Customer experience meets business strategy
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Trish Wethman, former Chief Customer Officer at Best Egg, shares her insights on building high-performing customer experience functions and aligning CX initiatives with business outcomes. Her journey from presenting metrics that left executives confused to developing strategies that drive meaningful change offers valuable lessons for CX leaders.
Translating Customer Insights into Business Impact
Wethman's pivotal moment came when presenting customer metrics to the CEO and leadership team. The response—"What does this mean?"—highlighted a critical gap between data collection and actionable insights. This experience taught her that effective CX leadership isn't about presenting numbers in isolation, but about connecting those insights to business objectives and transformation efforts.
Key Strategies for CX Success
Develop a unified CX vision
Wethman emphasizes the importance of creating a customer experience vision that aligns with the organization's purpose. This vision should define how the company wants to show up for customers across their entire lifecycle, not just in service interactions.Embed CX partners in business units
Introducing "insights business partners" who work directly within different parts of the organization proved to be a game-changer. These roles help translate customer insights into actionable strategies for product, marketing, and operations teams.Align CX metrics with business outcomes
While traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) have their place, Wethman found more value in aligning CX efforts with key business metrics such as acquisition and conversion rates. This approach demonstrates the tangible impact of CX initiatives on business performance.Collaborative vision creation
To ensure a CX vision sticks, Wethman advocates for involving leaders from across the organization in its development. This collaborative approach ensures buy-in and accountability from all stakeholders.Holistic data integration
Effective CX strategies rely on integrating various data sources—including experience feedback, operational data, and behavioral insights—to create a comprehensive view of the customer journey.
The future of CX: AI and journey management
Looking ahead, Wethman points to the growing importance of AI in synthesizing diverse data sources to inform journey mapping and CX strategies. This technology will enable CX teams to more effectively connect customer insights with business outcomes, driving innovation and growth.
For CX leaders seeking to elevate their impact, Wethman's experiences underscore the importance of speaking the language of business, collaborating across functions, and always tying customer insights back to tangible business value. By bridging the gap between customer needs and organizational goals, CX professionals can position themselves as strategic partners in driving business success.
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