CX Day: Better Outcomes for Everyone

CX Day is a highlight of the year, celebrating customers, CX professionals, and CX outcomes.

It’s always the first Tuesday of October.

This year’s theme is:

Why this theme? According to the Customer Experience Professionals Association (cxpa.org/get-involved/cxday):

• To explore and highlight credible proof of business impact.
  • Real-world return on investment: profit.
  • Stakeholder value, employee engagement, customer growth.
• For senior leaders’ adoption of customer experience as a business strategy.

Wow, this is a serious theme.
It’s a huge opportunity for pivots.
Let’s explore it!

Outcomes are the “Why“

Q: Why does customer experience management exist?

A: Mindsets are out-of-sync with customer needs.

• Whose mindsets? Any work role, managerial level, and partners.
• “Out-of-sync”? Gaps between what customers expect vs. what they get.
• Any difference for employee experience? Nope. Same basic challenge.

 

Q: Why does out-of-sync matter?

A: It raises costs to serve and costs to sell.

• Gaps in products, services, policies, processes, attitudes.
• Doubts and churn raise hurdles for marketing and sales.
• Lawsuits are more likely without remedies.
• More tech and staff to fix all this: perpetuates costs.
• This value-rescuing diverts precious budget to value-rescuing instead of more R&D and market expansion!

 

Q: Why are people out-of-sync?

A: Their North Star for decisions is not customers’ outcomes.

• Business-as-usual and inside-out thinking prevail.
• Customer insights aren’t provided for most decisions.
• Insights aren’t collected or tailored for most roles.
• CXM’s North Star is typically NOT customer experience as a business strategy.

 

Q: Why is CXM not the North Star?

A: Assumptions that “customer _____” roles are outward-oriented.

• Marketing, Sales, and Support roles focus outside the company.
• All other roles focus inside the company, primarily.

How does this sync with why CXM exists?

• All roles, managerial levels, and partners need to prevent gaps.
• Nobody is directing this, unless it’s the core CXM team.
• Use customer insights to close the gaps!

 

Gaps will perpetuate unless we close THIS gap.

• New tech and spiraling gaps derail CXM from doing this.
• Prevailing assumptions about CXM are the roadblock.

 

Customer Experience as a Business Strategy

Connect customer outcomes and business outcomes as a habit.

1. It’s already a fact of life, like gravity.
   • There’s no difference between these outcomes.
   • All short-changes to customers become short-changes to investors and employees.
   • Customers’ prosperity feeds your business prosperity.

    

2. All corporate pillars are already intertwined with customer outcomes.
   • To win customer preference via your capabilities, costs, stability, etc.

    

3. All non-customer-facing (NCF) roles are interdependent on customer outcomes.
   • NCFs create value for customers or those who serve them. Customers fund salaries, budgets, and profit-sharing.

    

4. Tailor customer insights to every role and managerial level.
   • Make it easy for them to see how to be in-sync with customer needs.
   • Track savings from fewer issues thrown over the fence to touchpoints.
   • Highlight customers’ benefits in before-and-after in-sync progress.
   • Focus more on Expectations VoC and Outer-Loop.

    

5. Teach simplified human-centered-design to every role.
   • Make customers the North Star for all they do.
   • Hold them accountable for gaps caused.
   • Celebrate gaps prevented.

    

6. This is Customer Alignment Strategy. Partner with Marketing, Sales, and Support.
   • They’re responsible for Customer Engagement Strategy.
   • They need and want alignment!
   • Partner with every non-customer-facing role.
   • Make them stars for efficiency and effectiveness. (as seen from customers’ viewpoints).
   • Right the first time boosts Customer Engagement Strategy. (no need for gap-filling, to focus on value growth).

Q: What real-world ROI is achievable?

A: More than 9000%. Seriously.

• See this case study: How to Quantify CX ROI.
• And articles: 24 top-line and bottom-line metrics.

• Let’s benefit the entire company, not just the touchpoint roles.
• Let’s celebrate anyone outside of CXM roles who is closing gaps — and especially those who are preventing gaps.
• Let’s end faulty assumptions about why CXM exists.
• Let’s re-position core CXM as Customer Alignment allies for customer needs as everyone’s North Star.
• Let’s skill-up core CXM professionals to achieve this.
• Let’s spotlight CXM professionals who are closing and preventing gaps — especially those engaging others to do so.
• Let’s pivot to higher transparency, trust, relationship strength, and organic growth: when customers have no gaps, they stick with you as the path of least resistance, and without inhibition.

Q: Why?

A: Skyrocket your joy in customer experience by pivoting to Customer Alignment Strategy.

• End the spiral of rising costs and quiet quitting.
• Enjoy enthusiasm of all roles companywide engaging in gap prevention.
• Wow your investors with margin expansion and earnings per share.
• Thrill your customers with seamless journeys.
• Triple your fun on CX Days in the future!