Customers are the source of business growth and success. No one will argue with that. But how companies design customer experience and success will determine how fair and valid that statement is.
Is the proverbial answer often based on:
If this is the traditional way of improving or designing the customer experience, I would argue that the design experience is the problem.
Seth Godin reminds us:
Don’t find customers for your products; find products for your customers. In other words, build an experience that makes sense to customers, not just because it makes sense to us.
The need for an experience framework requires alignment on four business drivers (Focus, Perspective, Metrics, and Strategy). Without the right experience strategy, it makes no sense to measure the value of customer experience.
Experience framework consists of Focus, Perspective, Metrics, and Strategy. These work together to building a Customer Experience framework.
Consider a leading research company that uses a technique (see below) that embodies this experience framework. Their methods are somewhat different, but the concept is the same. They categorize behaviors (focus), challenges (perspectives), strengths (metrics), and needs (strategies) at a specific time.
Based on their methodology, companies can be one of the following:
This method is known as Gartner Magic Quadrant. It helps customers to:
There are many ways for a business to stand out and deliver the experience customers want. How does the Gartner Magic Quadrant fit into the customer experience fold or strategy?
This method allows businesses to:
For example: If they're not the leader in the market they serve/engage in, how do they plan to achieve (or maintain it)?
Now that we know its impact and how it helps the organization assess its current process and strategy, let us look at the framework comprehensively.
First, let us understand why experience strategy is required? Mckinsey explains a successful customer experience strategy starts with an aspiration centered on what matters to customers and empowering frontline (employees) workers to deliver.
Why? It does three things:
What does the experience framework do for the business to operationalize and measure the value promised to customers?
In our experience, it can serve as a powerful foundation for channeling problem solving and innovation to unite team members at all levels, Mckinsey notes. This framework allows the business to identify issues and opportunities, drive tangible results and help customers focused on their top priorities.
We can do that if our experience strategy equips customers to succeed and achieve their desired business goals and shared ideas as necessary components in improving their experience.
Without a doubt, other companies orchestrate customer experience differently. It makes sense to integrate customer feedback but designing a winning customer experience program starts with this simple iota: What is limiting or hindering your CX efforts?
DESIGNING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH AN EXPERIENCE FRAMEWORK (PART 2)
What does the CX strategy mean, and how does it work? How do organizations integrate CX into the overall business strategy that drives improvement and fosters innovation?"
For some organizations, it is about near-term survival while others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal," wrote Ian Davis, former Managing Principal at McKinsey during the financial crisis in 2008-9.
Ten or so years later, businesses have found themselves once again peering through the fog of uncertainty caused by Covid 19. The current health crisis has seriously affected every aspect of customers' lives. How they live and interact, how they work and collaborate, how they move and travel.
It is not the time for businesses to quietly or silently ride the storm. They should provide or deliver a positive customer experience through a proactive and progressive approach. Two factors that accelerate or motivate businesses to improve CX are (1) the sudden shift to the digital landscape and (2) customers' expectations and preferences have changed significantly.
According to Salesforce's business trends report found that 21% of businesses considered personalizing customer engagements a tremendous challenge. Given the direct link between the customer experience and their desired success, how can a business provide a connected experience to their customers in a digital-first world? What does it take to navigate the new world? How do customers thrive, and what will it take for them to succeed?
Embrace the new customer's realities
While the Customer Experience (CX) vision remains (ensuring customers are successful and their experience is seamless), businesses need to engage customers on their preferred channel more than they had been in the past.
Companies must also manage success and customer experience with the same efficiency as they manage any other aspect of their businesses. It is an investment focus on the opportunities to improve the efficiency of their business. They should guide customers through these changes and stay focused on their changed circumstances.
The current situation should give organizations more reason to bring customer insights or feedback into more light, focus, and value. It means maximizing it to build or generate a competitive advantage and more value for their customers.
Focus on the right experience
Designing the customer experience should start with a clear understanding of their competitive environment and how it is likely to change. We need to know where our customer spends their time, resources, what they are currently dealing with, and where we can bring the most value to them.
That is the foundation of the Experience Framework that drives this transformation. It should also focus on these three parts.
First, the CX programs must be transparent and objective. Second, directly contribute to the achievement of customer goals and overall success. Third, it eliminates friction and creates new value and unparalleled opportunities. The end goal is to ensure that customer experience becomes better, efficient, and more resilient. Remember, there are no shortcuts to this. It is critical to solving the problems of the present and the future. Balance is the key.
Growth happens with the right experience
Revitalizing and leveraging the Experience Framework I discussed on the first blog puts our innovation perspective into actual practice, transforms the brand experience that breeds loyalty, and brings customers into the focus of our success. In other words, growth happens with the right experience.
A winning CX enhances the competitive advantage the business provides, boosts business growth and value creation. It allows them to keep pace with customers, their needs, challenges and bring them closer to their customers, now more than ever!
In my next blog, I will write on the topic, "Revitalizing Customer Experience As The Compass of Digital Transformation."
