CX - What does it mean to design experiences?

I recently had a chat with some CXO and CX bigwigs, and it was like finding my tribe in a sea of rainbow coloured dolphins! We swapped tales of triumphs, troubles, and the eternal struggle of explaining what exactly a CX team does to the rest of the world. It felt like we were on a superhero mission to save the world from the chaos of bad customer experiences! (On that note, my next tattoo will be CX ≠ CS )

But enough with the chit-chat, let's dive into the world of those caffeinated squirrels we managed to lure in with a box of pencils (remember my last article about hooking customers with short attention spans?). Now that they're part of our ecosystem, how do we keep them entertained? How do we dazzle them with experiences they'll never forget?

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These squirrels are buzzing with caffeine, hopping between ten different apps a day! So, we've gotta give them something to talk about. From the moment they spot our ad on social media to the thrilling moment they hit "buy" with their furry little paws, every step of their journey needs to be a rollercoaster ride of excitement and delight.

?Let's break it down, shall we? First things first – is your digital journey as smooth as a squirrel's fur? And when you're designing campaigns, do you pack enough punch to knock their socks off and send them scurrying to the checkout?

Imagine this end to end journey: you're scrolling through Instagram, minding your own business, when suddenly, you spot our irresistible pencil ad. You click, you shop, but what happens next? Do we whisk you away to a fancy product page, or do we let you hang out on Instagram and shop till you drop without leaving the app?

And let's not forget about our marketing magic – are we hitting you with paid ads, roping in influencers, or summoning the powers of SEO? These are the burning questions we need to answer before we launch into action!

Now, here's where it gets really exciting. We're not just selling pencils – we're selling experiences! From sharpening tips to doodling masterpieces, these pencils are here to change your life. But do our squirrels know all the cool tricks these pencils can do? Are we dazzling them with secret benefits and tempting them to upgrade to a mechanical marvel?

?And when our little squirrels have a problem with their pencils, are our support teams armed with enough knowledge and enthusiasm to save the day? Are our pencil stores singing the same tune as our customer service champs?

I could go on and on, but let's wrap this up with a bow. The bottom line is this: if we want our squirrels to keep coming back for more, we've gotta serve up experiences that leave them begging for more acorns! And that's where CX comes in.

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CX isn't just about answering phone calls or responding to chat, SMS and emails – it's about weaving a tapestry of joy and wonder that stretches from the first click to the final checkout. It's about making every interaction sparkle with magic and leaving our squirrels squealing with delight.

So buckle up, folks – we're about to embark on a wild ride through the world of CX, where every squirrel is a VIP, and every pencil is a ticket to adventure.

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What is CX?

?CX "Customer Experience," is encompassing the entire journey a customer has with a brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase interactions.

?Yet, generally - the industry has somehow diluted it to its most BASIC form of CX= CS.

?NEWS ALERT : Customer service is not the entire picture of how a customer experiences a brand expression.

In the realm of CX, the pivotal factor lies in the unique journey that our squirrel customers embark upon when engaging with our pencil offerings. This journey spans across various touchpoints, where CX functions play a crucial role in standardizing, governing, and framing the CX journeys. By orchestrating these experiences, we shape the narrative of our brand, ensuring seamless customer-facing communications, processes, and solutions.

CX sits between all the functions and is a red thread in everything a business delivers on. It is at the intersection of :

1.???? Data

2.???? Technology

3.???? Channels (Online and Offline)

4.???? Marketing

5.???? Operations & Logistics

6.???? Workforce management & training

7.???? Process engineering

Example : In order for you to offer squirrels a gift with purchase offer on their second purchase as a retention tactic -? we would need to define that journey for the squirrel from start to finish; starting with measurement of success and a framework followed by the ideal journey we want the squirrel to be on :

1.????Know which customers - Data

2.???? How to fulfil the request by passing gift fulfilment, QA validation, operational hand off via - Technology

3.???? Deliver the message via - Channels (Online and Offline)

4.???? Use the brand voice and imagery and customer segmentation to create content - Marketing

5.???? How to get the gift procured and sent to do the customer - Operations

6.???? How to get the customer facing teams informed and enabled with the same offer – Workforce management and training

7.???? What processes need to be implemented to audit, measure and continuously monitor the experience - Process engineering

Forward-thinking organizations typically adopt a meticulous approach, often integrating dress rehearsals into their experience strategy. These rehearsals serve as final simulations, meticulously testing every facet of the customer journey to preemptively identify and rectify potential issues. Such practices not only validate the experience but also refine execution while ensuring teams are well-prepared for a flawless launch.

