Does the ultimate customer-centric transformation success story exist?

Hi everyone, Anne here!

What an honour to write Livework's first Linkedin Newsletter. I am writing to you from the train on my way back from a client workshop. At the end of the workshop, one of the journey managers asked me:

"How do other organisations do it? Has anyone really 'made it'?"

This is a question we often get from CX practitioners. We did not have the (complete) answer to this question. That is why we did a qualitative and quantitative study to find it. 

Before I share the answer and key insights from the study – I would like to welcome you to our newsletter "Services for the Future." Join Livework in this newsletter for a dose of inspiration and actionable advice on how to navigate the complexities of our time. 

What is the magical recipe for a customer-centric transformation?

We wanted to understand whether the ultimate success story exists, whether anyone has "made it".

Turns out, there are a lot of best practices and several good stories, but no single organisation has reached ‘nirvana’.

Through our conversations with and input from hundreds of CX practitioners, we identified four key lessons that will help you understand what it takes to put the customer at the center of your organisation.

LESSON 1. Customer centricity is not just bottom-up or top-down. It’s always both.

Customer centricity must permeate the whole organisation. It even spreads to partners and the wider ecosystem an organisation is part of. It can start as a bottom-up, grass root movement. Or as a more abstract strategic objective. 

Without a doubt, senior sponsorship is a requirement for this customer-centricity work to get real traction. But without translating what it means for various roles and levels of the organisation it will fall flat. Transformation comes from making customer-centricity tangible to stakeholders on all levels.

LESSON 2. A customer-centric transformation will never be done.

Customer centricity is not a one-off exercise. It’s a massive shift in mindset and to a new way of working. When done right, it’s a way of running and evolving the business. It’s best to embrace this to keep your sanity in check. Keep your sense of humour, and humanity, by thinking long term. 

You should build endurance in your strategy. Start with the small (but visible) changes and give it time and space to breathe. Design a plan to scale the practice - upwards to different levels of the organisation and outwards to various departments. Drive adoption through participation, not by building an army of designers.

LESSON 3. It doesn’t get easier, but you do get better.

Sometimes it can feel like you’re stuck. Like you’re not making the progress you thought you would. But it’s helpful to stop and look at the challenges you’re working on now compared to the ones at the start. Be patient, be bold when needed and proud of small achievements along the way.

Through failures and successes, you will learn what works and what doesn’t in your organisation. Shifting towards customer centricity challenges the values and beliefs of the organisation. It calls into question well-established processes, systems and ways of working. That is hard work. And it will remain hard work. But you will get better at tackling the challenges over time and get more allies to support you.

LESSON 4. CX transformations are carried by sticky stories.

It’s almost impossible to measure the (financial) value of customer centricity at first. At some stage it will be possible - but it will be difficult. Starting on day one, you’ll need to identify the people that matter in your organisation, and what’s important to them. “People that matter” won’t necessarily have big job titles. You know who they are: the holders of both formal and informal influence at all levels of your organisation.

Develop the ‘sticky stories’ that bring these people in and turn them into advocates. Sticky stories are the narratives that push the right buttons, speak the right language, and are easily shared. Allow new enthusiasts to feel a part of the bigger journey. As your stories grow, allow them to contribute their own chapter.

Read the full report unpacking how CX change takes place in reality - informed by 300+ CX leaders here

In this video Marzia Aricò, Livework's Design Director, explains what a customer-centric transformation looks like.

Next week...

Do you want to understand how customer-centric your organisation is? And which stories and best practices from others CX leaders relate to where you are in the journey? Next week we will launch a tool that does just that. 

The Customer Centricity Assessment tool provides you with a personalised report and relevant case studies. The report includes actionable recommendations on how to improve customer centricity in your organisation, based on where you are today.

If you want to be the first to get access - subscribe to our Linkedin newsletter: Services for the Future.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed today's article, we would love for you to join for more. Subscribe and join us for a weekly dose of inspiration and actionable advice on how to navigate the complexities of our time. Encourage others that might find value in this by sharing this article in your community.

Wondering if we might be the right partner to take CX in your organisation to the next level? Feel free to drop me a note at anne@liveworkstudio.com.

About Livework

Good services don’t happen by accident. They need to be designed. That’s what we do.

Livework was the first service design consultancy. Over the last 21 years, we have used design to solve business challenges on more than 1500 projects and programmes.

We’ve been around the block when it comes to navigating and delivering change. In addition to improving and innovating in customer experience, we help organisations transition to becoming the customer-centric and sustainable organisations they aspire to be. Find out more on www.liveworkstudio.com or drop us a line at contact@liveworkstudio.com.