HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group

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CONTINUE READING
HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group
JAN
FEB       STRATEGY
 21
20

              HQ
      7
      STEPS TO

          CX
          NIRVANA

              S P E C I A L
              E D I T I O N
HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group
1     pg 2
                                          C O N T E N T S

 How to Become
 a Customer-Obsessed
 Organization ARE YOU BEATING 2                            pg 4

         3  pg 7
                          YOUR COMPETITORS
                          AT CUSTOMER
Do You Know               EXPERIENCE?

Your Brand’s True Value? 4                pg 9

Your Customer Does. Connect with
                                  Your Customers
           Want More              Wherever
           Effective              They Are
 pg 11
         5 Get Your
           Messaging?             HOW TO BECOME
                                  A CUSTOMER-OBSESSED

           Empathy On.                                       6
                                  ORGANIZATIONAL
                                                                      pg 14
                                  CULTURE

                                 CX Metrics Matter –
                pg 17
                        7 But Understand Your What,
                                       Why & When
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HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group
How to Become
a Customer-
Obsessed
Organization
by David Cooper

I
     s your organization focused on your customer –
     or obsessed with your customer? There’s a huge
     difference. Step 1 in our 7 Steps to CX Nirvana
     explores what customer-obsessed organizations do
differently and the steps you can take to place customer
delight at the very heart of everything you do.

Let us guess. You’ve heard “listen to your customer”
somewhere before. Not exactly groundbreaking
advice in 2021. For most organizations, the end goal
of listening has always been selling, or creating a more
appealing product. And yes, of course you need to sell
the right product or service to the right customer. But
effective sales targeting isn’t enough anymore. Not
nearly enough.

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Make no
mistake.
CX is king,                                Are you obsessed with your               obsessed organization demands

queen and
                                           customer experience yet? If              a clear strategy. Your customers
                                           not, maybe this will motivate            won’t be fooled by a few superficial

everything in                              you. A study by HotJar sorted
                                           companies into mature, competent,
                                                                                    changes. But in case you’re
                                                                                    wondering what best practices look
between.                                   novice and ignore. Thirty-seven
                                           percent of mature companies,
                                                                                    like today, here are a few things
                                                                                    CX-focused organizations are doing
                                           compared to only 19% of those            differently:
                                           considered ‘ignore,’ prioritize and
                                           value customer experience more           n Commit to hiring people with a
  Staying competitive today means          than any other goal, including               customer-obsessed mindset.
  positioning customer experience          increasing sales. Clearly, they          n   Educate and retrain existing staff.
  (CX) at the top of your priority list,   understand the game has changed.         n   Relentlessly simplify every point
  across everything you do. Every                                                       of customer contact to remove
  part of your organization – not          The Hard Part:                               friction.
  just customer service and support        Buy-In and Alignment                     n   Monitor social media mentions
  – must become obsessed with              Reorienting your organization                and respond fast. Waiting until
  customer experience.                     around customer experience isn’t             tomorrow is a relic of the past.
                                           easy or simple. Even with a sound        n   Get creative and find ways
  Make no mistake. CX is king,             strategy, you’ll encounter confusion         to over-deliver and delight
  queen and everything in between.         and pushback. Departments and                customers.
                                           teams that haven’t traditionally         n   Personalize experiences
  Customer Obsession                       been customer-facing in their roles          everywhere possible.
  Starts with Your Customer                will need time to process this new       n   Reduce jargon everywhere. Use
  The first step in becoming a             way of thinking. For example, your           a conversational, approachable
  customer-obsessed organization           engineers might tell you they didn’t         voice in all communications.
  is understanding your ideal              sign up to work in customer service.     n   Offer seamless interactions. Let
  customer’s story and the role you                                                     customers easily transition from
  play in it. Hint: They are the star      So expect resistance. But persist,           one channel to the next.
  and it’s their show. This will never     above all. Without internal              n   Focus on an omnichannel
  change.                                  alignment and unity, you’re                  approach for customer
                                           unlikely to succeed in creating              convenience.
  Winning and retaining customers          necessary change. Instead, you’ll        n   Design consistent experiences
  today is contingent on their             find yourself applying Band-Aids             across all channels.
  interaction with your brand at           and other temporary fixes, and
  every touch point. It isn’t that your    they won’t be enough to keep             There’s an upside to all the work
  products and services don’t matter.      up with skyrocketing customer            required to become a customer-
  Of course they do. But consumers         expectations.                            obsessed organization. Your
  now expect the white-glove, red                                                   competitors will need to put
  carpet treatment. Today’s over-          It’s also crucial not to assume that     in just as much work. And that
  delivering becomes tomorrow’s            everyone will ‘get it’ the first time.   means an opening for you.
  basic expectation.                       Or the second. New paradigms             Every cultural shift brings both
                                           mean an ongoing commitment to            challenge and opportunity.
  In fact, white-glove service is both     seeing a culture change through,
  inevitable and economical, and           with accountability for everyone.        If you’d like to prioritize customer
  the key differentiator of successful                                              experience throughout your
  organizations. More and more,            What Customer Experience-                company but could use an outside
  consumer feelings and attitudes          Obsessed Companies                       perspective, reach out to us. We
  about you are your business, not a       Do Differently                           welcome discussing opportunities,
  part of your business.                   Again, becoming a customer-              challenges and strategy with you.

