Creating a Feedback-Driven Organization

👥 Are our customers a name and a logo, or a real person trying to help themselves and their companies win each day? Let’s be honest: CS doesn’t always get this right. I don’t always get this right. When things get tough (aka churn risk, low usage, budget pressure) our instinct is to reach for the metrics. What can we quantify? What can we prove? How do we show we’re “doing our job”? We start building dashboards, framing health scores, chasing outcomes. Not wrong But also not enough. Because often, metrics make us feel better internally. But they don't us understand the people we’re here to serve. This is the tension at the heart of CS. We sit between the customer’s lived reality and the company’s operational pressure. And it’s our job to resolve that tension. Not avoid it. Not outsource it. Own it. So here’s what I’m thinking about today: What can we do to drive a deeper understanding across our orgs of client needs and value? And more importantly: How do we humanize the people at those clients? Here are 5 small moves with outsized impact: 1️⃣ Tell customer stories, not just stats. Share a 30-second anecdote at an All Hands Meeting. Real people. Real outcomes. 2️⃣ Bring a voice into the room. Quote an actual user in a roadmap meeting. Let them shape the build. 3️⃣ Translate feedback into intent. Don’t just say what a client asked for. Explain why it matters. 4️⃣ Invite cross-functional teammates to customer calls. Let them hear the tone, nuance, and urgency directly. 5️⃣ Celebrate wins that start with the customer. When a feature lands or a renewal closes, connect it to the human story behind it. CS isn’t just about adoption or retention. It’s about being the customer people engine inside the business. And that starts with us, every day, choosing to fight for understanding, not just validation. #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #VoiceOfCustomer #CustomerCentricity #CreateTheFuture

#CustomerExperience leaders need to split their strategies into deliberate bottom-up and top-down approaches. Many get the bottom-up right, but they struggle with the top-down. Bottom-up strategies focus on improving customer-centric employee behaviors at scale. These approaches include #CX or empathy training for front-line workers, using Voice of Customer feedback to set touchpoint expectations based on customer feedback, and building customer-centric KPIs into individual performance appraisals. But where many CX leaders struggle is often with engaging senior leaders to influence their customer-centric behaviors. It's difficult to influence C-suite behavior, but if you're expected to improve customer-centric culture in the organization, then you cannot avoid this. Top-down strategies start with showing senior leaders how customer satisfaction impacts growth, retention, margin, and lifetime value. It also includes improving CX and VoC reporting to provide more recommendations and actions, not just findings and data. Having discussions with leaders about the importance of financial and non-financial rewards for customer-centric behaviors is another tool in the top-down toolkit. And using personas and journey maps is a vital way to convert customer and touchpoint data into a compelling story of necessary change. Don't rely on dashboards and reports to do the job of top-down CX engagement. Don't count on a couple of positive customer-centric comments from leaders as a sign of meaningful, irreversible support. And do not assume that the fact your CX job exists is evidence of senior leaders' commitment to customer experience. Part of the job for a successful CX leader is to constantly prove the value of customer-centric strategies, influence senior leader priorities, and arm decision-makers with the insight they need to make customer-centric decisions. Don't just empower your frontline workers and assume the job is done. If you aren't building a consistent dialog with executives, you're not only missing an opportunity to make the most significant customer impact but also seeding future problems that can lead to declining support, budget, and resources for customer experience initiatives. Take a comment today to identify or define your top-down and bottom-up CX strategies for 2024. If there's an imbalance, solving that now can lead to better outcomes by the end of this year.

Had an insightful conversation over the weekend with a colleague about a common pitfall in CX programs: relying solely on surveys and ignoring other valuable insights. Here are some key takeaways: Ease of Implementation Surveys are easy to deploy and manage, providing quantifiable data that’s simple to analyze. This makes them an attractive option for many organizations, especially those with limited resources. Tradition and Comfort Many companies stick to surveys because it’s what they’ve always done. Changing this entrenched practice can be challenging, especially if the leadership team prefers traditional methods. Resource Constraints Surveys can be cost-effective, making them appealing for smaller organizations that may not have the budget for more sophisticated tools. Organizational Silos Feedback often gets trapped within departmental silos, preventing insights from being shared and acted upon. Lack of Ownership Without clear ownership of the feedback loop, survey results can end up being ignored. It’s crucial to have designated teams responsible for analyzing feedback and driving action. Inadequate Analytics Capabilities Many companies lack the analytical capabilities - people and tech - to turn survey data into meaningful insights. Cultural Resistance Taking action on feedback requires change, which can be met with resistance. Companies need a culture of continuous improvement to effectively address feedback. Short-Term Focus Organizations sometimes prioritize short-term gains over long-term improvements, leading to reluctance in making significant changes based on feedback. Here is where we ended in terms of actions to take: 1. Integrate Multiple Data Sources: Combine survey data with digital analytics, social listening, and customer journey mapping for a comprehensive view of the customer experience. 2. Foster a Customer-Centric Culture: Encourage leadership commitment, employee training, and recognition programs that reward customer-centric behavior. 3. Invest in Analytics: Enhance analytics capabilities to turn data into actionable insights. 4. Close the Feedback Loop: Implement a closed-loop feedback system and communicate changes to customers. 5. Design Thinking and Customer Co-Creation: Use design thinking methodologies to deeply understand customer needs and co-create solutions. 6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Promote collaboration across departments to discuss feedback and develop action plans. 7. Measure Impact and Iterate: Continuously measure the impact of changes and iterate to improve further. What are you doing to get out of the CX-as-a-survey (CXaaS) trap? #customerexperience #cx #surveys #analytics #designthinking #customercentric

