Once you find out what a living journey map can do, you won’t have any trouble understanding why it’s so important to the success of your CX initiatives.
So what can it do?
Unlike a static journey map, a living journey map doesn’t remain fixed in particular point in time. It changes and evolves as your journey does, tracking updates in customer/operational data and KPIs across the entire journey as you implement improvements. This allows you not only to see what’s working, but to prove it with the kind of hard business data the C-suite is eager to see. (And who here isn’t eager to please the C-suite?) Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/one-backpack-track-tourist-connection-palm-scaled.jpg10661600Shawn Phillipshttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngShawn Phillips2021-02-18 06:00:132021-02-18 05:22:59What Is a Living Journey Map?
One of the most critical findings from our 100+ interviews with CX pros over the course of 2020 was the importance of selecting one emotional outcome for your experience and using it as a design target. This is because emotions are the heart of your customer experience.
But for some reason, few programs deliberately measure and manage their emotional outcomes, even though emotions strongly outweigh effectiveness and ease. (This holds true even for B2B, as Jen Zamora of Dow so eloquently demonstrated in my interview with her.)
This omission was particularly glaring for me during my recent experience with West Elm, Williams-Sonoma’s chain of high-end, artfully designed furniture stores.
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/bored-tires-businessman-1-scaled.jpg10761600Jim Tincherhttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngJim Tincher2021-02-05 06:00:462021-02-12 19:53:48Learn From West Elm’s Missed Opportunity
Far too many companies with CX programs cannot show that they are making a difference to the business. This prevents them from being included in decision making and contributing to the health of their companies. There’s a solution to this problem: customer health dashboards.
Customer health dashboards are foundational to measuring and improving (and proving!) the impact your CX efforts. The research Heart of the Customer undertook over the course of 2020 clearly showed that the vast majority of leading programs used customer health dashboards. Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dashboards-scaled.jpg10661600Shawn Phillipshttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngShawn Phillips2021-01-27 06:00:042021-01-25 05:39:11Customer Health Dashboard Tips
After reviewing The Journey Mapping Playbookearlier this month, it struck me that one of the biggest misses in the book (outside of the flawed methodology) was its failure to touch on Moments of Truth. Those are the key interactions that have a disproportionate impact on a customer’s overall perception of the journey.
Don’t make the mistake of ignoring this critical data point! Moments of Truth are where you determine customer outcomes, so there’s really no point doing journey mapping if you don’t focus on revealing and addressing them.
But too many companies just don’t understand the opportunity they present.
Some take a watered-down approach. Some define them overly expansively as “any opportunity a customer (or potential customer) has to form an impression about a company, brand, product, or service.” Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/moment-of-truth-image.jpg13091527Jim Tincherhttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngJim Tincher2021-01-20 06:00:222021-01-20 08:43:54The Truth About Moments of Truth
Customer experience has three components: Effectiveness, Ease, and Emotion. But too often, CX programs focus only on the first two. Why? Because they’re simpler to address.
Emotion is more elusive and complicated. But it’s where true loyalty is earned (as opposed to just preventing disloyalty).
That message hit home to me when my Fitbit died…again!
I was an early adopter and have owned several Fitbits over the past decade or so. Almost all of them managed to fail shortly after the warranty expired. (Show of hands – who doesn’t love that?)
When the unit I was using just over a year ago died, I decided to upgrade to the Versa 2 Smartwatch, hoping that the higher-end product would last a bit longer. No such luck.
So I eagerly dug into Jerry Angrave’s new book, The Journey Mapping Playbook. Here’s what I found: it’s easy to read, is full of great information about setting up a journey mapping workshop…and it provides all the tips and tools you need to create really unfortunate outcomes for your business. Read more
I admit it – I’m a child of the ‘80s. We’ve got 150+ stations on oursatellite radio, but it stays tuned to 80s on 8 or First Wave, except for those rare occasions when I stray to the ‘70s or ’90s stations. (Much to the chagrin of my wife, who has broader musical tastes. But marriage is compromise, right?)
During the pandemic, I’ve been listening even more, and it occurred to me one day recently thatthe music of that era informed my views about customer experience early on.
Obviously, the ‘80s were the decade of (the) Journey. Their sage advice taught me how important it is to put customers in control and deliver an experience “Any Way You Want It”. Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/80s-post-scaled.jpg10661600Jim Tincherhttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngJim Tincher2020-12-28 06:00:522021-02-26 00:18:55Learn Everything You Need to Know About CX From ’80s Music
Given the year we’ve had, we need to talk hygiene. Because I suspect you’ve been neglecting it.