  thecoopergroup.net                                         3                             STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group
ARE YOU BEATING
YOUR COMPETITORS
AT CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE?

                         by David Cooper

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C
          ustomer experience is         lunch (sorry, couldn’t resist).        find yourself jousting with windmills
          an ongoing challenge,         Innovation, disruption and             like Don Quixote.
          but also the greatest         changing customer attitudes mean
          opportunity to leave your     your competitors aren’t necessarily    CX, Your Opportunity
competition in the dust. Step 2 in      offering a similar product or          to Differentiate
our 7 Steps to CX Nirvana explores      service. Until the last couple of      Once you’ve correctly identified
how you can exploit openings and        years, Subway’s appeal was always      your competitors, how will you
win on the new battleground of          location. You couldn’t walk more       differentiate your brand from
outstanding customer experience.        than two city blocks without           theirs? Twenty years ago, even 10
                                        spotting one.                          years ago, you’d probably answer
Blockbuster. Dell. Kodak. Sears.                                               with a better product, service,
Toys “R” Us. What’s the most            What’s even more convenient            market fit or price point. But today,
memorable example of a company          than walking a block to Subway         winning and retaining customers
that took its eyes off competitors      for mediocre food? Sitting on          means anticipating and delivering
and ignored key trends until it was     your couch or in your office, and      the experiences your competitors
too late to change course? Take         having your favorite restaurant food   can’t, or won’t.
your pick. There are many.              delivered fast and cheap. The true
                                        competitor here doesn’t even make      Let’s take Chick-fil-A, for instance.
Such companies learn the                sandwiches.                            Their success isn’t just about
ultimate lesson: No brand lives                                                making a tastier sandwich. Instead,
in a bubble. You can’t afford to        So, when you’re listing your           it’s their lightning-fast service, clean
ignore what’s happening around          rivals, look beyond the obvious.       facilities and strategic, family-
you. For most brands today, the         They might not be who you think        friendly branding. Have you ever
key trend is customer experience.
In 2021, and for the foreseeable
future, outperforming your
                                        No brand lives in a bubble.
                                        You can’t afford to ignore
competitors means anticipating
customer expectations and
over-delivering throughout the
customer journey.                       what’s happening around
                                        you. For most brands today,
Who Are Your True
Competitors?                            the key trend is customer
At the risk of stating the              experience. In 2021,
obvious, you must have a clear
understanding of who you’re             and for the foreseeable
competing against. And they             future, outperforming
                                        your competitors means
aren’t always the obvious suspects.
Are you sure you know who your
competitors really are today?
                                        anticipating customer
Let’s take Subway as an illustration.   expectations and over-
It’s no secret they’ve battled
                                        delivering throughout the
                                        customer journey.
declining sales since 2012. Yet
according to Restaurant Business,
their strongest competition isn’t
other sub sandwich chains, or even
independent sandwich eateries.          they are, and they can quickly         purchased one of their kids meals?
Instead, Chick-fil-A and restaurant     change. Unless you know who            Instead of cheap, throwaway plastic
delivery services are eating their      your true competitors are, you’ll      toys promoting the latest Disney

