Establishing Executive Alignment and Priorities Around Your Company’s Customer Experience

June 23, 2016

The customer experience has become the competitive battleground for business. By delivering a consistent, memorable experience, companies can create a competitive advantage that increases customer engagement, conversion, loyalty and advocacy.

Over the next three-to-five years, 75 percent of marketers say they will be responsible for the end-to-end customer experience.

This series will provide CMOs and business executives with a deeper understanding of the strategies and tactics required to deliver a superior end-to-end customer experience.

/ About the Series

James F. O’Gara, CEO and Founder, OnMessage

/ About me

1,000s of Hours Workingwith CMOs / CEOs

HUNDREDS of Emerging Companies

DOZENS of Fortune 500 Companies

25+ Yrs Experience

Leading Brands

Expertise and Experience/ Customer research and analysis

/ Corporate messaging strategy and execution

/ Customer-centric culture development

/ Go-to-marketstrategic planning

About the sponsor. OnMessage specializes in helping executives align and activate their entire organization around a corporate strategy and story that dramatically improves the customer experience. Leveraging our disciplined methodology — executive teams are able to crystallize their go-to-market strategy, formulate a strategically aligned corporate messaging platform and ensure every stakeholder understands how to activate the strategy and story throughout the customer journey. www.itsonmessage.com

/ Upcoming sessions: June - August

/ Upcoming sessions: September - October

/ Upcoming sessions: November - December

Download the complete curriculum guide and register for the entire series:

www.cmoeducationseries.com

Quick Recap May Education Session

Delivering a Corporate Story that Strengthens Your Customer Experience.

Learning Objective: How messaging materially impacts

customer acquisition, retention,

advocacy and the customer experience.

MAY SESSION RECAP

Touchpoints, interactions and messages define your customer’s overall “experience” with your company.

They also represent the new competitive environment that businesses face today.

/ Deliver a consistent story … or else.

In the “customer experience” driven world — words and actions matter.

They establish perception. They define how customers perceive their experience with your company.

Ultimately, your strategy drives the actions and your message drives the storyline customers experience throughout their journey.

/ Deliver a consistent story … or else.

Constructed with consistent building

blocks

Anchored in a higher-purpose

Best practices for creating a story that is…

Aligned with your go-to-market

strategy

Packaged and comprehensive

Embraced and activated by employees

Connected throughout the customer experience

How is my messaging developed and delivered?

Connecting the dots.

How does that align with my customer’s journey?

You need to understand and paint a picture of how your story is currently developed and delivered. Where it’s told, by whom and what messaging is being utilized.

You need to understand the touchpoints and moments in the customer journey that matter. This means you need to develop an accurate customer journey map.

Materials from May Session.

Delivering a Corporate Story That Strengthens Your Customer Experience

— How messaging materially impacts customer acquisition, retention, advocacy and the customer experience.

If you missed this session, be sure to pick up a copy of…

Today’s Executive Education Series Topic: Establishing Executive Alignment and Priorities Around Your Company’s Customer Experience.

For customer experience (CX) to translate into improved financial performance and become a competitive advantage it must be embraced enterprise-wide. It must be implemented in a cross-functional manner — and, it has to be a priority for the CEO and the entire C-suite.

It requires …

Unwavering CEO Commitment.

Without CEO commitment …

CX … fails to gain traction in customer-facing areas of the business.

CX … never receives executive support and endorsement.

CX … never delivers material business results.


CX … becomes another business fad.

CX … becomes something a few team members talk about for a while before it quickly fades to black.


It’s never …

— Identified as a cornerstone of the business strategy — Institutionalized and operationalized

— Infused into the company’s culture

For CX to be a difference maker …

A CEO … must commit to creating an experience that will differentiate the company and grow the business.

A CEO … must truly believe that ‘customer experience’ matters.

Question On a scale of 1-5 (1 being extremely low … 5 being extremely high) how would you rank your CEO’s commitment to Customer Experience Management across your business?

of companies reported much higher profitability than their competitors when the CEO was in charge of customer experience.

58%

59%

63%SOURCE: The Economist Intelligence Unit

experienced better revenue growth as a result of prioritizing strategic customer experience investments.

of executives who make customer experience a priority actually deliver a better customer experience than their competition.

Guess what?

There is a real and material link between a CEO’s commitment to customer experience and business profitability.

How do you lock in your CEO’s commitment??

Help him or her determine if they truly believe CX is a strategic priority … or not.

Talk about how …

Customer experience is changing the competitive environment.

Customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and advocacy will determine future success.

People, processes and technologies have to be centered on the customer for the company to win.

”

“Have difficult and detailed discussions

with your CEO.

Ask tough questions.

Do you feel our leaders have a deep understanding of the customer?

Is our company’s go-to-market strategy rooted in deep, meaningful customer insights?

Is our product / service roadmap driven bycurrent / future customer requirements?

Are C-suite discussions and decisions consistently anchored in meeting or exceeding customer expectations?

Is our company’s culture driven by a deep and genuine desire to deliver a superior experience?

