17 Dec The One Thing Mature CX Organizations Lack
Mature CX organizations have mastered the art of listening to their customers. They have adopted routines that enable employees at all levels to hear first-hand what their customers have to say, such as weekly listening posts (to hear customer calls) and y-cording with front-line staff.
We Know What CX Organizations Lack
But there is one area where even the most mature CX organizations fall short: a customer interview program. To build customer empathy, employees at all levels should have an opportunity to conduct a customer interview on a regular basis. This program will not only help employees build empathy for customers, but it will also spark innovative new ideas and pinpoint areas where additional professional research is needed. While it may not be feasible for all employees to talk to customers, your organization can and should work to make customer interviews a priority.
We recently worked with a start-up in Austin. The entire staff is 12 people, including the company mascot. While they have a strong commitment to the customers, they lack the funds for in-depth customer research. We suggested that they institute a policy in which each employee conducts one customer interview a month. Each month, the team should set aside an hour or two to share their findings. Though the findings will not be generalizable, they serve an important function in the organization. They demonstrate that understanding the customer is an ongoing responsibility of everyone in the organization.
There are a few ground rules, of course. First, the team should agree on a general script for the interview so that findings can be compared (though occasionally going off script can also yield important insights). Second, the policy cannot be optional. Putting the proper incentives in place is essential to instilling customer-centricity in your organization. If the company leadership doesn’t make customer interviews a priority, employees won’t, either.
Want to develop a customer interview program in your company? We can help you, from putting together an interview script to teaching employees the art of the customer interview.