Customer Experience Programs

Since 1996, we've worked in the exciting area of organizational design called Customer Experience Management…creating alignment between the promise that a company makes to its customers (through branding) and the actual day-to-day reality it delivers (through operational details and relationships). It is based on the premise that there is more to be gained through consistently and tangibly reflecting what the customer values than through even the most convincing, powerful message that comes from the company's point of view.

A primary objective in this work is gaining an honest understanding of how and why the brand promise or company mission really connects with the customer…not how we wish it did! With this understanding, there are any number of ways, both big and small, to work within the people and processes of a company's operations to "bring the brand to life" and reinforce its value to customers, partners, and associates.

Many customer-centered consulting engagements seek to communicate or train an existing customer strategy or corporate vision. Too often, though, the basic assumptions behind these strategies and visions don't accurately or completely reflect what the customer wants or believes in the first place! To paraphrase Steven Covey, such organizations may be well on their way to the top of the ladder, only to find that it is resting against the wrong wall.

Even when a clear and meaningful premise for customer value exists, there can be obstacles to successfully changing operations to reflect it. There may be a lack of buy-in and support at the executive level. Or there could be established processes and practices (and the people who have a stake in them) throughout the organization that fly in the face of the brand's promises and the customer's expectations.

These obstacles can be overcome. As one of the founders of this discipline, Lou Carbone puts it, even the most proven, efficient "best practice" or behavior can be made even more valuable when we strengthen its connections both "downstream" to the customer and "upstream" to the brand promise or company mission. When we demonstrate this, we have a powerful tool to both mobilize senior management and to manage change within the status quo. The added value of this synergy can be found everywhere from a single department or division to an organization-wide change initiative.

Customer Experience practices can include

Gaining understanding of customer or associate wants and beliefs through interviewing and observation
Evaluating how (or if) a company's brand connects with those wants and beliefs through assessment vehicles
Designing and expressively communicating strategies to tap those connections
Aligning environment, processes, and behaviors according to the strategies