Do we have the people, processes and technologies in place to create a superior customer experience?

Be prepared to handle the objections and answers.

Does your CEO acknowledge the challenges your company faces with respect to delivering a superior customer experience?

Does your CEO recognize gaps that exist in your people, processes and technologies — and how they negatively impact the customer experience?

Does your CEO realize how much the company’s culture has to change if the customer experience is going to change for the better?

Does he or she believe your customer experience can become a competitive advantage in the marketplace?

You need to assess your CEO’s commitment to customer experience as a strategic business imperative.!

CustomerCentricity1

You need your CEO to commit to 10 things before you sign up and move out.

Experience Ownership

C-Suite Reporting Relationship3

C-Suite Funding& Involvement42

LeadershipAccountability5 Organizational

ChangeClear PerformanceMetrics7

Measurement &Reporting Systems86

Realistic Time to Impact9 Sustained

Cadence10

CEO Commitment — Assessment WorksheetThis worksheet will help you identify additional commitment that may be required from your CEO and C-suite to successfully institutionalize and operationalize Customer Experience Management at your company.

Select the number that corresponds to the “level of commitment and conviction” you believe your CEO has on that particular topic.

1 being “extremely low” and 5 being “extremely high.”

Rank CEO Commitment based on “Ask” and “Action”

The … Ask The … ActionAre they philosophically committed to establishing the “enterprise mindset” and “operating model” required to deliver a superior customer experience?

Are they fully committed to taking specific “actions” that are required to “activate” changes and improvements in the customer experience?

Commitment toCustomer Centricity1“Understanding who your customers are, collectively and as individuals, has never been more important. Companies that prioritize customer experience report higher revenue, lower costs, increased customer loyalty and more engaged employees.” ~ Fortune Knowledge Group

Commitment toCustomer Centricity1Ask Action

Commit to making customer centricity a cornerstone of the company’s business strategy.

Commit to securing rich and actionable insights about your customer.

Commit to driving customer knowledge deep into the fabric of the company’s culture.

Align strategic business initiatives with customer needs, desires, aspirations.

Invest in sustained customer research.

Deploy customer knowledge sharing systems.

Reengineer roles, processes and technologies around customer.

Tie employee performance to CX and customer knowledge.

Commitment toCX Ownership2“To be successful, the chief customer professional in any organization must simplify how the organization works together to achieve customer-driven growth, engage the leadership team, and connect the work to a return on investment. They develop mechanisms to bring the voice of the customer to every department, and find tangible ways for every job function to successfully rethink the work from a customer-focused perspective.” ~ Jeanne Bliss, CCO at Lands End, Allstate, and Microsoft

Commitment toCX Ownership2

Ask ActionCommit to appointing a sole leader of CX management who can be fully responsible for casting vision, strategy, execution and optimizing the experience.

Commit to giving this person authority to manage across organizational and political boundaries.

Clearly assign and communicate ownership of this initiative across the enterprise.

Make sure every leader understands this individual owns the end-to-end strategic planning, execution and management process.

Empower this individual to reach into every customer-facing area of the business to influence or enact change.

Commitment toC-Suite Reporting Relationship

3“Knowing what’s working, where there’s room for improvement, and why specific allocations can improve a company’s customer experience allows for smarter investment decisions from all stakeholders in the C-suite.”

~ CX Report

Commitment toC-Suite Reporting Relationship3

Ask ActionCommit to creating a direct reporting relationship with the C-suite.

Formalize a direct reporting relationship with CEO or a C-level executive.

Ensure this leader has consistent access to the entire C-suite.

Vet strategic business decisions with customer requirements and vice versa.

Commitment toC-Suite Funding and Involvement

4“With a solid game plan to gather support from every corner of the C-level from CEO to CMO, customer experience strategists will be much better positioned for success.”

~ Duff Anderson, Voice of the Customer Expert

Commitment toC-Suite Funding and Involvement4

Ask Action

Commit to assigning CX responsibilities to every C-suite team member.

Commit to ensuring every C-suite member plays an active role in shaping the customer experience strategy.

Commit to driving a “customer-centric” decision making and budgeting process across the C-suite.

Hold every C-suite member accountable for actively managing customer experience initiatives that pertain to their area of the business. Assign performance metrics and budget dollars to every member of the C-suite.

Commitment toCross-Functional Leadership Accountability

5“It can be tempting to think the appointment of a customer experience officer means the voice of the customer has found a home. The customer-centric journey is, in fact, one that everyone in the company must take, with shared understanding and commitment, and accountability across leadership and every job function. Everyone is responsible for the customer.”

~ Fortune Knowledge Group

Commitment toCross-Functional Leadership Accountability5

Ask Action

Commit to holding the C-suite accountable for leading initiatives across their respective areas of the organization.

Commit to managing customer experience expectations and accountability at every level of the company.

Define and communicate specific CX expectations for every level of the organization (C-suite, Leaders, Managers, Front-line)

Ensure every leader understands the strategic nature of customer experience initiatives that pertain to their area of the business.