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Now, let's delve into the intricacies of our squirrel customers' interaction with our pencils:

• Are the pencils meeting their intended purpose? Do we understand the nuances of their usage, enabling us to provide tailored solutions for tasks such as sketching, scribbling, or note-taking?
• Do we effectively communicate the benefits of our pencils, including any hidden advantages such as sustainability or durability?
• Are we proactive in soliciting feedback to enhance our products continually?
• Do our customer support teams possess the necessary knowledge and autonomy to address any issues promptly?
• Are our retail stores aligned with our customer service teams in conveying a consistent narrative?
• Upon returning to our e-commerce platform, are we delivering meaningful experiences to our squirrel customers within their limited attention span of 150 seconds?

In the following few sections, let's explore the foundational elements and innovative tactics that underpin an exemplary CX strategy:

1. Understanding CX Fundamentals: We'll dissect the essence of CX and its foundations and composition.
2. Building a CX Function: From establishing a CX function to navigating change management within traditional structures, we'll explore strategies for embedding CX in diverse organizational cultures.
3. Value Proposition of CX: Supported by compelling statistics, we'll elucidate the tangible benefits that a robust CX strategy can deliver to organizations.

Understanding CX Fundamentals

Grounded in these fundamentals, our CX journey encompasses:

1. Customer-centric culture, emphasizing leadership commitment and employee engagement. EX = CX- please someone get this tattoo before I do!

?If we build great employee experiences with the right training, compensation, tools, and enablement to serve the customers' needs + paired with the foundational operational processes to deliver a solution or outcome to the customer + the right hiring profile for the customer facing teams + voice of the employee insights = building of an exceptional CX.

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Apple is a great example of this! “By offering its employees access to top-of-the-line technology and tools, and prioritizing employee development through programs such as the Apple University, Apple has created a culture of innovation and excellence. By?interlinking UX and EX, Apple has also created a superior Customer Experience (CX).”

https://futurestores.wbresearch.com/blog/apple-store-town-square-customer-experience

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2. Deep customer understanding through journey mapping, segmentation, and Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs. TIP: Build out your organizational tool that can statistically signify the data points (text analytics) and then route them into a model that can size the prize for incremental revenue growth or cost savings. All customer feedback should point to? “IF THIS, THEN THAT”? An example could look like a recommendation from CX team suggesting that “ If the business introduced the “Receive by XX date if you order today guarantee” business will see $X in savings on customer service interactions and $Y in incremental check out as customers will have the information on access to product delivery. I sometimes product switch on Amazon when I know the delivery date is imminent vs a generic 3 week time frame – Don’t YOU?!

• TIP 2 : How do you keep leadership accountable for VOC output – Size the PRIZE and showcase how much money is being left on the table and stack all the enhancements against each other so they can be prioritized in existing roadmaps

?3. Data-Driven Personalization: Use customer data to create personalized experiences, from product recommendations to customized marketing campaigns. Customer Segmentation: Tailor experiences based on specific customer segments, ensuring each group feels valued and understood.

