The pillars of being “Customer-Centric”

As the world saw in 2022, many businesses rely heavily in times of trouble on their customer experience (CX) teams. When a  business experiences hiccups like global shipping delays, as was the case this past year, CX agents can help to assuage problems and retain brand loyalty.  CX teams are often thought of as the “gatekeepers” to a business. The proof is in customer data:  in fact, Conversocial’s State of Customer Experience Trends 2021 report found that 22% of customers said they “consider a great experience to be more important than price.”

It has been said that most sectors of CX will adopt a more sophisticated consumer-centric model in 2023.  The definition of customer centricity is “the act of putting your customers at the heart of everything an organization does.” 

Here are a few things to remember as your team builds out this experience: 

 

Define your Values & Stick to Them  

CX teams that have next-level support, always have CX that reflects their brand ethos and values. At Horatio, we do this through extensive training and immersing our agents with one brand. Even if your team is not able to have this very hands-on approach, it is important for agents to use a brand’s vernacular and remember their core values with each CX interaction. Personalization is always a good pillar to have, as consumers crave to feel heard and understood in today’s largely digital world. 

 

Align your Strategy 

A  CX team shouldn’t feel separated from the rest of your company. As previously hinted at, they should be an extension of the brand, and therefore they should be involved in overall company strategies. Getting constant feedback on your CX team and having systems in place like CDPs (Customer Data Platforms), are a good way to go about making sure that your CX leg is cohesive with the rest of your team. 

 

Offer Omnichannel Support

Omnichannel is a buzzword in the CX community, but what exactly does it mean? A good way to think about omnichannel support (reference HubSpot) is: an experience [that] is a multi-channel approach to marketing, selling, and serving customers in a way that creates an integrated and cohesive customer experience no matter how or where a customer reaches out.” Through creating a multitude of  CX touchpoints, businesses can expect increased revenue and greater access to customers. 2023 will be a year where mobile support continues to rise as many consumers do all of their transactions through their phones. This particular way of support should be heavily emphasized when expanding your CX footprint.

 

Stay ahead of the Curve 

According to ZenDesk, brands that prioritized CX pre-pandemic (before 2020)  were at an advantage – specifically, brands with more developed CX strategies are more than “six times as likely to exceed customer retention targets than those that haven’t made CX a priority.”  With this in mind, it is important to remember that CX teams should always have access to the latest technological advances which help with efficiency. They should also routinely have training sessions to make sure your CX is a differentiator and stays ahead of the game. 

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