Hold leaders responsible for ensuring direct reports know how customer experience is being measured and how it impacts daily work activities.

Commitment toOrganizational Change (People, Process, Technology)

6“Recognizing that employees are the driving force that can make or break a great customer experience is the first step. An effective change management initiative is the second step necessary to ensure that employees have the knowledge and structure to deliver.”

~ JG Staal, Head of Customer Experience Management at Tahzoo

Commitment toOrganizational Change (People, Process, Technology)6

Ask ActionCommit to ensuring everyone in the organization embraces change that is essential in delivering a superior customer experience.

Commit to making it clear that there are no sacred cows, political motivations are outlawed and functional barriers are being torn down.

Form a cross-functional CX leadership team tasked with driving change deep into the organization.

Provide the CX leader with complete autonomy and authority to inject change into customer-facing areas of the business.

Reward functional leaders for keeping their eye on the prize (CX success) and not on their pride.

Commitment toClear Performance Metrics 7“62 percent of companies globally that measure their customer experience initiatives are more likely to deliver better customer experience.” ~ Genesis Consulting

“But … they have to be metrics that matter to the C-suite and impact business performance.” ~ OnMessage

Commitment toClear Performance Metrics 7

Ask Action

Commit to defining CX metrics that matter to the C-suite.

Commit to getting every member of the C-suite to lock arms and communicate those metrics to leaders across the organization.

Identify the key performance indicators the company is going to focus on.

Communicate to every leader the data set the company will monitor.

Define incentives and penalties for meeting or falling short of CX performance metrics at every level of the organization.

Commitment toMeasurement and Reporting Systems

8“Smart companies use customer-focused measurements and analytics to redesign their products, processes, services, and employee positions and responsibilities. Smart leaders make sure employees are given access to the tools, skills, and information they need to grow and be accountable in a customer-centric environment.”

~ Fortune Knowledge Group

Commitment toMeasurement and Reporting Systems8

Ask Action

Commit to putting data collection, measurement systems and reporting processes in place to capture and share key performance metrics.

Deploy systems that provide employees, managers and leaders with actionable insights they need to improve the customer experience in daily work activities.

Provide leaders with consistent performance metrics and reports for each area of the business.

Review performance reports with leaders on a regular basis.

Commitment toRealistic Timeline for Business Impact

9“A 2% increase in retention or a 20% increase in average sale or order size doesn’t happen in a few months; it takes time, and that’s why it’s so crucial to forecast eventual increases, set longer-term strategies, and execute hard while taking heart in quick wins.”

~ Lori Carr, Former Chief Customer Officer, Bombardier Flexjet

Commitment toRealistic Timeline for Business Impact9

Ask ActionCommit to a timeline of when customer experience management will materialize into measurable business results.

Commit to sharing “business impact” expectations with all critical stakeholders (C-suite, Board of Directors, Investors, Employees, Partners, etc.).

Align ‘time to impact’ expectations with specific performance metrics (functional, divisional, enterprise).

Consistently communicate progress and performance metrics as improvements take shape.

Hold leaders accountable for implementation and measurement timetables.

Commitment toSustained Company-Wide CX Cadence

10“We’ve found that organizations able to skillfully manage the entire experience reap enormous rewards: enhanced customer satisfaction, reduced churn, increased revenue, and greater employee satisfaction. They also discover more effective ways to collaborate across functions and levels, a process that delivers gains throughout the company.”

~ McKinsey & Company

Commitment toSustained Company-Wide CX Cadence10

Ask Action

Commit to infusing mindset, behavior and cultural changes required to deliver a superior customer experience.

Commit to a sustained cadence of communication in support of customer experience management.

Commit to ensuring the strategic importance and business value of customer experience remains omnipresent.

Design and implement sustained internal communication programs that ensure customer centricity is woven into the fabric of the company.

Manage a consistent cadence by which leaders communicate, manage and drive change throughout the customer experience.

Maintain visibility to the metrics that matter. Showcasing the impact the initiative is having on the business.

Is this too much to ask?

It’s better than the alternative. Failed CX programs, tarnished reputations, damaged careers, material financial losses, and so many more devastating consequences.

Questions?

Next Session July 21 Stonebriar Country Club Frisco, Texas

Topic:Driving Organizational Change in Support of the Customer Experience.

Thank you for coming. Please complete your “Feedback Form” before you leave.

“10 Commitments Every CEO Must Make to Realize Customer Experience Success.”

“Deliver a Story That Strengthens the Customer Experience.”

As you leave, please pick up these valuable resources and educational materials:

“CEO Commitment Assessment Worksheet.”

About the sponsor. OnMessage specializes in helping executives align and activate their entire organization around a corporate strategy and story that dramatically improves the customer experience. Leveraging our disciplined methodology — executive teams are able to crystallize their go-to-market strategy, formulate a strategically aligned corporate messaging platform and ensure every stakeholder understands how to activate the strategy and story throughout the customer journey. www.itsonmessage.com