RACHEL TERLAU
Your partner to success, providing unbiased guidance that delivers real-world results
PERSPECTIVES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
PERSPECTIVES
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT
THE CURRENT STATE OF
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT
Over the past two decades, particularly with the introduction of NPS® in 2003, companies around the world have made significant investments in various tools and technologies to gain a better understanding of customer perceptions, needs and wants.
Yet, most organizations still struggle to translate customer insight into prescriptive actions that improve both customer experience and the bottom line.
THE
GAP
Many companies proudly proclaim a customer-first, experience-led approach to business but most fall short in the ability to consistently deliver on customer expectations.
THE
MISSED MARK
Conceived as a solution to closing down ‘The Gap’ and a path to business growth, Customer Experience has been diluted to customer surveys, CX scores, analysis paralysis, and flashy marketing jargon.
What about actions that actually improve the experience?
THE
CATCH
The CX arena is influenced by tech vendors and large consulting firms. The advice from these companies, while perhaps valuable and shared with best intentions, comes alongside a primary goal of positioning additional products and long-term engagements.
THE
IMPACT
CX initiatives have become expensive and overly complicated, prompting business leaders to question investment value. CX leaders are now faced with the pervasive challenge of constantly validating efforts and operating within increasing budget constraints.
THE
COST
1
2
3
4
Accelerated customer churn & revenue loss
Increased marketing & sales spend
Weakened competitive position
Compromised brand promise & reputation
experience-led growth WHY & WHY NOW?
1
COMMODITIZED MARKETS
Across industries, many of the worlds largest companies are struggling to sustain profitable growth in a marketplace where their services are becoming more commoditized.
2
SHIFTING COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Globalization, technical innovation, regulatory restructuring, demographic shifts and environmental pressures collectively and continuously impact the competitive landscape.
3
DIGITAL DISRUPTION
Digital-native firms leverage AI capabilities to attract customers with personalized offerings and advanced self-servicing capabilities, putting convenience and ease at the customer’s fingertips.
4
CONSUMER SWITCHING BEHAVIORS
Given the plethora of choice, customers are easily swayed to switch to a competitor’s offering, particularly on the heels of a poor experience or for a better price and perceived value.
5
THE ACQUISITION TRAP
Companies leverage aggressive customer acquisition strategies as a solution to churn, but at high cost. Compensating for the value of one lost customer requires, on average, the acquisition of three new customers.
EXPERIENCE-LED STRATEGY
The most successful growth companies have mastered a powerful strategy for driving retention and increasing revenue from their existing customers - a proactive approach to delivering a consistently distinctive customer experience (CX). By delivering optimized experiences, customers alter their behavior by staying longer, purchasing more and more frequently, and referring others to the brand, ultimately leading to improved financial metrics such as share of wallet, repeat purchases, or net revenue retention (NRR).
HOW DO THEY DO IT?
Instead of solely relying on Voice-of-Customer (VOC) surveys to track CX scores, experience-led companies start with the end in mind. They clearly define objectives aligned to business and brand strategies, and then leverage a multi-pronged approach to prioritize and execute transformational efforts designed to deliver both business and customer-defined value.
EXPERIENCE
MANAGEMENT
IS NOT A STAND ALONE
Many organizations have embraced Customer Experience Management as a concept. They use phrases such as customer-first, customer-centered, customer-led, etc. They solicit customer feedback and track survey scores. Yet, without a defined strategy in place that drives prescriptive actions that actually improve experience outcomes, most companies struggle to move the needle.
At its core, CX Strategy is the plan for fulfilling brand promise and identifying the specific initiatives required to meet and exceed customer expectations across all aspects of the business. In doing so, CX Strategy serves both brand and business strategies, prioritizing the specific actions that will continuously improve and optimize experience outcomes, customer behaviors and ultimately, business performance.
Embedding a comprehensive change management approach as a core component of CX Strategy enables both leaders and employees to understand the reason and intended value from change (the why) as well as the specific actions they can apply to manage and support experience management transformation efforts going forward.
At the intersection of business, brand and change strategies lies the key to effective Experience Management!
BUSINESS STRATEGY
BRAND STRATEGY
CHANGE STRATEGY
Business Strategy, which may also be referred to as competitive strategy or ‘value discipline’, identifies the specific initiatives required to complete in market, to optimize financial performance and to create stakeholder value.
Brand Strategy establishes organizational purpose - the reason for existing. It articulates the brand promise and communicates the company’s unique value proposition describing the benefits for customers and employees as brand of choice.
Change Strategy, often described as organizational agility or resilience, is an enterprise-wide competency that enables the ability to predict, respond, manage and adapt to both internal and external changes as a competitive advantage,
We must boldly embrace change to create the specific conditions that enable continuous business & customer value.
GO BEYOND
VOICE OF CUSTOMER
start with Vision -
the CX North Star.
To be effective, a Customer Experience Vision must align to brand promise, articulate the customers whom the organization serves as well as the intended experiences for customers as they engage across distinctive journeys.
VISION GUIDES STRATEGY.
Customer Experience Strategy outlines the organization's goals and key initiatives required to deliver successful experience and business outcomes. It aligns teams towards a CX North Star (the Vision) and provides direction on transforming the Customer Experience vision into reality.
STRATEGY INFORMS THE ROADMAP.
A Customer Experience Roadmap goes beyond tactical plans, technical capabilities, CX surveys and scores. It serves as the bridge between long-term Customer Experience objectives and the necessary initiatives and actions that should be prioritized in order to achieve measurable success.
EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES
Seeking to radically improve Customer Experience?
Radically improve your strategic capabilities!
CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING:
Feedback and insights that provide deep understanding into customer wants, needs and perceptions, providing foundation for the design, optimization and delivery of experiences that meet and exceed expectations.
ROLES & GOVERNANCE:
A decision-making framework that formally allocates required resources, reinforces cross-functional accountability and prioritizes investments to optimize experience improvement and innovation efforts.
TECHNOLOGY, PROCESSES & DATA:
Systems, workflows, processes and data required to advance Customer Understanding in order to identify, inform and validate customer wants, needs and perceptions over time.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN:
Processes, projects and resources that focus on the design and delivery of intended experiences in order to meet and exceed customer expectations, deliver on brand promise and improve business performance and differentiation.
METRICS & MEASUREMENT:
A consistent approach to quantifying the way that customers percieve their experiences across distinctive journeys and touchpoints, as well as the quality of experience outcomes and their connection to business metrics and KPIs.
SPONSORSHIP & CULTURE:
Executive-level customer advocacy that directs employees and company leaders to adopt a shared set of customer-centric values, attitudes and behaviors that collectively deliver experience outcomes that meet and exceed customer expectations.
RACHEL TERLAU
Your partner to success, providing unbiased guidance that delivers real-world results