Where the rubber hits the road: Paving the Path to Business Success with Insights, CX, and Transformation

In the business environment of today, the intersection of insights, customer experience, and transformation and the underpinning of curiosity and cohesion is crucial for achieving long-term success. A lot has been written individually on these practice areas however the right combination fosters innovation and drives sustainable business benefits.

By harnessing the power of data-driven insights, prioritising exceptional CX, and embracing continuous transformation, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, foster customer loyalty, and drive sustainable growth.

Technological advancements, such as advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) has already started to make inroad across Insight, CX and Transformation. These technologies promises new ways of working, data analysis and scalable solutions that can adapt to changing needs, however the human curiosity and cohesion between people and teams will still be required to best harness this and make the necessary changes in organisations.

Part 1

Insights: The Foundation of Informed Decision-Making

Insights in particular customer insights are now the cornerstone of any strategic initiative. It can be derived from market research, data analytics, and customer feedback. This can provide a deep understanding of customer behaviours, preferences, and trends. They start the conversation which enables businesses to make informed decisions, anticipate market shifts, and identify opportunities for improvement.

However this was not always the case, insights whether they be customer surveys or product data insight were seen as a post-rationale task to back-up decisions already made or initiatives already in flight…. and discarded if the insight did not fit the narrative. I have also experienced departments which have orchestrated customer insights at the centre of its activities and brought the business along for the successful ride to grow customers and the bottom line.

While insight professionals continue to play a crucial role in identifying pain points and areas where the customer journey can be streamlined, in most times knowing or presenting this by itself is not enough to rally the support needed for change. The next step of leveraging qualified and unbiased customer insight into possible actions and business cases, is the area where insights starts to intersect in the realm of traditional CX, where journeys and broader feelings about the company are being enhanced. There is plenty of debate as to where one stops and the other starts or that true insight already accounts for a lot of traditional CX activities. In reality however the pressures of doing more with less has practitioners in some large organisations wear both hats or at least reside in adjoining departments to facilitate the interdependency each one has with one another. Regardless of the structure, the curiosity of how insights are turned in informing CX work and for CX practitioners to deeply understanding the foundations that their actions are based are equally important. This intersection, whether if it’s the same team covering insights and CX or adjoining teams, both elements are essential to create and win-win scenario for both customers and for businesses.

Part 2

Customer Experience: The Heart of Business Strategy

Customer Experience (CX) is now a pivotal element of modern business strategy. It encompasses every interaction a customer has with a brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase support. A positive CX experience not only boosts customer satisfaction but also drives retention and advocacy. There is a now multi-billion dollar ecosystem with platforms frameworks and holistic approaches to data.

Again this was not always the case, in the very much a non-digital era, the formula was simple:

customer experience = customer service = issue for the front line to solve only.

From a call centre perspective at the time, the customer experience be-all and end-all was the blunt measure - Grade of Service GOS (% of call answered in a time period e.g. 90 seconds) with the higher the % and lower the time seen as driving a greater customer experience. At the same time, from a banking branch / franchise perspective the highest customer experience accolade was the branch with the lowest complaints in the month. While this was the norm in most large companies at the time there were changes being driven from the Balanced Scorecard perspective in the 90’s that were taking shape. Thankfully the client agenda was increasing and taking share across many a corporation’s KPIs. We saw a transition to focusing on what customers were experiencing and bringing accountability across the business and not just the frontline. Around this time, I joined a company that were making the successful shift away from the very one-dimensional view on the “front line = experience” to something of a culture of shared accountability from each employee. This was quite a novel commitment at the time but it drove great success through interdepartmental team work.

Now CX has evolved into a non-negotiable and businesses must continuously gather feedback and measure CX performance. Business are expected to work with metrics but work with them at scale and speed incorporating the digital usage and customer behaviour into account. The CX professional has increasing more insights to craft the effective initiatives and highlight areas for further improvement.

Even with a great idea or known pain point, making change in most large organisations (or any organsation) is not an easy task; there are funding considerations, business priorities, process changes (and training), possible data structure changes, geography disperse, regulators and politics to contend with. This is where the next intersection into Transformation comes in. CX professionals that have the curiosity to not only understand the upstream enablers of the breadth of insight they have, knowing the downstream implications and the interconnectivity of change, make getting the voice of the customer heard and journey changed just that little bit easier.

Part 3

Transformation: Adapting to the Digital Era

Now we have qualified insights, business case implications of action or inaction, and we have an idea of what journeys needs changing to how customers interface with, we have the challenge to take the organisation from doing A to doing B. This is where the rubber hits the road.

In the context of Insights and CX, Transformation refers to the strategic overhaul of business processes, technologies, and mindsets to better serve customers. Transformation is not merely about adopting new technologies; it's about rethinking how businesses operate and deliver value.

For the practitioners taking CX goals with into business change, performing this requires a broad knowledge. With increasing integration of digital and technology tools the landscape also requires an ever-evolving skill set. Depending on the scale of CX transformation initiatives, I have worked with companies where traditionally (non CX) project managers would get appointed and also worked organisations where this the remit of CX who were championing the idea in the first place and this team would be the point people and organise the moving part to take the change live. In both examples, the cohesion between the moving parts will determine the success and agility of transformation.

Organisations where I have observed cohesion leads to a better Transformation has come about through:

1. Shared CX KPI outcomes applied across diverse departments. The speed in which fixes and enhancements flowed pre and post this was astonishing. This ensured every person knew what they could do to drive the optimum outcome. What previously took multiple quarterly release cycles to deploy could now be measured in weeks.
2. Setting aside technology investment and capacity specifically for unknown customer change opportunities that may arise during the year help. This built an agile transformation culture.
3. Representations from Insights/ CX, technology and business in scrum teams which kept to a regular cadence. The teams reviewed timely insight and emerging threats and opportunities with and had sufficient delegation to implement changes.

In all 3 examples the Insight/ CX professionals curiosity in shouldering Transformation activities and Transformation professionals equally curious about Insights and CX made the organisation see more than doubling of customer advocacy, and a halving of complaints over 3 years.

Organisations must embrace a culture of continuous improvement and agility with curiosity and cohesion at centre stage. This is increasingly important as organisations get bigger and processes become exponentially complex. To do this involves breaking down silos, fostering collaboration across departments, and encouraging innovation at all levels. By integrating insights into the decision-making process and prioritising CX, businesses can drive meaningful transformation that aligns with customer expectations and market demands.

The Alliance: Creating a Holistic Approach

The intersection of insights, CX, and transformation can create a holistic approach to business strategy with the right drive and support. When these elements are aligned, they reinforce each other through curiosity and cohesion, it leads to a cycle of continuous improvement and growth.

• Insights inform CX: Data-driven insights highlight areas for improvement and innovation, guiding the transformation process.
• CX enhances Transformation: Implementing new technologies and processes can streamline operations and improve the customer journey.
• Transformation generates new insights: Every new customer interaction provides valuable data that can be analysed to gain further insights. This feedback loop ensures that businesses remain attuned to customer needs and can swiftly course correct adapt their strategies and allocation of investments.

I've spent my career in roles in traversing Insights, Customer Experience or Transformation, and at times straddling all 3 in a single role. As a result, navigating the intersections between the 3 feels very natural to me and feel the lines between each are blurring. While I recognise each area has its own set of professionals and deep history, this article is aimed to share my views on the linkages across 3 disciplines and how customer curiosity and cohesion underpins success across all 3.

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts, please feel free to connect or post your comments.