From Basics to Brilliance: Customer Experience Management

In 2022 I wrote a series of articles for the Women in CX ? network. Over the past few months, as part of my preparations for the CCXP exam, I've had the chance to revisit CX basics and simultaneously review newer papers and studies. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to refresh these articles and I'm pleased to share the first one of these with you today! As ever, please do share your views in the comments below.

Let's start at the top.... what even is Customer Experience?

This is a question, which in my opinion, has been vastly overcomplicated in the past couple of decades. The Oxford Dictionary states that an experience is “an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone” and as such, one can say that a customer experience as

“an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on a customer, or a potential customer”.

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Great, so that’s CX… but what is Customer Experience Management?

We've establsihed that Customer Experience is what the customer goes through. It is their journey. Their Experience.

Customer Experience Management is the art of managing those journeys in order to influence the impression left on customer and ultimately drive a desired behaviour; such as call less, buy more or speak favourably about the brand.

In their book "Outside In", Kerry Bodine & Harley Manning highlighted 3 levels of Customer Experience and personally, I couldn’t agree more so let's explore those further:?

Meeting Fundamental Needs

At the core of any successful customer experience is an understanding of what customers are actually trying to achieve when interacting with your service.

In their book, Bodine & Manning reference FedEx and that ultimately, if a customer wants to send a parcel, it needs to get to its intended recipient. Similarly, if a customer is buying broadband, they want a reliable internet connection.

Interestingly, these needs become more nuanced in other sectors. Take booking a hotel, at its core, most customers will want a clean, comfortable and secure room but dependant on the reason for that trip, the customers’ needs may vary. One customer may be booking for business; they may need adequate place to work, a desk, internet connection and to not have loud neighbours! Conversely, a customer who is booking a family getaway may need something as simple as enough space charge all the devices for their kids!!! I jest to some degree, but understanding these goals is key and may require qualitative research to uncover.

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Making Experiences Easy: The Power of Simplicity

Once the fundamental needs are addressed, CX management should focus on making the entire customer journey as simple and convenient as possible. Streamlining processes, minimizing steps, and providing intuitive interfaces become paramount.

Gartner reported that "Effort is the strongest driver to customer loyalty" with 96% percent of customers with a high-effort service interaction becoming disloyal compared to just 9% who have a low-effort experience.

Organisations should consider effort through customer journey mapping and can measure it through capturing Customer Effort Score (CES) in regular surveys or ad-hoc research.

Delivering Desired Emotional Outcomes: Beyond Functionality

Creating emotional connections with customers is becoming an increasingly important lever in CX management. Capgemini report increasing emotional engagement with consumers drives increases loyalty, revenue and propensity to promote.

But which emotions should CX-ers focus on? This comes back to that core understanding of customer needs. Those focussing on healthcare may need to focus on reassurance, whereas those in hospitality and tourism can really go all out on fun and delight.

As companies explore more automation and artificial intelligence, it becomes crucial to consider the emotional aspect of the customer experience. As Moira Sorsey reported in Qualtrics 2024 Global Consumer Trends Report "Organizations must understand customer needs, preferences, and perceptions and then offer experiences that match expectations. That understanding will help you determine if that experience should be AI-enabled, human-enabled or humans supported by AI in the background."

Embracing the Three Layers for Holistic CX Success

In conclusion, a successful CX strategy involves navigating through these three layers seamlessly. Meeting fundamental needs, making experiences easy, and delivering desired emotional outcomes are all interconnected and essential for sustained customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By focusing on these layers, companies can not only meet customer expectations but also create memorable experiences that lead to lasting relationships and business success.