Implementing a CX transformation is a complex project, but the payoffs can be substantial. True CX transformation can generate a 20%-30% uplift in customer satisfaction, according to the management consulting firm McKinsey.
Why retailers need to nail customer experience transformation
Many businesses have gone through a digital transformation process in recent years. Those efforts have connected in-store experiences, online shopping, delivery status, and more. Your customer experience (CX) needs to support and extend this transformation to keep consumers happy and coming back.
New CX technologies let you connect all aspects of the customer experience, helping you identify behaviors and patterns, individualize experiences, and make interactions more seamless and secure.
Implementing a CX transformation is a complex project, but the payoffs can be substantial. True CX transformation can generate a 20%-30% uplift in customer satisfaction, according to the management consulting firm McKinsey.
customers are 2.4x more likely to stay with a brand based on one problem solving experience
potential uplift in customer satisfaction from true Customer Experience Transformation
customers are 2.7x more likely to spend more money with a brand that communicates clearly
Key elements in customer experience transformation
CX transformation requires taking a comprehensive approach to overhauling processes and technology to improve the overall experience your customers have and to build customer loyalty. It often involves technology upgrades to ensure a seamless omnichannel experience.
But to be truly effective, you need more than new tech. Your approach needs to reach deep into the company culture.
CX transformation won’t look the same for every business. You need to create a plan tailored for your needs, taking a number of key elements into consideration:
Company vision
Company culture
Measurement
Process and product design
Enabling technology
Commitment
Continual improvement
A customer-centric vision starts at the top
It’s essential to get upper management buy-in on a customer-centric strategy. Company leaders must support the goal to create a shared vision that maps out where you are now and where you are trying to go as a company. Without that support, it will be difficult to achieve the results you hope for.
To get leadership buy-in, be prepared to show how customer experience metrics like Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) correlate with sales and how your company compares with competitors in this respect. Back that up by digging deeper and demonstrating how key CX KPIs like Average Handling Time (AHT) and First-Call Resolution (FCR) rates directly affect customer satisfaction. Framing CX transformation in win-win terms—better service for customers and fewer calls for the company—may also help.
But the effort can’t be solely top-down. Employees must be involved in creating this shared vision if you expect to have their buy-in when it comes time for implementation. Appoint one or more “CX champions” from your agent teams to represent this critical point of view throughout the process.
Providing great customer experience through culture change
True CX transformation requires a shift in organizational mindset. Prioritize customer needs throughout the company, from leadership to frontline employees. Put together a multidisciplinary, transformation-focused team to coordinate this effort, leaning heavily on user-driven insights that are rooted in research and design best practices.
Start out by using surveys and team meetings to understand your current culture more thoroughly. How customer-centric do employees feel your company is now? What role do they believe they play in the customer experience, and what changes would they suggest? Your employees will most likely possess untapped insights you haven’t yet leveraged.
Make sure employees understand and can identify for themselves why CX is important. Increased company revenue won’t be motivation enough for all employees. Appeal to other values, such as empathy for customers and pride in a job well done.
Communicate these CX-centered values often, through town halls, company newsletters, posters on your office walls—whatever makes sense for your business. Regularly share data on your CX transformation efforts and discuss your progress and obstacles in company-wide communications as well as smaller team meetings.
Retool to measure customer experience effectively
Next, think about how your company can continually measure and optimize your CX. A measurement system will help you translate sometimes-confusing customer-satisfaction data into information you can analyze for constant improvement.
Be sure you’re measuring what matters to your business and your customers now. You don’t want to just cobble together a measurement system from an existing model based on outdated mindsets. It should look at all aspects of the customer journey—from product design decisions (do the products match what customers really want) to post-sale support (how satisfied are customers when they reach out for help).
Use this system both at the outset of the process, to identify issues at beginning of your CX transformation process, and then on an ongoing basis. Refine your measurement system as needed to get the actionable data you’re looking for.
Design a better customer journey
A customer experience design team, working in concert with other disciplines, will be critical to your success. It’s often helpful to start with a policy of brand consistency across all departments—both externally facing and internally promoted—that creates a solid foundation on which to build.
The CX design team will need to carefully examine all touchpoints in your current customer journeys—encompassing everything from the experience they have on your online store to your social media feed to your customer service calls.
This team should pull in customer and employee feedback from each touchpoint. Working with other key players, they can identify inefficiencies in customer-facing processes to streamline interactions and reduce friction. The design team can then work with multidisciplinary teams to redesign customer journeys and create a customer experience strategy that improves CX and allows cross-functional teams to communicate more easily.
You may discover that your CX issues involve not just your processes but your product or service. In this case, product design teams need to play a role as well.
Getting more from CX technology
Many companies’ current tech infrastructure hinders good CX. Disconnected data silos make it hard for organizations to access critical information they need to provide good experiences.
Before you invest in new technology though, ask all your stakeholders to provide input on what does and doesn’t work about current technology. Don’t leave these decisions to IT; involve the actual users of your technology.
Then create a plan for integrating your existing technology and breaking through data silos, or replace technology if necessary. Make sure your technology allows for an integrated customer experience across all channels (e.g., website, mobile app, social media, physical stores). It should include targeted and seamlessly integrated use of customer relationship management (CRM) systems, customer service and interactive voice response (IVR) systems.
Make sure you equip employees with the tools, training, and autonomy needed to do their job expertly. Impeding them with unwieldly technology or a lack of training will keep you from seeing the results you should expect from your CX transformation efforts.
Your continuing commitment to a customer-centric experience
A full-scale transformation is a marathon, not a sprint, so set expectations from the beginning. The process can take one to three years and may require recruiting new talent or upskilling existing talent.
And in truth, the process is never complete. Organizations should implement a permanent, live feedback loop to measure satisfaction and continually refine and optimize the customer experience.
The Payoff: Great customer experience
CX transformation is a sometimes arduous process that requires commitment at all levels, but it can increase efficiency, help drive customer loyalty, foster a positive internal culture, and position your business to be more agile.
If you’d like to know how Ubiquity can help your organization go through the process efficiently and effectively, please contact us.
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