As technology and methodologies make it simpler than ever to support great CX management, what’s holding CX professionals back from delivering true innovation?
We’re approaching the end of the Autumn conference season! Tis a season that used to drive me crazy in my event-building days, making sure our presence at all industry events was maximised, that we met the right decision makers, that we were positioned in the best light possible (physical placement as well as branding), that the ROI justified future investment.
So I found it particularly pleasing to just “turn up” at recent CX industry events and have the time to listen. Since I advise my clients on their customer and marketing strategy, I consider it a vital part of my role to keep up with – and ahead of – industry trends, and equip myself with practical examples in various sectors.
Well, I’m afraid there’s not much to report. I listened to great speakers talk about their programmes, their successes, their challenges. All interesting, but nothing transcending unfortunately. Just to be clear, I’m neither blasé nor a know-it-all. I wouldn’t have spent valuable time at these events if this had been the case. Nor did I expect anyone to share stories on how robots are now automatically building CX programmes that delight customers at every touchpoint and throw ROI cash directly in the bank. Although that’d be nice…
I just thought in 2019 we’d have more advanced feedback programmes that go beyond just closing the loop. We all know it’s hard, but is it actually getting harder? As technology and methodologies make it simpler than ever to support great CX management, what’s holding CX professionals back from delivering true innovation?
I won’t profess to know all the answers but here’s a common thread: everyone gets that it’s about action, that you can’t expect results just by collecting feedback and measuring satisfaction scores. As many of my fellow CX professionals will know, this is actually an improvement on where we were a few years ago. We all knew action was important of course, it’s just that people were so busy figuring out how to get data, they didn’t always have time to drive improvements based on this data.
Nowadays, proven and tested tools and methodologies enable organisations to collect omnichannel insights through key moments of truth across the customer journey. That part should be easy. And action? Well, that should be easy too – solutions that include tactical closed-loop and strategic prioritisation are commonplace and should really help drive improvements in the organisation. So we have great data, that converts to great insights that drive great improvements that translate to great ROI. Right?
Wrong! All the elements are there… but the only way I’ve seen programmes deliver results is when it goes the other way around. First understand the ROI you’re looking to deliver, in line with your organisation’s key business priorities, then work out what types of action will be needed, what insights will support such actions and then, only then, work out what data you need to collect. For example, if the business KPI you’re targeting is customer churn (surely that’s on everyone’s lists!), the actions are likely to be around improving your products and services… So you’ll need insights to understand your customers’ and employees’ perspectives on your offering, which will help you set up a programme with the right technology, metrics and methodology to gather this data and link it all the way back to the ROI you originally targeted.
I’ve simplified this logic to the extreme to make a point, but however complex your programme is, always start with the end result in mind. This means you’ll stay focused on delivering ROI, rather than justifying your CX budget and resources based on number of activities or increases in CX metrics that barely get a slide or two at the quarterly executive workshop…
In my experience, ROI-focused programmes gain more credibility in the board room, justify higher level of investments and generate more innovation and a truly differentiated customer experience. I hope to see more of these programmes at CX industry events in 2020!
If you need help working out the ROI of your programme, or getting started with Voice of the Customer, contact me today for a chat.
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