How to Unlock the Full Power of Customer Experience with a CX-Driven Operating Model
- Javen Yang
- Jun 20, 2023
- 3 min read
Image Source: Unsplash
Customer experience (CX) has become a top priority for businesses looking to differentiate themselves in today's competitive landscape. Companies that effectively organize and manage customer experience can significantly improve customer satisfaction, sales conversion, cost-to-serve, and employee engagement. However, to truly unlock the full power of customer experience, companies must go beyond surface-level CX strategies and focus on integrating CX into their organizational operating model.
In this article, we will explore how a CX-driven operating model can transform businesses and provide superior customer experiences.
The Role of the Operating Model in CX Transformation
An effective redesign of the customer experience organization and operating model is a crucial success factor for every CX transformation. Transforming the customer experience isn't just about making cosmetic changes or implementing isolated initiatives. It requires a systematic approach that integrates CX into the core of the organization. By embedding CX into the operating model, companies can create a customer-centric culture and align their processes, systems, and people to deliver exceptional experiences at every touchpoint.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in CX Transformation
Before diving into the specifics of a CX-driven operating model, it's important to address some common pitfalls that can hinder the success of CX transformations. One of the key pitfalls is the failure to clearly define the CX ambition and link it to actionable initiatives and targets. Without a clear strategy and goals, it becomes challenging to drive meaningful improvements across functions and customer journeys. Additionally, organizations often focus on reshaping formal reporting lines instead of fostering agile cross-functional collaboration. It's crucial to prioritize new ways of working and cross-functional processes to create a customer-centric organization. Moreover, decision-making criteria should be established to guide the organizational redesign, ensuring alignment with customer experience ambitions. Finally, a holistic approach is necessary to drive comprehensive organizational redesign for greater customer-centricity rather than addressing selective issues in isolation.
Building a CX-Driven Operating Model
To build a CX-driven operating model, organizations must adopt clear design principles and redefine their operating model with customer journeys at its core. This involves aligning the organization's structure, processes, and target setting with defined CX ambitions. Let's explore the key steps in building a CX-driven operating model.
5 steps to a CX-driven operating model
Step 1: Define the CX Ambition and Strategy The first step is to clearly define the CX ambition and strategy. This involves articulating the organization's North Star and linking it to actionable initiatives and targets. By aligning all stakeholders behind a shared vision, organizations can seamlessly tackle customer experience improvements across functions and customer journeys. Step 2: Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration A customer-centric organization thrives on agile cross-functional collaboration. To enable this, organizations must design and implement cross-functional processes that encourage collaboration and empower employees to work together towards common CX goals. It's crucial to prioritize new ways of working and provide training to ensure employees have the necessary skills and mindset to drive customer-centricity. Step 3: Establish Clear Design Principles Design principles are crucial in shaping the organization's structure, processes, and decision-making criteria. These principles should alig with the organization's CX ambitions and guide the organizational redesign. By establishing clear design principles, organizations can create a customer-centric culture and ensure that CX is embedded in every aspect of the operating model. Step 4: Redefine the Operating Model with Customer Journeys To truly integrate CX into the operating model, organizations need to redefine their processes, systems, and people with customer journeys at the core. This involves mapping out customer journeys, identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement, and aligning processes and systems to deliver seamless experiences. A powerful tool for this is the CX service blueprint, which provides a holistic view of the customer journey and the underlying processes and systems that support it. Step 5: Align Target Setting and Performance Measurement To drive continuous improvement in CX, organizations need to align target setting and performance measurement with their CX ambitions. This involves defining key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect the desired customer outcomes and regularly tracking and analyzing these metrics. By aligning targets and performance measurement with CX goals, organizations can ensure that their operating model is delivering the desired customer experiences.