You may want to look at this article Customer experience (CX), employee experience (EX) and human experience (HX): introductions, interactions and interdisciplinary directions published in Journal of Service Management- 2024

Too often training, quality control, satisfaction measurement, and other foundational parts of customer experience programs do not receive adequate or any investment. If you work at a short sales cycle firm, you should see the benefits of a CX program quickly. Long sales cycle firms will experience more cumulative benefits over time. The major categories of positive results from CX programs include increases in sales and relationship completeness, lower customer loss, and improving referrals and reviews. Other benefits can include reduced employee turnover and lower costs associated with rework. How would you blend these outcomes together to establish CX goals and what metrics most effectively capture improvements in these categories?

I would certainly add CES (Customer Effort Score) and Customer Verbatim to the mix, with the latter being especially helpful for dynamic critical incident monitoring.. Both are significant leading indicators.

When setting a mission and goals to improve customer experience (CX), it's helpful to understand the different roles customers play: users, payers, and buyers. Users are those who interact directly with the product or service, payers cover the cost, and buyers make purchasing decisions. By studying these roles, businesses can identify specific needs and pain points. Sometimes, enhancing just one role’s experience can significantly impact overall satisfaction. For instance, improving how users interact with the product can create loyalty, even if they're not the ones paying. Understanding these roles ensures a more focused CX strategy. #customer #marketing #xp #nps

To measure and improve customer experience in a dynamic environment, start by using real-time feedback tools like surveys, social media listening, and customer support interactions to gauge satisfaction. Employ metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) to quantify experience. To improve, analyze feedback to identify pain points, then implement agile processes that allow for rapid adjustments. Continuously monitor trends, personalize interactions, and foster a customer-centric culture to adapt swiftly to changing expectations.

The sustainability of a CX program depends on connecting perceptual measurement to economic outcomes. Satisfaction, likelihood to deepen, and likelihood to refer are ways of understanding brand preference and are good summary metrics. They are not, however, actionable. Understand the perceptual and experiential aspects of your business that are currently having the most impact on customer preference. The SERVQUAL qualities of Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, and Empathy along with Pricing provide a good starting point when crafting a measurement program that fits your company. Keep in mind that the impact of these qualities and how the market defines them will change as your performance and the environment changes.

I’m a big fan of simple closed-loop feedback systems that use a metric question (like NPS, CSAT, or CES) along with a follow-up question, such as, “Why did you give us this score?” Unlike market research, which samples a few and makes broad assumptions, closed-loop feedback systems gather input from every customer at key points in their journey. Feedback is gathered soon after the interaction, but not right away, giving customers time to reflect on their experience. The data is stored in the company's CRM/CXM system and shared in real-time with the team. This allows staff to take immediate action as needed. The results of these actions are then updated in the CRM/CXM system, completing the feedback loop.

An integrated and agile approach is crucial to enhance customer experience in a dynamic environment. This entails regular feedback loops, cross-functional collaboration, and a customer-centric culture. Setting up real-time feedback mechanisms, like live chat or instant surveys, enables immediate understanding and response to customer needs. Encourage employees to take ownership of customer experience and learn from interactions. Review customer feedback and performance metrics in team meetings to identify patterns, celebrate successes, and address concerns. Adapt and innovate based on insights to meet changing customer expectations and enhance interactions.

Leverage operational strategy principles to select relevant CX metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES). Use methods like surveys, focus groups, and real-time feedback tools. My extensive consulting experience suggests combining quantitative data with qualitative insights to get a comprehensive understanding of customer experiences. Tailor these metrics to specific customer touchpoints and business objectives.

While selecting the right CX metrics is crucial, it's equally important to challenge the conventional wisdom surrounding them. Many organizations rely heavily on quantitative metrics, potentially overlooking the rich insights that qualitative data can provide. A more holistic approach that integrates both types of data can lead to transformative strategies that not only measure customer experience but also deepen engagement and foster loyalty. In a dynamic environment, agility in adapting these metrics to evolving customer needs is essential for sustainable growth and competitive advantage. This perspective encourages leaders to think beyond traditional metrics and embrace a more comprehensive view of customer experience.