Not because of the sweatpants you wore in that Zoom meeting, or that you don’t always sing “Happy Birthday” twice when you wash your hands.
I mean digital hygiene, and the need to clean your data.
Each of the past five years have been hailed as the “The Year of Digital Transformation.” We thought we were working hard to digitize our experiences.
Then the pandemic hit. And we realized we weren’t doing nearly enough. New digital capabilities came up almost overnight, as agile teams worked to pivot toward emerging customer needs. E-commerce sites, digital notifications, ship from store – all capabilities that were just “in the works” a year ago were deployed quickly. Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BeFunky-design.jpg10801080Jim Tincherhttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngJim Tincher2020-12-21 06:00:122020-12-21 17:04:532021: The Year of CX Data
CX is all about driving customer-focused change in your organization, with initiatives that drive top or bottom-line value.
And in today’s world, 10 out of 10 of those initiatives will involve technology in some way. (Actually, given all the ways we’ve gone virtual due to COVID-19, make that 12 out of 10!)
At Heart of the Customer, we know from our research that Change Makers – the most effective programs in the CX space – rely heavily on the tools in the CX Tech Stack to accelerate journey improvements and business impact, and boost the value they bring to their customers.
The good news? These tools are all readily available on the marketplace, so you can (and should) be using them, too. The CX Tech Stack is key to making a difference…and perhaps even more importantly, proving the difference you are making. Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Tech-Stack-300x306-1.jpg306300Shawn Phillipshttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngShawn Phillips2020-12-12 20:00:592021-02-24 10:05:19What Can the CX Tech Stack Do for You?
As I’m sure many of you were, I was shocked to hear of Tony Hsieh’s untimely death this past weekend.
In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, Tony is the recently-retired CEO of Zappos. In that role, he shepherded an online shoe seller with annual sales around $1 million (Zappos started as ShoeSite.com) into a massive e-commerce enterprise that sold to Amazon just 10 years later for $1.2 billion.
It’s a testament to his talent and vision that that accomplishment isn’t the most notable thing about him. (But you should still read his fascinating, candid account of how the sale went down!) Read more
https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/leafless-tree-snowy-hill-with-cloudy-sky-background-black-white-1.png8001067Jim Tincherhttps://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hotc-logo.pngJim Tincher2020-12-03 06:00:472020-12-16 11:57:57CX Loses a Visionary
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What Is a Living Journey Map?
/0 Comments/in Customer Journey Mapping, Journey Analytics & Orchestration, Metrics & ROI /by Shawn PhillipsOnce you find out what a living journey map can do, you won’t have any trouble understanding why it’s so important to the success of your CX initiatives.
So what can it do?
Unlike a static journey map, a living journey map doesn’t remain fixed in particular point in time. It changes and evolves as your journey does, tracking updates in customer/operational data and KPIs across the entire journey as you implement improvements. This allows you not only to see what’s working, but to prove it with the kind of hard business data the C-suite is eager to see. (And who here isn’t eager to please the C-suite?) Read more
Learn From West Elm’s Missed Opportunity
/3 Comments/in B2B Journeys (or B2B2C), CX Program Strategy /by Jim TincherBut for some reason, few programs deliberately measure and manage their emotional outcomes, even though emotions strongly outweigh effectiveness and ease. (This holds true even for B2B, as Jen Zamora of Dow so eloquently demonstrated in my interview with her.)
This omission was particularly glaring for me during my recent experience with West Elm, Williams-Sonoma’s chain of high-end, artfully designed furniture stores.
Read more
Customer Health Dashboard Tips
/0 Comments/in Customer Journey Mapping, Journey Analytics & Orchestration, Metrics & ROI /by Shawn PhillipsFar too
many companies with CX programs cannot show that they are making a difference to the business. This prevents them from being included in decision making and contributing to the health of their companies. There’s a solution to this problem: customer health dashboards.
Customer health dashboards are foundational to measuring and improving (and proving!) the impact your CX efforts. The research Heart of the Customer undertook over the course of 2020 clearly showed that the vast majority of leading programs used customer health dashboards. Read more
The Truth About Moments of Truth
/0 Comments/in CX Program Strategy /by Jim TincherAfter reviewing The Journey Mapping Playbook earlier this month, it struck me that one of the biggest misses in the book (outside of the flawed methodology) was its failure to touch on Moments of Truth. Those are the key interactions that have a disproportionate impact on a customer’s overall perception of the journey.
