In today’s world of social networks, online engagement and transparency, the customer holds all the cards when it comes to how a brand is perceived. And businesses can thrive or fail based solely on the type of experience they provide to their customers.
Those are two of the reasons I was excited to attend CX Week which is hosted by Qualtrics. It’s a free, online event being billed as the world’s largest customer experience event, hosting some of the best brands, thought leaders, and practitioners in the customer experience world. Monday’s featured webinar speakers included a “Top 10 Social Media Influencer,” a Columbia Business School professor, a partner at Bain and Company, and a top customer experience analyst. They all shared insights on how a consistent, positive customer experience creates lifelong, loyal customers.
Ted Coine, Chief Relationship Officer of Meddle.it and Top 10 Social Media Influencer, focused on the importance of company executives being engaged on social media and running their own accounts. “Would you send someone else to a meeting wearing your suit?” he asked. If not, then why would you have someone else run your social media account? Coine also taught that the most important part of online engagement with customers is making it meaningful. Encouraging companies to focus on “more social and less media,” Coine told audiences to “meet customers where they are, not where you’re most comfortable.” Another key aspect to creating loyal customers, Coine said, is keeping employees engaged. A brand’s customers will only love them as much as their employees do.
Rob Markey, a partner in Bain & Company’s New York office and the leader of the firm’s Customer Strategy and Marketing practice, shared his insights on the transition from Net Promoter Score to Net Promoter System. One of the biggest ways to increase your NPS is focusing on employee advocacy. “Employee satisfaction is necessary but insufficient for generating energy, enthusiasm and creativity,” Markey said. The real magic happens when you turn employees into active promoters. That is when they will create a better overall experience for customers because they will be excited about the company’s mission will want to share that enthusiasm with others.
Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner at customer experience research and consulting firm Temkin Group, starting by quoting Walt Disney. “Do what you do so well that they want to see it again and bring their friends,” Disney said. That’s the key to creating an incredible customer experience. Temkin also warned listeners against being overly focused on success when it comes to customer experience. Instead, he said, focus on making a genuine effort and understanding how the interaction makes the customer feel. Temkin then laid out four key skills to will help drive customer loyalty: purposeful leadership, compelling brand values, customer connectedness and employee engagement.
Bernd Schmitt, a professor of international business at Columbia University, focused his remarks on driving customer loyalty by creating an experience. People will pay a little for a commodity, product or service, but they will pay a lot and develop loyalty when they are paying for an experience. “Customer experience is about helping customers feel something,” Schmitt said. That emotional connection is powerful.
CX Week continued through Friday and will hosted companies like the Ritz-Carlton, Zappos.com, UPS, and Dell.
