Why Many Customer Experience Programs Miss the Mark

When was the last time a business really wowed you with their service? What made it great? Was it speed? Quality? Convenience? Appreciation? Friendliness? Going above and beyond?

What about the last time you felt frustrated or disappointed as a customer? What went wrong?

In today's competitive landscape, customer experience (CX) isn't just a buzzword – it's a strategic imperative.

Many companies report that their number-one priority for the next 5 years is their customer experience (CX). Last year, nearly 75% of executives increased their CX budgets by up to 25% even in the midst of economic uncertainty.

Why Is Customer Experience Such a Big Focus?

?Here are 5 game-changing reasons:

• Boosted Sales – Companies that lead in customer experience are 26 times more likely than laggards to experience 20% or more in revenue growth.
• Revenue Surge – Companies that earn $1 billion annually can expect to earn, on average, an additional $700 million within 3 years of investing in their customer experience.
• Competitive Edge – 89% of companies now compete primarily on the quality of experiences they offer customers, and 93% of consumers say reviews influence their purchasing decisions.
• Premium Pricing – 86% of buyers will pay a premium price for a great customer experience.
• Retention – Of course, good experiences bring customers back. But unhappy customers are a risk to the business when 1 in 3 customers say they would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. Even if you have a beloved company brand, just one bad experience could cost you a third of your customers.

So, it makes sense that companies are focused on creating a great customer experience as their number-one business strategy. Yet...

Why Do Most Customer Experience Investments Fall Short?

When you look across the research and expert advice on customer experience programs, most of the attention and investment is going to the technology – Generative AI, slick user interfaces, powerful analytics, etc.

But is it enough to make an impact?

While customers do increasingly embrace digital options, 75% of customers prefer human-led service – regardless of whether they prefer to interact through digital options, telephone, or in person.

And when the customer experience depends on human interaction, what is the investment in the quality of that experience?

Often, customer experience programs can get so focused on data and analytics that the strategic business objectives and the organizational culture needed to support those objectives get lost in the mix.

Many companies list “customer focus” as one of their values or priorities, but often it’s far from the reality in their implementation. They may invest in some training programs, but it frequently breaks down across corporate silos and a lack of accountability.

They see the strategic imperative but not the culture imperative.

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Reimagining Customer Experience from Top to Bottom

To create a truly great customer experience, you must have collaboration across the entire organization with the customer at the center.

Companies that bring the game-changing results of CX to life are those who establish a fully integrated customer experience program by transforming their entire culture from top to bottom.

And it benefits the top and bottom line too. Because when everyone collaborates to focus on the customer, opportunities for operational efficiency show up as well.

The advancing technologies that improve the speed and availability of customer service can only have the impact they promise if we focus on the quality of the human interactions by creating a CX culture.

It starts with purpose-driven collaboration combined with clarity, communication, and accountability.

At Executive Leadership Consulting, we partner with you using our Red Thread Leadership? model to create synergy and collaboration across your organizational culture, so every interaction with your customer is an outstanding and memorable experience.

If CX is one of your strategic priorities, let’s talk.