Why Most Customer Experience Projects Fail?

I had to laugh the other day. I ordered a birthday gift online, it was beautifully packaged, lightning-fast delivery, but completely wrong product. As I faced the dreaded customer service phone tree ("Press 1 for... Press 2 for..."), I couldn't help but think: "How does this keep happening?"

Here is the sad part: It is not that companies don't care. They really do. And it is not that they are not trying either. They are. But something is missing, and I think I have figured out what it is.

Let Me Paint a Picture For You

Now, think of your business like that trendy restaurant downtown you have been to recently.

• Business Architecture is like your kitchen, it's all the layout, recipes, and cooking processes
• Customer Experience is what it is actually like to eat there

I am sure you will probably agree, right now, most companies are like restaurants with $2 million kitchens serving food that tastes like cardboard. Ouch!

A Story That Changed How I Think About All This

I recently came across a story that changed how I think about all of this. It was about Mike, a third-generation farmer facing the worst drought in decades. How Business Architecture and Customer Experience Design Work Together

Imagine this. Mike is up at 5 AM and checking on his cattle. Sadly, they are struggling and he needs help, fast. But instead of support, he faces what those in his community would call "the paperwork nightmare" :).

• A 40-page form (well, who even reads 40 pages anymore?)
• Multiple trips to government offices (that too during harvest season, no less)
• A 30-day waiting period (but then his cattle need water today, not next month)
• Having to tell his story over and over until he is blue in the face (we know how that can go)

Mike must have felt like he was talking to robots. Everything was by the book, but the book was wrong.

That story stuck with me. Because here is the crazy part, the organization helping Mike must have had everything "right". They probably had all the

• Perfect processes
• Efficient systems
• Dedicated staff

But they were missing the most important ingredient, and this is "the reality about Mike's world".

Then Something Amazing Happened

The organization completely transformed how they worked. Instead of starting with their processes, they started with Mike. And farmers like him. How this transformation unfolded is fascinating.

They discovered things you would never find in a process manual.

• Farmers make their biggest decisions over morning coffee
• They are comfortable with smartphones but hate fancy websites
• They would rather talk to a real person who understands farming
• Their internet connection drops more often than their cattle get fed

(Side note: Have you ever tried uploading a 40-page form on spotty rural internet? It is about as fun as a sunburn in July.)

They did something radical. They brought together two groups that barely knew each other existed.

• The Customer Experience team (the people who understand humans)
• The Business Architecture team (the people who make things work)

It must have been like watching oil and water mix - awkward at first, then surprisingly beautiful.

The Magic That Followed

Together, these teams rebuilt everything.

• That 40-page form -> Became a 10-minute conversation
• The month-long wait -> Down to 24 hours
• Multiple office visits -> One phone call does it now

But here is what really got me.

They didn't just make things more efficient, they made them more human.

The new system actually understands that

• Farmers can't pause a drought for paperwork
• Someone who's been up since 5 AM might not be at their sharpest at 4 PM
• Sometimes you need help now, not after the next committee meeting

The Secret? It's Actually Pretty Simple

They brought together

• People who understand humans (their hopes, fears, and daily realities)
• People who understand systems (how to make things actually work)

And they made them talk to each other. A lot.

Here is Why This Matters for You

Whether you are

• A bank processing loans
• A hospital scheduling patients
• A tech company designing apps
• An insurance company handling claims

You are not just managing processes. You are dealing with humans. Real ones. With morning coffees and bad internet connections and lives that don't fit neatly into your flowcharts.

The Questions That Matter

Ask yourself:

• When was the last time your process people actually met a customer?
• Do your customer experience folks understand how your systems work?
• Are you measuring what matters to your business, or what matters to your customers?
• Is your perfect process actually solving real human problems?

Let's Talk

I would love to hear your stories

• What is the most "perfect process, terrible experience" you have encountered?
• Have you seen organizations get this right?
• What would you fix first in your organization?

Drop a comment below - especially if you have been Mike in your own story. Because at the end of the day, we're all human, trying to make things better for other humans.

#CustomerExperience #Innovation #RealTalk #CEO #CIO #CTO #CDO #CFO #CMO #CAIO #BusinessStrategy #HumanCenteredDesign