CX – Time for A Deep Clean!

The past few years have been challenging and disruptive, and looking into our crystal ball, there’s no sign of a return to the “old normal” any time soon. Maybe never. Meaning there’s every reason to take a long hard look at your CX strategy – Is it truly customer-first now and going forward?

Many companies’ strategies were designed for a different era – and purpose – even though they actually aren’t that old. At Loyalty Group, we often see CX strategies that worked well in the beginning but no longer deliver the same positive results. That is, if they ever got off the ground.

We have the following advice to anyone with responsibility for their company’s CX – or who needs to convince management to sharpen their CX focus.

Declutter and deep clean

With inflation, prices have soared, while the number of customer surveys has skyrocketed. To the point where they may feel intrusive and actually get in the way of the customer experience. At Loyalty Group, we’re huge fans of customer surveys and reliable data for decision-support, but we are also the first to admit that far too many companies have gotten to the point where they need to do some housekeeping.

When a customer who has bought a replacement toilet seat hinge online is immediately sent a survey, followed by first one reminder and then a second, who benefits? Then, if the customer has been in contact with customer service, they get the whole kit and caboodle all over again. Talk about overkill. It’s too much for those who have to process the data – not to mention the customer who has already forgotten all about that trivial purchase. The results don’t balance out the effort and risk of hassling the customer.

That rating of the toilet seat hinge is not nearly as important as the customer’s perception of the customer service department, but the customer ends up ignoring the second survey in their irritation at the pointlessness of the first.

Take a close look at the number of surveys and interactions your company has with customers, and trim them down to the bare minimum. Start by dropping surveys based on minor purchases and categories that have zero emotional value – such as hinges, valves, and spare parts.

Sure, all companies seem to be hassling their customers for ratings right now, but the current situation isn’t tenable, so you may as well start ringing the changes now.

Give relevance a boost

After reading the previous section, it may seem like we’re advocating an all-out end to customer surveys. That is not our intention at all! In fact, we know that customers want to share their feedback – as long as they find the survey meaningful and relevant. Ditch the one-size-fits-all questions.

Instead, craft precise questionnaires that have relevance to the customer and contribute to improving the customer experience – and thereby your bottom line in the long term. Target the right customers and tone down the pushiness factor. Express your genuine interest in your customer’s input – and be strategic in terms of timing.

We’re ready with advice if you need help with your CX strategy. And don’t worry, we’ll let you know before we get to the point where the meter starts running.

Prioritize your projects

Many CX managers had lofty ambitions only to see them come crashing down due to unrest and inflation, and senior management may be more risk averse now when it comes to customer experience investments. In order to continue to justify investing resources in tracking and enhancing the customer experience, which is more crucial than ever, we recommend that you spend some time prioritizing your projects to determine where you will get the most bang for your buck.

Identify the initiatives that have the greatest influence on the customer experience and, ultimately, the company’s earnings. This can be a demanding process, but you will soon find it was time well spent.

Assess what it will take to achieve your goals. Identify all costs, and be realistic – even pessimistic – and you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you come in on, or maybe even under, budget. Don’t forget to test the waters to get a sense of the CX buy-in among relevant people within your organization.

Evaluate your projects in relation to resource requirements and expected benefit. Prioritize the low-hanging fruit, and drop those projects that are too demanding compared to the potential benefit. At least for now.

Prepare a business case that summarizes the findings of your groundwork and research and underlines the project’s profitability.

Figure out what you’re measuring

Data-driven CX is a beautiful thing, and at Loyalty Group, we’re strong advocates of obtaining a solid data set before initiating projects and making big decisions. The problem with CX is that there can be an overwhelming number of metrics to focus on.

Review the total number of metrics to obtain a clear overview. Then reduce that number so you only include those that can measurably help improve the customer experience. If two metrics measure basically the same thing, then drop one of them.

Some companies are good about regularly fine-tuning their data collection, while others could benefit from an annual deep clean of their metrics.

Get Your Report Right

Chances are you’re struggling to gain acceptance of the need to focus on CX. Here, it’s crucial that your initiatives and results translate into something concrete and relevant that you can put in a report. You can be sure that your beloved CX concepts and terminology won’t be a huge hit elsewhere in your organization.

Instead, communicate the results and metrics in a way that relates to the company’s bottom line.

Of course, implementing any or all of these steps is easier said than done. But don’t worry, we’re here to help if you need advice on your CX initiatives.