If we evaluate ongoing startup revolution – most startups usually address a specific gap in the market or an unfulfilled customer need – in other short, a customer experience gap !
Question therefore worth reflecting on, is that instead of this gap leading to a new startup, why can’t mature organizations leverage the very same approach of identifying customer experience (CX) gaps – and leveraging these strategic & operational insights to develop new innovative products/services, or upgrade their products/services?
Organizational strengths of an existing organization should logically help them execute on the identified CX gap faster, leading to improved business results!
Many organisations talk about it, but don’t adequately focus on it; just don’t do enough or despite having good intentions simply don’t know “how” to go about improving or delivering a good product or service i.e. ensuring a superior customer experience?”
And so as consumers, we are often at receiving end of sub-optimal product experience!
Interestingly, sometimes many of us have also experienced the one odd “wow” or “a-ha great ” experience (….but also too few), when we've been handled well and got just the right product or service.
Now clearly this is important – right ? So how do we identify these “needs” or “start up” ideas?
Hearing Customers: capturing customer feedback using the right approach, as well as mining service quality data/ analytics: are important tools for identifying these CX gaps & for enabling product improvements & CX enhancements, new product design and development, etc
Customer journey mapping (CJM) is a design thinking led methodology, which is rage globally & in our own view – as Customer experience experts- a great way to get going on this journey to identify some low hanging & quick to implement opportunity areas – i.e. “start up” like improvement areas.
Once some of this is implemented and quick results realised– then to go to the next level of evolution & sophistication we can leverage our 5Ps TICSI customer experience improvement - 1000 point framework https://www.ticsi.org/- to further diagnose opportunity areas in the customer experience(CX) across the organization’s - product, distribution and delivery, product features, people practices, operational processes, measures & KPIs, etc.
In other words by leveraging the right tools & best practices it is possible to deliver not just good but a great & consistent customer experience on an end to end basis across all customer touch points- not when he just calls or reaches “sales” or “customer service”
Of course consistent implementation of the correct practices & operational rigor across all the departments or operating siloes of an organization is key, not just right product, policies & procedures and intent.
Many organizations shy away from digging deep into irate customer engagements or doing root cause analysis/trend analysis of customer complaints – where there are hidden, diamonds of diagnostic opportunity to improve products & processes… A structured “customer” focused institutionalized service quality or customer experience improvement framework is necessary for every organization and not just on the traditional product quality programs which are often focused on manufacturing end of the business.
And, buttoning down last mile connectivity and cross connecting siloes is as important. In many organizations’, each silo often does a great job, but owing to misses at the last mile or gaps at the inter- departmental “hand offs” or sometimes some departments don’t have a good appreciation of what is really very important for their customer – the end customer gets needlessly mishandled or gets a sub-optimal customer experience.
Food for thought? Interesting? Or have views & angles on the subject or just your unique experience in your start up or organisation that you’d like to share with us …go ahead - we are eager to hear from you and would love to hear your perspective…