Published date: 25 Mar 2021

We’re at the end of Q1 and time is running out….

You’re the CX Leader and have convinced your organization to invest in CX tech (VOC / CRM / digital) especially responding to Covid-19 pressure to digital self-serve.

The vendor has signed off installation and configuration with you, but you only see a little of the expected bottom line efficiency benefits, and the promised top line improvements are yet to materialize.

Sound familiar?

New technology solutions have -understandably – been introduced into companies so quickly that many struggle to keep up. Internally, technology can often be seen as a solution in itself. Especially meeting the Covid-19 driven demand for the business to automate the customer interface. Plus, the perpetual pressure (business-pull and vendor-push) to measure every customer / colleague / partner interaction.

Technology alone is not the answer.

During the first wave of Covid-19, customers both B2B and B2C gave organizations the ‘benefit of the doubt’ in the second (and please not the third) wave, customers expect a quick, helpful actionable response, now considering it a deal breaker if a business ignores their concerns or fails to respond at all.

What’s needed is to develop three new critical capabilities:

• Learn how to respond to VOC insights, specifically how to deliberately redesign the rational AND emotional activities to improve the experience and business results
• Learn how to do this fast, and faster still
• Learn how to be great at doing the above, and ensuring adoption

Spend on CX tech needs to be balanced by the deliberate development of a new CX playbook

To be clear …Technology is key, but a champion is needed to unlock its true potential.

The champion, is the CX Leader.

The CX Leader needs to do both. Convince the business to invest in CX tech AND at the same time, build the capabilities to use it to drive top line and bottom line improvements.

Where to start?

Organizations have never been busier. So don’t try to start anything extra.

Identify the “this must succeed” projects/programs already “in flight” in the organization. Bring your CX tools (mapping, metrics, design thinking) to help ensure these initiatives are successful, you can help to accelerate and de-risk them. At the same time, you’ll be building proof points and a community of CX champions.

“Where do I start? I look for where there’s blood on the floor, or a turned on, tuned in leader who gets CX… better still – both! Start there.”

There is no single truth or path to drive a focus on or success from customer experience. However, the one thing that is always present in successful CX programs is hard evidence and proof points that CX uniquely drives improved business performance.

How can Senior Leaders help?

• Challenge the CX team. “Show me the unique value derived from CX”. You’ll likely need to help clear a path for them to take a shot at this, but if this works, you and Senior Execs have the hard evidence on the value of CX to your organization

• Curiosity, inspiration, recognition and impatience (yes impatience … CX needs to respond to changing customer requirements quickly). You’ll need to be ready to develop some new CX leadership capabilities yourself

• Find what’s really working for customers, then elevate, share, amplify and influence (eg promotion of Execs who are consistently delivering for customers sends massive signals)

Going forward, be sure to learn that tech investments alone won’t improve business performance and ensure that capability development has equal priority and investment.

Buying smart CX Technology alone isn’t enough to drive improved performance from your customer experience. Tech is a critical tool, but you need to develop execution muscle in the hand using the tool to deliberately design the experience and then persistently and consistently deliver it.