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Given their
                                                                                 attention
                                                                                 to CX, it’s
                                                                                 no surprise
                                                                                 Chick-fil-A
                                                                                 consistently
                                                                                 leads the
flick, you’ll find a higher-quality toy   messages within two hours, and         category in
or a carefully chosen book. Given
their attention to CX, it’s no surprise
                                          Delta Air Lines, for responding to
                                          30% of all social media mentions.      the American
Chick-fil-A consistently leads the        Just think about that for a moment.    Customer
                                                                                 Satisfaction
category in the American Customer         Isn’t that an impressive feat for a
Satisfaction Index, ahead of all          major airline?
other major fast food chains. In fact,
courtesy and helpfulness of staff         Make no mistake. Delta made a
                                                                                 Index.
was rated even more important             strategic choice to invest in epic
than taste or food quality.               responsiveness and personalization.
                                          And at this touch point, at least,
Differentiating your offering and         they blew away their competitors.
communicating that difference is          In nearly every industry you can      your business, managing staff and
Marketing 101. And today, more            think of, consumers are rewarding     delivering products or services.
than ever, prioritizing customer          CX-obsessed organizations and
experience (see Step 1) throughout        ignoring the rest of the pack.        So how does your CX stack up
your organization is the best                                                   against your competitors? Are you
opportunity for you to win in a           Keeping the Balls                     exceeding their efforts at every
crowded marketplace.                      in the Air                            step of the customer journey –
                                          It has always been crucial to look    and keeping all those other balls
So Who’s Getting CX Right                 beyond your own organization          in the air?
in Your Industry?                         to your true competitors. And
A recent report by Brandwatch             it has always been important to       If you’d like to discuss boosting
surveyed consumers to rate the            think ahead and be proactive,         your brand with better CX, feel
brands consistently delivering the        not reactive, to trends. And yes,     free to reach out to us. Let’s put
best customer experiences. Among          it has always been a juggling act     our heads together and develop
the winners are Sephora, a beauty         to allocate resources to those        a strategy that leaves your
company that replies to most              things while running the rest of      competitors in the dust.

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HQ - 7 CX NIRVANA - STRATEGY - The Cooper Group
by David Cooper

Do You Know
Your Brand’s True Value?
Your Customer Does.
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          onsumers today hold            No matter how well you understand       competitors are doing at the
          more power than ever           your business and product, you are      same stage.
          before. With social media      not your customer. You need their
          and online reviews only        feedback on every touch point,          Creating a useful journey map
a click away, your brand reputation      on every channel. This points to        will not be accomplished in a
is always on display. Step 3 in our 7    the need for both quantitative and      week’s time. The process requires
Steps to CX Nirvana argues that          qualitative data gathered from a        significant but manageable
only your customer determines            variety of sources:                     investment in data collection,
your brand value.                                                                analysis and presentation. In
                                         n   Surveys                             our experience, it’s well worth
Who do you think really                  n   Interviews                          the effort. You’ll discover new
determines your brand’s true             n   Questionnaires                      opportunities to compete and win
value in the marketplace? Is this        n   Chat logs                           beyond product or price.
debated and decided around a             n   Analytics
conference table? Diagrammed             n   Support logs and emails             Reality Check: Does Your
on a whiteboard, neatly captured         n   Social media mentions               Brand’s Value Live Up
in a PowerPoint presentation                                                     to Your Promise?
and eventually blessed by key            Once you’ve compiled the data,          The only useful answer to this
executives?                              you’ll find there’s no shortage of      question will come from your
                                         user-friendly customer journey          customers. In theory, it’s a simple
If so, we propose a radically            templates and platforms available       concept. But sometimes the
different approach. Consider this        to represent it. Whatever software      simplest lessons, like this one, are
simple equation: Your brand’s            solution you choose, remember the       the hardest to put into practice.
value is precisely equal to your         goal should be clarity and accuracy.
customer’s perception of your            To bring a return on investment,        It’s frightening to admit that we
brand’s value. And increasingly,         the journey map must help you           are not in control of our brand.
this perception is shaped by their       identify areas for improvement and      Instead, our customers are in the
experiences and outcomes at every        differentiation.                        driver’s seat. We can influence the
stage of the customer journey.                                                   relationship and their perception,
                                         The Customer Journey                    but we can’t control it. And how do
If you want to boost brand value,        Is Complex                              we influence it? By committing to
you must dissect and analyze             Wouldn’t it be wonderful if             customer-centricity at every stage
customer experiences – from initial      capturing your customer journey         of the purchasing journey.
awareness to purchase and well           were a simple, linear progression?
beyond. And one of the best tools        Like a train leaving the station and    Sometimes you can benefit from
for improving your CX across the         moving predictably through all          an outside perspective. We help
board is a customer journey map.         the stops to its final destination?     organizations like yours leverage
                                         Unfortunately, the process is usually   CX to turn customers into fans
Map the Journey, and Start               messier and far more complex.           and advocates. Interested in a
with the Customer                                                                consultation? Let’s talk.
To see where you’re exceeding            Your customer might move back
expectations, and where you’re           and forth between steps, and
falling short, a visual representation   possibly even skip some. Consider
of your customers’ journey is            all the different ways consumers
essential. Be careful, though.           can first encounter your brand –
Your journey map must capture            word-of-mouth, search engine, ads,
data based on actual customer            social media, and the list goes on.
feedback. Never make the mistake         For each of these steps, you must
of substituting your experience for      document what you’re doing and
their experience.                        how it’s working, and what your

