#54 | DCX - Perspectives and insights on digital customer experience
Can There Be Too Much Customer Focus?; How to Foster High Employee Engagement; Poll of the Week; Links to Industry news, ideas, insights, and more!
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Can There Be Too Much Customer Focus?
"The customer is king" is a mantra heralded as the key to success in business. Pursuing exceptional customer experiences is widely accepted as a core driver of growth. But is it possible that there can be too much of a good thing? Can an overemphasis on customer focus come at the detriment of something equally important – your internal culture?
The Traditional View on Customer Centricity
Traditional wisdom advocates for the extreme importance of customer focus. Businesses have adopted strategies like comprehensive personalization, customer journey mapping, and instant customer feedback loops to keep the spotlight firmly on the customer.
Amazon, for example, attributes much of its success to its intense customer-centric culture. From personalized recommendations to easy returns, Amazon's customers are indeed kings and queens in their realm.
The Risk of Over-Focusing on Customers
It's no secret that a successful business values its customers. However, overemphasizing customers at employees' expense can have adverse effects. The risk of neglecting internal culture in creating a revolutionary customer-centric approach can be harmful and lead to several issues.
Firstly, when companies bend over backward to meet customer needs and demands, it can result in employee burnout. This often occurs when employees are consistently expected to go above and beyond without adequate support or recognition from the company. An overly customer-centric focus can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations and demands on the employees.
For instance, the extreme focus on customer acquisition at Wells Fargo led to employees being pressured to open accounts, leading to the infamous fake accounts scandal in 2016. Employees were forced to resort to unethical practices to meet their targets and keep up with the company's customer-centric goals, reflecting a clear imbalance.
Similarly, there were reports at Amazon where warehouse workers were alleged to work in high-pressure environments, often compromising their health and safety, to meet the company's rigorous customer delivery schedules. While Amazon prides itself on its customer obsession, these reports highlight the potential downsides of this focus if not adequately balanced with employee care and safety.
Secondly, an over-focus on customers can lead to low morale and high turnover rates. Employees who feel undervalued or unappreciated may leave the company for a more balanced work environment.
An example of this was seen in Uber's corporate culture. The company was reported to prioritize its customers and rapid expansion over the welfare of its employees. This led to a high-pressure work environment, causing significant attrition rates and negative press.
Lastly, neglecting internal culture can impact innovation. Companies that focus solely on customer feedback for improvements may miss out on innovative ideas from their employees who understand the products and services at a fundamental level.
While customer focus is critical, it's important to remember that the employees delivering the service are equally crucial for the company's success. A balance between external customer and internal employee focus is necessary for sustainable growth and a robust business model.
Ways to Achieve a Balanced Approach
The optimal business outcome can be achieved when there's a balance between customer experience and employee experience. Employees are, in many ways, a company's internal customers. Their satisfaction, engagement, and productivity can significantly influence the quality of service delivered to external customers.
Achieving this balance starts with recognizing and valuing the correlation between employee and customer satisfaction. Open communication, recognition programs, training and development opportunities, and a positive work environment make employees feel valued and empowered. Here are a few examples of companies emphasizing the employee.
Known for its customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, Salesforce is also famous for its 'Ohana' culture, signifying 'family' in Hawaiian. The company places a high value on equality, transparency, and inclusivity.
Salesforce's emphasis on employees' well-being and their encouragement for employees to take time for volunteer work exemplify a balanced approach between customer focus and internal culture.
Outdoor retailer Patagonia has always put a premium on both its customers and its employees. The company provides benefits like on-site child care and allows employees to take time off to go surfing, reinforcing the company's commitment to work-life balance. This leads to highly engaged employees passionate about providing excellent customer service.
Starbucks is another company that has managed to strike the right balance. The company provides its employees with comprehensive health benefits, stock options, and even free college tuition. This emphasis on employee welfare and professional growth translates into employees providing superior service to Starbucks customers.
While customer focus is undeniably crucial for business success, it's essential not to lose sight that employees are the backbone of any organization. A satisfied and engaged workforce is more likely to lead to happy customers.
So, strive for a balance, ensuring you cultivate a robust internal culture while prioritizing exceptional customer experiences. After all, a business is not a one-way street focused only on customers but a bustling intersection where employees and customers meet and create value together.
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How to Foster High Employee Engagement
It's a well-known fact that highly engaged employees tend to deliver exceptional customer experiences. As customer experience leaders, one of the essential tasks is to create an environment that fosters high employee engagement. Here are seven practical strategies that you can employ to boost employee engagement, ultimately leading to superior customer experiences.
1. Promote Open Communication
Open communication lies at the heart of an engaged workforce. Employees should feel comfortable sharing their ideas, thoughts, and feedback without fear of negative consequences.
