How can you create a culture of customer experience excellence post-lockdown?

Yes, absolutely. In fact this is just the first step, because CX Excellence does not only depends just on your employees, partners and stakeholders. It is quite common to put all the load on them while it is not usually the case. If a customer calls in with a problem and the call center agent needs to go through 25 different systems following a very complex process that requires escalation to a supervisor while putting on hold to the client...clearly the customer experience is not on the agent's hands... Let's stop misleading everyone by saying that Customer Experience depends on how employees deal with customers. In majority of the situations, the company processes and systems are the ones that impact more on the customer experience.

Even if your company has well-defined values, mission, vision, etc, and has invested significant resources in conceptualizing and creating its corporate identity, all that effort can go to waste if employees who have direct contact with customers don't fully understand these aspects. Effectively communicating, providing adequate training, and ensuring that employees really embrace the corporate culture are crucial. This will ensure that they can authentically share it to everyone, remembering that we are all ambassadors of our companies.

You want to empower your team? INVEST in training to enhance your team’s customer experience skills. Training should cover not only the technical aspects of the products or services but also communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills.

Again, yes!!! To the extreme! If your employees have all the tools to provide an excellent Customer Experience then, most probably they will provide it. If your employees have to be focused on dealing with your systems and processes instead of fully focus on your customers, then, your customers experience will not depend that much on them.

It's not just about knowing the corporate identity of the company, It is about embracing it, understanding it, feeling proud of it, and, above all, agreeing with it. I remember a phrase shared with me by the Consul of South Korea in Mexico: "You take care of what you love, and you only love what you really know."

What was true for your customers pre-pandemic may not be true now. It is essential to revisit customer research now and ensure that you still understand what customers want and need in today's world.

The Customer Experience you'll be creating is for them and with them. It's crucial to avoid making assumptions and truly listen to your customers, analyze the results, and based on that, make intelligent decisions that align with the needs and requests of your audience.

Post-lockdown it is even more important to take care of your employee experience (EX) than ever before. If you require employees to server your customers, then EX should be one of the main KPIs to be taken care of. Customer Experience Excellence requires a strong Customer Center approach at the entire organization level. Leaving it to the last link of the chain (the employee facing customer's issues) reduces significantly your chances to excel in CX as a company.

It requires a holistic and adaptive approach. 1. Empathetic Engagement: Post-lockdown, train your team to recognize and address the evolved needs and concerns of customers with heightened empathy, offering personalized services and recognizing their current situation. 2. Digital-First, Human-Centric Approach: Blend digital convenience with a personal touch by using technology to enhance customer interactions without losing the human element, like through virtual assistants or video consultations. 3. Continuous Improvement Through Feedback Loops: Create a culture that values and acts on customer feedback, ensuring that your service adapts to new expectations and maintains relevance in a post-lockdown world. Remember, communication is key!