Momentum in customer retention and share of spending is vital to sustained market success. While strides have been made, customer-centricity tends to be an elusive aspiration. Universal challenges revolve around cross-functional and organization-wide cooperation and alignment. Principles of systems thinking, change management and organizational learning present valid solutions to address these challenges. Internal branding encompasses these principles to modify culture, processes and behaviors in accordance with desired outcomes of customer experience improvement initiatives.
In recent studies, 80% of firms aim to differentiate customer experience, although more than half cite lack of cooperation across organizations as a momentum inhibitor1. Customers report that the biggest source of relationship issues is overpromising and under-delivering, causing substantial distrust. When asked what qualities best characterize a customer-centric company, customers reply:
- Organizational, operational and cultural alignment around customers.
- Empowerment of employees to address and remedy customer problems.
Customer Experience Improvement Momentum: Engaging Employees for Sustained Profitability