You can foster open communication by creating platforms for employees to voice their opinions and suggestions and being open and transparent about the company's direction and decisions. This boosts engagement and promotes a culture of trust and collaboration.
2. Provide Training and Development Opportunities
Investing in employees' growth shows that the company values their contributions and is committed to their professional development. This could be through workshops, courses, or seminars that enhance their skills. Companies like IBM have boosted employee engagement by investing in continuous learning and career development programs.
3. Recognize and Reward Employees
Nothing boosts morale more than being recognized for one's hard work. Regularly acknowledging and rewarding employees for their achievements motivates them to continue performing at their best. Whether through bonuses, awards, or simple public acknowledgment, employees who feel appreciated are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work.
4. Offer Flexible Work Arrangements
Today's workforce values flexibility. Allowing employees to work remotely or flexibly can significantly enhance work-life balance. Recognizing the benefits of flexible work arrangements, American Express offers many employees the opportunity to work remotely or follow a flexible schedule. They have found that this flexibility has led to greater employee productivity and higher job satisfaction.
5. Create a Positive Work Environment
A positive work environment that values teamwork, respect, and inclusivity can significantly boost employee engagement. You should strive to create an atmosphere where employees feel valued and respected.
With their 'Ohana' culture, companies like Salesforce have created such an environment, leading to high employee satisfaction and customer service.
6. Offer Competitive Benefits and Compensation
Fair compensation and competitive benefits play a significant role in employee engagement. Gifts that enhance employee well-being, such as healthcare, mental health support, and wellness programs, can lead to happier, healthier, and more engaged employees. Also, consider that it’s less expensive to give a current employee a higher salary than having that employee leave and replace them.
7. Invest in Team-Building Activities
Regular team-building activities can foster camaraderie and teamwork among employees. These can range from off-site team outings to in-office games or challenges. Atlassian, an Australian software company, regularly hosts "ShipIt" days, where teams collaborate on innovative projects, fostering a sense of unity and engagement within the company.
Employee engagement is not just a 'nice-to-have.' It's a crucial element in driving exceptional customer experiences. By implementing these strategies, customer experience leaders can create an environment where employees feel valued, appreciated, and engaged. Remember, when engaged, employees are more likely to go the extra mile to deliver the exceptional service that your customers expect and deserve.
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This week I posed a question to our colleagues in the Customer Experience Professionals Group on Linkedin about whether the Omni-channel approach is still the best way to build customer experiences. A great conversation ensued.
The overwhelming majority (70%) said the Omni-channel concept must evolve or is outdated.
This poll attracted some of CX's smartest people to join the conversation. The main points discussed about the future of omni-channel strategy in customer experience (CX) were:
1. Omni-Channel Versus Opti-Channel Approach: Bill Price suggests a shift from omni-channel to opti-channel, focusing on channels that best serve customers.
2. Need for Channel-Specific Experiences: Mark Michelson underlines the importance of designing experiences that leverage the unique capabilities of individual channels, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
3. Importance of Agility and Customer-Centricity: Patty Soltis emphasizes agility in omni-channel implementation, highlighting the need for understanding and adapting to customer needs. This is echoed by Adrian Swinscoe, Karl Sharicz, and Larry Leung, who stress on a customer-first, rather than technology or organization-first approach.
4. Significance in Complex Transactions: Jeff Sheehan underscores the value of omni-channel strategy in managing complex transactions, such as home buying.
5. Reality of AI-Driven Personalization: Cameron Smith points out the gap between the potential of AI-driven personalization and the current reality of data management across channels.
6. Universal Principle: Despite some critiques and proposed modifications, professionals like Megan Burns and Karl Sharicz emphasize that omni-channel remains a universal principle that can't be completely discarded.
7. Leadership and Integration: There is an agreement on the significant role of leadership in integrating channels and creating seamless customer experiences.
8. Understanding Customer Behavior: Mark W. Stanley highlights the importance of understanding customer behavior and effectively mapping resolutions for both synchronous and asynchronous journeys.
Overall, these points underline a shared understanding among professionals that omni-channel strategies must evolve to be more customer-focused and agile, using technology as a means to enhance, not dictate, customer experience.
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Every week, I share a person's profile from Linkedin that I think will benefit your life and career.
This week, meet Jeff Toister, President of Toister Solutions. He is a customer service author, consultant, and trainer who helps organizations develop customer-focused cultures.
Jeff leads the way with insightful content. He is the best-selling author of four customer service books.
More than 11,000 customer service professionals around the world subscribe to his Customer Service Tip of the Week email newsletter.
His Inside Customer Service blog has been recognized as a top customer service blog by Customer Contact Central, Credit Donkey, and Feedspot, which named the blog one of the world's Top 50 customer service blogs.
Thank you for reading this week.
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