Evaluating customer experience (CX) mainly through satisfaction scores and Net Promoter Score (NPS) might not be as insightful as focusing on critical incidents. Critical incidents involve specific customer experiences that are exceptionally positive or negative. These incidents often have a profound impact on customer behavior, influencing their emotional loyalty and trust more significantly than general satisfaction metrics. By concentrating on these pivotal moments, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of what truly affects their customers’ perceptions and behaviors, allowing them to address issues and reinforce positive experiences more effectively. #serviceexcellence #customersatisfaction #nps #cx #marketing

Think of monitoring your CX results as a 360-degree feedback process. Customer input, operational drivers, employee surveys, and competitor evaluations should be included in the process. Reporting current state and trend data should not be the end of your analysis. Use more advanced analytical tools including multiple regression and Box-Jenkins ARIMA models to understand the impact of different attributes and events on your performance levels and trends. Headline risks and general market sentiment may influence your perception scores and remain beyond your immediate influence. Many of the usual perceptual outcome measures are ways of experiencing preference, strive to use tangible economic measures as your overall outcome target.

While NPS remains a crucial metric for any CX team, its data latency can hinder timely actionability. NPS surveys often reflect customer interactions with a product or service weeks, if not months, after the event, and they may not precisely capture the actual customer experience due to intervening factors during the trailing period. To address this, it may be wise to invest in more immediate and qualitative feedback methods, such as phone interviews, monthly focus group feedback, and verbatim comments on social media. These approaches allow for the quick and accurate identification of pressing issues closer to when they occur, preventing problems from escalating and becoming more costly to resolve.

As we know, just a small parcel of customers answer to satisfaction and NPS surveys. So, companies must be very serious about keeping an easy way for customers to communicate with their brand in the media customer wants (i.e: WhatsApp, Instagram, etc). These channels must be promoted and analyzed (nowadays, AI is an essential tool) in the long run and is very useful to find problems and ideas. Another important aspect is to be sure that your CX KPI are effectively correlated with end results (revenues and margin) and also strategic results (i.e: marketshare). #strategicthinking #customerexperience #cx #nps

To improve customer experience in a dynamic environment, agility and responsiveness are key. Being quick to respond to feedback and market changes, collecting and analyzing customer input, and updating CX strategies accordingly can enhance the customer experience. Empowering employees to make customer-focused decisions and fostering a culture of innovation also drives proactive improvements in CX. Emphasizing continuous learning and iteration ensures strategies remain effective in meeting evolving customer needs. This flexible approach helps maintain high customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Now, you deeply understand the drivers of customer satisfaction. You have segmented those drivers into ‘must-haves,’ ‘satisfiers,’ and ‘motivators.’ You have established the minimum thresholds for every ‘must-have.’ Your internal and external metric programs are measuring the activities that matter and not just the qualities that are easy to measure. Good. As I have experienced implementation efforts, there must be sponsorship from executive leadership. The top executives must own the implementation, which includes making sure the funding and human resources are available to move forward. This type of work is not about creative slogans, it is about serious, long-term commitment to drive tangible change.

To learn anything, you need to experiment with radical ideas. Most will "fail," but incremental improvements just get lost in the margin of error. The spirit of experimentation is one that embraces what can be learnt from "failure" and the opportunity of discovering something truly magical.

This is what I commented on, above. You can test an idea a lot faster than full implementation - hours or days vs weeks or months. And, some of this testing can be just verbal. For example, contacting a customer and asking, 'We have seen our delivery satisfaction lower recently and we want to improve that. If we were to provide you with a tracker like UPS or Amazon, how would that help, and why?' By asking both questions, you get more than just an answer, you get insights. Perhaps they can better plan for resources, overtime, available space and so on. If you just ask if they want something they will probably say, 'Sure.', because you are probably bearing the costs. But if you want to charge them, that's a different discussion.

Utilize an iterative approach to implement and test CX improvements. My Harvard operational strategy training emphasizes the importance of piloting changes on a small scale, collecting data, and adjusting before full-scale implementation. Use A/B testing, customer feedback loops, and agile methodologies to refine improvements. This approach, coupled with my consulting experience, ensures that changes are effective and meet customer expectations.

