Pointers for CEOs to Ensure a Sustainable CX Strategy

Enlightened CEOs embrace Customer Experience (CX) as the new competitive battleground and the route to profitable differentiation in organisations. However, delivering a sustainable Customer Experience strategy is not without its challenges. Here are some pointers to help embed an effective CX strategy from the outset:

Go large or go home

Conventional wisdom calls for piloting changes on a limited basis which if successful are rolled out more broadly. Whilst this works for individual elements or small tweaks, it does not work for implementing an effective Customer Experience strategy. You need to think in terms of Change Management that embraces the whole organisation and have the Board and senior management fully committed, leading by example to be able to achieve results fast.

Also it is useful to focus on quick wins early in your programme implementation, as we find that when staff see results early on in the programme they buy in wholeheartedly.

A holistic approach

Adopt a holistic approach when looking at the customer journey and the stakeholders involved. Understanding the functional relation between parts and the whole is important for managing the spectrum of interactions that combine to impact on Customer Experience.

Often the temptation is to focus training and incentives on front end staff, when it is internal service providers like logistics, IT or accounts that are key in providing the right support for customer facing staff. These internal service providers are as important enablers in ensuring front line staff can deliver an excellent Customer Experience.

Continual refinement

Customer expectations are dynamic and evolving, and so too will your CX strategy. Think of it as an iterative process, that has a beginning, middle but no end. It will be evolved and measured, even changed or paused if necessary, never stopped. And each iteration will realise learning and refinement.

In terms of measurement try not to just track traditional metrics like Net Promoter Scores or Share of Wallet, whilst they are useful, they are lagging indicators. Look at the number of new value adding service ideas in your organisation, the levels of staff engagement, voice of customer studies and customer’s reviews.

In closing… once you have an integrated, fully embedded Customer Experience programme that is producing results …the challenge is then how to take it to the next level.