Did you know that by 2016, 89% of companies will compete mainly by the customer experience they provide?
Are you preparing your customer experience strategy for this?
Your survey data and customer dashboards only tell part of the story.
The last quarter of the year is the perfect time to set your customer experience strategy up for success in 2016. Claiming to be a customer-centric company is just lip service unless you are actually acting on it. If you don’t know where to start (or where to go next), allow me to make a few suggestions.
1. Start with what you do know.
If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s hard to make a map.
What are you trying to achieve in 2016? Are you measuring customer lifetime value? Net Promoter Score? Customer Effort Score? Or maybe your initiative is a little vague – like creating a more customer-focused culture or keeping customers happy. Whatever you are trying to do, make sure you know it. Communicate throughout your organization and allow for feedback. Getting your employees on board is key!
We’re offering 1/2 day executive workshops to help our clients define their customer experience goals for 2016. If you don’t have a customer experience mission, now is the time to get it done!
2. Rally the troops.
End the year on a high note instead of just reporting numbers. This time of year can be stressful. Year-end numbers begin to come into focus, and knowing what didn’t happen can also be a downer.
Asking your employees to shake off the cobwebs and continue delivering exceptional experiences might be more fun than you think. Host a customer experience contest or invite us in to speak at a corporate event (or on a webinar.) Reminding everyone why you’re there – your customers – can go a long way towards meeting those lofty goals for fourth quarter.
3. Dive into the details!
Get your whole organization started on the right foot with a CXI® Touchpoint Discovery Workshop.
360Connext’s trademarked method is designed to transcend silos and tell the whole story from the customer’s perspective. These workshops are proven to help companies across many industries align their priorities, strengthen a customer-centric culture, and make improvements where they are needed the most.
Understanding your customers’ interactions, feelings, and priorities is the first step in improving the experience and seeing results.
4. Ask your customer to share.
Go beyond the typical surveys and email forms and really invite your customers in to share their stories. Sometimes hearing directly from a customer can help crystallize what needs to happen. Call a customer and ask about a specific complaint. Invite in a long-time client to present at a board meeting.
There are tons of options for hearing from your customers. Pick one or many and make it happen before the end of the year!
2016 is right around the corner. Don’t let another day go by without taking action on behalf of your customers!
(Interested in some help? We’ve worked with companies of all sizes and can help you, too. Contact us today!)
Jeannie