Rise of the Customer Experience Executive WRITTEN BY ANNETTE FRANZ, CCXP About Quadient PROBLEM STATEMENT: As more and more products become commoditized, the key brand differentiator is the customer experience. Given that, there’s a real need for companies to put forth an organized and aligned effort to focus, nay obsess, over customers and their experience. That focus does not happen on its own and requires a critical leadership role to drive and champion it throughout the organization. What is Customer Experience? We can’t even begin to explain this leadership role Many people confuse customer experience with custom- without having a clear understanding of how custom- er service, but they are not one and the same. Customer er experience is defined. experience is actually the “umbrella discipline,” so to speak. “Customer service is what happens when the customer expe- In its simplest definition, customer experience is (a) rience breaks down.” That’s how Chris Zane, owner of Zane’s the sum of all the interactions that a customer has Cycles, defines or differentiates the two. Customer service with a company over the course of the relationship is just one aspect, one touchpoint in the overall customer and includes (b) the customer’s feelings, emotions, experience; servicing customers is one action of many that and perceptions of the brand during the course of comprises the customer experience. those interactions. Examples of “interactions” include: making a purchase, using the product, viewing According to author Peter Drucker, the purpose of a business statements, reading correspondence, calling support, is to create and to nurture a customer. When companies visiting the company’s website, receiving an email focus on the customer and the experience rather than on from the company, receiving notifications on their maximizing shareholder value, magical things happen. The mobile app, and more. return on investment (ROI) is great, for all constituents. What is This Customer-Focused Leadership Role? The customer-focused leadership role mentioned previously comes with a variety of different titles. In some organizations, the Chief Marketing Offi- cer (CMO) or the Chief Information Officer (CIO) takes on the role. In a perfect world, the role is a C-level position with “customer” in the name that reports to the CEO; some organizations appoint a Vice President of Customer Experience instead of a C-level person. For the purpose of this paper, let’s assume it’s a C-level role (though that absolutely doesn’t discount the VP title, role, or authority). More specifically, the Chief Customer Officer The CXO must understand the customer, her needs You’ve probably heard or seen various titles even for Council defines the CCO as: and her tasks to be done, and then align performance the C-level position, including Chief Customer Officer toward those desired customer outcomes with business (CCO), Chief Customer Experience Officer (CCXO), “An executive who provides the comprehensive and outcomes. That’s all very high level to say that the CXO Chief Experience Officer or Customer Experience authoritative view of the customer and creates corpo- champions the customer throughout the organization, Officer (CXO), etc. Don’t be confused by the alphabet rate and customer strategy at the highest levels of the ensuring that she’s always at the center of all business soup; they all refer to the same role or position: the company to maximize customer acquisition, retention, decisions, that no products are designed, no processes C-level executive who champions, or advocates for the and profitability.” are outlined, and no policies are approved without think- customer and their needs throughout the organization. ing about the impact on the customer. CCO IS: “AN EXECUTIVE WHO PROVIDES THE COMPREHENSIVE AND AUTHORITATIVE VIEW OF THE CUSTOMER AND CREATES CORPORATE AND CUSTOMER STRATEGY AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE COMPANY TO MAXIMIZE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION, RETENTION, AND PROFITABILITY.” Does Every Company Need a CXO? For the purpose of this paper, we’ll refer to the C-level role as CXO, which encompasses any one of the title options mentioned in the previous section. Why is this position necessary? Does every organization need a CXO? How do you know if your company needs a CXO? Quite simply, it’s time to create memorable customer That’s a tough question that we hate to answer with, experiences! And the customer needs a representative “No,” but some truly don’t. Oftentimes, larger organiza- Without even thinking twice, the answer seems obvious: in the executive suite who represents him and his needs. tions (probably even the more-complex companies) that every company needs one! But, we know that’s not the Without someone dedicated to shepherding the voice of need to break down silos or unite and coordinate siloed case; we need to consider where