Knowing how to launch a customer experience program has become mission-critical to success in today’s business environment. And not solely for success with customers but within the company as a whole.
Customer experience (CX) is a comprehensive term referring to how the customer feels about their interactions with a company overall. It includes every time, place and instance they engage with the organization; from the website to sales and delivery, and customer service.
And it absolutely includes direct contact with a company representative through phone calls, chats, texts, emails, and social media.
An exceptional customer experience can lead to customer loyalty, repeat business, positive reviews and referrals. In fact, Forbes reports that 73% of customers say a good experience is key in influencing their brand loyalties, and companies with superior customer experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue than those that don’t.
A bad customer experience, on the other hand, can be highly damaging. Forbes also reports that customers switching companies due to poor service costs U.S. companies a total of $1.6 trillion.
In pursuit of being on the positive side of these statistics, let’s look at 3 simple steps to launch an impressive customer experience program.
Step 1: Get Everyone Invested
Since customer experience includes all customer interactions, across all departments, the best CX programs are those where the entire company is invested; starting with the top leadership.
Sharing context and vision around why customer experience is important is key to establishing and maintaining employee engagement. For example, consider sharing these 7 reasons why a CX program is beneficial to your company:
- Hearing and learning from customers influences future business decisions.
- Satisfied customers lead to increased revenue.
- To bolster workplace culture, camaraderie and employee engagement.
- To improve processes and deliver stronger outcomes.
- Improve customer loyalty.
- Deliver on, and further support, the organization’s mission.
- Maintain relevance as customers’ brand of choice.
Step 2: Plan Your CX Program
In planning your CX program, you’ll need to consider the framework, tech, team, and metrics involved.
The framework of your CX program includes identifying the accountabilities involved, determining leaders who will champion the program, communicating the program internally, training, and managing any resistance that may crop up.
The tech is how you’ll listen to and learn from your customers. This will include your multi-channel contact center, your CRM (customer relationship management software), analytics tools, etc.
The team you put in place to plan and then implement your CX program may consist of individuals from different departments (marketing, product development, customer service, etc.) or you may set up an independent customer experience department entirely. Another option is to partner with third-party CX experts to plan a program for you.
And finally, the metrics you choose to focus on will be unique to your company and the products and services you offer. Meaningful data that will be utilized for the betterment of the business should be the goal. Some common CX KPIs (key performance indicators) include Net Promoter Score, Response to Alert Time, Operating Margins, Earned Growth Ratios, Expense Ratios, as well as measurements of Courtesy, Respect, Trust, and Ease.
Step 3: Launch as a Process, Not the Flip of a Switch
Understand that a comprehensive CX program takes time to implement, and a successful launch should have three distinct phases, with specific goals for each. For example…
- Phase 1: Capture and Analyze the Right Data
- Phase 2: Leverage Data Automation to Deliver Personalized CX
- Phase 3: Create an Integrated, Connected Experience for both Customers and Employees
Often, these phases can each take several months or even up to a year to evolve and perfect. It’s important to have patience with the process, though, because the success of the subsequent phases depends on the proper implementation of the phase before it.
Ready to Launch a Customer Experience Program for Your Company?
Successfully launching or redefining a CX program is a complex project with a lot of moving parts. But you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
We can help.
To get in touch, use this form to book a call or you can reach us directly at 1-800-397-3515. If you prefer email, you can connect with us at info@arcqs.com.