What is customer experience in 2024: Definition, strategy, examples
Everything you need to know about customer experience, including: CX meaning, tools, strategies, measurements, and real life examples.
In today’s highly competitive, omnichannel marketplace, the role that customer leadership executives (the Chief Customer Officer/COO, the Chief Marketing Officer/CMO, and the Customer Experience Officer/CEO) play within their organizations is more crucial than ever.
As Chief Revenue Officer for SAP Customer Experience, I have the privilege of engaging with these world-class business leaders on a daily basis, gaining direct insights into their strategies, visions, and challenges. After having these conversations frequently, I saw an opportunity to build bridges between these customer leadership executives and their peers to amplify their voices and insights.
Welcome to ExPEERience: A podcast for CX leaders and execs
Introducing ExPEERience– my new podcast– where we dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of customer experience with the executives and futurists who are defining the customer experience of tomorrow.
The stories, expertise, and practical advice I’ve captured from my conversations with these thought leaders is game-changing.
Join us to listen in to these conversations and discover how to differentiate your brand by delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Debut episode: Why CX matters
In our first episode, we’ll start at the beginning and answer the questions at the very foundation of customer experience:
- How do you define it?
- Where does it stack up in the list of your company’s priorities against having a great product or a compelling price point?
- And what makes a great customer experience leader?
The universe of touchpoints and interactions
Jon Picoult is the founder and principal of Watermark Consulting, a US-based customer experience advisory firm. In my conversation with Jon as part of Episode #1 of ExPEERience, we discussed exactly what CX is and questioned the role that the traditional building blocks of a business, such as product and price, play in it.
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“In my view, product and price are integral parts of the customer experience. Think about it: Pricing can create a sense of quality. It can create a certain cache. It can drive perceptions of value. How is that not part of the customer experience?
Similarly, how is the product not part of the experience? If I buy those tires at the auto showroom, if I buy an automobile, if I buy a computer, or a dishwasher – the feelings that I get when using those products, the joy or the frustration- that is all part of the customer experience.
One thing that I think companies that do customer experience well really recognize and appreciate is the idea of the broad universe of touch points and interactions and attributes that really come together to form [an] impression in the customer’s mind.”
A commitment, not a theme
I also checked in with Shep Hyken, the Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations. We discussed the evolution of CX and how it started as a new way to think about modern customer service but has since expanded to account for every interaction and transaction.
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When asked what the most important factors are in gaining commitment to CX across an organization, Shep emphasized the importance of having a strong customer-focused leader with a clear vision. He offered further insights as to the initial steps a CX leader should take.
“Number one, the [leaders should] clearly define what they want that experience to be. And that’s usually the way I suggest doing it is in one sentence or less.
And let’s use the Ritz Carlton as an example, nine words – ‘We’re ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.’ …That’s their North star.
Number two, they take the time to communicate it. And they don’t change [it]. It’s not a flavor of the month or flavor of the year or theme. It’s permanent.”
Join me, won’t you?
You can listen to the full podcast of Episode #1, “Why Customer Experience is so good for your brand / Why Does CX Matter?” featuring Jon Picoult, Shep Hyken, Jay Baer, and Greg Chapman, and others, or click below:
And in our second episode of ExPEERience we’ll explore what great CX looks like; how do you know what your customers want or anticipate what they might want in the future? How can you measure if your CX strategy is working and how do you go from good to great?