Voice of Customer (VoC) can be a powerful tool 💪 Or... Just a 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 reporting scores 📊 Here are some tips if you're struggling to implement or sustain your VoC efforts: 𝟭. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 "𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺" ❌ "Program" implies it’s 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗲𝗱. The term you choose sets the tone for how the initiative is perceived. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 as you would a new product or service 🏷️. Using a term that reflects 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 helps position your VoC as a valuable CX tool for the entire organization 🌐. 𝟮. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 🎯 VoC strategy and goals must include the 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. People care about what 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 them. A well-defined strategy outlines specific goals and assigns responsibilities to departments. Aligning goals 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 drives meaningful actions and improvements 📈. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮—𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 🛠️ Make the insights story 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 so everyone knows what’s in it for them. When insights aren’t shared across teams, it’s hard to drive organization-wide change. Integrating VoC data helps every team understand customer needs and make 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 💡. 𝟰. 𝗩𝗼𝗖 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗮 𝗖𝗫 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 🚫 VoC is a tool that 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 the organization to listen and understand feedback. CX focuses on the 𝗲𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 across all touchpoints. Integrating VoC into your CX strategy ensures customer feedback 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 experience improvements 🤝. By avoiding the mindset of a temporary "program," setting clear organization-wide goals, and sharing insights across departments, you can 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 to drive real, 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 📈. So, ask yourself: Is your VoC set up to 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀, or is it positioned to 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲? 🔍 ⭐ 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. ⭐ 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱. ⭐ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗼𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 💬 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗖. 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁! 📞❗

I can't begin to tell you how often I get a call during which the person I'm speaking with says something to the extent of, "I've been running our Voice of the Customer surveys for years and nothing's getting better in those customer relationships." This, of course always results in me asking how they've worked toward changing their people, process and technologies to meet their customers at or above their expectations based on what they learned in that feedback? Surprisingly, the answer is almost always the same, "what do you mean?" Too many CX teams have been lead down the primrose path of overcommitting technology solutions as the magic silver bullet cure-all for all issues with their customers and do not put anywhere enough emphasis on the need to adapt and change, and to meet their customers, where they are, in their respective journeys at those defining moments of service. Indeed, I tell them that an overreliance on tech as that silver bullet is very much the same as an overweight person blaming their bathroom scale for their unhealthy condition. It's not the scale's fault they may overeat and perhaps get too little exercise, and until this changes, the scale won't report anything more optimistic. The moral of this short story is obvious. CX improvement may be powered by the customer's voice, but it is always a change management function. If we do not prepare to change our ways and continue to evolve our organization and how we do what it is we do, we risk not meeting our customers when and where they are looking for us and will indeed continue to disappoint. Ignoring the most basic need for adaptive change is akin to the famous Albert Einstein quote about his definition of insanity: doing the same things the same ways you always have but looking for a different (and presumably better) outcome. The odds, my friends, are against. We need to be willing to change, and in many ways, burn the boats from our past and free ourselves to find new and innovative ways to serve our customers when, where and how it matters to them. Until we do this and fully commit to transformative changes to practically every aspect of our business, we are truly only paying lip service to our customer focus and the experiences we create. It's a gigantic, missed opportunity for so many. Knowing how to change and using state of the art technology as a change enabler will prove to be key in this process. Having the right priorities, focus areas, and direction will have a positive, orchestrative effect and conversely the lack of the right analytics to guide this decision process will leave you sub-optimized or worse, functionally crippled. If I leave you with nothing more here, please consider customer experience as a change management job more so than simply a measurement one. We all need data to make our decisions, true point, but don't assume that just because you have invested in a state of the art NPS program, that this alone will be enough to make an impact.