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Connect with
Your Customers
Wherever and Whenever

They Are
C
        From Baby Boomers to                    speed and simplicity, but also availability
        Generation Z, what matters most         and easy access. If your business hopes to
        to consumers when deciding on a         thrive or even just survive, you must meet
        purchase? If you haven’t seen the       your ideal customers on their preferred
Global Omnichannel Consumer Shopping            channels – even if theirs are not your
Research Report by BigCommerce, it’s            preferred channels. In 2021, a seamless
worth a read. The answer can be summed          omnichannel presence is no longer a
up in one word: convenience.                    luxury reserved for elite brands. Meeting
                                                your customers where they are is a must,
Step 4 in our 7 Steps to CX Nirvana             a key component of customer experience.
focuses on this: Convenience means

by David Cooper

thecoopergroup.net                          9                      STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
values and motivations, along          much effort you put into pleasing
                                       with analytics that track consumer     them. Forget this fact and you lose.
                                       behaviors and preferences.
                                                                              And you know what else they don’t
                                       Once you understand their daily        care about? Your technology. They
                                       habits, you can then begin to          want the same lightning-fast service
                                       develop an effective omnichannel       and delivery, regardless of platform
                                       strategy that allocates resources      or device.
                                       where they’re needed.
                                                                              In Steve Krug’s classic book on web
                                       Make It Easy                           design, “Don’t Make Me Think,”
The Inconvenient Truth:                We are all consumers. Let’s say        he talks about user experience on
They Won’t Come to You                 you begin a customer service           websites. His point is valid for any
The line between engagement            conversation through a chat bot on     customer touch point. He argues,
and e-commerce is blurring.            your desktop computer. You later       correctly, that the second they have
For example, almost 25% of             continue it on your smart phone.       to “think,” meaning figure out how
business owners choose to use          Isn’t it nice when you can pick up     to get the information or service
Facebook for sales, not just build     where you left off without having to   they need, they’ll bounce.
brand awareness. In fact, 40% of       explain your issue all over again?
businesses are now using social                                               Each platform or channel should be
media to sell, rather than to simply   Everyone has always appreciated        absolutely transparent and dead-
answer questions, educate or           convenience, but consumers today       simple to use. Don’t confuse them.
introduce themselves.                  don’t simply appreciate it. They       Don’t make them think. Just give
                                       expect it. In fact, 77% of companies   them what they want and don’t
What does this mean for you?           considered strong in omnichannel       waste even a millisecond of their
Now, more than ever, social media      are those that store customer data     time.
engagement isn’t optional. You         across channels, while only 40% of
must be present on the channels        those considered weak omnichannel      Never Stop Listening
your ideal customers are using.        companies do so. Seamless customer     We wish we could assure you that
                                       support is a vital component of        your customers will stick with their
In the past, many organizations        stellar customer experience.           current channel preferences for the
relied on highly optimized SEO                                                foreseeable future. We wish we
to attract customers. But you can      The bottom line is this: Companies     could tell you there will be time for
no longer count on consumers           that don’t prioritize convenient       you to catch up before innovation
searching and finding you. And         omnichannel CX are being left          changes the game yet again.
what about potential customers         behind. The easier and faster
who haven’t yet heard of you?          you make it for customers to           But innovation never stops. The
Unless you’re present and engaged      accomplish their tasks, either off-    reality is that customer behaviors
where they are, they probably          line or online, the more you’ll be     change over time. Our advice is to
won’t discover you.                    rewarded with a return on your         get obsessed with your customer,
                                       investment.                            stay obsessed with your customer,
Of course, being where your                                                   and be wherever they are, ready to
customers are means knowing            Your Customer Doesn’t Care             over-deliver at every opportunity.
your ideal customers inside            About your omnichannel strategy,
and out. You’ll need far more          that is. Mainly, they care about       If you’d like to discuss a winning
than demographic-based                 completing their task, not about       omnichannel strategy for your
marketing personas. Instead, your      your organization, your strategy,      organization, feel free to contact
research should reveal deeper,         your best-laid plans or your revenue   us to schedule a game-changing
psychographic factors that reveal      goals. They don’t even care how        consultation.