Don’t make the mistake of ignoring this critical data point! Moments of Truth are where you determine customer outcomes, so there’s really no point doing journey mapping if you don’t focus on revealing and addressing them.
But too many companies just don’t understand the opportunity they present.
Some take a watered-down approach. Some define them overly expansively as “any opportunity a customer (or potential customer) has to form an impression about a company, brand, product, or service.” Read more
Fitbit Proves Rich Emotions Can Overcome Poor Quality
/0 Comments/in CX Program Strategy, Surveys & Feedback, Voice of the Customer /by Jim TincherEmotion is more elusive and complicated. But it’s where true loyalty is earned (as opposed to just preventing disloyalty).
That message hit home to me when my Fitbit died…again!
I was an early adopter and have owned several Fitbits over the past decade or so. Almost all of them managed to fail shortly after the warranty expired. (Show of hands – who doesn’t love that?)
When the unit I was using just over a year ago died, I decided to upgrade to the Versa 2 Smartwatch, hoping that the higher-end product would last a bit longer. No such luck.
Read more
Fun Read/Flawed Approach (Book Review)
/0 Comments/in Customer Journey Mapping, CX Program Strategy /by Jim TincherAs an avid reader dedicated to continually expanding my professional knowledge, I’m always interested in new books relating to customer experience. This is doubly true for the topic of journey mapping, since I contributed to one of the early books on the subject (Mapping Experiences by Jim Kalbach) and co-wrote a comprehensive guidebook (How Hard Is It to Be Your Customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change).
So I eagerly dug into Jerry Angrave’s new book, The Journey Mapping Playbook. Here’s what I found: it’s easy to read, is full of great information about setting up a journey mapping workshop…and it provides all the tips and tools you need to create really unfortunate outcomes for your business. Read more
Learn Everything You Need to Know About CX From ’80s Music
/0 Comments/in CX Program Strategy /by Jim TincherDuring the pandemic, I’ve been listening even more, and it occurred to me one day recently that the music of that era informed my views about customer experience early on.
Obviously, the ‘80s were the decade of (the) Journey. Their sage advice taught me how important it is to put customers in control and deliver an experience “Any Way You Want It”. Read more
2021: The Year of CX Data
/in Customer Experience Vision, CX Program Strategy, Metrics & ROI /by Jim TincherNot because of the sweatpants you wore in that Zoom meeting, or that you don’t always sing “Happy Birthday” twice when you wash your hands.
I mean digital hygiene, and the need to clean your data.
Each of the past five years have been hailed as the “The Year of Digital Transformation.” We thought we were working hard to digitize our experiences.
Then the pandemic hit. And we realized we weren’t doing nearly enough. New digital capabilities came up almost overnight, as agile teams worked to pivot toward emerging customer needs. E-commerce sites, digital notifications, ship from store – all capabilities that were just “in the works” a year ago were deployed quickly. Read more
What Can the CX Tech Stack Do for You?
/in CX Program Strategy, Journey Analytics & Orchestration, Voice of the Customer /by Shawn PhillipsAnd in today’s world, 10 out of 10 of those initiatives will involve technology in some way. (Actually, given all the ways we’ve gone virtual due to COVID-19, make that 12 out of 10!)
At Heart of the Customer, we know from our research that Change Makers – the most effective programs in the CX space – rely heavily on the tools in the CX Tech Stack to accelerate journey improvements and business impact, and boost the value they bring to their customers.
The good news? These tools are all readily available on the marketplace, so you can (and should) be using them, too. The CX Tech Stack is key to making a difference…and perhaps even more importantly, proving the difference you are making. Read more
CX Loses a Visionary
/1 Comment/in Driving CX Culture Change, Employee Experience /by Jim TincherIn case the name doesn’t ring a bell, Tony is the recently-retired CEO of Zappos. In that role, he shepherded an online shoe seller with annual sales around $1 million (Zappos started as ShoeSite.com) into a massive e-commerce enterprise that sold to Amazon just 10 years later for $1.2 billion.
It’s a testament to his talent and vision that that accomplishment isn’t the most notable thing about him. (But you should still read his fascinating, candid account of how the sale went down!) Read more