If you are one of the many companies that have already or considered investing in customer experience then you are on the right track. In 2018, organizations that focused on CX, outperformed companies on the S&P 500 index by nearly 80%. In fact they had customers with a higher share of wallet, that are seven times more likely to purchase more from the company, eight times more likely to try other products or services, and fifteen times more likely to spread positive word of mouth.
But what if you’re doing everything you can and still not seeing the aforementioned results. Would it make sense to go beyond processes and have a look at your organization’s’ culture? Assessing to what extent your company has a customer-centric culture can be a slippery business. Because culture is often difficult to asses, it is easy to focus only on the things you can see, such as CX posters or training classes for your employees. But although these are important, they only scratch the surface when it comes to CX culture.
Organizational culture, especially one that is focused on CX, is made of the behaviors and ways employees communicate with customers, it represents the soul of the organisation. As it has been rightly put, “culture is what employees do when the boss is not around”. Having employees connected with the brand in a way that they genuinely feel inspired and urged to put their personal fingerprint on their job is critical. That is exactly why Peter Drucker’s famous’ quote “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is more relevant than ever. So what can one consider in order to develop and enhance a customer centric culture?
- Becoming a purpose driven organisation: Why does your organisation exist and to what extent do employees relate to that and are inspired by that? Are the values translated into digestible actions and behaviours for all?
- Leading by example and communication: Is there an enterprise-wide involvement, executive buy-in, and effective communication of insights? Does the leadership lead by example for employees? In other words do they walk the talk?
- Adoption and Accountability: Is it clear how each person contributes in the realisation of the CX strategy and can become an ambassador of the wanted culture from the place he/she holds in the organisational system?
Building a customer centric culture is an in depth process that requires observation of “what is” as a first step. There is no exact magic recipe because it is a long term, deep, and meaningful process that reaches the soul of the organisation. Asking the questions above would only be the first step. But you always need to keep in mind that to be truly successful in CX you need to have a culture that supports it. Memorable brands with strong customer experiences, such as Disney, JetBlue, and Zappos all have vibrant, recognizable cultures. “Customers cannot love a brand unless its employees love it first”
