Well, I’m with you @Justin Robbins with all the ‘CX dust’ that’s been flying about for the last several years. I know I will get in trouble with this opinion, but I’ve graduated from the ‘database marketing university of hard knocks’ and own this perspective. So, buckle up for a bit of a journey!
Let’s start with those letters – ‘CX’ and ‘X-pert’.
Perhaps:
· C = a hundred in Roman numerals or maybe it stands for centigrade or?
· X = has always stood for something unknown, such as a number or element
· X-pert = an unknown substance under pressure (for you @DeepakSelvaratnam)
Never made a lot of sense because to me this ‘shorthand’ two letters simply eliminated ‘customer’. And business was never supposed to be about fleeting and uneven experiences, but about establishing trust with individuals we hoped would invest in our offerings and be a bit forgiving when things didn't go perfectly!
Trench Credentials
As for my platform to ‘pontificate’ from, Justin – Today,
I focus my expertise on review, analysis, process improvement, sensible technical
writing and learning experience strategies.
That’s what I’ve seen is most helpful
for organisations -- based on over thirty years working in direct/ non-face-to-face marketing and
customer support/ care!
Initially, I started work as editor for a medical publishing
company (now Medical Economics)
and was eventually elevated to ‘Promotions Director’. In those days the ‘customer WAS king’ -- and
we knew and respected this fact.
Every subscription we gained and every subscription we protected
from leaving, helped pay the bills, including our salaries.
Manual Labels and Sorting
It is difficult to imagine a day when a ‘database’ was just postal
trays filled with hundreds of paper, Cheshire
cards onto which names and addresses were manually typed.
Selecting a mailing list wasn’t managed by a mindless AI algorithm,
it was done with care. We sorted every card
by hand into stacks of -- what we hoped would result in a breakeven plus profit
from our carefully crafted and weighed (for stamp (!) costs) selections. Zip
codes were still a novel idea and bulk mailers had to use them.
The trays of cards had to be sent to a mailing house with a
Cheshire labelling machine that duplicated the information on the cards, onto
labels that were stuck on envelopes.
Pioneer in Automation
Credit: howtogeek.com
While working on a Masters, I purchased a Model 1-TSR80-RadioShack
computer (that would barely fit on one of the minimal desktops of today) and
used a word processing program called Lazywriter (the video on
this link will astound your senses) to begin my lifetime documentation
adventures.
Many programs had to be manually written into the computer from page after page of mouse type columns of code printed out in computer magazines. It would take days to type in the DOS instructions that resulted in something a bit more like a Microsoft™ Word table. Then someone would manually re-enter the names and addresses from the Cheshire cards into the computer.
Spreadsheet
programs were new, so I used what I could to figure out basic sorting to select
and organise the mailing lists – the result?
My boss thought I was a magician!
Six-million Households
After several years, identifying and documenting many first
principles of database and non-face-to-face marketing, including telemarketing
and customer service, I moved to a New York bank (HSBC). I became custodian of their six million
household database -- that had only been used to mail quarterly statements and
fee increase notifications!
That was a fun time where my team and I created the initial ‘synergistic
marketing system’ (pre-CRM) built with the help of IBM and AT&T, who were
willing to invest their time, resources and research in new technology and
insights.
No matter what, during all this time there was still ‘intimacy’ and respect for the customer -- the reason for our existence!
Australian/ NZ Sojourn
Then one fine day in 1989, I was recruited to Australia for what
was supposed to be a two-year, working adventure. I had the privilege of introducing many
organisations to these new database principles, including most of the major
insurance organisations and all the major banks (except ANZ for some
reason).
It was a delight to work beside the likes of Ian Kennedy,
Tony Carr, Jon Clark, Rob Edwards and Jodie Sangster -- as these creative
thinkers solidified and developed their innate suspicions about databases and
non-face-to-face marketing.
I was even recruited to NZ to create and manage the non-face-to-face
direct bank (based on ‘firstdirect’ in UK, where I had advised on basic supporting
technology and measurement standards) and customer service initiatives for ASB Bank.
I eventually worked as Director of Education for the then
Australian Direct Marketing Association to promote and develop a raft of effective
certificate and diploma courses, including ‘The National Compliance Safety in
Direct Marketing Course’.
And the customer was still king until…
organisations moved into web-based activities
in earnest, anticipating huge profits
from eliminating staff
and letting the customer manage their own transactions. Instead…
Too Much of a Good Thing
I think ‘CX’ has been invented to mask the drifting away of loyal
customers, as if ‘experiences’ are going to attract loyal customers through use
of more sophisticated and endemic technology.
Instead, the distance between the customer and organisation grew.
Unsuspecting and unprepared customers still have technology
decisions foisted upon them -- with minimal to no notice and certainly no
voice.
Overnight, customers became responsible for their own data
entry and finding answers to questions somewhere on a pretty website they are
directed to. As the ‘relationship’ faded,
organisations increasingly (and somewhat surreptitiously) identified customers that would not comply with the new
streamlined, self-service channels as ‘the enemy’.
Population Realities
Oh, I’m not talking about early adopters who are suspicious, neutral, even antagonistic of ‘relationships’ with product and service providers, but the largest population segment in Australia – those over 55 (who still hope in relationships that mean something with an organisation).
Many are computer ‘hesitant’ at best, and resistant at worst. They may struggle with small phone keyboards and seeing the wispy letters (Who started thinking elegant design was more important than functionality!)
Most of us would know someone in this age group who
struggles or just doesn’t bother with trying to figure out how to work through
a website or punch the right button choices when they call a number. Instead, they grow reluctant, fail to call
for help when they need to and become fearful of ruinous scams. Now customers are wondering how Artificial
Intelligence will do any better!
Customer relationships and loyalty have become
so fragile, they resemble that spider’s web you
accidently walk into as you’re rushing to get the bus!
You just fight to get free of it!
Conclusion
Justin, when you reminded your readers that:
"Leaders who are facing customer crises and
trying to drive results don’t need cookie-cutter 'best practices'. They need
practical insights from people who’ve lived it—the ones who’ve been in the fire
and know what it actually takes to make CX work.
"This surface-level content isn't just a nuisance:
it's setting people up for failure."
I couldn’t agree more, Justin! I’m regularly surprised at
how, out-of-the-box, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solutions are often
preferred to the more common-sense approach I use with every new project.
Gaining experience comes from hard time served working
diligently to identify the actual 'problem' and overcome unidentified
constraints. We approach each new project with humble and unfettered
sight, a vast 'database' of observations, embedded first principles and the
ability to match discoveries with creative solutions to help an organisation
reach it's goals.
At the end of the day Shakespeare said it well in Romeo and
Juliet: 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' Call the
mandate to serve your customers, clients and staff whatever you want to...just
keep your customers needs, wants and desires firmly in the middle of every
decision and action for success!
Consider
Apologies for getting a bit carried away, but this topic is so near to my heart! If you’ve made it to the end of this article, I’m looking for a new customer contact centre where the leadership has the desire to exceed their expectations and increase the ‘loyalty stickiness’ of their customers. I would be honoured to put my expertise to use for your vision!
PS: Justin, thank you
for your passion for something critical for all of us today – common sense
truth!
If you would like to learn more about my approach,
contact me on DarleneRichard@write4you.co (not
com).
Who knows what the future may bring!
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