CMO/CCO: Smartest CX Savings Grow Revenue Exponentially

Savings in wise ways ironically grow revenue exponentially. What's wise? Look at things from customers' perspective. Smartest savings in customer experience and marketing differ greatly from common practices. Read on for 4 causes of savings pressure, 4 business-as-usual mis-steps, and 4 surprisingly high-growth solutions.

Everyone prefers "Here are more resources for you" instead of "Do more with less". Pressure to be more efficient and effective is ongoing because:

Everyone expects ongoing higher value. Your pay increases yearly and investors demand quarterly increases. Partners deserve this too, since they help you achieve your goals. Ultimately, customers deserve the highest value increases: THEY are the source of your salaries, budgets, and dividends. Customer relationship strength matters most because your top goal is maximum lifetime value. Investors want this.

"Good" is a moving target. Social and economic trends continually evolve, along with technology, regulations, and competitive pressures. Tough business decisions are not necessarily non-customer-centric: customers want you to survive and thrive so they can, too.

Additional customers requires additional CXM. Growing revenue monthly brings more customers to your firm. This expands post-sale inquiry volume and so on, typically. Customers prefer to avoid post-sale inquiries via issue-free experience with your brand.

Non-customer-centric moves mean extra costs. Whenever anyone in your firm does something customers don't appreciate, the costs snowball: negative word-of-mouth, Service inquiries, returns, refunds, escalations, churn, and higher Marketing and Sales investments to make up for churn. And of course, increased CXM pressure to do more with less. Customers cause high costs when anyone's decisions are not based on lifetime value. They bought into your value proposition, so your company owes them full delivery of it, right the first time!

Smartest CX Savings are NOT Business as Usual

• Shrinkflation: Reducing value to customers for the price paid violates Rule 1 (above: "Everyone expects ongoing higher value"). Shrinking value via higher prices, smaller products, or lower quality is a downward spiral of distrust. Why damage your brand strength?
• Digitalization: Automating customer interfaces and touchpoint workflows can help and harm CX at the same time. Ensure Rule 1 is not violated. Use agile methods and feedback loops to continually ensure your relationship with customers is strengthened rather than damaged by digitalization. A Clorox VP wisely said: "We were trying to do digital, and we realized we need to BE digital". Invest properly in internal coordination for timely response and proactive use of feedback loops.
• Service as a Revenue Center: Customers contact Service after your value proposition failed. They're exhausted from failed self-service and muzak and extreme repetition proving their identity. Not a good time to upsell and cross-sell. Instead, make Service a Value Center by harvesting its super-rich customer intelligence. Instead of "recording for quality purposes", record for innovation purposes. Mine this! Your big data and AI will be much more accurate. Your business decisions will be wiser. This respects Rule 1 because customers are doubly ripped off by a CX fail and their time tied up in Service. Your CRM gain doesn't reimburse THEM.
• Shrinking Marketing/CX Budgets: Why shoot yourself in the foot in ability to attract and retain customers?

Smartest CX Savings Grow Revenue Exponentially

4 ways to generate huge revenue via massive savings in customer experience management are:

1. Direct executives and teams' attention to the root causes of inefficiency:

2. Use customer intelligence to guide growth success: (market expansions , business models, new products, mergers, strategic planning , etc.)

3. Get to the heart of Marketing/CX costs by revising your customer segmentation and ideal customer profiles:

4. Redirect CX strategy toward solving silos:

"Here are more resources for you" is what you'll hear in the future by pivoting away from business-as-usual mis-steps. Embrace these 4 solutions for surprisingly high-growth. Your gains will be huge in every financial measure, along with more budget, life cycle balance, industry leadership, and enjoyment.

Author?Lynn Hunsaker ?started her career in the strategic planning department at Sonoco Products Company. She was Marketing & Business Development Director and Head of Corporate Quality at Applied Materials. She was first in the world to conduct a global study of B2B CX practices, and first in the world to benchmark marketing operations practices. This article is a glimpse into what you gain from?ClearAction Experience Leadership Mastery . Yes, all these points are included in it, and MUCH more!

ClearAction Continuum coined the phrase "Experience Leadership" to represent what's needed in the 2020s above the touchpoint management and experience management of the 2010s. In the 2020s we need to pivot to far greater trust, respect, values, and value. To fast-track your pivot,?Experience Leadership Mastery ?guides you within 2 to 10 hours across every managerial level in customer, partner, and employee experience combined.

To-date in the 2020s, we're sliding backward in trust, respect, values, and value, as monitored by the 2023 Forrester CX Index, 2023 Qualtrics State of Customer Experience, American Customer Satisfaction Index, Edelman Trust Barometer, and many other studies.

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