Forrester CXNYC Recap: Driving Growth Through "Breakaway CX"

Customer Experience (CX) leaders from across the country gathered this week for Forrester's CXNYC Forum. Across the board, these organizations have diligently worked to implement an Outside-In, customer-first mindset. The challenge: so have their competitors. 

Real differentiation has become increasingly hard and expensive. To build on CX momentum and meet rising demand, you must now set on the path towards "Breakaway CX" - a rigorous analysis of customer behaviors, customer value, and demonstration of future ROI. 

A strong CX vision requires Customer Experience management through research, prioritization, design, enablement, measurement, and culture,

Research:

• Perception is reality - understand how your customers perceive their experience with you through actionable data and journey mapping.
• 56% of CEOs are concerned about the data they are basing decisions on and 45% said the depth of customer insight is hindered by lack of quality data.
• Assess emergent behavior to plan for changing trends and future expectations.
• Use Customer Lifetime Value to prioritize journeys.

Prioritization:

• Focus on what's most important for your customers's success and your business' success.
• Recognize all customers are not created equal - invest in experiences for customers that value your brand. Forrester data shows only 60% of customers surveyed perform customer churn analysis.
• Run short and long-term priorities in parallel to celebrate wins and enable agile implementation.

Design:

• Ask 3 key questions when designing strategy: How does this strategy tie into our fundamental drivers? How will this make operations easier? How will this generate shareholder value?
• Use story arcs to show current state, define future goals, and reveal new opportunities.
• Don't disrupt to disrupt and be prepared to fail fast - take enterprise capability and actionable data to create strategy.
• Aim for progress, not perfection.
• Transition from channel-centric to intent-driven engagement.
• Build on "peak moments" through an EPIC strategy (Elevation, Pride, Insight, and Connection)
• Remember your CX innovation launch is the start, and NOT the finish!

Enablement:

• Provide employees and partners with the resources they need to provide the right experiences - focus on the role of emotion for front-line employees.
• Use tech as an enabler to remove guest friction.
• Create a system of shared values and behaviors that focus employees on delivering great customer experiences.
• Empower your front-line associates to "surprise and delight" customers.

Measurement:

• Consistently measure improvement and share insights across the organization.
• Utilize Forrester's CXindex to continuously improve experience and prioritize investment through modeling and revenue simulation.
• Establish benchmarks and celebrate "wins."

Culture:

• Your CEO must focus on the guest and leverage scale to deliver on a CX Vision.
• Have empathy when speaking to the C-Suite about CX and your perspective.
• Seek out "historians" familiar with culture/political challenges and turn them into CX Advocates.
• Collaborate with new and existing groups to expand reach (front-line, HR, Exec Sponsors)
• Break down barriers between the back, middle, and front office by sharing feedback and social response throughout the organization.
• Centralized CX budgets can encourage collaboration and promote governance.

With these highlights in mind, remember that a quality Customer Experience is an "unlimited resource" and investment alone will not be enough in today's changing economy.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss where Forrester can act as a trusted, strategic partner to you and your team. 

Forrester Report: Why and How to Lead a CX Transformation