In our last article we spent time defining what the Customer Experience is and how it is different than branding. In summary, the Customer Experience is all the actions we take to influence a customer’s perception of our organizations. Given that people in all areas of our businesses can positively or negatively affect the experience customers have with our organization, it is sometimes difficult to determine who really “owns” the Customer Experience. Although it is true everyone is responsible for the Customer Experience, as the old saying goes, “if everyone is responsible, no one is responsible.” Given this, we must first look to determine all the areas that help shape this experience; people, product, process and feedback.
People
Some companies believe that a great Customer Experience begins with how we treat our customers, but nothing could be farther from the truth. It starts with those people who are responsible with delivering the experience, your employees. Additionally, this is not limited to only your customer facing employees, it pertains to all the employees in your organization from top to bottom.
The process starts with defining your Company’s culture, who you are and who you want to be for your employees. That message must then be communicated and adopted throughout the organization. Many times, organizational leaders have an idea of what the Company’s culture is but unless it can be verbalized and effectively communicated, chances are that other individuals have a different perspective.
Once your Company culture has been established, you must hire and retain employees based on those principles. Many candidates can fit the technical qualifications of the job but are they a fit for your Company’s culture? Interviewing candidates for soft skills can be very different than solely hiring for qualifications. It is important that your management team is trained in how to do this.
The next step is to ensure you have measurements and metrics designed to help your team meet the Customer Experience expectations of your Company. In many cases you may have hired the right people, that most likely have the best intentions, but their idea of delivering the experience may be different than yours.
We all know great employees are hard to find and even harder to keep. Your organization must provide an environment that fits the needs of your employees. Those needs can be different for every organization and in some cases different for every employee.
Product
A key element in the Customer Experience is not only ensuring you have the right mix of products and services to serve your market, but also that they are easy for your customers to find and interact with.
This element starts with defining your Brand Experience, which if done effectively, enables the price of products and services to go up and builds loyal customers through positive brand associations and images or a strong awareness of the brand.
Once defined, you must consistently communicate this message with your customers through an integrated and comprehensive marketing strategy which must include digital media and content marketing.
Process
Ensuring your Company has efficient and effective processes in place, as well as the appropriate application of technology, will allow your employees the time to deliver a great experience and your customers a seamless purchasing experience. This is an element that is often forgotten when developing a Customer Experience Strategy.
Process Identification is the first step in determining if you have the most efficient processes to allow your employees to execute an excellent Customer Experience and that your customers have a process that allows for ease of business. The second step in this process is to develop standard work for all identified processes. This allows for all processes to be executed consistently time after time which will enhance the Customer Experience. Additionally, developing this standard work will allow you to identify areas of wasted time and eliminate them to allow for a better experience in execution.
It is equally as important to continually audit these processes. In today’s ever-changing environment our processes must be as flexible and fluid as our customers’ needs are, allowing us to modify our business as the needs of our customers change.
Feedback
The Customer Experience is a never-ending process that must be constantly reevaluated and adjusted based on market demands. Part of this process is to get feedback not only from your customers but from your employees, suppliers and marketplace as well. Feedback allows us to identify how we can improve, but it also helps us confirm what we are doing right!
Feedback is not limited only to surveys. Although surveys are a great tool in getting feedback, they should not be the only form. Surveys typically have low response rates, can be easily manipulated and limit the type of feedback we get. Alternative means of getting feedback such as Customer Advisory Boards, Employee Round tables and market research can also be utilized to Fill in the gaps that a survey may leave. Additionally, feedback should not be something we receive only once a year. It needs to be a constant focus with measurements and follow up processes.
Being in business today means that you have no choice but to understand that customers expect an experience tailored to their needs, solving their problems and responding to their wants as they occur. To accomplish this, you must have a plan, corresponding strategies and someone ultimately responsible for ensuring that it happens. Defining the Customer Experience as it relates to people, product, process and feedback will help to ensure that you are developing a strategy that looks at the experience from a holistic perspective.