The Gist
- Break down silos for better CX. Address organizational silos to ensure a seamless customer journey across all touchpoints.
- Leverage customer journey mapping. Use journey mapping to identify inefficiencies and improve customer interactions.
- Prioritize collaboration in CX. CMOs and CIOs should collaborate closely to drive next-gen customer experience improvements.
In the upcoming book, “Personalized,” the authors emphasize that personalization is essential throughout the customer journey. Their research highlights that leaders in personalization consistently deliver exceptional value and customer satisfaction.
They achieve this by empowering, knowing, reaching, showing and delighting customers. For this reason, it is self-evident that actively managing the customer journey is mission critical. Let’s explore how organizations can ensure effective customer journey management for a seamless experience.
Key areas to address include identifying and fixing silos where customer service representatives struggle with system integration, leveraging customer journey mapping to uncover inefficiencies and drive improvements, understanding the impact of organizational structure on the customer journey and prioritizing enhancements that boost integration and customer experience.
With these questions answered, where should CMOs and CIOs focus first to ensure a seamless and effective customer journeys. These were the topics that I inquired of the #CIOChat recently.
Identifying and Addressing Siloed Customer Journeys
Effective customer journey management is often challenged by siloed systems, causing friction when customers move between different systems. Integration efforts, including AI, have reduced these issues, but challenges remain. Common problems include poor communication between marketing, sales and operations due to separate systems, leading to information gaps.
In-transition CIO Martin Davis says, “all too often the customer journey falls between sales and operations, frequently caused by the lack of common systems. For example, sales may be recorded into a CRM system but fail to make it over to operations where they work on the order.”
For many, the elusive “single view of a customer” remains a challenge. However, integration and digital transformation efforts are gradually improving this situation.
Enterprise Architect Ed Featherston claims, “sadly many organizations still strive for the ‘single view of a customer’ but have been unable to attain it; silos are perpetuated, all with their own view of ‘who’ the customer is.”
Manhattanville College CIO Jim Russell adds, “much can be done inside the silos but typically when customers reach out it is related to confusion when they hit friction in our student or employee journey, or they straddle them. Without question, CIOs across other industries are seeing the same breakdown disrupting CX and EX. When you have best of breed systems at each stage, they serve the business more than they serve the customer.”
Futurum Group Vice President Dion Hinchcliffe concludes, “much of the customer journey is siloed. A natural consequence of the functional specialization firms went through last century in sales, marketing, operations, etc. But this doesn’t work well in a digital world. Fortunately, integration is improving.”
Related Article: 6 Elements Needed for High-Impact Customer Journey Management & Operations
The Critical Role of Customer Journey Mapping in CX
Customer journey mapping is a key component of successful customer journey management, though its effectiveness depends on the business or organization’s model. Russell says, “Journey mapping should be a required. We discovered orphaned data and processes, re-keyed data between systems, amplifications of population inequities all in just a week. And we’ve done them before but every time we add new voices, we learn more.”
Hinchcliffe agrees and says, “A customer journey map is an invaluable exercise, especially as a living document representing ground truth in customer experience. As we move to low/no code tools, the digital systems of delivery in CX will self-document. That said, we all must get a lot better at CX.”
Without question, regular mapping uncovers new insights with each iteration, emphasizing the need for diverse voices in the process. It highlights friction points, isolated systems and the true spread of challenges across units.
While journey mapping is crucial, it should be complemented by other tools and approaches. Mapping customer intents to outcomes can be more useful than a process map, ensuring the focus is on results rather than just the journey. As digital tools evolve, self-documenting systems will enhance customer experience mapping.
Davis adds, “It’s amazing how basic tools such as a customer journey mapping are often overlooked. This plus value stream mapping inside the company provides massive insights into what really happens and are often eye openers for the leadership team.”
New Zealand CIO Anthony McMahon agrees and says, “It is hugely valuable, especially as it highlights all the points of friction. But it shouldn’t be the only thing you use to measure customer experience–consider it a tool in the belt, and not the belt itself.”
How Organizational Structure Impacts the Customer Journey
Organizational structure plays a significant role in customer journey management, and its impact varies by industry. In higher education, silos and “turf” mindsets are prevalent, but matrixed operating groups can help mitigate these issues. Organizational structure often causes problems due to historically isolated core systems supporting specific departments, leading to disconnected processes and information.
Challenges also depend on system type and the value chain’s complexity. Organizational structure and culture are significant roadblocks, more so than technology. Senior managers’ egos and unpredictable customer behaviors further complicate the journey, making it difficult to create a seamless experience.
Davis argues, “Organizational structure is often the root cause, because historically core systems supported specific departments which then led to silos of process and information and failures to connect the dots properly.”
And Featherston adds, “I find organizational structure and ensuing culture challenges frequently are the biggest roadblocks in trying to create a smooth customer journey. Tech is easy. People, process, and culture are hard.”
Related Article: Customer Journey Mapping: A How-To Guide
Prioritizing Key Fixes in Your Customer Journey
CIOs provide several valuable suggestions for effective customer journey management, including:
- Identify Pain Points: Understand and address the main customer pain points first, focusing on quick wins to build momentum.
- Control Tone: Develop a consistent interaction metaphor across various customer touchpoints. Map customer intents to outcomes.
- Customer Journey Analysis: Follow the customer journey to identify pain points, across departments like marketing, sales, operations and support.
- Touchpoints and Revenue: Focus on the most used customer touchpoints, those impacting revenue and those frequently mentioned in customer satisfaction surveys.
- Reduce Friction: Reduce customer friction and frustration, potentially through AI.
- Unified CX Role: Ultimately, unifying customer experience under a single role can streamline improvements. Collaboration between CMOs and CIOs is crucial for next-gen customer experience delivery.
In this process, Davis says, “Follow the customer journey, identify the key pain points from a customer perspective.” These pain points, says Featherston, are “customer touchpoints which are most used, which impact revenue, which pop up in customer satisfaction surveys as a pain point.”
Finally, Hinchcliffe suggests, “until more organizations unify customer experience under one role, it will indeed by the CMO and CIO teaming up to deliver next-gen CX. Fortunately, I am seeing steady progress to improve and integrate processes, and even some hope we’ll modernize org structures.”
Final Thoughts on Enhancing Customer Journey Management
This discussion hopefully highlights the critical need for effective customer journey management, emphasizing improved integration and communication between departments. As I shared, customer journey mapping is crucial for identifying pain points but must be complemented by a focus on customer intents and outcomes.
At the same time, organizational structure can exacerbate challenges, with cultural and hierarchical barriers hindering the creation of a seamless customer experiences. CMOs and CIOs should prioritize understanding and addressing organizational issues and customer pain points.
Their goal should be to develop consistent interaction strategies and leveraging AI to reduce friction. Collaborative efforts and a unified approach to customer experience is essential for modernizing and improving organizational processes. Otherwise, change will not stick.
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