BMAI | Our Approach

We nurture genuine relationships

We work with our clients to achieve a deep understanding of their customers, members or other stakeholders. This understanding must go beyond transactions and data and delve into the human side; the personal and the interpersonal, the things that are important in allowing people to achieve success. The more we understand what’s important in the minds and lives of those people who are central to your success, the more we understand what they are trying to get done and what success looks like to them, the more we can help you develop and deliver the kind of value that will not merely satisfy them, but will lead to their being fully engaged with your organization.

At BMAI, we divide what’s in your value proposition into the functional and the emotional; the tangible and the intangible; the hard and the soft. Our interviews and conversations with thousands of our clients’ customers and members over the years have confirmed that it is the emotional/intangible/soft components of what you offer that are the most important in driving engagement and loyalty. True loyalty is the result of how customers are treated, how they interact with you and, ultimately, how you make them feel.

We have worked with clients for well over 30 years, helping them really understand the people they serve, getting inside their minds and lives, measuring the strength of relationships and the level of engagement, then working with our clients to devise strategies that will enhance the connection with their brand. We can help you connect more deeply, driving value, and leading to sustainable, profitable growth for your organization.

In a world where big data, econometric modeling and advanced analytics are among the hottest topics garnering the attention of marketers and executives, we are concerned that the human side of organizational strategy is often marginalized or ignored. What of the unique people, decisions and human interactions that sit behind the data and are central to those relationships that organizations so desperately want to build and grow? They are lost in the numbers.

By encouraging a different perspective, one that is focused on developing and nurturing genuine relationships with key stakeholders, whether they are customers, members or clients, we believe that organizations can move beyond hard data and start to build relationships that will lead to enhanced value, enduring genuine relationships, and long-term growth. We call this engagement.

Engagement, like relationships, is a complex subject. Those who have a solid, positive relationship with a company, organization or brand are the most engaged. They have strong feelings toward the organization, interact with it regularly, are active in supporting it and even take pride in their association. But, as with many similarly complex concepts in business, engagement is often defined simplistically—equated with metrics such as satisfaction and Net Promoter Score. These are widely used, but insufficient, metrics. They tell only one small part of a complex story. Few organizations tap into how the customer feels about being a customer.

BMAI offers organizations a new approach to understanding and evaluating engagement, one that will provide the strategic direction needed to drive value for the organization and those it serves. Our approach to the measurement and growth of engagement builds upon our experience since 1995 in working with national and international clients to quantify the strength of and equity in their relationships with customers. We have extended our expertise in measuring customer relationships to provide direction to organizations to strengthen engagement and loyalty, thereby driving organizational growth.

We have refined our measurement methodologies to capture a complete view of customer engagement and have recently launched a new measurement tool, Customer Engagement Score (CEs). Expanding this thinking for member-based organizations and accounting for the unique characteristics, measures, and objectives of such organizations, we also created the Member Engagement Score (MEs).

Both scores captures the emotional connection to the organization and allows executives to assess where relationships are weak and where they are strong, pointing to strategic responses to improve engagement levels. The result is an improvement in member involvement, stronger member commitment, increased operational efficiency, and growth.

Our unique and proven methodology offers a more comprehensive approach to assessing engagement, is more detailed and provides greater strategic direction than member satisfaction or Net Promoter Score. Results are specific to the individual organization, not aggregate data—actionable at the level of the organization. We will also identify what drives emotional connection to the organization, with results presented by relevant segments. The results provide strategic direction to create value, strengthen relationships, improve levels of involvement and participation, and contribute to growth.

A typical BMAI customer or member engagement assignment consists of an annual online survey—uniquely created and tested for businesses and member-based organizations. The survey involves “black box” questions needed to allow for the calculation of the CEs and MEs; these are standard across all projects. Each client has the opportunity to include additional questions specific to its own context.

Based on this survey, and augmented by qualitative insight if needed, our report will provide a detailed analysis of results, calculation of the CEs or MEs at an organization-wide level and for specific segments, with key results interpreted and strategic direction highlighted. Results are tracked year-over-year and benchmarked against comparable organizations.

Additional value can be created through merging internal customer data with the CEs and MEs survey data to allow for the identification of segments within the organization’s customer or member base, determine which segments are most engaged and why, and address the extent to which relationships are at risk.