There’s a funny thing about customer experience documentation. (Or any kind of documentation, for that matter.)
It only works if you look at it. And update it. Then revise it based on reality. And let’s face it, that rarely happens.
I love reviewing it when it gives me real information. Give me a process map and I’m happy. Leave me alone with a few information architecture flows or wireframes and I can really go to town. Love!
Then I fall a little too in love. I find a documented process about how customers are to be treated. And I believe it. I quickly feel betrayed for considering I actually know what’s happening when the true experience is finally revealed. Hate.
When was the last time you reviewed your sales process documentation? Oh, sure, it might live in Salesforce somewhere or be written on the white board at your sales retreats, but is it followed? And what if it is? Does that equal success? An even better question – what if it’s ignored? Does anyone care?
I’ve found processes involving humans (that is, ALL of them) require lots and lots of reminders, revisions and revamping. That is the crux of the problem with customer experience documentation.
Processes are outlined, expanded and asterisked. But your humans, those employees, partners and customers, change the rules willy-nilly.
They change things for the better:
They also change things for the worse:
Make sure you occasionally look behind the curtain and ensure the way your customers are treated is the way you want. If documentation was created as the ideal, walk through the process and see if it’s close.
And if you don’t have any documentation, it’s time to start. Just so you know what the ideal should be. That exercise alone will help your organization and your customers more than CRM systems, surveys or focus groups.
How do you feel about documentation? Love or hate?