#46 | DCX - Perspectives and insights on digital customer experience
Why Innovative Problem Solvers Should Consider the CX Profession; Thriving in the AI-Powered CX Era; LI Poll of the Week; Industry news, ideas, insights, and the DCX Thought Leader Linkedin Profile
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Why Innovative Problem Solvers Should Consider the CX Profession
If you're an innovative problem solver (see below if you are wondering what makes someone one), the CX profession is for you. In CX, you will be responsible for improving customer satisfaction and retention by providing exceptional journey-led customer experiences. This is a highly rewarding career that provides opportunities to make a positive impact on the lives of others.
Innovate and Lead Change in the CX Profession
The CX profession offers an unparalleled opportunity to drive innovation and lead change within an organization. As a CX professional, your primary goal is to understand customer needs and develop strategies to enhance their overall experience.
One critical aspect of this role is fostering a culture of innovation and creativity within your team. You can inspire transformative change by cultivating an environment that encourages new ideas and empowers team members to take ownership of their work.
Collaboration is another key element in leading change. To ensure a cohesive and customer-centric approach, you'll work closely with various departments, including product development, marketing, and sales. Effective communication of customer insights and advocating for their needs in cross-functional meetings are essential for driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Constant Learning and Development in CX Careers
Continuous learning and development are crucial for staying competitive in the ever-evolving CX profession. By staying informed about industry trends and customer insights, you can adapt to the changing landscape and provide the best possible solutions for your customers.
Developing and refining essential skills is paramount. As a CX professional, you'll need strong communication skills to convey your ideas and solutions while being receptive to feedback and constructive criticism. Analytical and critical thinking skills are vital for breaking down complex problems and identifying patterns in data to inform potential solutions.
Adaptability is another indispensable trait, as CX professionals must respond quickly to changing circumstances and devise creative solutions to unexpected challenges. Persistence and resilience are equally important, as setbacks and failures are inevitable, but overcoming obstacles leads to successful problem-solving.
Building Meaningful Relationships in the CX Industry
CX professionals play a pivotal role in creating lasting connections with customers and colleagues. By understanding customer needs and preferences, you can develop tailored solutions that strengthen loyalty and trust.
Embracing diverse perspectives and actively listening to customers enables CX professionals to build more inclusive solutions, ultimately enhancing the customer experience. Engaging with colleagues from various backgrounds can also lead to innovative ideas and foster a more collaborative work environment.
Diverse Job Opportunities in the CX Field
The CX profession offers a multitude of job opportunities across various industries and sectors. As you develop a diverse skill set through your CX career, you'll become increasingly versatile, opening up new career paths and increasing your long-term job prospects.
Your CX expertise can be applied in many different contexts, from technology and finance to healthcare and retail. The skills you acquire as a CX professional – such as problem-solving, communication, and teamwork – are highly transferable and sought after in the modern job market.
Overall, the CX profession is an exciting and rewarding career choice for innovative problem solvers. With opportunities to drive change, continuously learn and develop, build meaningful relationships, and enjoy diverse job prospects, the CX field allows you to significantly impact organizations and customers while fostering personal and professional growth.
What makes an innovative problem solver?
Innovation is critical to problem-solving because it involves finding new, creative, and unconventional ways to solve complex problems.
If you're curious about what makes someone a real innovative problem solver, let me share some insights with you:
1. Creativity: Be that creative thinker who can whip up unique and original solutions to complex problems. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and ditch conventional ideas.
2. Curiosity: Stay curious! Keep asking questions, seeking information, and exploring new ways to tackle problems. Your thirst for knowledge will take you far.
3. Flexibility: Embrace change and adaptability. If your first plan isn't working, be ready to switch gears. Listen to feedback and adjust your approach as needed.
4. Persistence: Keep pushing, no matter how tough it gets. Don't give up easily, and be willing to put in the effort to find the solution you're after.
5. Collaboration: Team up with others to crack those complex problems. Value diverse perspectives and always be open to new ideas.
6. Risk-taking: Go ahead, take some risks! Don't be afraid of failure; remember, you can always learn from your mistakes.
7. Resourcefulness: Work with what you've got and make the most of it. You can come up with creative solutions even with limited resources or constraints.
So, there you have it! Remember these traits, and you'll be well on your way to becoming an innovative problem solver. Good luck!
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Thriving in the AI-Powered CX Era: Essential Skills and Training for the Future Workforce
As the adoption of AI in customer experience grows, a shift in the skills and training required for professionals to stay relevant in the workforce is needed.
So, if you want to be great at AI for helping customers, here are some skills you should work on:
Learn the basics of AI and machine learning: Understanding AI and machine learning is essential to excel in AI for customer experience. As a professional, you must know how computers process language and learn programming languages like Python, R, or Java. Tools like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Keras can help you build and train AI models.
Get good at data science and analytics: Data science and analytics play a crucial role in AI for customer experience. Learn how to collect, manage, and analyze customer data to make AI models more efficient and help businesses make smart decisions. You can use tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Excel to visualize data and identify patterns.
Make user experiences (UX) awesome: Designing great user experiences is important to ensure customer satisfaction with AI-driven systems. You must understand customer needs and preferences to design chatbots, voice assistants, or other easy-to-use, engaging, and effective AI platforms.
