Almost all companies claim to exist to serve the customer. Whether the customer is an individual consumer or a business, ultimately the lifeblood of a company stems from the customer. When you think of the experiences you've had with a company, you remember a multitude of styles. This wide range creates a challenge for a company trying to truly create great CX. To simplify, consider where your company falls on 2 dimensions: CX Heart & CX Brain.
What style of CX does your company have?
Calculated Care
In a company where there are great CX processes and systems, you'll find Calculated Care. The models exist to deliver efficient customer service. Customer transactions are handled crisply to the customer's satisfaction. Yet, there is no connection, no lasting bond that inspires a customer to feel like the company cares.
I often see this in companies where Associate Experience (AX)/Engagement falls short. If the company culture lacks warmth/humanity for its employees, the customer experience delivery lacks that same warmth. Great CX requires Great AX.
This is a risky place to be as a company may be fooled into thinking they are delivering great CX but the true deep-seated culture of customer-centricity doesn't exist.
Cold Resentment
When a customer feels like they burden a company's day, you've found a company living in Cold Resentment. Phrases like, "I could get my work done if it weren't for all the customers getting in the way" abound at places like this. There is a total lack of heart and process for handling customers' needs. Frequently, a business only survives with this style in an environment of required demand and limited choice.
In this quadrant we find the best targets for disruption. These walking dinosaurs will soon be taken down by nimbler and more CX oriented companies.
Capricious Heroics
I find this quadrant to be the most risky. Here, a company truly cares about their customers but lacks the sustainable execution to make it happen for every customer, every time. The danger stems from the fact that a company in this quadrant overflows with people who truly care and want to do right by the customer. Massive efforts appear with celebrated results. Yet, fatigue sets in and a company returns to the base of average/sub-average CX.
Two things happen here: 1. An employee will deliver heroics to make something right for the customer. In turn, a company celebrates the effort and the result of those heroics. Yet, this is not sustainable. Not every customer challenge can be met with this level of response. Expectations get set by these heroics and the future experience falls short. 2. Associate engagement goes down when the heart to do something for a customer clashes with the corporate inability to actually satisfy the need. A company who actually has CX heart but not CX brain might eventually chase away those very employees who are CX oriented as they look to find places where they can successfully deliver great CX.
A timely aside here...Do not confuse this quadrant with the beautiful, wonderful heroics we see taking place at the corporate level in response to recent natural disasters. A cherished Texas grocery chain, HEB, made amazing contributions to help those affected by hurricane Harvey. Many other companies, each occupying various CX style quadrants, stepped up to rescue and restore lives impacted by Harvey. While CX-oriented companies are more inclined to respond, a response to a disaster crosses all boundaries and rises above CX style.
Customer Obsession
The truly obsessed know how to satisfy the heart and the brain of CX. Often companies with CX heart view CX processes as "cold". However, truly obsessed companies know that ideal customer obsession lives here. Weaving together an understanding of the customer's journey and the underlying business process, allows a company to know what a customer wants and HOW to give it to them. In a recent paper, "Cost-effective service excellence", Jochen Wirtz and Valarie Zeithaml speak of a dual-culture that requires "leadership ambidexterity" (emphasis added). I love this idea of how Customer Obsession requires both skills. Great CX can't happen without great culture or great process.
Find Your CX Style
Few desire to live in Calculated Care and certainly few seek Cold Resentment. Capricious Heroics becomes the great temptation but moving to a true Customer Obsession should be the goal. In this quadrant, you'll find lasting customer relationships (less expensive to retain than acquire) and wonderful organic customer-referred business growth.
What defines your CX style?
Rick Denton solves customer experience and business challenges. In his leadership roles with Capital One, JCPenney, Washington Mutual and several other industry leaders, Rick created customer obsessed cultures, high performance execution systems, and clear outcome-oriented alignment. Rick delivered these results across multiple industries and company size profiles both domestically and internationally. As a Principal at EX4CX, Rick helps clients create CX visions, metrics and culture while driving operational improvement, achieving process excellence and customer success.
Rick believes the best meals are served outside and require a passport.
Are you ready to create great customer experiences for every customer, every time?
info@ex4cx.com