Top 3 Practices of Customer Experience Leaders

Okay, are you ready for this? These are lessons that I learned during my 20+ years managing health clubs. Simple to identify but harder to implement. Three practices used by top Customer Experience Management practitioners that can help you begin to manage the experience at your business vs. just putting out fires as fast as they start. Here they are!

1. Listen!The true leaders of a positive customer experience actually listen to their customers AND their employees.  They have systems in place that allow them to listen to their customer & employee feedback (un-solicited!) and methods to analyze and use the data or information provided by those customers and employees.  When the customer or the employee points out a faulty policy or ‘friction-full’ procedure, they listen and work together to find a better way.
2. Shelve the ego!It takes a unique leader to be able to openly listen to criticism and to make positive change as a result. Most leaders are set in their systems and operations and are unwilling to make changes even when their customers and employees are clearly telling them this isn’t working. A true leader knows they are only as strong as their weakest employee and operation. For example: at the next convention or out of town meeting, listen for this: “My people just can’t survive without me. I need to get back! Things are falling apart.”  This company is NOT a leader in the customer experience world.  True customer experience leaders don’t wait for the bottom line to drop before making change.
3. Have a Customer Experience Mission!EVERY employee must know his or her role and expectations in the customer experience strategy. The customer experience mission statement is clearly and effectively communicated to every single employee, every single day. Customer experience is the first thing and the last thing talked about when hiring a new employee. The new hire KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS the company’s commitment and passion for customer experience from day one. And they also are clear on what role they play in that experience. The true leaders of customer experience continually hire and train around their customer experience strategy.