IT’S NOT ABOUT U AND ITS NOT ABOUT ME. ITS ABOUT THE CUSTOMER!
Customer Experience (CX) was once viewed as a ‘touchy feely’ area that was hard to quantify and the domain of ‘do gooders’ who were obsessed with the customer for some bizarre reason…
That said, many executives still spoke about it in glowing terms and reflected it in strategic collateral externally, yet never did much to tangibly change it where it mattered most i.e. with the customer. Unsurprisingly then throughout the years, the CX needle never moved in the positive direction for the majority of companies.
I personally believe a significant contributor to this lack of genuine progress is rooted in ‘the numbers’!
What numbers?
Numbers that quantifiably show that CX warrants a place on the board agenda. These numbers were absent for a long time in the dialogue of large companies and/or weak metrics were used in their place. Thankfully through the work of leading CX companies and industry organisations such as the CXPA, it is now much easier to quantify the transformative impact of pursuing a coherent CX strategy. Let me give you a small appetiser of what I am referring to.
Customers that have great experiences with companies are:
- 9 TIMES more likely to recommend them
- 8 TIMES more likely to trust them
- 7 TIMES more likely to forgive their mistakes
- 7 TIMES more likely to buy from them again
- 7 TIMES more likely to try new offerings
These numbers are very compelling for companies that get the CX right. Interestingly, more than half of large companies strive to be CX leaders within 3 years of starting out on the journey. Very few have actually realised this grand ambition. The 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings of 20 industries highlighted that only 4.4% of companies achieved excellent CX ratings, whilst 28% received poor or very poor ratings.
So, this CX stuff is kind of important? Right?
Hopefully these numbers go a small way in demonstrating its potential impact. Next step for interested companies, let’s start getting focused immediately on the customer? WRONG! Start by getting focused on your employees. Leading CX companies on average have 50% more engaged employees. Employees can be your single greatest asset on your journey to becoming a CX leader.
We see Digital CX going through rapid transformation. We believe the first steps on the employee engagement journey are about building awareness and capability. With this in mind, there are 2 positive steps that you can take immediately.
Recommendation 1 – Support CX Day
CX professionals globally are preparing to take part in the third CX Day on October 6 at local gatherings and online events. CX Day is a global celebration of companies and people who are delivering highest-quality experiences to customers, created by the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), the premier global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and cultivation of the CX profession. CX Day celebrates the rising importance of CX to companies, by highlighting the efforts of all CX professionals to raise the bar for achievement and innovation in the CX field. The IMI are actively promoting the importance of this event and as one of the very Certified Customer Experience Professionals (CCXP) in Ireland I will be doing the same. Take the step and get your employees connected with some of the great activities taking place on the 6th of October. Details are available on the CX Day website, where updates will be posted for all activities.
Recommendation 2 – Find Out More About The IMI Diploma in Digital Business
What will CX look like in 2020? It might sound like a long time away, in reality its less than 5 years. In the fast paced world of business that we now live in, 5 years will pass in the blink of an eye. When you consider the customer of 2015 knows more and expects more from their service providers, there is no doubt at all that the bar will be set a lot higher by 2020 and new priorities will have emerged. Is your company ready to face this challenge? Have you set the foundations to develop a ‘customer centric’ culture? The IMI Diploma in Digital Business will provide your employees with the capabilities to develop a Customer Experience strategy, map integrated customer journeys and gain a better understanding of how leading Customer Experience companies have successfully executed.
To support the 2 recommendations above, I would encourage you to start every meeting in your organisation this week with the following question ‘How will this meeting benefit our customer?’If you can’t quickly identify the contribution that it is making to the customer agenda, I would seriously question remaining in the room. Small steps like this can help change the corporate DNA and foster a customer-centric approach. It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens bit by bit by building awareness and capability!
Graham Fagan is Head of Customer Experience and Multi-Channel at BT and is also a speaker on the IMI Diploma in Digital Business. He leads the development and go to market strategy for digital customer experience services at BT. He has worked in the ICT industry for 18 years and during that time he has held positions in business transformation, architecture, commercial marketing and digital strategy.
