“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos

This article is based on an interview the author, Founder Kade Brewster, had with Andrew Thompson, VP, Manager, Client Experience Measurement and Insight at BOK Financial. The full interview can be watched here.

Take a look around the most recent business headlines, especially in the financial sector. What’s a common thread that you see? For starters, poor management practices led to the demise of Silicon Valley Bank. We all saw that. But what caused the biggest waves in the fallout was customer sentiment. Suddenly, people panicked, wondering if their bank was next. Financial institutions were scrambling to release statements ensuring their customers that the money was safe and they were far above board when it came to their management practices. 

For these institutions, it was a nearly painful reminder that the customer experience is king. If customers even perceive weakness or a lack of emphasis on their experience, they can move their money elsewhere. 

Client experience is critical for all industries because the customer has never been more informed than now. Personalization has become commonplace. Businesses need to understand who the customer is, what they like, and what they will benefit from next, or risk losing them forever. They need to understand how their customers think, so they can anticipate their next move and respond appropriately. 


Predictive Action Over Reaction

Remember when it took real effort to cancel something? Not two clicks, I’m talking about real effort. When I was in college, I vividly remember spending over two hours on hold to cancel our satellite tv when we moved out of our house at the end of the semester. Honestly, I would have given up if I didn’t have to get it canceled. That was the point. Companies used to have large barriers for cancellation that a customer had to be really angry, or desperate, to actually follow through with a cancellation. 

Today, if you don’t like a product or service, you are just seconds away from ending your subscription to that business. In moments, a person or business can transfer all of their funds from one bank to another. Some customers engage with an organization only to have their relationship last less time than a Hollywood marriage. 

As a business, how do you prevent this from happening to you? There’s so much data available, it’s up to your team to understand the pulse of your client. The reality is that your ability to retain customers has diminished drastically, making the ability to understand the customer journey more essential than ever. 

Matt Dixon, author of “The Effortless Experience” wrote about this pain point. He suggested that as a business’s ability to reduce friction, the customer’s experience continues to improve. Dixon discussed the idea of using your customer data to identify and eliminate sticking points in order to ensure a smooth and effortless experience. This can be especially helpful as the relationship begins.

Alex Hormozi, author of “The $100 Million Dollar Offer” wrote that giving customers milestone wins in the first two to four weeks of utilizing your product or service does so much for overall satisfaction and customer loyalty. Knowing what problems to provide solutions for before your customer does will keep retention levels high and your customers satisfied. 

Personalization 

Everything is personalized today. If you watch the Youtube video at the top of this article, you’ll hear Andrew Thompson, Vice President and Manager of Client Experience Measurement and Insight at BOK Financial point out that Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon have mastered the art of personalization, presenting custom queues and suggestions every time you log on. Many organizations think that personalization is a “happy birthday!” email, or your name showing up in the title or subject of their latest email blast. Those efforts completely miss the mark. 

While your system may not be able to personalize and suggest new items on the same level as Spotify, companies with data silos can turn to investments in a data repository or an experience management firm. Your data funnels into a centralized location and then the firm’s AI can run analytics to provide your team with actionable insights. 

For example, if you are a financial institution, it would be helpful to know if one of your clients is looking at his 401k rate or his recent financial contributions. Your financial planner can use that data to reach out and check with the client to see if their goal has changed and what the proactive next steps could be. 

As Thompson points out, none of this is possible without the ability to collect and aggregate the data effectively. Knowing what your clients are looking for and personalizing solutions for them can keep your customers happy and coming back for more as their needs grow. 

Employee experience leads to customer satisfaction

Once upon a time, each customer interaction was face to face with one of your employees. Today, the push to digital and automated solutions becomes more prevalent with each and every day. The number of unique customer journeys that could take place is exponentially higher than it used to be, meaning that there are more avenues than ever to reach a business outcome. . The front lines of customer interaction have gone from personal to digital. Instead of real representatives, now we have chatbots and ATMs to walk users through the prompts. 

However, in this digital age, it is important to recognize that the employee experience still plays a crucial role in driving customer satisfaction. While the mode of interaction may have shifted, the impact of employees on the overall customer experience remains significant.

When employees are satisfied and engaged in their work, it positively influences the way they interact with customers, even in a digital setting. Their enthusiasm and commitment translate into better customer service, like responding to chat inquiries promptly and effectively.

Investing in your employees produces a number of benefits:

• Knowledge and Expertise: Well-trained and knowledgeable employees contribute to a better customer experience.
  
  
• Empathy and Understanding: Employees who feel valued and supported by their organization are more likely to display empathy and understanding towards customers.
  
  
• Problem Resolution: An employee’s problem-solving skills, combined with a positive attitude, can turn a potentially frustrating situation into a positive and memorable experience for the customer.
  
  
• Brand Advocacy: Satisfied employees are more likely to become brand advocates. They understand the company's values, products, and services, and they genuinely believe in what they offer. 

Innovation Starts at the Top

Andrew Thompson, Vice President of BOK Financial, recently sat down to chat about his recommendations for unlocking great client experiences. At its core, innovative focus on client experience starts from the top and trickles down to the rest of the organization. 

(you can watch the full interview here)

In this video, Andrew talks about the process for rallying around a true Client Experience Management system, even if your company can’t invest in the topline solutions. He outlines several of his top suggestions, listed below. 

• Identify a champion: Someone in your organization who will be the person who understands the vision and can help that idea for innovation in client experiences be passed down the chain. 
  
  
• Build your team: Putting the different pieces of client experience under the same umbrella is incredibly important. In order for your processes to mature, silos should be broken in favor of collaboration. A team that is unified around a common goal of client experience spans departments. Mapping out roles, responsibilities, and work flows is essential.
  
  
• Vendors: Andrew explained in our recent interview, one of the key reminders he benefits from each and every day is to “let the experts be the expert”. While it doesn’t have to be a firm on the level of Qualtrics, allowing a specialized firm to help organize and interpret your data can create powerful action items for your brand. Connecting your customer data through CRMs and strategy sessions creates more alignment. As Andrew says, “it helps make business more human.”
  
  

Whether you’re a large business with hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in better infrastructure, or a small business trying to improve their process without the budgetary investment, these best practices can help your team align on the focus of this entire article: client experience. 

Remember the Steve Jobs quote from the beginning of the article? “It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

With each step we take, each goal we rally around, and each goal we focus on, the customer experience improves. Good for the business, good for the customer, and good for your bottom line. 

We’ve talked about drivers and concepts, but maybe your team needs a team with the knowledge and expertise to create the infrastructure to make this possible. Reach out to us and set up a consultation where we can walk you through our process and discuss how we can increase your team’s collaboration, innovation, and focus on the client experience.