Lavender repositions itself as CX Agency in a move that reinforces customer-first approach

Independent agency Lavender has overhauled its company positioning to reflect its expanding suite of services, positioning itself as a CX agency.

The move reinforces the agency’s laser-sharp focus on putting customers first while also reflecting its five-step offering of consulting, data, creative, technology and delivery.

Lavender’s aim as an agency partner is to help clients shape their organisations’ products and services around the behaviour and needs of current and future customers, therefore making them more valuable to their customers.

CX is an increasingly important part of marketing and communications. A recent Forrester Research survey of 52 Australian and New Zealand businesses, released on 14 August, found that 98% of respondents believe CX is a priority, but only one-third have a CX strategy that’s actually aligned with the overall company strategy.

Lavender’s repositioning is in response to client demand for a broader consulting service that can be presented at board level, taking in CX, product development, data and tech audits and architectural solutions among others.

Says Will Lavender, founder, Lavender: “Ten to 15 years ago, boards were asking what their brand’s CRM strategy was. Soon they’ll be asking about CX. And, there’s a big difference. While CRM was about ‘push’ messages that brands wanted to tell people, CX is about recognising customers’ desires and delivering value in an appealing way.

“Brands are awake to the service difference that multi-channel interactivity can achieve – I call it sales through service, which is marketing with respect and relevance. In the CX world, that simple thought of doing something in one place and it being recognised in another, is now achievable for the customer-centric marketer. We vowed we’d deliver this capability and ten years on we are.”

In Lavender’s view, the combination of fierce competition, rising customer expectations and the proliferation of channels means all companies must continually improve their customer experience if they want to remain in business, let alone thrive.

Lavender’s 5 core services

1. Consulting – Whether a business requires a complete CX transformation, or help with developing a unique business proposition or a complete data and technical audit, Lavender has the expertise to assist.

2. Data – Lavender taps into the power of data to help uncover valuable insights through propensity modelling, analytics and segmentation. The agency’s business and technology consultants can also deliver data management solutions.

3. Creative – Lavender is an agency that tackles all aspects of marketing to solve a business problem: from customer experience strategy, through to creative, design, production and technical build. By marrying strategic smarts with inspiring ideas, Lavender creates campaigns that make customers feel valued, recognised and appreciated.

4. Technology – From the development of platforms to in-depth systems integration, even hosting and management services, Lavender’s innovative technology specialists have the skills to do it all in-house.

5. Delivery – Lavender partners with world-class vendors in addition to developing its own inhouse CRM and loyalty system and software manufacturing to deliver systems integration, email and SMS, performance management and measurement, and training and support.