Jim Tincher

Good Data Beats Great Surveys

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I had a call last week with a client who reached out to Heart of the Customer with a business problem they were trying to tackle.

Despite a portal update that was well received internally, an unexpectedly high number of customers continued to call their contact center to resolve issues.

“I really don’t get it,” she shared with me. “The answers to all of their questions are right there. They could solve it in 20 seconds on the portal, whereas a phone call takes minutes just to authenticate them. Not to mention that it costs us a ton more!” Read more

Jim Tincher

The Upside of Nitty-Gritty CX Truths!

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Last week I wrote about three little-discussed, but somewhat frustrating, aspects of CX: Nobody really gets what you do; Everyone thinks they’re a customer experience person, too; and CX can be lonely.

Then I heard from my good friend Lori Laflin, VP of Digital Experience at Compeer. She questioned my out-of-character negativity, saying: Read more

Jim Tincher

Nitty-Gritty CX Truths

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You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but those in customer experience can have a rough go of it. 

You’re typically a small group – that is, when it’s not just you by your lonesome! – and you’re tasked with influencing the entire organization. That results in a different type of role, and there are some facets to that reality that you just don’t see talked about very often.  

So let’s go there:  Read more

Jim Tincher

Focus on Moments of Truth

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In every customer journey, there are interactions that matter more than others. Those moments can cause customers to leave you, or lead to stronger engagement, or make customers more expensive to serve.

We call these key interactions “Moments of Truth,” and identifying them is among the most important findings of journey mapping and other customer experience research.

Why? Because these moments have a disproportionate impact on long-term loyalty and customers’ overall perception of the journey. In short, these moments matter most, and focusing on them makes your experience improvement efforts more cost-efficient and impactful. Read more

Jim Tincher

A Journey of One: The Future of CX

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In customer experience, we believe in the power of frontline workers. We build training and processes so that they can better engage our customers and improve outcomes for both those customers and our business.

Also, as a whole, we’re an optimistic lot. We believe, with the right systems in place, that individual frontline workers can provide an anticipatory experience that will delight customers and create the better outcomes we strive for.

It’s a laudable belief, and there are even times when it works. Read more

Jim Tincher

Don’t Leave Your Customers Stranded

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I rarely post about bad customer experiences I myself have endured. On a professional level, I note what’s going on – and of course, what the company should be doing differently! – but on a personal level, I understand these kinds of things happen and typically don’t let them get to me.

But I’m calling out a recent trip with Delta, because it hinges on lessons we should all learn.

First, let me say that I typically enjoy traveling with Delta and have had mostly excellent experiences. And many of the initial problems in this instance were beyond Delta’s control.

Until they weren’t. Read more

Jim Tincher

ICYMI, Part 2: 2021 Impact Roundup

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Last week, I spotlighted some of our best tech-related posts from 2021.

This week, as we close the book on this challenging year, I’m focusing on 2021 posts about the most important outcome of our work in CX: showing business impact.

We know we can do this by improving the experience for customers, but to get the necessary support for from leadership to make that happen, we have to be able demonstrate that it works! Read more

Jim Tincher

ICYMI, Part 1: 2021 Tech Roundup

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Last week, I posted my prediction that 2022 will be The Year of Data Integration.

So this week, as we prepare to tie a bow on 2021, I want to draw your attention to a handful of posts from earlier this year by Heart of the Customer CTO Shawn Phillips.

They offer insights on CX technology (current state and what’s to come) and provide background and context for my prediction. Read more

Jim Tincher

2022: The Year of Data Integration

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Late last year, I predicted that 2021 would be The Year of Data. And while it’s against my nature to say I told you so…boy, did I nail that one!

(That said, I also forecasted that Mall of America wouldn’t last five years, so my predictions aren’t always that good.)

My 2021 prediction stemmed from our 2020 research, which showed that leading CX programs were analyzing the behavioral, operational, and financial data in journeys to discover what customers were actually doing; the business’s behaviors that impacted the customer; and the financial outcomes that resulted from the interaction of those two factors. Read more

Jim Tincher

Drive Your CX Strategy With Dashboards

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My time as a CX practitioner (as opposed to a consultant) is a bit dated, in that I left that role more than a decade ago. But it’s still important (even more so in my current role) to keep up to date on the state of the practice.

That’s how I deliver best-in-class services to our clients. And why I regularly interview CX leaders to learn more about their efforts, successes, and challenges.

Before COVID, I did this by spending two days on-site, embedded in a selected organization. During that time, I’d shadow a CX leader, attend meetings, and ask interview questions.

In the eight years since I founded Heart of the Customer, these were the days I learned the most. Read more