Customer experience (CX) is becoming a key differentiator for businesses today. Discover how leaders in the field are already leveraging technology to offer exceptional experiences.

As a CX Director, you already understand the value of providing the best experiences to customers, but you may not have all the answers about how to put that into practice. The market is more competitive than ever, and all businesses should be looking into how to implement the latest technology. Here’s how some of the most successful CX leaders are doing it. 

They know it’s not just a numbers game

CX is difficult to measure at the best of times. Classic scores like your Net Promoter Score (NPS) can only show you a fraction of the picture—whether a customer would recommend you or not. If a customer answers negatively, it can’t help you to find out why. One simple “yes” or “no” question is not enough to gauge how your customers are really feeling—you need to stop surveying and start actively listening to them. 

That’s why successful CX leaders are getting to know their customers on a more granular level. One way they’re doing this is by using Voice of the Customer (VOC) data analysis—where they review every type of interaction, from call recordings and chat logs to social media comments. This enables them to collect customers’ opinions at every touchpoint of the journey. It gives CX leaders deeper insights into their customers’ pain points, helping them improve issue resolution and offer more tailored services.

They know there is no “I” in team

CX may be at the heart of your job, but not all departments have a CX mentality. And even if they do, employees may only be focused on the part of the customer journey they own, which can cause them to miss the bigger picture. This is especially problematic as customers are interacting with your business across an ever-expanding range of channels, often managed by different teams. Any disconnect between departments can lead to inconsistent service and result in poor CX overall.

Successful leaders know the importance a team effort can have on improving CX. They’re working closely with the Chief Information Officer and the rest of the C-Suite to integrate systems, align KPIs and make CX a business-wide priority. With the whole C-Suite driving a customer-centric mentality, all employees are encouraged to focus on CX and take ownership of delivering better experiences. When business goals are aligned toward the customer, the whole company can work cohesively towards the same end result.

They’re delivering quick wins

It can be hard to distinguish between the latest technology fads and the trends that will truly benefit your customers. You need to know which technologies will help elevate their experiences—and anything you implement needs to be working correctly. If the customer experience becomes disjointed between channels, or the transition between automation and human isn’t seamless, customers will become frustrated. And they won’t think twice about switching to a competitor if their experience isn’t up to par.   

Successful CX leaders are implementing cutting-edge technologies, but they’re doing their research first. They’re finding out what customers want and tailoring the technology to match, whether it’s messaging apps, chatbots, new social media channels or online help desks. They’re always looking for ways to simplify and rationalise processes. With a flexible IT platform, they can deploy new technologies fast and gain visibility of their impact—so they’re constantly able to deliver quick wins that benefit their customers.

They haven’t forgotten the human touch

As important as new technology is, it’s not a panacea. Every customer is different and not all of them want to be served by an autonomous machine. For some customers, the exchange at a checkout is the highlight of their day, and the emotional impact this interaction can have can’t be replicated with a machine.

The most successful CX leaders haven’t forgotten the importance of the human touch. They’re using AI-driven chatbots that can make accurate recommendations to customers and even replicate natural patterns of speech. But they also know that it’s important these systems can recognize when an issue is too complicated, or a customer is growing frustrated, so they can transfer them to a real service agent. CX is rarely one size fits all—sometimes offering a choice of human and self-service options is the best approach.

Learn more about how embracing technology could help you transform CX throughout your entire business in our full report.