Key to Success in Customer Experience Management
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 4:58 am
“Outside-in” is a popular term in the field of customer experience management . It refers to the importance of using customer input as a guide to the internal workings of your company. In seeking information “from the outside in,” most companies have customer listening programs, loyalty programs, and personalized services.
Yet these outside-in efforts are often superficial and are often only being implemented in customer-facing areas . This causes the rest of the company to continue to act from the inside out.
In the future, companies that truly act on outside-in insights in customer experience management will be more successful than their competitors.
One consequence of acting on an inside-out strategy is that the information provided to the customer is inconsistent with the reality of processes, policies, business models and products. How many companies do you buy from where this occurs? Chances are you buy from more than you should. Inconsistencies are likely to be tolerated in the moment; however, they do not bode well for the future as they affect customer trust.
Typically, the parts of a company that don't have contact with customers kuwait phone number the ones that create most of what customers buy and experience. Customer service personnel and touchpoints are often the intermediaries between inconsistencies and heroic efforts to appease or captivate customers.
Let's compare the approach to managing customer experience based on an “inside-out” and “outside-in” strategy (read from left to right and line by line).
Approach “From the inside out” “From the outside in”
Ask the customer How do you see the company's performance? How we can help you meet your goals
The scheme focuses on Points of contact Consequences for customers
There is continuous communication with Customers who have given low ratings All clients
Customer Reviews They are summarized They are read by all interested parties.
Metrics focus on Customer ratings and/or behaviors The progress of the action plan from what the customer thinks
Corrections They are made by client or department They are done to prevent the error from happening again.
Improvement actions Planning is optional or based on major issues The plans are systemic, they involve everyone
Skill development focuses on Customer service staff An internal value chain
Marketing Take advantage of the positive It is based on the realities of the clients
Customer retention It forces itself You win
Customer Experience Shares They compensate for mistakes They aim to do things right the first time.
Customer experience excellence is Customer service teams work A way of life, no exceptions
Customer experience feedback applies to Image creation The company's policies, rituals and culture.
Aim Customer Evangelism (Immediate Revenue) Creating mutual value (organic growth)
Attitude What can customers do for us? What can we do for our clients?
Taking an outside-in approach to customer experience management requires humility.
Acting this way is akin to keeping a romance fresh. It's about the company adapting to the boss, which in this case is the customers, and not the other way around. It recognizes that shareholders leave when customers leave, not the other way around.
A true outside-in approach to customer experience management goes above and beyond industry norms.
This can be objectively seen when customers find themselves in a difficult situation, and the company strives to stand out from the crowd by perfectly adapting to the needs of customers.
This approach goes beyond conventional customer experience management practices , as outlined in the table above. It also considers what will create long-term value for all stakeholders—customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders. For example, in the book Firms of Endearment , the most beloved companies take a balanced approach to managing the interests of all stakeholders, and they far outperform their competitors and the S&P 500 , one of the most important stock market indices in the United States.
Yet these outside-in efforts are often superficial and are often only being implemented in customer-facing areas . This causes the rest of the company to continue to act from the inside out.
In the future, companies that truly act on outside-in insights in customer experience management will be more successful than their competitors.
One consequence of acting on an inside-out strategy is that the information provided to the customer is inconsistent with the reality of processes, policies, business models and products. How many companies do you buy from where this occurs? Chances are you buy from more than you should. Inconsistencies are likely to be tolerated in the moment; however, they do not bode well for the future as they affect customer trust.
Typically, the parts of a company that don't have contact with customers kuwait phone number the ones that create most of what customers buy and experience. Customer service personnel and touchpoints are often the intermediaries between inconsistencies and heroic efforts to appease or captivate customers.
Let's compare the approach to managing customer experience based on an “inside-out” and “outside-in” strategy (read from left to right and line by line).
Approach “From the inside out” “From the outside in”
Ask the customer How do you see the company's performance? How we can help you meet your goals
The scheme focuses on Points of contact Consequences for customers
There is continuous communication with Customers who have given low ratings All clients
Customer Reviews They are summarized They are read by all interested parties.
Metrics focus on Customer ratings and/or behaviors The progress of the action plan from what the customer thinks
Corrections They are made by client or department They are done to prevent the error from happening again.
Improvement actions Planning is optional or based on major issues The plans are systemic, they involve everyone
Skill development focuses on Customer service staff An internal value chain
Marketing Take advantage of the positive It is based on the realities of the clients
Customer retention It forces itself You win
Customer Experience Shares They compensate for mistakes They aim to do things right the first time.
Customer experience excellence is Customer service teams work A way of life, no exceptions
Customer experience feedback applies to Image creation The company's policies, rituals and culture.
Aim Customer Evangelism (Immediate Revenue) Creating mutual value (organic growth)
Attitude What can customers do for us? What can we do for our clients?
Taking an outside-in approach to customer experience management requires humility.
Acting this way is akin to keeping a romance fresh. It's about the company adapting to the boss, which in this case is the customers, and not the other way around. It recognizes that shareholders leave when customers leave, not the other way around.
A true outside-in approach to customer experience management goes above and beyond industry norms.
This can be objectively seen when customers find themselves in a difficult situation, and the company strives to stand out from the crowd by perfectly adapting to the needs of customers.
This approach goes beyond conventional customer experience management practices , as outlined in the table above. It also considers what will create long-term value for all stakeholders—customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders. For example, in the book Firms of Endearment , the most beloved companies take a balanced approach to managing the interests of all stakeholders, and they far outperform their competitors and the S&P 500 , one of the most important stock market indices in the United States.