• In session/ Real time marketing on e-commerce.
• In the world of constant squeeze of data privacy- we have to figure out a way to ensure we are providing personalized experiences to nudge the squirrels towards conversion. In the fast-paced world of online commerce, capturing the attention of our squirrel customers is paramount. With a mere 150 seconds to engage them effectively, personalized experiences are key. However, as data privacy regulations tighten over the next five years, our understanding of these squirrels may diminish. Nonetheless, we can still enhance their CX through in-session marketing and tailored site experiences.
• Acquisition costs are soaring, and retargeting is becoming increasingly challenging. Within those crucial 150 seconds, we must decipher the signals of our squirrel visitors to curate meaningful experiences. Despite the dwindling availability of third-party data, we can leverage anonymous data by monitoring on site behaviour and click stream to predict purchase intent and tailor the digital journey accordingly.
• Once these squirrels are on our site, it's our best chance to influence conversion directly. Real-time events can dynamically adjust content and offers based on their behaviour, whether nudging them towards a purchase or retaining their interest.
• By analyzing clickstream data and employing AI tools like session AI, we can predict buying behaviour and customize experiences accordingly. For instance, customers who exhibit interest but hesitate can receive special offers or deeper value propositions to encourage conversion.
• For those who may not buy immediately, we must provide enough information to encourage a return visit. Removing friction points during checkout and offering assistance when needed can guide them through the process seamlessly.
• Without robust heat mapping and behavior tracking, predicting purchase intent and segmenting our squirrel customers becomes challenging. By implementing these strategies, we can deliver personalized experiences that resonate with our audience and drive meaningful interactions.

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• Verizon is doing a fantastic job with their site configuration and personalization with Session AI – check it out here Top of Form

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?4. Omni-channel Consistency

• Seamless Experience Across Channels: Customers should have a consistent experience whether they're interacting online, in-store, or through customer support. This includes unified data, offer, messaging, and customer service handling experiences.
• Integrated Systems: Ensure your customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, and other systems are interconnected to provide a cohesive view of the customer.
• C360 and unified customer profile and clienteling strategy (CRM)

5. Continuous improvement, fuelled by customer feedback and a culture of innovation.

Using heat map, Chat transcripts, reviews, Mystery shopping, NPS verbatim, Social sentiment analysis to identify top driver for promotion and detraction to build enhancements in existing journeys.

6. Proactive customer support, underpinned by efficient problem resolution and engagement.

Arming CS teams with the appropriate customer data framework, customer profile, messaging tools, enablement to provide immediate customer restitution and foundational omni channel fulfillment tools (BOPIS, BOSFS, Seamless returns and exchanges) to drive ease of use. Allowing chat to pop as chatbots or assisted prompts where they may be friction experienced. Building proactive outreach in moments where customer is displaying sign of distress like multiple returns, known user abandon cart, wish list, out of stock alert management to name a few.

7. Brand authenticity and trust, anchored in transparent communication and alignment with core values.

Ensuring consistent messaging and reinforcement of the core value props across the journey is critical for building on the brand values.

Building a CX Function

As we navigate these elements, armed with cutting-edge technologies and a commitment to excellence, we pave the way for transformative CX outcomes. By integrating CX seamlessly into our organizational fabric, we chart a course toward heightened customer satisfaction, unwavering loyalty, and sustained revenue growth.

Establishing a CX function within an organization presents both challenges and opportunities akin to coaxing long-time loungers from their cozy armchairs to sit upright and swap sugary caffeinated drinks for calming decaf tea. This shift disrupts the comfort of familiar routines, urging a focus on customer needs rather than internal preferences:

