Podcast: Setting your CX Compass

Welcome to our CX Energy Boost Blog! Today, we’re diving into the concept of setting your CX compass. What does this mean? In essence, it’s about providing every employee with a clear direction on how to have the biggest impact on customer experience (CX). In a busy organization, knowing where to focus can give you laser-like clarity, much like one employee described. So, how do you set your CX compass? 

Let’s break it down into three simple steps.

Step 1: Choose the Right Metric for the Right Experience

When you talk about customer experience, it’s such a broad field that you can easily drown in the swamp of various metrics and data points. To avoid this, it’s crucial to choose the right metric for the right experience. I found that categorizing experiences into five distinct types can help create a common language within your organization:

1. Brand Experience: This is your reason for being. It defines your core added value and sense of purpose as an organization. Your brand promise should guide everything else. For example, if your brand promise is personal attention, your customer journeys should reflect that. The key metric here is the Net Promoter Score (NPS) or trust for government organizations.
2. Customer Experience: This encompasses all interactions from the moment a customer decides to engage with your company until they stop using your product or service. Each journey within this experience should align with your brand promise and focus on key drivers that enhance customer satisfaction. Here, you’ll measure satisfaction at each journey step.
3. Employee Experience: Similar to customer experience, this starts from when a potential employee considers applying to your company. It includes all touchpoints throughout their employment. The metric to focus on here is effective commitment, measuring the emotional connection employees feel towards your company.
4. Service Experience: This covers all human interactions, such as calls, emails, and chats. You need to measure satisfaction with each interaction and track the first-time fix rate. Additionally, ask if the call could have been prevented to identify and reduce unnecessary contacts.
5. User Experience: This is purely digital, encompassing your website and app. The focus here is on making interactions as easy as possible, measured by the Customer Effort Score.

By understanding and applying these specific metrics, you can ensure your organization speaks the same language and aligns its efforts effectively.

Step 2: Get Measurements for Channels, Journeys, and Overall Experience

It’s essential to measure customer experience at different levels to get a complete picture. Here’s how:

1. Channels: Measure each communication channel—call centers, email, chat, etc.—to understand their individual performance. For example, in a call center, you might track first-time fix rates and overall satisfaction after each call.
2. Journeys: Focus on entire customer journeys rather than individual touchpoints. A journey could include buying a product, using it, and seeking support. Measuring satisfaction at each stage of the journey provides a holistic view.
3. Overall Experience: Once a year, conduct a comprehensive survey of your customer base. This helps you see if improvements in channels and journeys translate into overall better customer experiences. Sample both new and long-term customers to get a balanced view.

For example, if you’re an insurance company, your key journeys might include buying insurance, filing a claim, and receiving annual policy updates. By measuring satisfaction across these journeys, you can identify areas for improvement.

Step 3: Find the Real Drivers of Customer Experience

Identifying the true drivers of customer satisfaction can be challenging but is crucial for impactful improvements. Here’s how to find these drivers:

1. Balanced Surveys: Create surveys that balance transactional steps with emotional experiences. For instance, in a call center, don’t just ask about the efficiency of the service. Also, inquire about the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff.
2. Analyze Data Correctly: Beware of relying solely on open-text responses. While they provide valuable insights, they can also lead to rationalized answers that might not reflect true customer sentiments. Use a combination of quantitative data and qualitative feedback.
3. Engage Your Team: Before presenting findings, engage your team with a quiz or interactive session. This not only makes the process fun but also highlights any misconceptions they might have about what drives customer satisfaction.

For instance, in a call center study, we found that while customers often complain about IVR systems, the real driver of satisfaction was the quality of interaction with the agent. Focusing on improving human interactions can have a more significant impact than just addressing transactional issues.

Conclusion

Setting your CX compass involves choosing the right metrics, measuring at multiple levels, and identifying the true drivers of satisfaction. By following these steps, you can ensure your organization is laser-focused on enhancing customer experience in the most impactful ways.

Remember, it’s not just about measuring; it’s about understanding and acting on the data to create meaningful improvements. We’ll dive deeper into each of these topics in future blog posts and podcasts. Stay tuned for more insights and practical tips!

Ciao!