How many times have you asked yourself, “Does this spark joy?” after Marie Kondo broke the internet with her Netflix show? After watching her show with my family, I realized that many of her concepts for decluttering a household could be applied to the customer experience as well.
Far too often I’ve seen many organizations wanting to adopt or enhance the customer experience, but they instantly complicate things before it gets off the ground. They tend to clutter their aspirational CX program with too many metrics, nice-to-haves, attempts to copy their competitors, and just-in-case provisions causing the initial purpose for CX to get lost. The focus should be on harnessing the beauty of simplicity and applying it to the customer experience. Similar to the art of tidying up, we need to simplify the experience and remove complexity by adopting a mindset of specific, manageable steps and incremental changes that help organizations achieve CX wins.
Here are five simple CX tasks that will spark joy and yield maximum results:
- Appoint executive ownership and make it part of every executive conversation – The person(s) will be in charge of defining and implementing a clear CX vision from the top down. This includes overseeing the customer playbook in terms of how to act and react at every engagement point, and making sure CX is represented at every conversation. Ownership at the executive level limits fractures between front-end workers and management and streamline processes to better serve every customer. If the process doesn’t spark joy and serves a purpose, thank it and then throw it out. The owner of the CX vision is 100% dedicated to its success and is its greatest internal cheerleader to ensure the organization can deliver and exceed every customer expectation.
- Keep metrics simple – Although every company is unique, industry-standard metrics such as CSAT, NPS, or customer effort score can provide the most straightforward path towards improving the customer experience. The whole point of data is to tell a story that makes sense. If you are new to CX, then start with just one data point that makes the most impactful story. Benchmark it and refine the story until everyone is happy with the results and processes attached to it. Hold off on complicated data points until your organization has embraced and mastered the basics. On the other end of the spectrum, throw out data points and don’t offer actional insights.
- Move towards pulse check surveys – To get genuine customer feedback throughout the customer journey, you should do away with annual surveys and implement a more dynamic survey practice. Every front-facing customer engagement point is an opportunity to assess the customer experience and respond accordingly. Keep these surveys short and relevant to their experience at that moment.
- Know who your unhappy customers are and invite them out to lunch – Or at least have an open and honest discussion with them. Many times we’ve seen businesses dismiss unhappy customers as the anomaly when in fact they could be the core of your target customer base. As much as we love to collect compliments from customers who love us, a good dose of critical feedback can make or break you. Make sure to be open and unbiased to both sides. I’ve had amazing conversations with unhappy customers who have turned in my most vocal advocates after spending time understanding their perspective and addressing their needs.
- Thank your front-line employees who’ve gone above and beyond- CX success takes an entire team that understands their role in delivering the best customer experience. It’s important to show employees appreciation for a job well-done to motivate everyone along the way. At QuestionPro, we do weekly employee shout outs in front of the entire organization and we also make sure to celebrate major milestones along the way. A simple “thank you” from a manager can brighten any employee’s day and motivate them to keep up the great work.
If you are looking to spark joy with your customers and learn about our customer experience program, contact us to schedule a demo. Let us guide you towards your first step into building and simplifying your CX program.
