It is not uncommon for leaders to expect everyone in an organization to complete certain deliverables or responsibilities. The problem with this thinking is that the job quickly becomes no one’s job. The larger the group, the higher the probability that no one will take responsibility.
Assigning ownership creates accountability while empowering staff to look for new opportunities to manage. What if your organization does not have a customer experience team or even one person in charge of CX?
Even in the absence of dedicated leadership, investment or a coherent strategy, your organization is delivering some type of experience to its customers. If no one in the organization is responsible for looking at the journey experienced by a customer through the customer’s perspective, it is very possible that the experiences are unintentional, inconsistent, ordinary and fail to meet expectations.
What makes a great customer experience?
The answer to this question is many things.
The following three key elements, however, can create remarkable customer experiences:
- Strategy: a defined outlook for what success is and how to get there.
- Culture: employees who embrace and understand their role in achieving that success.
- Accountability: employees who accept responsibility for accomplishing the strategy within the organization’s culture.
Unfortunately, organizations rarely organize themselves around these ideas.
As a concept, customer experience is somewhat vague and ambiguous. Employees are urged to be "customer-obsessed" or to recognize that customers are the reason for their paychecks. Yet, these notions can be subject to varying interpretations among well-intentioned employees. Over time, leaders become puzzled, questioning why there is so much discussion about customer experience without tangible results to show for it. Improving customer experience must be intentional.
If you are the person in your organization who “gets it” and is passionate about making real change, you may be pleading with leadership to buy into the idea of bettering customer experience, this is for you.
Below are six ways to lead CX efforts, regardless of your job title.
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Tip 1: Use the right language
One of my personal pet peeves is hearing “customer experience” described as a buzzword or jargon. But I get it.
Customer experience is often perceived as an add-on to the business, rather than an integral part of it. But it should be recognized as a key driver for business success. When approached with intentionality, customer experience becomes a winning strategy that propels the entire business.
Intentionality is missing from many customer experience strategies. For example, how intentional is it to say, “we love customers” and provide no resources, goals, or even a vision of what that means? That language feels pretty hypocritical when paired with procedures and processes that treat customers like they aren’t to be trusted.
To be a CX change agent, lead with language. Instead of saying “we love customers” as a standalone statement, tie that with tangible goals, measurements, and outcomes.
Even if you do not lead a department, you can initiate change from wherever you currently stand. When your boss asks about customers, take the opportunity to delve deeper by asking more probing questions about goals. Be specific in your discussions, outlining the connections between actions and desired outcomes. By explaining how enhancing this aspect of the customer experience can positively impact their sentiments, you can pave the way for improved survey results and, more importantly, higher customer retention rates.
Tip 2: Be your own customer
Know your customer and their actual journey. Understanding the customer is key. That means leveraging journey mapping, customer feedback programs and behavioral data to evaluate where the journey requires improvements.
Travel your customer journey and look for quick fixes. I bet you can find at least one right away!
A broken link, perhaps? Maybe it is an outdated catalog item or a process that takes too long.
You need not label it a “customer experience issue” to get support from your organization. It is broken!
Make that one item a priority and fix it, then find another. The more speed bumps you remove, the better the journey will be for your customers.
Each interaction in the customer journey presents an opportunity to make a lasting impact.
As a CX change agent, look for opportunities to advocate for the customer at every chance you get.
This act alone will enlighten others and create an awareness of the customer in important decisions.
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Tip 3: Contact customers
Obtaining valuable data to help you decide which parts of the customer journey need improvement begins with talking directly to customers. If you are in a role where you do not have contact with customers, reach out to those who do. If you are in sales, customer success, or other customer-facing roles, reach out on your own.
Find out what they wish worked differently. Ask about their last interaction. Ask about their experiences with others in your industry.
In most organizations, the higher you climb in the org chart, the further away the customer gets. As a result, many executives have not spoken to a customer in months or even years – some have never done it!
Use this opportunity to get the real voice of the customer.
Tip 4: Establish a link between everyday endeavors and the external customer experience
Numerous organizations encounter internal challenges with their processes and communications. For instance, shipping might be waiting on products which, in turn, are waiting on design. Additionally, supply chain management causes delays for everyone involved, and billing processes are held back until harmonious collaboration occurs.
Internal communications have a direct impact on the customer experience. Yet it is easy to forget.
CX change agents do not forget that. They connect the dots proactively and intentionally.
It’s time to get a little direct. “I really appreciate all you do in supply chain management. I’ve promised the customer I’d get back to them by tomorrow with some information. Even if you don’t have an update, will you let me know that? This customer deserves it.” Help your team work cross-functionally on behalf of the customer.
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Tip 5: Bring in advocates
Leaders want to hear from you! But they don’t want to hear things in vague, CX-focused language. They want to hear how these investments are paying off for the overall organization.
It is critical to link the CX outcomes like “happier customers” with business outcomes like “lift in retention.” Get specific and share both quick wins and longer-term visions for what these programs can do for organizational success.
According to Precisely’s report, How Data is driving next-generation customer experiences, 96 percent of surveyed CX executives either have invested or plan to invest in data integration, data integrity or data enrichment technologies.
A word of caution here: do not just share charts and numbers. Share your customer’s story.
Help leaders stay connected to the emotional journey of your customer and why addressing their needs is so important to your mission.
Tip 6: Drive customer-centric innovation
You might see things that you know are not working. It is time to get excited about what could work better!
If you are unsure how to improve the situation, conduct some research. Benchmark the solutions adopted by others both within and beyond your industry for similar challenges. Review customer feedback, product evaluations and other readily available resources to gain insights.
I know it can be frustrating for CX change agents out there. You may not have the right title. You may not have the right resources. But you have the right intentions.
Intentional, proactive leaders truly drive changes in this world. You have the power to change the customer experience. Now is your moment to take the lead.
What CX or EX questions do you have? Leave a voicemail for me to answer on my Experience Action Podcast!