Most contact centers share a goal of delivering excellent customer service. But how many truly achieve that objective? Disjointed policies, processes, technology and practices can all be obstacles en route to excellent customer service. Customer experience has never been more important in earning brand loyalty — and for your center to improve, you should understand how your organization compares with others.
Improving your contact center is a worthwhile investment, and there’s a big opportunity to be claimed for companies willing to make the commitment to develop their customer experience maturity. Explore the five stages, and determine where your organization is in this framework.
Stage one — Customer-Negligent: An organization that fails to value customers as vital assets and doesn’t consider CX a priority.
Organizations in this stage . . .
- Have low or nonexistent employee engagement, with team members unaware of the customer journey and the role they play in it
- Operate in “survival mode,” putting out figurative fires and behaving reactively, not proactively
- Have basic technology systems and cumbersome department-specific tech tools that limit progress
Stage two — Customer-Chaotic: An organization that is becoming aware of the value of CX. While the organization has taken no significant actions or a coordinated effort associated with it, CX is at least acknowledged and talked about as something important.
Organizations in this stage . . .
- Realize they’re operating in the dark and resolve to get a better view of the customer experience landscape
- Use siloed technology systems, and find collaboration challenging
- Have company leadership proclaiming how important customers are, but no actions, behaviors or strategies are in place to make it happen
Stage three — Customer-Aware: An organization that has paid more than just lip service to CX and has begun to design a centralized, coordinated effort.
Organizations in this stage . . .
- Have customer focus as a shared value at all levels
- Value brand consistency at every stage of the customer experience
- Experience fewer technology siloes, but inconsistent systems and perpendicular technology systems are preventing progress
Stage four — Customer-Centric: An organization that values its customers and considers them in every major business decision. These organizations have established, centralized CX initiatives with clear strategies and tangible outcomes.
Organizations in this stage . . .
- Have an authentic energy that comes from serving customers together, and a customer-focused mindset is at the heart of the hiring process
- Consistently monitor CX-related metrics, which are used to validate the success of process changes
- Have equipped their employees with technology they need to do their job well
Stage five — Customer-Champion: An organization that values customers as the principal asset. In these organizations, industry-leading design combined with near-perfect execution leads to superior CX.
Organizations in this stage . . .
- See the customer as the hero, and see themselves as the guide to help customers succeed
- Have a harmonized technology tool set, allowing for seamless knowledge transfer between all channels, all locations and all teams — setting the stage for effortless collaboration
- Leverage predictive analytics, AI, machine learning, natural language processing and similar technologies for proactive resolutions
Mastering the customer experience is essential to shifting the perception of the contact center from a cost center towards a revenue-generator. Want to learn more, and take the first steps to elevate your organization’s customer experience maturity? Join us on April 2 for a webinar all about elevating the experience your organization delivers. Register now for Make Customer Experience a Competitive Weapon – Strategies for Improvement.
In this webinar, we’ll take a deep dive into this five-stage customer experience maturity model. No matter where you are, you’ll gain specific strategies for moving to the next stage. Join us April 2 to learn more.
