The intersection of IT and CX (Customer Experience) is about the value of aligning technology and customer-centric strategies to deliver exceptional experiences and, as a result, to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The Live Session with Nate Brown, a special episode of Ticket Volume, our IT podcast hosted by Matt Beran, was an enlightening discussion on how to overcome the blockers and friction that can impede your journey toward exceptional customer experiences.
Nate Brown, the Senior Director of CX at Arise and Co-Founder of CX Accelerator, brings his expertise in helping employees understand the customer journey and their role in enhancing it. With his background as the Chief Experience Officer at Officium Labs and Head of Customer Experience at UL, he offers strategies for measuring and improving the perception of services and products.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to tune in to the entire session featuring Brown and the audience! Hence, you can register for our monthly live recordings, where you'll have the chance to participate and ask questions directly during the session.
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Improving CX in IT and addressing fragmentation
Customer service should be viewed as a service relationship, where the focus is on building a connection and understanding the needs of the customer.
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"If you want to look at what CX is, it's a culture transformation through and through. It's the way that we as a business think about our customers and ultimately the way that we treat them. That's what matters, it's just the culture around that very thing." Nate Brown |
Brown delved into the intersection of IT and CX, highlighting the need for IT professionals to shift their mindset from serving "users" to serving "customers." Collaboration and reducing friction in the customer journey are key to enhancing customer experience.
Brown emphasized the value of soft skills, although he doesn’t like to categorize them as “soft”, such as effective communication and writing, in delivering authentic customer service. Customer service should be viewed as a service relationship, where the focus is on building a connection and understanding the needs of the customer.
However, establishing a meaningful change initiative requires a culture shift. Hence, to improve CX, he suggested the following tips:
- Addressing flaws and bugs in the development life cycle.
- Engaging in the community of the organization to serve the brand promise effectively.
- Working on emotional intelligence to enhance customer experience.
- Following the Platinum Rule, treating others as they want to be treated.
- Creating a sense of urgency.
- Establishing a CX coalition within the organization to drive effective implementation.
Involving everybody in CX to create a community
What is less obvious or intuitive is the importance of a holistic approach to CX, involving all departments. This is because CX is not solely the responsibility of the customer service team; it should be a shared goal across all levels and functions. A comprehensive and cohesive customer experience strategy can be developed and implemented by involving different departments, such as IT, marketing, and operations.
He discussed the power of CX and employee experience in building a strong brand, since involving customers in the brand promise and cultivating a community around them can attract the right audience.
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"That idea of co-creation community is the future of customer experience. When we bring customers into the community with us, when we earn that authentic community in-house, then we get to invite our customers into our brand promise and co-create with them. How can we accelerate this promise together? How can we do something unique and amazing together? You're getting insights from your customers; they're helping you forge the evolution of that promise to make it more relevant. They bring the right customers to you." Nate Brown |
Tribal leadership
Our guest also explored the concept of tribal leadership in organizations. Cultivating a level three tribe allows for authentic celebration of others' accomplishments, fostering a positive and collaborative culture. A level three tribe consists of a group of individuals who share a common purpose and values and can work together towards a common goal.
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"The greatest point that most organizations get to culturally is the idea of 'I'm good, but the team isn't.' It's sad to have to acknowledge, but between 60 and 80% of corporate cultures are caught in that sticking point. They can't get to that true point, that level three tribe of authentically being able to celebrate other people." Nate Brown |
This level of tribal leadership fosters a positive and collaborative culture within the organization, encouraging team members to genuinely celebrate each other's accomplishments. When organizations create such a tribe, they can enhance their customer experience by promoting teamwork, mutual support, and a sense of belonging among employees. This, in turn, leads to improved customer satisfaction and better outcomes for the organization.
Bottom line
There you have it, change has changed. This is just a summary of Ticket Volume's Live Session featuring Nate Brown. There's a lot more to discover in the recording, he remarked on the need for collaboration, reducing friction in the customer journey, and creating a culture of celebration and connection within organizations. Be sure to listen to the full conversation with Matt Beran to learn more about improving CX in IT.
You can find the full Live Session on popular platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or any other podcast platform you prefer. Remember to subscribe if you're interested in joining the monthly live recordings!