thecoopergroup.net                                     10                           STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
Want More
                      Effective
                      Messaging?
             Get Your Empathy On.
                     by David Cooper

thecoopergroup.net   11                STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
I
    f you can’t stand in your
    customer’s shoes, you’ll never
    be up to the task of delivering
    stellar customer experience
throughout your customer’s buying
journey and beyond. Step 5 in
our 7 Steps to CX Nirvana is all
about the most important CX factor
of all. And that is empathy.

“I get worried if I see customer
satisfaction scores drop below
97%.” That’s a quote from Ali Ryal,
head of Customer Experience for
Slack, the popular collaboration
tool for teams. According to the
company, their average response
time is under an hour. And here’s
one more nugget of CX goodness
to savor: “We’re trying to build
empathy at scale.”                     every single communication and
                                       interaction.                             Your product is
Slack is one of the best examples                                               not the star of
we can think of for a company that
gets it. By ‘it,’ we mean building
                                       But be careful. Your product is not
                                       the star of the story, and neither are   the story, and
your brand around outstanding,         you. Customers are the heroes of         neither are you.
                                                                                Customers
empathetic customer experience         their stories, and you are the guide
everywhere. While plenty of            who helps them solve a problem,

                                                                                are the heroes
organizations implement CX tweaks,     overcome an obstacle and achieve
these are often add-ons, rather than   transformation. You’re the Yoda to
core values and differentiators.       their Luke Skywalker.
                                                                                of their stories,
So, ask yourself this question:        And Then What?                           and you are
Does your organization get it? And
how well are you communicating
                                       Empathy Everywhere.
                                       So, how do you make your                 the guide who
empathy in all of your messaging?      messaging relevant, timely and           helps them
Empathy Starts
                                       emotionally resonant at every
                                       touch point? Whether it’s on a           solve a problem,
with a Story                           support call, in an email sequence,      overcome
When we say empathy begins with
a story, we’re not talking about
                                       a Facebook ad, your homepage
                                       or a brochure, talk less about the       an obstacle
your brand story. We’re referring to   awesomeness of your features and         and acheive
                                                                                transformation.
your customer’s story. As Donald       more about the role those features
Miller explained so succinctly in      play in helping your customers
his book “Building a Story Brand:      overcome their most pressing
Clarify Your Message So Your           challenges.
Customers Will Listen,” they’re
more concerned with themselves         Now, we’re no copywriters, but
than with you. And if you want to      here’s a quick and dirty example of
win them over, you have to prove       two statements that illustrate our
it by reflecting their journey in      point:

thecoopergroup.net                                      12                        STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
n Choice A: Our award-winning          product or service. So it’s crucial   resulted in a “98% Happiness
HR software platform is the leading    that they nail the correct tone       rating.” Sure, they could have
solution for today’s busy medical      and word choice. Employing true       taken the traditional route and
practices.                             empathy can mean the difference       stuck to phone calls, chat or email.
                                       between a glowing Yelp review that    But by personalizing and showing
n Choice B: Pulling your hair out      brings you 100 new customers over     customers how to solve problems,
over endless HR regulations? Our       the next year, or a Facebook rant     rather than sending them canned
cloud-based software automates         that goes viral with the opposite     responses, they lead the industry in
compliance, so you spend less time     effect.                               stellar customer experience.
on paperwork and more time with
your patients.                         Using statements like, “I would       Consistency Is the
                                       probably feel the same way if I       Challenge
Choice B communicates                  were in your shoes” and “I want       One of the most daunting
understanding (empathy!), solution     to assure you that I’m going to       challenges is unifying your
and transformation. All your           take care of this problem for         messaging across all channels. It
messaging should reflect this          you today” each convey both           must be cohesive, strategic and
central unifying theme.                empathy and responsiveness. You       present everywhere your customers
                                       can also summarize and rephrase       encounter you. We understand. It’s
It isn’t that you never talk about     the customer’s concern, using         easier said than done. But until you
yourself and your product or           emotional mirroring to make           tackle the issue and revamp your
service. Of course you do. But your    them feel they’ve been heard and      communications for consistency,
product or service exists for one      understood.                           you’ll continue struggling to build
reason: to improve your customers’                                           and maintain the relationships that
lives and businesses. They’re not      But don’t stop there. Instead,        make your business thrive.
interested in your agendas and         experiment and innovate. The
initiatives. So when you talk about    video hosting service Wistia’s        The Bottom Line: Empathy
yourself, the message should           practice of creating personalized     Always Wins
always be filtered through their       videos to solve support questions     What would it look like for your
story.                                                                       organization to commit to ‘empathy
                                                                             at scale’? Do you think your
Empathetic Customer                     In the simplest                      customers would notice? We do.
Service
Customer experience is everyone’s
                                        terms,                               How you implement and execute
                                                                             depends on your target customer,
job, but your support team will         customers                            your industry and each individual
usually have the most direct contact    must know                            touch point. But make no mistake.
with those who purchase your            that you get                         Committing to empathy in all your
                                             them, you                       communications is a requirement

                                             care, and
                                                                             from here on out, not an extra or a
                                                                             ‘nice-to-have.’
                                             you’re
                                             prepared                        In the simplest terms, customers
                                             to help                         must know that you get them, you

                                             – and                           care, and you’re prepared to help –
                                                                             and keep on helping, long after the
                                             keep on                         initial purchase. If you’re interested
                                             helping,                        in improving your messaging and
                                             long after                      communications, we help start-up,
                                             the initial                     small and mid-sized organizations
                                                                             succeed in today’s customer-
                                             purchase.                       obsessed marketplace. Contact us
                                                                             for a consultation.

thecoopergroup.net                                     13                          STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
by David Cooper

 HOW TO BECOME A
CUSTOMER-OBSESSED
 ORGANIZATIONAL
 CULTURE
 thecoopergroup.net   14   STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
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          tep 6 in our 7 Steps to         with your customers. Do they ever      for the culture you aspire to, the
          CX Nirvana explains             read support emails or chat logs?      culture you need, not necessarily
          how people, values and          How about online reviews? Do they      the one that exists today.
          business clarity are the        answer customer questions?
keys to building an organizational                                               Now comes the hard part. This
culture totally obsessed with             If your people are insulated by        might mean some of your people
your customer. It doesn’t happen          bureaucracy and an org chart, it’s     need to simply move on. It’s never
overnight, but you can get there.         easy for them to lose touch with       the first option and never pleasant,
Wondering how? Read on!                   what matters most – converting         but unfortunately, you cannot
                                          customers to fans and advocates.       create the right culture without the
This series has been exploring                                                   right people. While many skills,
the tectonic shift from customer-         Customer experience is everyone’s      such as creating a presentation or
focused to customer-obsessed,             job, and no one should ever feel       working with a particular software
and shared in many ways how               distant or disconnected from daily     tool can be learned rather quickly,
customers should be at the very
heart of everything we do. Maybe
some of these initiatives call for
new business models. But without
something more fundamental – a
customer-obsessed organizational
culture – getting to stellar customer
experience is not possible.

