DYK # 41: Did you know … the future of CX requires organisations to fundamentally rethink how customer experience is operationalised.

What does the Future of CX look like?

What does the future of CX look like? I was recently part of a panel discussion at the CxO conference in Canada, and that’s the question we discussed. 

To be frank, I believe that in order for us to move forward, we need to stop and pause, before we can move ahead into the future. 

CX has been around for 15-20 years by now, and the CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association) celebrated its 15 anniversary earlier this year. Yet, miraculously, we still have different interpretations of what CX actually is, let alone how to “do it”, i.e. execute it well within organisations. 

If you ask 10 people what they think CX is, you will get many different answers. What most of us can agree on, however, is a loose definition for the “concept” of CX. Most people think of “happy customers” when they think of CX. And that’s typically the goal, since “happy customers” come with many handy benefits for businesses, such as lower churn, higher lifetime value, greater loyalty, referrals, upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and so on. 

Operationalising CX

How to translate that lofty and ambitious goal into practical application within a business, on the other hand, remains utterly unclear for many organisations. 

If you ask Customer Service teams what operationalising CX looks like in practical terms, you’ll get a very different answer to what Sales, Marketing or Product would tell you; let alone Finance, IT or HR, who at times still believe they have little to nothing to do with CX. 

In reality though, every single team has a direct or indirect impact on your customers. While it’s easy to see how Customer Service, Marketing or Product teams impact your customers, the line of sight is often less clear for teams that indirectly impact the customer experience such as IT or HR. It is, however, vital to understand that ALL teams impact your customers in some shape or form. 

Now, what does that have to do with the future of CX, you ask? 

Moving Forward with purpose and clarity

For us to move forward, let’s pause, create clarity, and set the foundations first. Clarity on the best approach to operationalising CX is vital to create internal alignment, as CX is a Team Sport, and we need all teams onboard. Simply renaming your Customer Service team to CX team, or establishing a CX team that is tasked with somehow fixing experiences that other teams deliver, isn’t going to work. 

Too often CX teams get established just to have their hands tied behind their backs. Responsible for “fixing” the customer experience even though that sits outside their remit and their team’s role and responsibilities. Too often organisations aren’t actually clear on how that process is supposed to work; processes, framework and governance aren’t set up appropriately and roles and responsibilities are ill defined. No wonder so many CX teams get established just to be restructured, centralised, decentralised, or cut altogether. 

CXTS™

What you need is not just a CX team but also a company wide CX practice, clearly defining how the CX team is meant to support and empower all other teams, and what shared accountabilities entail. And yes, that spans across ALL teams, not just some.

For CX to be successful and contribute to long-lasting business growth, we must rethink our approach to CX, including our approach to operationalising CX. And that’s hard, because it requires an organisation-wide mindset shift, the creation of shared accountabilities, and adjustment of org structures. It requires a CX operating model. Our CXTS™ operating model is designed to do just that. 

The future of CX requires organisations to fundamentally rethink how customer experience is operationalised. Welcome to CXTS™ .  

If you’re interested in learning more about our CXTS™ operating model, get in touch today! We’re happy to share more about it.

Still unsure? Our book “CXTS™ - Customer Experience is a Team Sport” will be out later this year. Register your interest here and we’ll let you know when it’s available! 

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