What does the letter “X” in “CX” mean? Most contact center people would say, “Experience” and tend to equate it with “Customer SERVICE.” However, the letter “X” should mean “Execution.” Because execution – or lack of execution – creates to a customer’s overall experience. Continue reading to see why providing the best customer experience puts you before your competitors.
What does the letter “X” in “CX” mean? Most contact center people would say, “Experience” and tend to equate it with “Customer SERVICE.” However, the letter “X” should mean “Execution.” Because execution – or lack of execution – creates to a customer’s overall experience.
Customer Service is like putting a band-aid on a cut, Customer Experience is ensuring there are no cuts in the first place.
Here is a real life example: Due to the pandemic, my family had been using “Company A” (a national chain) for home grocery delivery. However, their deliveries had frequent errors, including charging for items that were never sent. They also made frequent substitutions without informing us. That made every order a surprise.
You never knew what you were getting until you unpacked all the bags. To top it off, their customer service was poor. It took three days for them to even acknowledge receipt of our customer service email!
However, a rival national chain – we will call them “Company B” – launched a competing service last summer. That company has a high tech warehouse with instant computerized item tracking. So, their online site is instantly updated with stock levels. That means if you can click on it, that item is probably in stock.
If something turns out not to be available at the last minute, they send an email BEFORE delivery. They also let you know of any substitutions ahead of time. So, if you plan to cook chicken parmigiana that night, you do not have to worry chicken will be missing from your order.
Their drivers also call from the truck 15 minutes before arriving at your house. So, you can be ready to receive it. To top it off, their customer service is excellent. The only time I had an item missing, they responded by phone within minutes.
Compare that to Company A, where every order is an adventure!
As a result, the better performing company gets the bulk of our business. We also referred them to other people, including my father in law, who now uses them. We only use the old service for speciality items not carried by our new favorite grocery chain.
Creating excellent customer experience goes beyond the contact center to encompass all parts of the company. For grocery delivery, that includes departments such as purchasing, marketing, inventory control, online order design, warehouse order picking and packing, billing, delivery truck tracking, driver training and the contact center.
Notice the contact center only makes up one part of the process. Every part of a company contributes to the overall customer experience. Each department must execute their role properly to prevent customer issues.
Execution is difficult. It involves charting the customer journey, as well as the internal steps necessary to satisfy each one of those touch points.
Thinking back to our grocery store example, I liked using “Company B” website. I found the look, layout, search functions and shopping cart to be friendly and easy to use. Creating it will have involved coordination between their marketing, web design, inventory, shipping, billing and customer service teams.
That requires teamwork, project management and a holistic viewpoint. If the overall flow is designed and executed correctly, shoppers have a great customer experience. As a contact center leader, how can you contribute to this?
How can you use Voice of the Customer feedback to help other departments? How can you work with other parts of your company to improve the customer journey? Remember, proper execution determines customer experience!
