Top insights on Creating the Best Customer Experience from VLAN Asia's CX Week's CX Leadership Roundtable Meet

First thing first, thanks to Lance Cheang for the invite! I felt like I've just attended a 2 hours Masterclass on Customer Experience.

The Roundtable discussion spanned various topics on customer experience (CX), employee experience (EX), technology integration, and personal insights from diverse industry leaders and CX (customer experience) experts.

What was amazing about the roundtable discussion and the insights gathered:

The roundtable featured a wide range of participants, including those from Education (Zhen and Jeff), Hospitality & Travel (Ganesan), CRM (Azlan, Ben), Aeon Retail (Darma), sales and marketing automation (Steph), F&B (Marcus), Coffee(David), Renovation/Construction (Boss Mewah), and social media experts. This variety underscores the universal relevance of CX and the potential for cross-pollination of ideas.

Now, the light-bulb moments insights:

• Empathy as a Cornerstone of Service: the critical role of empathy in understanding and addressing customer needs, the most effective customer service strategies are those grounded in genuine understanding and concern for the customer's experience.
• The Intersection of Employee Experience (EX) and Customer Satisfaction: there's a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and customer service quality, thus businesses need to consider to invest in their employees' well-being and development.
• Strategies for Effective Communication and Feedback: The importance of open communication channels between customers and service providers - including the value of feedback for continuous improvement and adaptation.

There's a huge takeaway from Marcus and David's sharing, in particular how to train staffs to better able to create better customer experience:

particularly like how Marcus Leverages Negative Scenarios for Employee Training: use real-life negative scenarios and customer conflicts as learning tools.

This method stems from the understanding that employees, especially in customer-facing roles, often learn best when they can practice navigating difficult situations in a controlled environment. By analyzing and role-playing through these tough scenarios, employees gain valuable insights into potential pitfalls and learn effective strategies for de-escalation, empathy, problem-solving, and ultimately, turning a potentially negative customer experience into a positive one - just plain genius.

This really shows that Excellent customer service is not just about celebrating successes but also about learning from difficulties and turning them into opportunities for growth and improved service delivery.

Thinking back, I was also thrown into such training to build up my customer handling and relation skills. I compiled negative conversations and use it as reflection and learning on how I could do better to turn situation around. Give it a go!

Also, I really love Marcus's insights on the hospitality industry and how his business very much focuses on creating memorable experiences and of becoming someone's favorite place.

This is a beautiful mission - like, yes, sure my business may not be the biggest but is someone's favourite!

• "Managing customer experience in retail is like conducting an orchestra; every section must be in harmony." by Darma from Aeon Retail..
• Bigger brands are always on the lookout to safeguards brand image through ensuring best customer experience and being customer-centric - even digitally..

Seems like it does get complicated when catering to a huge market, yea?

• Azlan who's a partner for ZOHO also shared that "Digital transformation is about doing more with less; it's about scaling your business while keeping your team lean and focused."
• Boss Mewah from the renovation/construction industry shared the importance of tangible value in real estate over digital visibility, focusing on quality and personal touch. - truly, some of the things are just not scaleable but even then it's important to create great customer experience so good they keep coming back- like personal touch.
• "In a world obsessed with digital footprints, we're building real paths to homes that matter."
• Even in the Holiday Travel industry, Ganesan shared that "Corporate travel isn't just about bookings; it's about understanding the journey behind every business trip."
• Leadership plays a pivotal role in driving a customer-centric culture within organizations. Leaders must embody and promote the values of exceptional customer service throughout the business - by Marcus
• Jeff from 42KL also shows that: Innovation in Service Delivery: Examples of innovative service delivery, such as transforming a redundant space into a vibrant educational hub, illustrate how thinking outside the box can create unique and memorable customer experiences. Their space is really impressive- they have an outdoor hydroponic greenhouse, an indoor vertical farm and two aquaponic farms! Love the Green initiatives!
• Love Lance's sharing and pov: "In a world that's rapidly changing, the only way to stay ahead is by pooling our knowledge and learning from diverse experiences." Truly love how the discussion transcended mere conversation; it's a catalyst for innovation and improvement across all our industries.

Lastly,

• Digital Transformation: Leveraging digital tools to streamline processes and improve both CX and EX without losing the human element is essential for modern businesses aiming to stay competitive and responsive to customer needs.
• The Essence of Service: Participants shared personal stories and insights that collectively emphasized the essence of service—making someone feel valued, understood, and delighted with every interaction.

My thoughts:

We can streamline and systemise all we want (Btw, Setting SOP is really important to ensure consistency in the quality of customer experience), but in the essence of it, we still need to be driven by the heart to create a memorable customer experience, offer empathy and psychologically safe space / interaction to build deeper more meaningful relationships - because after all business is all about relationships! a win-win one too!

Building great customer experience is multifaceted, requiring empathy, continuous innovation, a commitment to employee well-being, and a willingness to leverage technology wisely. By focusing on these elements, businesses can not only meet but exceed customer expectations, fostering loyalty and driving long-term success.

Hope you find this week's newsletter useful! Gaining all the insights without having to be there! Let's apply all the good pointers here!

Thanks for reading issue 16 of my Humanising Business newsletter.

For those of you who are new to my newsletter, Humanising Business is written for business owners, sales and marketing professionals, consultants (Medical, Real Estate, Dental, etc) who wish to build more KOL positioning and attract more high quality clients digitally. This newsletter discusses the following three goals: (1) How to leverage on AI and Automation for more clients and impact, (2) How to build Digital Acquisition System (and automate it) and its importance (3) No-bs/no-fluff insights from my day-to-day work with clients on building digital sales and marketing system that get more bang for your bucks.

My next client slot should be opened by May 2024- limited slots are available as we work closely with clients instead of going for quantity.

Here are the insightful posts that I think you shouldn't miss to make better decisions and get more bang from your bucks for your business..        

• Why working on ground level is so important for successful client acquisition
• The 8 Elements to craft the most powerful Persuasive Sales Pitch to win more clients, your team and prospects online
• Spending 5-6 figures a month on ads? You've got to read this - a lot aren't tracking correctly even though they're spending so much on ads
• How to form genuine connection with prospects online
• Humble Reminders to all of us entrepreneurs/business owners
• How a local entrepreneur in Malaysia grew from a content creator to hitting 1 million in sales within 3 minutes online and how you can apply too in your business!
• System mindset in Enrolling more clients Digitally
• 6 Cold hard Truth from working in clients-facing role for about 2 decades
• Running ads? These are important areas to improve to get the most from your adspend
• In Real Estate sales? Don't miss these Core Basic Elements (Not even known to advertisers) - even relevant to Expert-based Businesses
• Amazon's Everyday is Day 1 Mentality
• There's no better time to be in Expert-based Businesses than now
• Using the Power of Gratitude to attract better opportunities, tribes and clients

If we have not connected, let's connect Stephanie Lam ↗? !