It’s no secret that customers are increasingly turning to the internet to find and engage with businesses. However, customer experience is not just about acquiring new customers, it’s also about retaining them and maximizing their lifetime value to access the +4% incremental revenue we all want from CX.
And to be brutally honest, to truly understand the mechanics of making money with customer experience (CX), we only need to focus on the two most important moments in the customer journey: the moment they consider us, and the moment they commit to us.
The “consideration stage” of the customer journey is where reputation and reach overlap (Refer to previous lessons to understand the Reputation, Reach, Relationship dynamic). This includes touchpoints such as social media, search, and traditional media. The “commitment stage” is where reach and relationship overlap and includes touchpoints like landing pages, customer care interactions, and mobile apps.
Managing the customer experience can be challenging, especially when it comes to coordinating the efforts of different teams and leaders within the organization. To help with this, we recommend that customer touchpoints be managed by teams dedicated to delivering their respective touchpoints. For example, social media teams will have different responsibilities than customer care touchpoints. Additionally, the customer journey for each persona should be managed by a single leader who focuses on orchestrating the journey and reporting performance to executive leadership teams.
At the consideration stage, a coordinated effort between the CMO and CTO is needed to allocate budget and resources to properly hand off between marketing campaigns, CRM resources, and business intelligence platforms. At the commitment stage, it’s important for CIOs and COOs to work together to ensure product and service delivery and surround the customer with integrated customer services.
By aligning teams and resources in this way, we can improve customer acquisition and customer lifetime value. Remember, CX is a team effort and mapping the customer journey is the best way to align all players and ensure success.
