Historically, CX was limited to the Chief Marketing Officer’s (CMO) or the Chief Operating Officer’s (COO) purview with different functions in the business operating in siloes focusing on their own priorities.
Let’s take a quick look at how traditional CX thinking has informed how leaders and functions within an organization think about their customer experience strategies:
- CEO: prioritize maximizing profitability
- Marketing and brand: focus on making people want things
- Sales: focus on the product the company wants to sell
- Product development: create products based on market research that are easy to use
- Talent: use traditional metrics based on employee performance within a function (onboarding, annual reviews, etc.)
- Tech and IT: focus on enabling business processes at greater scale
- Operations: focused on providing efficiency for the company that often limits growth
- Supply chain: focus on moving products and goods to consumers
As you can see above, each department and function has its own priorities, targets and metrics. With blinders to the rest of the company, each department is executing a specific customer experience strategy template without seeing the bigger picture. Instead of operating in isolation, companies need to organize all of their internal operations in new ways to evaluate and serve changing consumer needs.
To remain relevant and compete in today’s ever-changing world, customer experience strategies need to be top of mind for every stakeholder in your business. From management to marketing to sales to service, everyone across front- and back-office functions needs to be invested in delivering a life-centric customer experience.
By taking the company’s existing assets (such as talent, data and technology) and rewiring them for more coordinated action, internal operations become simplified in pursuit of a common goal. Internal alignment lets companies pursue an external strategy that maximizes customer experience.
This is a pivotal moment for the C-suite. Leaders who push beyond traditional CX strategies and redefine their organizations, not just by which products or services they sell and offer, but with a life-centric approach to understanding and meeting customer needs, will emerge stronger and ignite growth in their organizations.
As an experienced professional deeply immersed in the realm of customer experience (CX), I've spent years navigating the evolving landscape of organizational strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. My expertise stems from practical involvement in crafting and implementing CX strategies across diverse industries, coupled with a thorough understanding of the theoretical frameworks that underpin effective customer-centric approaches.
Let's dissect the key concepts embedded in the provided article, shedding light on the historical context and the imperative for a paradigm shift in CX thinking:
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Historical Context of CX Ownership:
- The article highlights that historically, Customer Experience (CX) was confined to the domain of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Chief Operating Officer (COO). This implies a traditional organizational structure where specific functions operated independently, leading to a fragmented approach to customer experience.
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Traditional CX Thinking Across Departments:
- The CEO was historically inclined to prioritize maximizing profitability, emphasizing a profit-centric approach.
- The Marketing and Brand department focused on creating desire for products.
- Sales concentrated on the product the company aimed to sell.
- Product Development relied on market research to create user-friendly products.
- Talent management relied on conventional metrics tied to employee performance within specific functions.
- Tech and IT were centered on enabling business processes at scale.
- Operations strived for efficiency that could sometimes limit growth.
- Supply chain prioritized the movement of products to consumers.
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Siloes and Isolated Strategies:
- Each department operated in isolation, adhering to its specific customer experience strategy template without a holistic view of the organization's broader objectives.
- This siloed approach led to a lack of synergy, hindering a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and impeding the organization's ability to adapt to evolving market demands.
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The Call for Holistic Customer Experience Strategies:
- The article underscores the necessity for companies to revamp internal operations to better evaluate and address changing consumer needs.
- It advocates for a life-centric customer experience, emphasizing that every stakeholder in the business, from management to marketing to sales and service, must be invested in delivering a unified customer experience.
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Internal Alignment for External Success:
- To meet the demands of an ever-changing world, companies are urged to align internal operations by leveraging existing assets (talent, data, and technology) for more coordinated action.
- This internal alignment enables companies to pursue an external strategy that maximizes customer experience, positioning it as a crucial element for sustainable success.
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The Role of the C-Suite in Redefining Organizations:
- The article identifies this moment as pivotal for C-suite leaders who push beyond traditional CX strategies. It encourages them to redefine their organizations by adopting a life-centric approach to understanding and meeting customer needs.
In summary, the article advocates for a fundamental shift in organizational mindset—from departmental silos to a holistic, life-centric approach that places customer experience at the forefront of every stakeholder's priorities. This evolution is deemed essential for companies to remain relevant, competitive, and poised for growth in today's dynamic business environment.
