Less talk… More action!
By Janelle Mansfield, Founder Amplified CX | 4 minute read
As women in CX we need to spend more time delivering results, less time talking customer experience.
I get it. The above statement sounds paradoxical. As CXers we feel the need to get everyone onboard and to share our passion about Customer Experience. However, sometimes the more we talk about it, the less productive we are at achieving our intended outcomes.
Let me explain:
As an executive I’ve sat around the leadership table and tried (and tried) to get my senior-level colleagues to not only buy-in to the wonderful world of CX, but to also speak the same language and put their money on the line.
What I failed to do, despite my passion and enthusiasm, was to gain any real Customer Experience supporters from the C-suite.
The top 3 reasons why I failed to achieve my objective of alignment, investment and evangelism:
I used the language of CX, not the language of business - I spoke in terms of journey maps and customer personas, not dollars and cents. And, just when we’d get started on meaningful conversations I’d correct them for their mis-use of terminology.
I made it too light and fluffy and not tailored to my largely male audience - I used too many feeling words when they weren’t ready to hear or understand their relevance.
I focused on theory and not on results - I gave them research papers and links on what Customer Experience was, not what it could help us achieve as a business. I made it largely impersonal.
Ultimately, what held me back was that I didn’t reach into my CX toolkit and use the tools I had at my disposal. I didn’t think about who the key influencers were in the group. I didn’t complete an empathy map to get to the heart of what was important to those most important to alignment. I didn’t think about it from a change management perspective and how this way of thinking, feeling and talking was new to them and would require careful consideration and plans for adoption.
In short, I failed.
They always say that hindsight is 20/20, and in this case I can’t go back but I can help others who are struggling to get alignment and support for their CX initiatives.
Key success factors:
Build a business case - often the most influential and successful leaders in an organisation are concerned with the financial results, either because it’s their job (ie. CFO) or because it’s how they get paid (Chief Revenue Officer or Chief Operating Officer). Many CX-ers aren’t well versed in the concept of business cases, and many templates are overly complicated. However, what you really need to master is the answer to 4 questions (use this template):
What do you plan to do? - keep this high level, don’t go into the ‘how’, rather talk about the outcome you intend to achieve.
Why are you recommending that approach? - this is a great place to site any customer feedback (quantitative and qualitative), include numerical based results, reference any relevant competitive intelligence, make a connection to the stakeholders around the table (ie. will drive a higher NPS which you know results in them receiving their bonus)
What is the cost? - document what the costs of this initiative are.
What is the financial benefit? - summarise the bottom line, will this result in either top line growth or a better bottom line. Executives are concerned with more revenue, reduction in costs or increased profitability.
Once you’ve had a few successes SHOUT them from the rooftop - make sure though that you’re making others look good. CX wins should be collective wins. Some of the most successful Customer Experience initiatives aren’t even seen as CX wins. That’s ok! Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that customers are having the experience they desire and deserve. Who gets credit is less important. Smart leaders will naturally gravitate towards teams and people that they know can help them achieve their objectives.
Start small. Customer Experience Transformation is a touchy subject and that’s because it’s failed for many reasons over the years. You may know that there’s a significant transformation or investment required to up-skill you culture, for example. But, your best bet is to likely chip away at it with many smaller projects and initiatives. Grow your team incrementally and time your investment requests on the heels of a win.
Use stories to form a personal connection. I’ve been very impressed with the power of a good personal story. Everyone is a customer. Tap into their personal connection to the role as a customer by asking them to share stories of being a customer and the roller-coaster that can be a bad customer experience. Guaranteed that personal connection to a concept will make it more real and meaningful.
Finally, start with the end in mind. One of the approaches I’ve used with great success is talking about problems worth solving or the intended outcome. Instead of leading with “Mr. CFO we really need to map out our customer’s journey”, try “We’re hearing from our customer both in terms of feedback and financial results that something in the on-boarding process isn’t working as it should. If we fixed it we think we could drive an additional X% of customer retention for a financial result of $X in-year”. The CFO and other C-level executives likely don’t care how you fix the problem, rather that it’s fixed.
In terms of building their emotional intelligence and competency in understanding the softer side of Customer Experience, consider a more subtle approach.
Use the language yourself, but don’t ask others to use it
Add 1 subtle CX learning point into each of your presentations
Identify an influencer or two and work with them 1-on-1 to build a network of champions
Share customer feedback that speaks to the emotional element of their buying or loyalty decision, and consider multi-dimensional feedback whenever possible (ie. video)
Remember, as CX-ers we already have the tools and skillset to win-over those within our organisations who matter most. Having the C-suite onboard is about speaking to what’s most important to them: (financial) results. Let’s open up our CX toolkit, roll up our sleeves and work the problem.
Janelle Mansfield
Janelle is an experienced executive and management consultant in the disciplines of customer experience, marketing, communications, change management and strategy. She is an early-adopter of technologies that foster better collaboration and engagement with customers, employees and stakeholders. Her previous corporate and client-focused experience has elevated the business results and practices of leading companies in multiple industries, including IBM Canada, Canada Post, the University of Ottawa, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. and Department of National Defence Canada. Janelle is known for her open and approachable leadership style, collaborative nature and strategic thinking.