The performance gap between customer experience leaders and runners-up is widening, with those on top being disproportionately rewarded, according to research and advisory group, Gartner.<\/p>\n
It said that organisations must ignore three myths in order to achieve a superior customer experience.<\/p>\n
There are many factors that make customer experience leaders successful, and many are not in dispute.<\/p>\n
“Organisations with superior customer experiences tend to appoint a leader, their executives are committed to the initiative and have a small dedicated team with 12 direct reports on average,” said Ed Thompson, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey also involve a broad range of departments from marketing and sales, to supply chain, IT, R&D and HR.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the Gartner Symposium\/ITxpo in Cape Town, Gartner analysts discussed how organisations are using technology and innovations to drive customer experience improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also know that leaders in such positions are patient, build trust and honour privacy with their customers,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t invest and hope. They clearly focus on customer emotions and not just the numbers, and have a common sense of purpose. But that\u2019s not enough to be the best in your industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Above all, customer experience leaders need to beware of three common customer experience myths:<\/p>\n
1. Delight the Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n Gartner research shows that the return on investment (ROI) of meeting customer expectations, and making their interactions effortless, is high.<\/p>\n But, as organisations invest to exceed expectations to delight the customer, and therefore drive up customer loyalty and advocacy, the chances of gaining a positive ROI are far lower.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that investing to delight the customer doesn\u2019t work, but its likelihood of working is lower,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n \u201cMany organisations are inconsistent in the delivery of their customer experience strategy. While they are aiming to delight in one part of the organisation, they still require effort from the customer in another part. We recommend that organisations don\u2019t delight, but rather focus on being effortless.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Focus on Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n With all the new possible technologies to use in the cause of a superior customer experience, many organisations strive to be unique before they have examined what is already working in their own industries, whether that be in their home country or in another country.<\/p>\n Most innovation is just an imitation of an existing successful investment in a different geography or an adjacent industry.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many companies are overlooking the benefits of imitation. You don\u2019t need to come up with everything yourself.<\/p>\n “We recommend organisations don\u2019t only focus on innovation, but rather consider the benefits of imitation,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n 3. Correlate data<\/strong><\/p>\n The explosion of customer data that has become available at low cost over the last 20 years means many organisations are collecting it and sifting through it to seek correlations from which they can make investment decisions.<\/p>\n Gartner research also shows that adding numerous channels and options to make things better for customers has the opposite effect \u2014 it makes the customer experience worse.<\/p>\n Leading organisations are looking more closely at what causes customers to make choices, and focusing on what jobs the customer is trying to get done.<\/p>\n \u201cOrganisations are better served by understanding what customers are trying to achieve rather than monitoring demographics or psychographic information,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n He pointed out that Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen\u2019s paper, tries to help people address their jobs to be done, sparking an interest by customer experience leaders in really understanding what the customer hopes to achieve.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than just looking at studying customer data, you need to examine the needs that arise during your customer\u2019s lives. We recommend that you don\u2019t correlate \u2014 but understand the jobs to be done,\u201d added Thompson.<\/p>\n \u201cAll three of these common myths are overrated. The most successful companies avoid overinvesting in these directions, and you do not want to do it either.\u201d<\/p>\n
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