Understand languages and cultures: Understanding different languages and cultures is critical to building AI models that are respectful and inclusive. Take the time to learn about regional differences and cultural nuances to avoid misunderstandings and provide personalized interactions.
Support ethical AI and fairness: Ensuring ethical AI and fairness is vital to building trust with customers. You must learn about ethical AI principles and avoid and fix any biases in AI conversations with customers. You can use tools like IBM Watson's AI Fairness 360 to detect and mitigate biases in AI models.
Keep cybersecurity in mind: As more customer data is collected, cybersecurity becomes more important. You must be well-versed in cybersecurity to protect AI systems and customer information from hackers and other threats. You should know how to secure data and systems, manage access controls, and monitor for threats.
Help others adapt to new technology: Change management skills are essential to help businesses and employees get ready for AI-driven systems. You should be able to communicate the benefits of AI, provide training and support, and manage resistance to change.
Practice soft skills: Even with AI, soft skills like empathy, creativity, and critical thinking are important for helping customers. You must be able to handle tricky or sensitive customer situations and provide personalized and compassionate support. You can use tools like sentiment analysis to understand customer emotions and adjust the tone of the conversation accordingly.
By taking classes and getting certifications in these areas, you'll be ready to succeed in the world of AI for customer experience. Good luck!
DCX Linkedin Poll of the Week
This week I was interested in learning more about what our colleagues in the Customer Experience Professionals Group on Linkedin think about the evolution of Conversational AI - is it ready yet?
According to the most recent DCX Poll, most people think AI can be helpful in customer service, but it’s not perfect yet.
In my experience, some limitations of conversational AI in customer experience today include a lack of empathy, an inability to handle complex or nuanced queries, and difficulty understanding accents or colloquialisms. Additionally, conversational AI may struggle with maintaining context and keeping up with rapidly changing conversation topics.
Other limitations can include a reliance on structured data and predefined responses, resulting in a lack of flexibility and personalization in the customer experience. Some conversational AI may also struggle with detecting and responding appropriately to negative or abusive customer behavior.
Furthermore, conversational AI may not be able to handle certain sensitive or emotional situations where human interaction is preferred. This includes instances such as handling customer complaints or providing emotional support.
Finally, privacy concerns may arise with conversational AI, as customers may hesitate to share personal information with a machine. Adequate safeguards and transparency around data handling practices must be in place to address these concerns.
Etc.
Links to Industry news, ideas, insights, and the DCX Thought Leader Linkedin Profile of the week
Insights From the Frontline: CX Experts Share Customer Conversation Takeaways (cmswire.com)
I was interviewed for this article by Jennifer Torres of CMSwire discussing the critical role that customer feedback plays in shaping the customer experience. I highlight the fact that customers can provide valuable insights and ideas for improving products and services and that companies that listen and act on customer feedback can gain a significant competitive advantage.
The article also emphasizes the importance of being proactive in soliciting customer feedback rather than waiting for customers to come to you with complaints. Companies can create a customer-centric culture that fosters loyalty and long-term success by actively seeking out customer feedback and using it to drive continuous improvement.
Overall, it provides a valuable reminder that the customer experience is not just about delivering a product or service but about building relationships, understanding customer needs and expectations, and constantly striving to improve.
The Secret To Successful Digital Transformation: It's All About The People (forbes.com)
Airbnb: 5 Product Lessons on how to introduce new features | Medium
The article discusses five product lessons that can be learned from Airbnb's introduction of new features. These lessons include understanding user needs, testing and iterating new features, communicating changes effectively, providing clear instructions, and considering the impact on existing users. The author also provides examples of how Airbnb has successfully implemented these lessons in their product development process.
It’s never too late to start being accountable.
DCX Thought Leader Linkedin Profile of the week
Every week, I share a person's profile from Linkedin that I think will benefit your life and career.
This week, meet Denise Lee Yohn, brand leadership expert, speaker, and author of "Fusion" and "What Great Brands Do.”
Denise Lee Yohn is a renowned branding expert, speaker, and author who has helped some of the world's most successful companies build their brands. With over 25 years of experience in brand strategy consulting, she has worked with companies like Sony, Frito-Lay, and Burger King to create and strengthen their brand identities.
Denise is known for her insightful perspectives on branding and her ability to help companies differentiate themselves in crowded marketplaces.
She believes that a great brand is more than just a logo or a tagline - it's a complete experience that customers have with a company. Denise emphasizes the importance of building a strong brand identity that is rooted in a company's values and culture. This means creating a brand promise that is authentic, relevant, and differentiated from competitors.
One of Denise's key insights is that brand and culture are intertwined. A strong brand requires a strong culture that is aligned with the brand promise. Denise believes that companies that focus on building a strong brand culture are more likely to succeed in the long run.
Denise is also a proponent of what she calls "brand-as-business management." This approach involves treating the brand as the core of the business, rather than just a marketing tool. It means aligning all aspects of the business - from operations to customer service - around the brand promise.
Denise is also a sought-after keynote speaker and has given talks at conferences like the National Retail Federation's Big Show and the Consumer Electronics Show. She has authored multiple books on branding, including "What Great Brands Do" and "Fusion: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies."
Thank you for reading this week.
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