Threads across Customer Experience Management and Improv Theater

Introduction: The Evolving Landscape of Customer Experience Management

Influenced by fear about the economy, politics, and AI, the business of Customer Experience (CX) Management is undergoing profound change. Human needs, feelings, and intentions are evolving at such an unprecedented rate, that brands cannot keep pace. Loyalty erodes as company profits are prioritized over customer experience, while brands struggle with measuring the ROI of CX and maintaining human-centered journeys. Furthermore, back-to-office mandates and toxic work cultures are seeing declining employee engagement, satisfaction, and mental health.

As a leader in CX with a passion for human-centered experiences, I've always viewed my professional pursuits and personal love for improv theater as distinct, separate parts of my life. However, now I see threads that bridge these two worlds together, harmonizing the art of improvisation with the (art &) science of customer experience.

Part 1: Lessons from Performing Improv Theater

Improv isn’t just about showing up on stage and acting however you like. The rules of improv build disciplined listening, pattern detection, strong who/what/where, and bias avoidance — all making you a great scene partner while creating a fun atmosphere for a live audience.

• Listen to and Watch Your Scene Partner:?Just as in improv, where success hinges on attentively listening and responding to a scene partner, in CX, understanding and reacting to customer feedback quickly is crucial. It's about creating a dialogue, not a monologue.

• Object Work:?In improv, the performers mime real-world objects used to create a more realistic and engaging scene. Similarly, in CX, tangible elements like website, product design, packaging, and branding all must work in harmony across the customer journey, playing a pivotal role in shaping customer perceptions and experiences.

• Start Scenes Mid-Story:?Improv players don’t have to introduce themselves in a scene, rather they make bold character decisions and focus on the relationship with their scene partner. In CX, this translates to creating journeys that meet customers where they are, while meeting their needs in that moment.

• Savor the Silence:?Silence can be powerful in improv, providing space for an authentic reaction to your scene partner, while building up audience anticipation for what’s next. In CX, silent moments can be leveraged by brands to help customers savor their experience during purchase decisions or engagement with services or products.

• Be 100% in the Moment:?The essence of improv is being fully present with your scene partner through active listening and observing. In CX, this means being completely attuned to customer needs, only offering solutions that are timely and relevant to their needs.

Part 2: Lessons from Managing Customer Experiences

Customer Experience is not about a nice website or clever marketing campaign. There is a human-centered mindset focused on outcomes, leveraging customer journeys across continuous discovery, sales, servicing, and marketing.

• Research Your Customer:?Just as an improv performer first observes what information has already been provided before contributing to a scene, CX professionals must deeply understand their customer's needs, desires, and pain points to create experiences that resonate.

• Rapidly Prototype and Iterate:?In CX, this involves continually refining products, services, and journeys based on customer feedback, akin to how an improv scene evolves based on performer actions and audience reactions.

• Tell Stories That Evoke Emotion:?Genuine human connection is at the heart of both improv and CX. Crafting narratives that evoke feelings of love, joy, sadness, or excitement will both entertain your audience and create lasting customer relationships.

• Personalize Experiences for Audiences:?Just as no two improv performances are the same, no two customer experiences should be identical. Personalization of text, image, tone, and cadence across the entire journey is key to making customers feel valued and understood.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

The parallels between improv theater and customer experience management offer a unique perspective on how businesses can create human-centered CX strategies. To bring these principles to life, here are five steps any brand can take today:

• Encourage Active Listening:?Train your team to continuously listen actively to customers, just like improv actors listen to their scene partners. Leverage surveys, interviews, market research, customer panels, and behavioral data to curate a living picture of your audience.

• Embrace Flexibility and Spontaneity:?Foster a corporate culture that values adaptability and quick thinking, qualities essential in both improv and effective CX management. Leverage automation and artificial intelligence, driven by governance that gives autonomy to associates.?

• Foster Empathy:?Encourage your team to leverage continuous discovery that puts themselves in customers' shoes, building a deeper connection to how customers feel, think, and act. Leverage customer personas, symposiums, and ride-alongs.

• Promote Creative Problem-Solving:?Utilize improvisational techniques in brainstorming sessions to encourage collaborative, outside-in, human-centered thinking focused on pain points. Leverage quantity over quality, experience blueprints, and journey maps.

• Prioritize Authentic Engagement:?Strive for genuine interactions with customers, building trust and loyalty akin to the connection between improv actors and their audience. Leverage solutions that span across front-stage and backstage operations, capabilities, and governance.

By integrating the lessons of improv theater with the principles of customer experience management, companies can keep pace with evolving human needs, feelings, and intentions. This will foster measurable business outcomes, such as enduring long-term growth, increased customer loyalty, and highly engaged employees.?

And look, I made it this far without even mentioning the most cliched improv rule of “Yes, and”.?