Improving the customer experience starts with corporate culture

If you are seeking to improve your organization’s customer experience and are tempted to put all your time and energy into driving CSAT and CES scores, you are missing the big picture. While those are key indicators of improvement, they cannot be looked at in isolation, or be the sole focus of your attention.

Before looking for ways to enhance your customer community, making content easily accessible to your customers and support agents, and finding a technology that makes it all possible, it is important to get to the root of the problem: your corporate culture.

We are living in the age of the customer. In fact, according to Forrester, we are already five years into it. What does that mean exactly? It means that your customers are being offered, and have been for some time, unforgettable digital experiences. Ideas and information are shared consistently and instantly, everyone and everything is connected – and if that reality is not at the core of your organization as a whole, yesterday is not soon enough to reassess your company goals.

We are living in the age of the customer. In fact, according to Forrester, we are already five years into it.

In a recent study by Econsultancy, 58 percent of respondents reported that in order for companies to establish a truly “digital-native” culture, being customer-centric was the most important. Amazon, Apple and Starbucks are leading examples of brands whose company cultures revolve around their customers and their needs.

Though good customer service is a key component, it is a piece of the puzzle. Customer centricity in the larger sense should be part of your company’s DNA. It means offering a great experience from the beginning of the customer journey in their awareness phase, as they are considering purchasing your product or service, straight through their post-purchase process. Hence, the need for company-wide buy-in.

Understandably, getting the entire organization on the same page is no easy feat, but a misalignment of this magnitude will inevitably create confusion in different departments, unnecessary delays in everything from response times to product launches, and puts you at an incredible competitive disadvantage.

Amazon, Apple and Starbucks are leading examples of brands whose company cultures revolve around their customers and their needs

Consider this: your organization exists to fulfil certain needs, solve particular challenges and meet the demands of those who are faced with that challenge. Without your customers you will no longer be in business… if they are not at heart of your company, what is?

Gaining alignment and achieving sustained success is possible through a customer experience (CX) transformation, complete with solid culture practices, that keeps the customer-first mentality top of mind for everyone. Making customer-centric behavior part of your corporate culture ensures that it permeates every department and is felt at every touchpoint, delivering an unrivaled customer experience.

Though many companies see the benefit in shifting to a customer-centric culture and getting well into the transformation process, the completion rate dwindles due to a lack of patience, discipline, or grit that has needed to ride out the five or so years it takes to completely transform.

In a recent report, Forrester claims that most organizations undergoing CX transformations abandon the strategy mid-flight or fail to commit fully to the necessary changes. Which begs the question: why is it so hard?

Though good customer service is a key component, it’s a piece of the puzzle. Customer centricity in the larger sense should be part of your company’s DNA.

Culture change, like any major adjustment, requires change management. Behind everything your company does are people with goals, processes and behaviors that they are likely comfortable with and not keen to let go of. They may not see the need for change from their purview, the thought of change may be uninteresting to them, or the thought of any sort of “transformation” may be horrifying.

Yet companies embark on a CX transformation with a tendency to think that identifying and articulating customer-centric values is enough to bring a customer-centric culture to life. Sadly, articulating the end goal alone will not drive behavioral change; a plan is necessary for people to understand how to embrace, adopt and effectively use the knowledge and tools that will make change possible.

However, for your customers and the livelihood of your organization, the possibility of change will not cut it. You can make this change probable by helping your employees in the following three ways found in the Forrester report:

1. Ingrain specific customer-centric behaviors: CX transformation leaders must provide detailed guidance to all employees and partners about what they can do to contribute to the intended experience. The behavioral guidance should be specific and role-appropriate, and should build upon existing examples of positive customer experiences.

2. Remove barriers that make it harder to act in customer-centric ways: Barriers can be real or perceived, and companies need to tackle both. CX leaders must correct the misperceptions of employees and partners who do not believe they contribute to the customer experience. They must also remove or revise processes, policies and systems that make it harder to adopt customer-centric behaviors.

3. Add enablers that make it easier to be customer-centric: Employees and partners need support to consistently hit the mark on customer centricity. Transformation leaders should establish training and communication that helps them know what behaviors to deliver. They should select role models of customer centricity to emulate and create a coaching and feedback environment that helps refine and improve performance.
   
   This may seem like more trouble than it is worth but there are significant advantages to making the shift to a customer-centric culture. Customer-centric companies are 60 percent more profitable compared to companies that are not focused on the customer. Furthermore, 9 out of 10 US CEOs say it is a top priority to strengthen their customer and client engagement programs. Do not be left in the dust.
   
   It is important to take a more holistic approach and measure the success of your transformation, and how the efforts and results of each group or department tie back to your company’s overall goal of improving the customer experience. If there is one thing to keep in mind throughout the process it’s that what gets measured gets done.

Customer-centric companies are 60 percent more profitable compared to companies that are not focused on the customer.

To learn more about optimizing your culture practices for CX transformation and enabling your employees to adopt a customer-centric culture, get a limited-time, complimentary copy of Forrester’s report, Remove Barriers And Add Enablers For A Customer-Centric Culture.