customer interacts with
3. Environments the customer experiences during their experience

Holly Hacker, Director of Brand and Customer Experience at Vitamix, led the group through a road-mapping experience to help companies see where and how they can be more customer-centric in developing their products and services.

Key Takeaways:

• How to define our company’s customer life-cycle
• Develop a customer journey map – Who uses our product, who touches it, and how do they get it?
• What touch points do we have?
• Understanding the difference between these customer chains by product category
• Determining what is our company’s Customer Promise
• Consider how we gather Customer Service Data and develop a customer experience (CX) plan

“Outstanding session … One of my biggest takeaways … was (the importance of) tapping into your customers. How they are experiencing and using your product and more importantly understanding some of the potential pitfalls of your products.” 

– Eric Litras, Director, Sales and Marketing, Vizion Solutions

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About the InnoQuest Innovation Management Program:

A collaborative forum offered bi-monthly to leaders and innovation practitioners of mid- to large-sized companies in Northeast Ohio. Participants gain best practices in managing and guiding the innovation process, new working relations with peer companies & leading practitioners and actionable steps to improve a company’s innovation practices. Program content has included: Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing), Lean Start-Up Principles, Design Thinking and Creativity in Leadership. Each session is held at a location of interest throughout the region; past locations have included; Sherwin Williams, The Technology House, NASA Glenn Research Center, Baldwin Wallace Center for Innovation and Growth, Parker Hannifin’s New Innovation Center and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

To participate in the InnoQuest Innovation Management program contact:
Chris Keller (Chris@edgef.org; 216-346-6300) or Grant Marquit (Grant@edgef.org; 216-215-5058)