Embrace the Pace

By Lisa Duran, Customer Experience Consultant, and presenter at the 2017 Secret Service Summit

Over the last month or so the current incarnation of spinners has reached a record high. As with other cultural trends, like Flappy Bird and Pokémon Go, kids adopted the gadgets first. They now dominate the Amazon.com bestsellers in toys and games. We are seeing a similar trend in business with Customer Experience. It may not be new but it is finally being recognized as the key differentiator in businesses creating a high demand for CX programs.

*Related – The Battle Over Your Advertising Dollars vs. Customer Service Dollars

Some call it flavor of the month, others call it program of the year, or management by best seller. The past 20 years have been saturated with innovative technology initiatives, looking at marketing strategies for the new generation and efficiencies to save the customer time. Even after a company has developed the best technology, product, and marketing program there is a realization that it’s not enough. Humans crave relationships. They want experiences. That will never change. There are many new CX strategies popping up. How do you make the right decision on which one to invest in?

No New Shiny Object

One of the biggest mistakes companies make with their CX program is treating it like a new fad project that can be accomplished quickly. They expect to “buy the new thing”, train their staff and make it happen quickly producing higher customer satisfaction scores right away. They get discouraged when they don’t get buy in, behavior doesn’t change and they don’t see results as quickly as they thought. They were on a mission to do what the boss told them and to get a program implemented quickly. When results are not happening, it gets chalked up to a waste of time and money. The program goes into the junk drawer along with the spinner.

Embrace The Pace

A great example of a Customer Xperience Executive (CXE) who understands the importance of a consistent pace is Barbara Leafgreen, Client Experience Coordinator of Networking Results. Networking Results is an IT firm in Dallas that provides outsourced network IT support. Leafgreen learned early on that the approach to the methodology had to be crawl, walk and run, even though senior executives typically want to see results ASAP. Barbara, who is currently attending the CXE Academy, learned that each of the X Commandments had to be taught, executed, implemented and results shown before moving on to the next commandment. “I have become a champion of ‘Embrace the Pace.’ Everyone at NetRes understands it is a journey that is going to change their internal culture as well as impact their customers lives,” says Leafgreen. “We can do it fast, or we can do it right.” When presenting “Embrace the Pace,” Leafgreen compared it to wanting to lose weight. “What is the best way to lose a lot of weight, jumping on a fad diet that works in a few short weeks or working a proven system that builds the right habits and foundation that will last? That is what this is. We are changing the way we do things so we can get healthy and have long-term, sustainable results.”

*Related – Stop Focusing On Your Goals

How

Barbara has been focused on the “little” things that make an impact and keep the momentum going. For starters, they focused on everyone learning the Mission Statement, Values, and Purpose (MVP) and certifying that everyone knows it. They have also implemented the Never say “no problem” standard, conducted a formal Customer satisfaction survey with their Clients, and have a “Customer Experience Focus” in their monthly staff meetings.  “I have to say that it’s been working. We are seeing internal culture change resulting in happier customers,” says Leafgreen.

Way To Go NetRes! Embrace The Pace Baby!