In 1965, Intel Co-Founder Gordon Moore famously said, “The number of transistors in a microchip doubles about every two years though the cost of computers is halved.” Now dubbed “Moore’s Law,” the statement has been applied broadly to describe the rapid pace of change in technology. Nowhere is the spirit of Moore’s Law more applicable than in the world of customer experience (CX), where social media has provided an ever-increasing number of platforms to amplify the customer voice and influence brand reputation as never before. Now, customers are in control of a brand’s message, not the other way around.
This shift in the balance of power means one thing: To gain back control of both their message and reputation and to remain competitive in their respective industries, brands must be able to navigate the evolving world of CX.
Your CX game plan
The following four steps provide a CX game plan for brands to survive and thrive in their respective industries as the future of CX evolves.
1. Understand the difference between quick fixes and the things that require a change and investment in how you conduct business. All customer feedback is important, and brands should act on every bit of it. But some feedback should be prioritized because, if not addressed quickly, it can negatively impact your brand’s future. For example, while focusing on complaints about a rude front-desk person is important, it’s also simply part of the fundamental blocking and tackling that comes with serving customers. On the other hand, addressing complaints about safety requires a change in how business is conducted. It may even require additional investment. Failure to take action on the issues that matter most could impact your ability to be successful in the long run.
2. Identify the most important listening posts so that customer feedback is a symphony rather than a cacophony. The number of platforms for online social exchanges is expanding exponentially, and it’s nearly impossible for brands to monitor each one. In fact, attempting to have a presence on every platform will only result in noise and distraction. The trick is to figure out which of these listening posts matter most to your brand. They’re likely the ones frequented by most of your customers. For example, if your primary demographic is men in their thirties and forties, Twitter would be an important listening post to monitor. However, if your target customers are baby boomers, consider monitoring Facebook.
3. Invest in technology to harness CX data and find the information needed to effect change. There exists a deficit in skillset to gather data, aggregate it, and turn it into something meaningful and actionable — especially at scale. Doing so effectively requires technology to help — and not just technology that churns out simple surveys. Only platforms that utilize specialized algorithms can sort through ever-growing data sets and extract useful trends to provide the missing links that deliver real CX insights.
4. Take action on the insights you uncover and make CX a companywide endeavor. You might be good at mining CX data, but are you adept at taking action on it? Brands often leave too much on the table, failing to put their CX insights to work. Of course, inaction undermines the reason CX data exists — to drive meaningful change. This inertia can be attributed to a simple lack of oversight: No one is taking ownership of the data and seeing it through. Real change comes from representation from all departments and all levels — executive, mid-management and frontline — and their commitment to bridging the gap between the intended customer experience and the actual customer experience. Taking action on CX insights must truly be an organization-wide effort.
A whole new world
For the past 20 years, surveys comprised the one listening post used to evaluate CX; now, it’s any number of platforms — social media, online reviews, listings, videos, forums and call centers. These platforms amplifying the customer voice continue to grow and evolve at an accelerated pace in accordance with Moore’s Law. To succeed against this backdrop, it’s up to brands to adapt and change quickly, making CX the center of their business with the right technology and processes to support it.
