\r\n Several years ago, in worldwide customer service experience research conducted for a major high-tech client, to drive stronger downstream customer\r\n behavior, it was found that processes and customer interaction had to take service employees well beyond the basics of knowledge, efficiency, and\r\n friendliness. Consistently, and irrespective of continent or country, the most effective reps showed true empathy for the customer\u2019s issue, literally\r\n \u201cowning\u201d the issue as if it were theirs as well, walking in their shoes. and making a true emotional connection.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n What wasn\u2019t so completely understood at the time is that that this level of employee commitment and personal investment also positively impacted the\r\n employee experience. This was something of an epiphany for our client, representing an unanticipated \u2018bonus\u2019 result.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n Customer experience pros can argue back-and-forth about whether a vendor can create deep emotions such as bonding and love in a customer. There are lots of\r\n articles and studies around stating things like \u201cHighly engaged customers are loyal customers\u201d. There\u2019s little doubt that engaged customers can, and do,\r\n help shape the brand. They can also provide useful feedback and build brand-based communities. Today, is that enough?\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n From my perspective, at least, experiences that drive customers\u2019 emotional brand trust and bonding can be both shaped and sustained. That\u2019s largely a\r\n function of organizational culture, customer-focused processes \u2013 \u2013 and the direct and indirect contribution of employees through ambassadorship behavior.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n On the employee side of the equation, ambassadorship builds both passion and partnership, enhancing the customer experience. And, as importantly, it also\r\n enhances the employee experience, something HCM and HR execs are just coming to realize and leverage.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n There have been a number of professional and academic studies, in multiple industries, linking employee attitudes and behaviors with the value customers\r\n perceive in their experiences.. Through targeted research, and resultant training, communication, process, and reward and recognition programs, what we\r\n define as ambassadorship formalizes the direction in which employee engagement has been trending toward for years. Simply, the trend is optimizing and\r\n connecting employee commitment to the organization and its goals, to the company\u2019s unique value proposition, and to the customer. This creates a state\r\n where all employees are focused on, and tasked with, delivering customer value as part of their job description, irrespective of location, function or\r\n level.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n In other words, though there needs to be coordination and management of initiatives through HR and a CXO\/CCO, everyone in the company, from the file clerk\r\n to the CEO, has this day-to-day responsibility embedded within their job descriptions..\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n This raises a classic chicken-and-egg question: Does focusing on the employee, and the emotions inherent to creating and sustaining a positive employee\r\n experience, generate as much benefit for the organization as enhancing the customer experience? There is ongoing debate about which should be the priority.\r\n Several entire books, in fact, have been written on this subject (such as The Customer Comes Second<\/strong> by Hal Rosenbluth and Diane Peters,\r\n and Firms of Endearment<\/strong> by Sheth, Sisodia, and Wolfe). There is general agreement that both developing employee ambassadors and customer\r\n advocates should receive high priority and emphasis if an enterprise is going to be successful. What building ambassadorship does mandate, however, is that\r\n having employees focus on the customer will definitely drive more positive experiences and stronger loyalty behavior for both<\/u><\/strong>\r\n stakeholder groups.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
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