1. Product Development: Introducing CX from the outset shifts the focus from what the business finds appealing to meeting the needs of the end-user. Rather than offering personalization based on internal perceptions of attractiveness, the emphasis is on satisfying the desires and demands of the customers. For instance, if customers prefer pencils that taste good for chewing while they write, the business adapts to meet that requirement.
2. Employee Experience: Traditional approaches to employee engagement often involve simply announcing new products and incentives without considering the employees' perspectives. However, integrating a CX function prompts a shift in perspective. It involves gathering insights from sales teams who interact directly with customers to understand their perspectives on the products. This includes assessing the sales potential of items and strategizing ways to increase sales volume, product origination and fulfillment, outreach mechanisms, data requirements and process flows that can shave days/ hours and minutes from the customer to accessing the benefits of your product/ service.
3. Marketing Strategies: Conventional marketing tactics, such as celebrity endorsements and flashy campaigns, may not effectively target the intended audience. With CX in focus, the emphasis shifts to understanding what influences customer decisions. This entails evaluating the effectiveness of marketing investments in generating traffic and driving conversions. It's about validating marketing approaches based on their impact on customer behavior and returns on investment. It also means integrated marketing campaigns are the BAU norm, where standardized journeys are mapped for each campaign, so its all engines go at the same time - lighting up the acorns for our squirrels.
4. Customer Engagement: Engaging customers effectively requires capturing relevant information during checkout, such as contact details and consent. This data is crucial for tailoring experiences and addressing customer needs. It represents an opportunity to personalize interactions and enhance customer satisfaction. Introducing design principles for standardizing flows on data capture across online and offline channels will allow for maximum known audience growth. Having your CX team be the COE on that would allow for all channel biases to disappear.
5. Operations & Logistics : using VOC programs and data to inform customer preference on fulfillment, logistics, inventory management is key to getting the product into the customers hand the fastest way possible. Using these insights from the VOC program referenced above allows for all business decisions to be in service of the target customer while optimizing logistics spider web and ERP systems.

To establish a CX function successfully, it's essential to ensure direct influence and autonomy by having the CXO or CX leader report directly to the CEO. This facilitates streamlined decision-making and alignment with organizational goals. CX teams should have the authority to:

1. Establish a Voice of Customer framework.
2. Define Experience tenets.
3. Implement a governance model to manage and measure customer-centricity.
4. Lead Centers of Excellence (COEs) for pivotal journeys across channels.
5. Play a key role in designing new products, solutions, and processes.
6. Define the Employee Experience (EX) to minimize friction points.
7. Manage customer data and frameworks for segmentation, loyalty, and restitution.
8. Influence the performance and measurement of customer service channels.
9. Shape sales team experiences, clienteling strategies, and customer journeys.
10. Conduct CX and UX heat mapping, measurement, and tracking, including e-commerce performance and in-person channel measurement, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and reviews.

Not an exhaustive list by any means but a great starting point to consider.

Value Proposition of CX

Why is CX important?

In a world where resources are finite, why should organizations prioritize CX beyond mere lip service? Here’s why:

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

? Driving Profitability: Increasing retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95% (Bain & Company).

?? Increased Spending: Loyal customers spend an average of 31% more (Reichheld, NPS). How do you foster loyalty? Maybe it's as simple as pairing squirrels with acorns – a tongue-in-cheek analogy.

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Sales and Revenue

? Revenue Growth: Companies excelling in CX outperform laggards by almost 80% in revenue growth (Forrester).

? Willingness to Pay: 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience (PWC).

Brand Reputation and Advocacy

? Trust in Word-of-Mouth: 92% trust recommendations from friends and family (Nielsen). How do reviews fit into this?

? Valuing Experience: 80% of customers consider experience as important as the products themselves (Salesforce).

Reduced Support Costs

? Cost Savings: Seamless experiences can decrease support costs by 33% (McKinsey & Company).

? Complaint Reduction: Proactive communication can cut complaints by 70% (Gartner).

Competitive Advantage

? Differentiation: 88% of companies see CX as a key differentiator (Deloitte). ?

? Market Share Growth: Companies excelling in CX are more likely to gain market share (KPMG).

Employee Engagement

? Improving CX: High employee engagement correlates with 21% higher profitability (Gallup). ?

? Driving CX with EX: Providing customer-facing teams with the right tools, information, and autonomy can turn a mediocre experience into an exceptional one. After all, no one wakes up on a Monday aiming to anger customers – we're not that sadistic!

These statistics highlight how seamless CX drives customer satisfaction, loyalty, revenue, brand advocacy, and competitive advantage, making it a crucial aspect of business success- seems easy as pie - isnt it? It's a journey and an ever evolving one - which is what makes the CX function so agile and transformative in nature.

In the next article, let's delve into building a cohesive CRM and marketing tech ecosystem to enable this CX vision and bring it to life for assisted channels.

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