For the second year in a row, customer experience professionals around the globe celebrated Customer Experience Day, affectionately known as CX Day. In Chicago, I was happy to be a part of the celebration, as one of the Customer Experience Professionals Association local networking events happening simultaneously around the world. Customer experience as an industry is still in its infancy. (Even though some of us have been here since the 90s!)
Hanging out with so many enthusiastic and smart customer experience pros is exhilarating for lots of reasons. One of which are the great conversations that happen.
The perspectives are far ranging, and specialists are becoming more focused. As the industry matures, trends are emerging. These are some of the discussions that happened.
1. “The executives are starting to really invest in customer experience.”
As customer experience moves from being a hot topic to a real business advantage, the C suite is starting to pay attention. While I’ve argued in the past that many executives still don’t get it, it’s encouraging to hear about those who do.
2. “We are realizing a full time effort, not a once a year project.”
While CX Day is only one day year, forward thinking companies are realizing customer experience is an ongoing effort. They are investing in customer leaders and leveraging resources like their own training departments to deliver a better experience for all their customers. It’s very encouraging to see.
3. “Worlds are colliding because it all comes back to customer experience.”
Creative agencies, smart consultancies, and business analysts are all coming to the same realization. Worlds are colliding so that data doesn’t live in a vacuum. Analytics are no longer just for data geeks. Web design, marketing messages, product delivery… All these groups are realizing it starts and ends with customer experience. In fact, the Chicago CX Day event was hosted by K SM media. As a media agency, they are looking ahead seeing these ultimate connections.
It is very exciting to be a part of a growing, thriving, and dare I say important industry. The evolutions taking place now will have an impact on all of our experiences as customers today and well into the future. Thanks to the CXPA and all the very hard-working volunteers for making the second annual CX Day such a success. To catch up on all the activities and knowledge sharing that went on, check out #cxday on social media. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to learn more about customer experience.
Thanks to all who joined us in Chicago and all over the globe!
What special ways do you love your customers? We’d love to hear about it!
