Defragmenting the Customer Experience

I was listening to Tony Hsieh live on-stage recalling a meeting he had with Jeff Bezos soon after Amazon had taken over Zappos . As part of his presentation, Tony proposed that Zappos not charge any shipping fee for the footwear their customers were returning back. Tony expected a lot of pushback and convincing based on the shipping cost it would generate for Amazon. One question from Jeff, settled the matter and the meeting moved on. “Is it good for the customer?” Jeff asked. With an affirmative answer from Tony, the proposal was approved. All in a matter of seconds.

That is what Customer Experience is all about. Obsessing every bit about the customer and their interaction and experience with the company.

Translate that mindset with how software products are serviced by companies in any industry. And the interactions between the customer and the company on a day-to-day basis. From companies with record NPS and CSAT scores to ones whose stock prices are a direct reflection of the waning popularity amongst customers, there is a ton of opportunity both for orgs and more specifically its executives to prioritize customer experience above everything else.

No matter what function you perform in the org, you have the choice to obsess over the customer. You have the power to think about your function as the key to Customer Success. The power to enhance Customer Experience.

Let’s take IT as an example. As the IT executive - you hold the power to obsess about the customer in everything you do. Every patch you apply. Every change you authorize. Every server you build. Every call you take. Every first-call resolution you fail to provide. Every incident you respond to. The list is long.

Take Security as an example. As the Security Executive – you hold the power to obsess over every little detail that can derail the customer experience. Keeping the software versions up-to-date. Ensuring every line of code is scrutinized for vulnerability. Steadfastly scanning every subnet. Ensuring the scanning does not overwhelm the network. Making sure the every new tool and technology is scrubbed for security weakness. Getting rid of outdated and leaky technologies. Again, the list is long.

You can say this about every function and domain within the org.? There is a line to be drawn connecting every little task and function to the well-being of the customer. Any function within the org that believes it is excluded from obsessing about the customer needs an awakening and education that will indelibly ingrain the ideals within its ranks starting from the very top of the organizational pyramid.

The Legitimate Excuse for Fragmenting the Customer Experience

Companies grow and evolve to achieve any number of goals and ideals. From delivering shareholder value, to producing innovative products, to satisfying ESG goals, the drivers behind corporate growth are many. And most all of then inevitable. The growth is necessary. And the factors that make the growth possible are also necessary. However, that very structural necessities that makes growth possible, is also the reason why customer experience gets fragmented across the org. Companies that legitimize those growth-related fragmentation are the ones that need to rethink their approach to Customer Experience. Or even better – Customer Success. A few common excuses we tell ourselves:

1. Organizations need functional specialization. Unless you are a startup with 35 employees, and everyone gets to wear three hats or more. The larger the organization, the more the number of products. And with more products, comes the need for every kind of domain specialization. Product, Engineering, Operations, Sales, Account Management on and on and on. Bringing functional experts together, allowing them to focus on shared objectives, building award winning products and processes, and innovating continually are all the byproduct of this functional uber-specialization. With functional specialization comes territories and the need to protect them. The need for such functional specialization is crucial to the success of the organization. No doubt about it.
2. Executives want to be fully and “only” responsible for events and outcomes they can control. Outcomes owned by multiple functional groups clearly take a lower priority than those that are fully within the grasp of their group.
3. Paying for Performance. As organizations grow, performance measurements become an integral part of the fabric. Keeping individuals and groups continually motivated is at the heart of fueling creativity, innovation, and a spirit of competition that drives the company forward and allows it to create products and services that bring in the revenue and the associated recognition. Organizations have not found enough effective alternatives to reward individuals for their ability to partner and collaborate with other teams and individuals without compromising creativity and innovation that fuel its growth.

There is more. The reasons could be anything. Organizational growth, the need for performance and speed, putting individual’s and team’s success above the larger groups have traditionally been the causes for a fragmented customer experience.

No matter what our excuse is for fragmenting customer experience, one thing is true – and – will be always true –

Siloed Organizations Create a Fragmented Customer Experience

The view from the Customer’s Window

With any number of excuses that allow for this fragmentation to happen, it is not surprising that the view from the customer’s window is poor, dismal, and downright frustrating. When things are going well, there are usually no complaints or issues. On the contrary, when things break, there is trouble in paradise. In well run operations, the customer always calls the CSM or the AM or the TAM. Even in those well-run companies, the CSM holds the key only to certain functions and capabilities. For the bulk of the issues faced by the customer, the CSM must rely on the good offices of the Product, Engineering, Operations, Network, NOC, SOC, Command Center, Service Desk, Infrastructure, Data Center Ops, Sales, Pre-sales or any one of the fifty-plus groups within the org.

A resourceful CSM knows how to navigate the fabric of the org, and get the issues resolved as they come in.

A great CSM knows better and creates the organizational structures to approach the problem methodically. He/she is no longer troubleshooting problems in isolation. The collaborative back-bone facilitated by the CSM now ensures the org rises to the challenge of addressing the issues in partnership with every other group that is involved. Well-meaning partners now take it further by analyzing root causes and ensuring those issues never happen again. This is the classic sign of a mature organization where executives realize and embrace CX as the crux of organizational success.

Bottomline is this. Customers do not care how big the org is or how many functions or divisions or groups there are. They don’t care how your teams are rewarded. They don’t care how inter-departmental communication or collaboration takes place. All they care about is how quickly I can get my answers; how quickly can my problems be resolved – without having to call a second time.

Whose job is it anyway?

That begs the question, whose job is it anyway? Is it the CSM’s job to be the face of the organization to the customer? Be the glue that brings together the myriad divisions of the organization into one well-oiled, well-humming machine?

Or should it be the job of every person working in the org?

One of the books that I read decades ago, which still has a profound impact on how I think about customer service is ‘The IBM Way’ by Buck Rodgers. A quote from the book is indelibly etched in my memory.

“Every employee has been trained to think that the customer comes first – everybody from the CEO to the people in finance, to the receptionists, to those who work in manufacturing.”        

And to me, that is the answer. Every employee has to know, think, feel, and fully believe the ‘Customer Comes First’. There could be any number of ways to make it happen. It could be the CSM who glues everyone together. It could be the CIO who steps in at the time of the need. In a truly transformational customer-obsessed organization, the responsibility lies with every employee. From the receptionist to the network engineer, to the pre-sales executive to the batch-operator. Everyone. That level of customer obsession is key for organizations that want to have a raving customer-centered culture. One where customers will be the evangelists and propaganda artists who will bring in more customers and generate all the good will needed at no additional cost.

If we can put the customer at the center of every decision we take – then Customer Experience will no longer be a lone function. It will become an organizational effort.

As the customer, I am not looking for walls, territories, divisions, or boundaries. I am looking for a seamless experience. One where I can liaise with one person who will be my conduit to the expansive mass that I purchased my product from.

The undeniable truth is this -

Siloed Organizations Create a Fragmented Customer Experience

It is your job to ensure there is only one face for the organization.

It is my job to ensure there is only one face for the organization.

My face.

(To be continued…)