In most organizations, the barrier
between customer obsession and
the same old, same old, is simply
people. Change is hard, and almost
all of us choose the familiar over what
feels risky. So how can you begin the
change to a customer experience,
customer-obsessed culture?
                                          customer concerns. And yes, we         an employee who tends to view
In our opinion, it comes down to          know. It’s easier said than done.      themselves or their team as
the right people, the right values                                               an island will have a hard time
and absolute clarity.                     So What’s the Remedy?                  ever seeing things through the
                                          Hire CX-Friendly                       customer’s eyes and allowing that
Your People: Everyone Is                  Candidates.                            to drive decisions.
“Customer-Facing”                         We’ve witnessed many jaw-
Let’s dispense with the outdated          dropping transformations over the      Your Values:
notion that some departments              years, from customer-oblivious to      Expect Curiosity
are customer-facing, while others         customer-obsessed companies.           Former Netflix VP Gibson Biddle
are customer-irrelevant. Now,             The truth is, moving people out of     gets it. He understands that
of course, some of your people            their comfort zones and away from      organizations today must put
will have more direct contact             entrenched behaviors is difficult.     customer experience ahead of
with customers than others. No                                                   everything else. We think this
one is saying your engineers or           For that reason, we recommend          post by him is very inspiring.
supply chain department should            hiring people who are already          During his time at Netflix, simply
be handling support calls eight           customer-oriented and empathetic,      understanding the customer’s
hours a day. But they should be           rather than assuming you can instill   current problems wasn’t nearly
having some regular interaction           these values. In other words, hire     enough. Instead, their goal was

thecoopergroup.net                                        15                           STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
to understand the customer so         Consider this statistic. According   be simply unaware of how much
    well that they could anticipate and   to an Accenture survey, 81% of       customer experience impacts the
    innovate new ideas for turning        consumers “feel loyal to brands      bottom line – and their paychecks.
    them into raving fans.                that are there when they need        But if the connection between CX
                                          them, but otherwise respect their    and ROI isn’t made consistently
    This difference might sound           time and leave them alone.”          clear, part of the blame must lie
    simple, but it represents a quantum   This kind of next-level customer     with management.
    leap and requires rabid devotion      knowledge doesn’t come with
    and insatiable curiosity. They        the once-and-done survey or          Are you sure you’re adequately
    constantly developed and tested       focus group. Instead, it only        communicating that relationship
    new hypotheses and were always        develops organically from a          throughout your business? In
                                                                               product development, logistics and

their (Netflix) goal was to
                                                                               supply chain, customer support
                                                                               and every department? As said

understand the customer so                                                     earlier, we still believe that hiring
                                                                               CX-oriented people is a better
well that they could anticipate                                                approach than attempting to

and innovate new ideas for                                                     change everyone’s minds. But
                                                                               you can’t, and shouldn’t, replace
turning them into raving fans.                                                 everyone. And the shift will take
                                                                               time.

                                                                               The Stakes Are High,
                                                                               But So Are the Rewards
                                                                               Customers are not passive
                                                                               consumers waiting with open arms
                                                                               for our products and services.
                                                                               The truth is, they never were. But
                                                                               today, more than ever, our success
                                                                               is tied to their experience with us.
                                                                               And that experience can only be
                                                                               delivered through an organizational
                                                                               culture with the right values and
                                                                               people.

                                                                               Maybe Amazon said it best:
                                                                               “Leaders start with the customer
                                                                               and work backwards. They work
                                                                               vigorously to earn and keep
                                                                               customer trust. Although leaders
                                                                               pay attention to competitors, they
                                                                               obsess over customers.”
    open to new insights – even when      culture that values curiosity and
    they went against everything they     experimentation.                     We couldn’t have said it better.
    previously believed about what                                             Changing your culture is tough. If
    customers wanted. Netflix was built   Clarity: Making                      you’d like an outside perspective
    around curiosity about customer       the Connection Clear                 on how to implement customer
    experience.                           Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to    obsession in your organization, feel
                                          condemn those employees stuck        free to contact us. We help small
    It isn’t just Netflix customers who   in traditional, non-CX-obsessed      and mid-sized companies focus on
    crave personalized experiences.       cultures. In many cases, they may    what matters most.

    thecoopergroup.net                                     16                        STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
CX Metrics Matter –
But Understand Your What,
             Why & When
by David Cooper

A
            nalytics, analytics everywhere! Yes, you
            must measure to improve customer
            experience. But it’s crucial that your
            metrics align with the right goals and
strategy. Do you know which metrics to use, and just
as important, why you’re using them? Step 7 in our
7 Steps to CX Nirvana dives right in.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it,”
the legendary Peter Drucker famously said.
And we’d be hard-pressed to disagree. No
one today could argue against the need
for both quantitative and qualitative
customer data. Regardless of your
industry or product, measurement
and execution are essential to
keeping your customers close.