While the emphasis on agile and iterative methods in implementing CX improvements is commendable, it’s crucial to consider that not all organizations possess the same capacity for rapid adaptation. A more strategic approach might involve a phased implementation that allows for deeper analysis and understanding of customer behavior over time. This could lead to more sustainable solutions rather than quick fixes. Additionally, while co-creation with stakeholders is valuable, it can sometimes dilute the vision if not managed carefully. Balancing stakeholder input with a strong, clear leadership vision can drive more transformative outcomes in customer experience.

We can strain to improve our customers' experiences and not achieve the performance outcomes we believe our effort merits. Ask yourself if there are detailed pieces of the CX puzzle that you are missing. Maintain a continuous dialog with your customers and watch your competitors closely. Key qualities may be missing from your tracking study's scales leading to a lack of corrective actions. Competitors may offer differentiating experiences that you are not. Projective techniques that look for insights within customers’ stories can provide enlightening epiphanies. Structured laddering interviews that ask customers to define CX performance attributes can be amazingly helpful in uncovering aspects of the experience that you had not considered.

In my experience, refining customer experience (CX) in a changing landscape requires continuous learning and adapting. Regularly assess the impact of your initiatives against benchmarks and customer feedback. Celebrate successes, acknowledge areas needing improvement, and foster transparency and growth. Analyze failures to understand root causes and make informed adjustments. An agile CX strategy enables timely responses to customer preferences and market conditions, ensuring value and relevance in service offerings. This approach encourages a resilient and customer-centric business model for long-term success and satisfaction.

Adapting and refining our CX strategy based on feedback and results is crucial. By measuring the impact of our initiatives, celebrating successes, and learning from setbacks, we continuously evolve our approach. Identifying root causes of failures helps us adjust our goals and methods to better align with changing customer behaviors and market conditions. This ongoing cycle of evaluation and adaptation ensures our CX strategy remains dynamic and effective, fostering a culture of improvement and resilience in meeting customer expectations.

Continuously learn from CX data and adapt your strategy accordingly. My extensive experience in innovation projects underscores the necessity of staying flexible and responsive to market changes and customer needs. Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement, leveraging insights to refine CX processes and strategies. Regularly update your CX vision and goals based on new findings, ensuring they remain relevant and impactful.

In today's fast-paced world, what our customers care about most can change quickly. Sticking to the same old performance and choice standards and thinking they'll always be important can lead us to misunderstand our customers. When things are going well, people might not worry much about companies’ stability. But in tough times, stability becomes paramount. In good times, people might not be too sensitive to their neighbors’ employment status. But when companies lay off workers, communities might get upset and take their business elsewhere. So, let's not assume that what our customers value will stay the same. Our world is changing fast, and we must change with it.

Designing for exceptional customer experiences (CX) in dynamic environments necessitates a meticulous consideration of how to address rare or unforeseen events. While techniques such as journey mapping are valuable, it's essential to acknowledge that exceptional customer service is closely tied to pleasantly surprising customers by exceeding their expectations, especially when they least anticipate it. For instance, think of an airline swiftly arranging a new flight for a customer who has just received news of a sudden family tragedy. It's impractical to design for every conceivable situation, but it is feasible to craft an empathetic system that remains impervious to manipulation and exploitation, ensuring that customers feel cared for.

Enhancing customer experience (CX) demands a clear vision and measurable goals in a dynamic environment. Selecting apt CX metrics and methods tailored to customer needs and business objectives is crucial. Regularly monitoring and evaluating CX results provides actionable insights, enabling informed decisions. Implementing and rigorously testing CX improvements ensures they resonate with evolving customer expectations. Learning from these outcomes and adapting your CX strategy is vital for continual enhancement. Always consider the broader market trends and technological advancements influencing customer behavior.

Ensure that actions in response to CX feedback are appropriately and effectively prioritised. This will involve being clear on how they will be prioritised; what measures are you trying to impact, urgent vs important etc

Leaders can enhance the customer experience (CX) by analyzing the strategies employed by competitors. This process involves more than mere imitation; it's about understanding the desires of potential customers who currently prefer other brands. To effectively gather this intelligence, leaders should either experience the competition's services firsthand as a customer or engage closely with people who are regular customers of these competitors. One structured method to achieve this is through mystery shopping, where individuals interact with a business anonymously to assess the quality of service and gather specific insights that can inform improvements in their own organization's CX strategies.