The scalability of CX: expectations versus reality

When we talk to organizations about customer experience (CX) or about CX tooling, we often get the reaction that they are already working on this or that they’re quite ‘good’ when it comes to it. They managed to leverage customer data for providing a relevant interaction. However, we notice that the company’s internal expectations are rarely met. A pilot was delivered, but they are struggling with the next steps. We often hear they expected to see results sooner, but that the first use case still isn’t on point months after the launch, or that they have little overview of the various use cases and how they impact each other. The use cases should all be linked to each other as they are all meant for the same customers eventually.

A program with personalized banners in an app, for instance, needs to rhyme with the next best offer program that is launched through the call center for inbound calls. If these programs are not connected, you might give your customers irrelevant offers or miss out on opportunities. Next to that, the companies we talk to realize they need a lot more people for the set-up and maintenance of the CX program department-wide, exceeding the initial budget and putting the ROI under pressure.

And all of this comes down to one impactful realization that can’t be neglected: the scalability of CX is a serious challenge to overcome.

Digging deeper, we can distinguish 5 typical CX scalability issues:

• Set-up of an extra use case: This is an incremental exercise, but if every additional use case requires the same effort of the original one, the cost will be enormous.
• Maintenance of the implemented use cases: It is an illusion that you’ll get everything right from the start. How flexible are the use cases you put into practice? Can you easily adapt rules, manage journey stages and audiences, etc.? If we all follow the cycle of implementing, measuring and tweaking, we know how essential this final stage is as marginal improvements can have a major impact.
• Orchestration of the various use cases: With your customers having different needs, a use case does not live in isolation. Can you deal with interferences, and how do you decide which experience suits which context? As timeliness is so crucial, ask yourself whether you are able to act upon real-time info?
• The infrastructure beneath the platform: Technology can help to better manage your CX, but is there a limit? Focusing on CX means providing an appropriate level of service to all your customers. Is the capacity of your technology adjusted to the large number of customers you want to target?
• People operating the platform: Let’s not forget that technology does not live on its own (yet). Business users are needed to configure, manage, and use the technology to deliver that exceptional experience to the customer. How easy is it for them to use the technology? Is the knowhow limited to a happy few? How long does it take to onboard new business users? And how scarce is their profile?

So if you look at this as these questions, which boxes can you check? Which areas have you got covered and where should your organization put in some extra focus and effort? Scaling your CX is more than just running a pilot project with technology.