your company’s culture the customer and the needs of the customer throughout efforts to focus on the customer need this type of role to falls on the customer-focused continuum. If the CEO has the organization, it’s really difficult to transform the orga- ensure that that happens. Others? Perhaps not. Look at successfully focused the organization on the customer nization’s culture to one that is customer-obsessed or to Zappos. Tony Hsieh is a CEO who is customer obsessed and drives customer-centric behavior internally, then your redirect the focus onto the customer as opposed to solely and has achieved customer experience heaven. Same company is probably in solid standings when it comes on the business of creating shareholder value. goes for Amazon: Jeff Bezos is also a customer-obsessed to the customer. But if your CEO hasn’t, or if you’re not CEO. Think of The Ritz-Carlton. Starbucks. Nordstrom. sure what a customer-focused organization looks like, And more. These organizations have CEOs at the helm consider the following. who serve the role of uniting and aligning for the benefit of the customer. They built their companies with the customer in mind. Top of mind. THE CUSTOMER NEEDS A REPRESENTATIVE IN THE EXECUTIVE SUITE WHO REPRESENTS HIM AND HIS NEEDS. Does Every Company Need a CXO? How do you know if your company needs a CXO? • Is there an executive in your organization • Do employees understand how their work • Does your company have a customer expe- who represents, champions, or advocates matters and how it impacts the customer rience vision? for the customer every day, in every meet- and his experience? ing, for every decision? • Is the customer and his experience woven • Do employees know who the customer is deeply into the DNA of your company? Or • Do your executives focus on the financials and what it means to deliver a great cus- are they simply recognized and focused on and other metrics, as well as shareholder tomer experience? within individual departments or a single value, over customers and customer out- department? comes? • Are employees recognized and rewarded for delivering a great experience? • Is there an executive in your organization • Is there someone who provides that who ensures that the entire organization common definition or understanding for • Is there an executive in your organization is on the same page when it comes to the organization of what it means to be who spearheads customer listening efforts customer initiatives? customer focused? And how your organi- across the organization, across various zation will achieve customer-centricity? touchpoints? • Is there someone who brings together dis- • Is there an executive in your organization parate data sources to create a single view who takes action or who develops action of customers and to deliver personalized plans based on customer listening and and proactive experiences for them? journey mapping efforts? • Is there clear alignment between customer expectations and how your organization will achieve them? • Have you defined performance metrics that everyone understands and has agreed to? When you think of the CXO role, think “change agent.” The CXO has a long roster of to-dos, but ultimately, she’s driving change within the organization, i.e., culture change, customer experience change, and more. What are the CXO’s Critical Success Factors? The CXO role is an important one, but the individual in this role doesn’t oper- ate in a vacuum. At the same time, she can’t be set up for success without a few critical success factors in place: 1 2 3 4 5 6 The position must All executives must Similarly, they must under- There is a cross-func- The CXO must show Employees must report to the CEO, and be on board to trans- stand the importance of tional team in place the linkage between be engaged and the CEO must be 100% form the culture (and the customer to the busi- to ensure the work customer experience empowered: without committed to the work collaborate toward ness (and work together to gets done, organiza- improvement initiatives them, there is no cus- that lies ahead. that goal). improve the experience, i.e., tion-wide. and financial results tomer experience. silos must be broken down). (i.e., ROI). CCO IS: “AN EXECUTIVE WHO PROVIDES THE COMPREHENSIVE AND AUTHORITATIVE VIEW OF THE CUSTOMER AND CREATES CORPORATE AND CUSTOMER STRATEGY AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE COMPANY TO MAXIMIZE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION, RETENTION, AND PROFITABILITY.” What are the Biggest Challenges to Success? Thinking about what it takes to transform the organization’s way of thinking and way of doing business, there are two key challenges to a CXO’s success in her role. Given the six critical success factors noted above, clearly, there are more than two challenges, but these two are critical: Missing a customer-centric culture. Lacking alignment with peers.