Some guidelines to align CX & EX and create a valuable brand.

Brand value is the cumulation and crystallisation of employees' emotions projected into actions towards the customer.

What I know about CX I mostly learned from Beyond Philosophy. And on #1 undoubtedly stands the Customer Experience Statement: A customer experience statement communicates which emotions an organisation deliberately wants to evoke with its customers to create value. (Interested in more? Watch the video on Beyond Philosophy’s website.)

Originally the idea was linked to Beyond Philosophy’s research about the relation between emotions driving long term value and emotions driving short term spend (or destroying value even). And thus, how customer experience management is bottom line about organisations creating value through emotions.

Picture Courtesy Beyond Philosophy, The Hierarchy Of Emotional Value.?

The Customer Experience Statement triggered me and still triggers me a lot. Especially since a revolution in technologies, data and AI is helping us shape customer experiences “automatically.” Or that is what we started to believe. Because lately there is a lot to do about deteriorating customer experiences in different articles. Seems we have lost our way a bit?

Of course, we must use technology, data, and AI. Yet, there is more that needs to be done to induce great customer experiences.

Let me explain why.

In digital transformation projects it is often claimed that human activity at one side and automating processes at the other, must be balanced in function of the value that can typically be created by human beings. “Feeling emotions” and “acting creatively”?are -for the time being- key criteria to realise this balancing act.

So, what needs to be done to induce great customer experiences in a world in full digital transformation? What culture needs to be shaped to realise this?

My favourite reductionist definition of culture is “the way things are done.”?What helps to evoke a good customer experience (besides the use of technology, data, and AI)?

Practice taught me the following guidelines help:

Employees need to

-?????????receive and understand their organisation’s customer experience statement

-?????????be externally oriented

-?????????be customer oriented

-?????????feel which emotions they must evoke deliberately

-?????????feel the impact of these emotions

-?????????feel how these emotions translate into actions

-?????????feel how the brand value is the cumulation and crystallisation of their emotions projected into actions towards the customer.

-?????????be invited to act when things go wrong, without any punishment if they do so.

-?????????align authentically as a human being with the above.

All this is indeed a lot of “feeling.” But isn’t this what is differentiating us from technology, data, and AI? And no need to say the HR-organisation needs to help develop all this and support employees. Inducing these guidelines is about real change and transformation and their implementation will shape the right culture.

This is also quite different to claiming that because “happy cows give more milk,” “happy employees deliver great customer experiences.” And thus, employees must be made happy. It is an often-used phrase, claimed to be correct, but utterly wrong. “Happy employees” not focussing on customers won’t help you. To name just one element.

Imagine now what happens when a travel organisations claims that the emotion they want to evoke deliberately is for example “taking care of customers”? And their chatbot or call centre agents cannot manage incoming customer issues because what happens is “off script”?

What will happen when the above guidelines are implemented? One or more people in the organisation will stand up and act. Based only on the framework the customer experience statement offers them. And they will do their best, most probably with actions that are well aligned without much formal coordination in the worst-case scenario. They will run the extra mile.

Can you imagine what happens without these guidelines? Or deeply rooted culture aligning CX and EX? I guess you can.

In?the end, companies must create shareholder value. Bottom line their “brand” reflects this value. And this brand is the cumulation and crystallisation of employees’ emotions projected into impactful aligned actions towards the customer.

That is how emotionally aligned CX, and EX create a strong culture that is finally reflected in brand value.

The consequence is that those who do not feel or want to feel the emotions that need to be evoked, will most probably not feel at ease and leave. Be it in finance, IT, HR, supply chain, customer service or else. Because they all may need to act when something goes “of script.”

In that case, the fruit basket or pool table will not help. Nor will the cow in the meadow.

But I admit, when things go well, it is nice to watch a cow in a meadow when playing at the pool table and eating an apple when having a break.?

I'm helping organisations in a very practical way with their digital transformation related to marketing-sales-service-CX. I'm defining, fine tuning or scoping better the issues you have. And I help solving these by leveraging the (new) knowledge and skills of your employees. Which quickly leads to positive tangible results.