Which window to look through to see customer experience?
by David Herzog on June 8th, 2011
As readers of Aspect’s blogs have noticed, we spend a good bit of time discussing the needs of Consumer 2.0 and how companies can meet these increased expectations. (Check here, here, and here for wisdom from my colleagues.) Emphasizing a customer-facing approach is an important part of doing business in the current business climate. But it’s not the whole story.
Another crucial component, and one we haven’t talked about as much, is giving enterprises the right tools and capabilities to put these strategies into motion. From this vantage point, customer experience takes on a different meaning: it’s about engaging with customers to understand their specific needs and challenges and ensuring that their feedback is heard throughout the organization.
Within Aspect, I head Aspect’s Customer Experience organization, which includes some diverse functions such as Product Management, Programs Department, Global Reference Program, and Affinity (relationship management with our Enterprise accounts). The primary reason these departments roll up into Customer Experience is because of their impact on and visibility into the customer life cycle, which comprises every touch point within prospect, sales, implementation, transition, support, and referenceability.
Which brings us to my window theory. To deliver a continual improved customer experience, the view into the customer life cycle must come from three main areas.
- Product and solutions we develop
- Internal cross-functional department work flow and cooperation
- Ongoing open communication from our customers (Voice of Customer)
Each of these windows brings a unique perspective, but it’s necessary to view them together to see the entire picture.
Going forward, I plan to discuss customer experience, highlight success stories, and discuss analyst reports and industry trends. The next month will take me to Asia to work with Aspect customers in that region, and I look forward to sharing insight into the impact of different cultures on customer experience.
I’m also interested in hearing how other companies are driving an improved customer experience, so feel free to share your thoughts and insight with me. I look forward to a rich conversation.
Improving the way companies communicate internally and externally with their customers is an important objective for all organizations. This blog is focused on levaraging the collective knowledge withing Aspect.