The Customer-Technology Interface

  Technology offers customers an array of new ways to interact with firms, fundamentally altering the purchase experience and raising concerns about data privacy. The key goal is to create a single trustworthy vision for the firm across the channels. Tier 1 • What can we learn about the human/tech interface when voice-activated interaction (e.g., Alexa) becomes the norm? How does this process change the customer decision-making process? • How do technologies help integrate customer value and brand? • Does personalization matter and, if so, when? Can we “over-target”? • In the age of GDPR and the increasing importance of preserving customers’ privacy, what is the appropriate tradeoff between privacy and personalization, and what are the ethical ramifications of customer data collection and use? How will regulation/compliance affect marketing? • How important is subscription marketing? What are the optimal ways to market “AAS” (as a service)-offers? How many subscriptions will consumers tolerate, and under what circumstances? • What is the right trade-off between self-service and personal channels? Tier 2 • How do consumers react to surge pricing or to other types of dynamic pricing? • How transparent should a firm be in their pricing strategy? What is the customers’ role in determining the fair price? Is “radical transparency” a beneficial strategy? • What can be done to increase share of customer wallet? What are profitable ways to cross-sell? What are appropriate strategies for lead generation?