6 Ways to Take Your CX Strategy to the Next Level in 2019

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Is delivering your ideal customer experience effortless? Does it just seem to happen, everything chugging along, everyone on the same page, working together, finishing each other’s sentences, everyone in tune and in sync?

No? Not exactly?

Well, that description might seem a little over the top, but, when you have a culture, a way of working where the customer and the customer experience are top of mind and the number one priority for everyone, instead of a metric or program for few, life is definitely easier.

As you get ready for 2019 here are some ways to bring more people into the CX fold, to build a culture, not a program. You’ll work less hard, get more done, and enjoy what you do more.

Here are 6 ways to get started.

1. Put people first

If you make taking a customer-centric approach something that lifts people up, helps them achieve what they want faster, better and more easily, you’ll have people lining up to work alongside you.

What are you doing to make delivering an exceptional experience to your customers something that also breathes life and energy into your organization?

Learn how “WIIFM”, building the emotional business case and committing to a 3-legged marathon can help you put your people first, here. You’ll have more people eagerly working alongside you for the long-haul.

2. Ask more questions

Many companies and even entire industries started with a curious person asking a simple yet thought-provoking question. But for some reason, asking questions doesn’t seem to get as much praise as giving answers.

But, the fact of the matter is that we all need to brush up on our question asking skills.

Why?

Because in CX, the bar is always moving. A brilliant answer today can become outdated by next year (or sooner!). So, you have to keep improving and innovating. And the speed of change means you have to do this more often.

You are going to need more ideas, more creativity and more imagination than ever before. And you can’t do it alone.

When you ask more questions, you engage more people, and you create more possibilities, delivering a meaningful experience for the people in your organization and better solutions for your customers.

Here are 3 questions to get started.

3. Be more curious, more lazy, more often.

CX roles and work are changing and evolving at an accelerating pace. Some days it might feel like you’re heading into unknown territory. What’s coming next? It’s getting tougher to predict. It can feel very uncertain at times.

But, amidst this uncertainty is one big certainty – no matter what, you will continue to be surrounded by people rich in experience, ideas, and ways of thinking – the people in your organization.

So what you can do is re-imagine your CX role to include tapping into and unleashing the ideas, creativity, and potential of the people around you.

Think of yourself as a coach – not playing every role, not taking on everything yourself, but bringing people together and creating the environment that unlocks that bit of genius everyone has and unleashing it to create exceptional experiences for your customers.

If you can learn to be more curious, more lazy and more often, you can become more coach-like.

Find some easy way to do that here.

4. Measure less. Talk more.

You’ve probably heard or read that human beings are hard-wired for connection. Our brains are energized by connecting and talking with others.

So, this year, promise yourself to dial down the mountains of CX data, metrics and dashboards you share.

Make more time to engage others in a conversation about why you do what you do. You’ll make it more interesting and engaging for your team – read: more people will want to work with you.

You’ll also amp up innovation and growth, and deliver better, more sustainable business results.

Just because we can measure more CX things with more sophistication than ever before doesn’t mean we should.

Here are 3 ways to talk more, measure less, and get better results.

5. Step outside the office

Do your CX efforts go to bed when you leave the office? What if they didn’t have to?

I’m not suggesting you work 24/7. Far from it! Just suggesting you consider ways to support your CX beliefs and vision outside of the confines of your cube or office.

Nurturing your CX vision and values outside of the office gives the people in your organization more ways to connect to and find meaning in what you do. It also just happens to drive innovation which creates all kinds of good stuff for your customers too.

Curious? Here are some ideas to get you started.

6. Check your biases

You have plans. Bold CX plans. Plans that will help you leapfrog past your competition into the “head and shoulders above everyone else” category. And you can’t wait to get everyone on board.

Now, before you press “go”, have you checked your biases? If you haven’t, your big plans might inadvertently be shelved in favour of less ambitious “sure bets”.

Left unchecked bias can squash innovation and the courage people need to try the new and exciting things you have on your CX list, and without anyone even realizing it.

Learn 2 easy ways to keep bias from squashing your CX success here.

So, in 2019, take your CX strategy to the next level. Invite more people into the CX fold. Build a CX culture, not a program. You’ll work less hard, get more done and enjoy what you do more.

Wishing you all a great holiday season and a fantastic 2019!

Krista Sheridan
Krista Sheridan is a Customer Experience veteran with a passion for helping people better understand how they are connected to the customer, the value of the work they do each day, and how to drive actions that engage customers and deliver strong business results. Krista's current focus at TELUS is Leadership Development for a Customer First Culture.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Happy to see ‘people first’ #1 on your list. CX-EX linkage in culture and operations beginning to get the attention it rightly deserves.

  2. Hi Michael! Yes! It is key. At TELUS putting people first is our number one corporate priority. Proud of that! Thanks for the read and sharing your thoughts! Krista

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