Just as important, you
must understand not only
the ‘what’ of your metrics,
but also the why,

thecoopergroup.net                                     17   STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
when and where. Otherwise,               Don’t Rely On a                            get the results you’re looking for
all your careful measurements            Single Metric                              with buy-in from your organization.
are unlikely to bring a return on        One of the most used ways to               And that meaningful buy-in only
investment. They must be goal-           measure customer loyalty (at               comes if everyone concerned
driven, diversified and understood       the moment, anyway) is the Net             understands the what, why, where
in context.                              Promoter Score (NPS). And why              and when of the metric. They
                                         not? It’s simple, accessible and           must comprehend what you’re
Priority One:                            flexible. Since it predicts how likely     measuring and why, how it will be
What’s the Goal?                         customers are to recommend your            interpreted, and why it matters – to
Would it surprise you to know that       services or products to others, it’s a     the organization and to their job
many organizations are floundering       natural for measuring satisfaction.        performance.
in mountains of functionally useless
customer data? It’s true. Unless         But like any other metric, NPS             Results should be accessible
you can glean insights from the          has its drawbacks and limitations.         and accessed often by everyone
information, it isn’t worth much in      For one thing, it doesn’t tell you         concerned. It’s simple enough,
the long run.                            the reason for the score – only a          after all, to know whether your
                                         number that equates to promoters,          people are regularly logging in
There’s more than one reason for         passives or detractors. And even           and monitoring these metrics. If
this drowning-in-data problem. One       if NPS were perfect, no metric             it’s a case of set-it-and-forget-it,
of the most significant is simply that   should stand in isolation. Metrics         they’ll never make the connection
customer metrics sought are not          work best when you’re using a              between their duties and customer
always aligned with company goals.       variety of measurements across the         experience.
And it can’t be just any goals. For      complete omnichannel customer
best results, your goals should          journey. See Step 4 in this series:        Finally, understand that the right
be SMART: Specific, Measurable,          Connect With Your Customers                metrics can bring many benefits.
Attainable, Realistic and Timely.        Wherever (and Whenever) They Are.          They can help you make the right
                                                                                    decisions, know where to focus
This means that strategy should          What about assigning each of your          your resources and of course, build
drive your choice of metrics, not vice   customers their own dashboard,             the kinds of customer relationships
versa. Yes, measuring allows you to      where you can view a variety of            you need to thrive in a hyper-
gauge how well you’re achieving          metrics for each one? Whenever             competitive marketplace.
your goal, but the objective must        anyone follows up on the customer
always precede the tool.                 to monitor CX, they’re looking at a        But never forget that the most
                                         more complete and comprehensive            fundamental purpose of all is
What are the most important goals        perspective. They’re not limited to        learning. If metrics are not offering
for your business? There are so          one isolated measurement, frozen           you meaningful, relevant insights
many metrics to choose from, so it’s     at one moment in time.                     that nurture customer relationships,
critical to employ only the ones that                                               it’s time to re-evaluate what you’re
are pinpoint-relevant to you.            And remember that metrics                  measuring and why.
                                         aren’t necessarily numbers. In
If you make the mistake of               fact, some of the most useful              Since 1998, we’ve been helping
choosing the easiest or most             and valuable information will be           customer-focused organizations
popular goals or metrics, you’re         qualitative feedback from your             become customer-obsessed. If
squandering resources and worse,         customers. This can inform your            you’d like to discuss what you’re
wasting your customer’s precious         messaging, and also give you a             measuring and why, feel free to
time. Given consumers hold so            deeper understanding of their true         contact us.
much power and influence today,          priorities and motivations.
that’s a mistake you can’t afford to
make. If you’re asking them for any      Understand the Metric
kind of feedback, make sure you          in Context
understand why you’re asking.            Like any tool or initiative, you’ll only

thecoopergroup.net                                         18                             STRATEGY HQ | JAN/FEB 2021
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