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In our last article, we introduced the concept of a simple three-phase “Customer Experience” framework. The first phase is the “Understanding” phase, where organizations develop the right strategy to serve their customers effectively and consistently.
In this article, we will describe why research is integral to the “Understanding” phase, beginning with the first component: surveys.
“Customer Experience” is a strategic business discipline that requires a delicate balance between the science of discovery and the art of delivery.
To ensure that customer experience initiatives are designed and executed consistently and effectively, an understanding of the organizations’ leaders, employees, and customers’ values, needs, and expectations is required.
The “Understanding” phase of “Customer Experience” is intended to help organizations know the reason for the growth and/or loss of customers, to care about why this is occurring, and learn what they can do to improve their current state of “Customer Experience.”
It is a multi-faceted, empathetic process designed to provide an objective assessment intended to learn more about an organization’s customers, employees, and leadership team, and the customer experiences they receive, deliver, and facilitate.
The first step in determining an organization’s current performance is engaging its customers, employees, and leadership team in short (10 – 15 question), confidential surveys to gain each stakeholder group’s perspective on the organization’s customer experience.
For customers, the survey is designed to understand who they are, what products and/or services they purchase from an organization, how they purchase them, and their reasons for doing so.
For employees, the survey is intended to determine employees’ feedback on why they think customers buy from the organization, what sets the organization apart from its competitors, what they believe customers value, and their approach to serving customers.
For leaders, the surveys inquire about the ecosystem that is created to provide customer experiences, what tools are provided for employees, and the priority that customer experience is given throughout the organization.
Results from the surveys provide an understanding of what key stakeholders value, and help to explain the organization’s current customer experience activities and strategies.
They also help guide an organization’s future decisions for allocating resources and investments in customer experience in ways that will cause it to perform at peak potential and produce results that will create exceptional customer experiences and improve performance.
Understanding an organization’s current state of “Customer Experience” helps build reliable ways to deliver value, because it provides insight into who an organization’s customers are, what, why, and how an organization’s customers want to experience relative to the “Customer Experience” that the organization currently delivers.
In our next article, we will focus on the next research component of the “Understanding” phase, interviews, and we will describe their purpose and importance to gather invaluable insight into an organization’s “Customer Experience” strategy.
James Grieve is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and President and Senior Business Advisor at Catalyst Strategies Consulting, a Kelowna-based consulting firm that specializes in working with businesses in a variety of industries to design great service experiences that delight customers and improve business performance. He can be reached at 778.214.6010, or james@catalyst-strategies.
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