What Is Your Current Customer Experience Strategy

During our first season of CX Chats, we conducted in-depth interviews with 16 leading industry experts to explore their insights on their current customer experience strategy. Here are the enlightening perspectives they shared.

Kristi Faltorusso - CCO - ClientSuccess

Currently, Kristi is emphasizing three key areas: onboarding, technical resources, and education. For onboarding, she is doubling down on creating a comprehensive program to guide customers effectively. Technical resources involve ensuring customers trust and use our product's data. Education goes beyond product usage, aiming to empower customers with industry best practices.

Andrew Carothers - Digital CX Leader - Cisco

Cisco's overarching CX strategy centers around developing a connected, personalized, low-friction customer experience. This long-term journey involves bringing different business units under a unified CX approach to ensure seamless experiences for customers with multiple products. Additionally, Cisco's focus lies in making it easier for customers to do business with them. Emphasizing digital channels like email, social media, and community engagement allows customers to access support and resources on their terms. Balancing digital convenience with human interactions enables Cisco to meet customer preferences and deliver a comprehensive CX approach.

Jonathan Shroyer - Chief CX Officer - Arise

Jonathan's CX strategy involves a three-pronged approach. Firstly, he focuses on building a roadmap for the next 12 to 18 months based on the information gathered during the first 100 days. Secondly, benchmarking is vital to understand how the company's customer experience compares to competitors. Regular benchmarking helps maintain a competitive edge in the market. Thirdly, Jonathan places a strong emphasis on developing leaders within the organization. He believes that nurturing leadership is crucial for long-term success.

Simona Barcău - VP of Customer Success - Cority

Currently, Simona's customer success strategy is centered around a few key pillars that are essential for building strong and lasting customer relationships. One of the primary focuses is on understanding their customers' needs and ensuring that they are receiving maximum value from our software. This involves closely monitoring customer interactions, tracking feedback, and proactively addressing any issues that may arise.

She is also heavily invested in data-driven insights. By analyzing customer behavior and trends, she can make informed decisions about product enhancements and improvements that will benefit their users. This approach ensures that their software remains relevant and aligned with the evolving needs of our customers.

In the future, her CS strategy will continue to evolve in line with industry trends and technological advancements. She is exploring ways to enhance their customer journey mapping, providing a seamless and effortless experience across every touchpoint. This includes optimizing their self-service capabilities, streamlining processes, and utilizing AI-driven solutions to anticipate and address customer needs more efficiently.

Lee Roquet - CEO - Finch

As the CEO of Finch, Roquet outlines the current 90-day focus, centered around launching a new product, defining moments that matter, aligning them with marketing, and standardizing processes. Looking ahead, his vision is to start 2024 with a new product, a refined process, and a company that is scalable, repeatable, and predictable.

Courtney Smith - Director of CS - Tyler Technologies

Navigating an interesting phase at Tyler Technologies, Courtney sheds light on the current CS strategy. The company aims to integrate acquired entities into a unified experience while simultaneously working towards a cohesive customer interaction across divisions. The future vision involves fostering cross-divisional collaboration and ensuring a unified experience for customers interacting with Tyler.

Lee Kemp - VP of CX - Veritiv

Crafting an effective CX strategy demands alignment with business goals and a relentless focus on value delivery. "Numbers matter," Lee emphasizes. Demonstrating the ROI of CX initiatives through data-driven metrics helps secure buy-in from the C-Suite. Lee's approach involves not just reducing churn or elevating NPS scores but also tying these achievements to tangible business outcomes.

Karyn Furstman - Principle - Customers Furst

Karyn's expertise shines as she shares her current and future CX strategies. Her approach is grounded in a three-pillar framework: alignment around the experience, listening and acting on feedback, and driving cultural change. She emphasizes the need for a holistic view, encompassing all levels of the organization, from C-suite leaders to frontline employees. By building consistent service behaviors and engaging stakeholders, Karyn's strategies create a robust foundation for lasting CX transformation.

Joel Sylvester - CCO - Five Star Call Centers

In Joel's role at Five Star Call Centers, the current CX strategy revolves around balancing the elements of speed, quality, and expense. He stresses the significance of real-time reporting and dashboards that simplify data interpretation for senior leaders. Looking ahead, he anticipates integrating advancements in automation, AI, and natural language processing to elevate the customer experience further.

Jason Farrell - CCO - Amplifi Labs

At Amplifi Labs, goal-setting plays a pivotal role in their CX strategy. Jason believes in quantifying objectives, breaking them down into achievable chunks, and utilizing data to drive decision-making. The company prioritizes a flat organizational structure that fosters collaboration and values the opinions of its employees. Happy employees lead to satisfied customers, and this mindset has contributed to their success.

Stacy Sherman - Founder & CEO - Doing CX Right

Stacy’s heart and science framework focuses on blending emotional elements with data-driven insights to create and validate a customer experience. She emphasizes the iterative nature of this process, continually refining strategies based on real-time data and customer feedback.

Tom DeWitt - Director of CXM@MSU

Thomas DeWitt's insights provide valuable guidance for crafting an effective CX strategy. The key to success lies in aligning CX goals with organizational objectives, illustrating the financial impact of CX initiatives, fostering collaboration across departments, and understanding the intricate relationship between employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and profitability. As the CX landscape evolves, these principles will be instrumental in building a sustainable and impactful CX strategy.

Laurie Barlev - Founder - Barlev Success

Laurie's present strategy revolves around enhancing customer retention and exploring opportunities for growth, given the market's challenging environment for acquiring new clients. She underscores the importance of understanding customer values and consistently delivering on them, fostering a platform for potential growth.

Damien Howley - CCO - Nimbello

As the Chief Customer Officer at Nimbello, Damien's current focus is on scaling the customer success function and improving internal processes. He aims to create a strong data foundation to gain insights into customer demands and drive change effectively. In the future, his team will concentrate on operational performance, especially as Nimbello scales and takes on more customers.

Gina Patel - VP of CS - Sensor Tower

In my current role, post-acquisition by Sensor Tower, my primary focus has been on establishing a robust CS framework. From introducing formal business reviews to emphasizing value stories, the goal is to drive customer success and satisfaction. Success stories, health scores, and revenue metrics play pivotal roles in shaping our current strategy. Looking ahead, I foresee an industry shift towards an increased emphasis on customer retention, especially in challenging economic times.

Michelle Spaul - CX Consultant - Delta Swan

Michelle's CX strategies are client-focused, adapted to each organization's unique needs and goals. She emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between business, customer, and employee interests. From tactical problem-solving to holistic customer-centricity, Michelle tailors her strategies to meet client's expectations, ensuring that the approach aligns with their growth aspirations.