4 Steps to put you on the path to CXellence

Mickey Rummery
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

Nearly a century ago Henry Ford is quoted as saying “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages”.

Seems simple right?

However, there still seems to be a hurdle with companies putting the customer in the centre of everything they do.

A recent survey by PwC, found 73% of global respondents say a positive experience is among the key drivers that influence their brand loyalties. Experience is Everything: Here’s How To Get It Right.

I recommend reading the report as there are some quite startling findings such as customers will pay up to 16% more for products and services if the company provides a good Customer Experience.

It’s been proven that delivering a great customer experience will give organisations a competitive advantage, conversely, get it wrong and you could have a catastrophe. An extreme example of this was when United Airlines’ forcibly ejected a customer from an overbooked flight wiping $1.4 billion off the value of the airline in one fell swoop.

Irrespective of the size of your organisation Customer Experience should be in the centre of your business strategy. Here are few tips to get you on the right path

1) Have a crystal clear CX vision.

Most importantly, take time to create a clear CX strategy, one that can be adopted and soaked into the DNA of the organisation.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon says “It is better to stay focused on customers as they are the ones paying for your services. Competitors are never going to give you any money”

2) Get to know your customers.

Once you have your strategy in place you must get to know you customers inside out. Creating personas, taking surveys, using website data, customer interviews, feedback software even sending out Q&As are all excellent ways to understand who your services or products are going to be used by.

The next step is to create customer journey maps to visualise every experience your customers has. It will tell the story of a customer’s experience with your brand from original engagement across every touch point with your organisation

3. Build the bond with your customers.

The best customer experiences are achieved when a you create an emotional connection with a customer. Your customers must feel that they are important to you. Be genuine, listen and make it personal.

4. Listen more

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Capture feedback from your customers and act on it swiftly. From word of mouth, to customer surveys and monitoring social media channels find ways to listen to what’s being said, take it on board and act on it.

Getting CX right means increased customer satisfaction, reduced customer churn, increased revenue and happier employees. As needs change it’s critical to keep a focus on your customers, their needs will continually evolve so must you.

Mickey Rummery

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Client Services || Passionate about Human Centred Design || Connecting the dots. Staffy lover, Rugby fan and vinyl collector. **Opinions are my own**