Talking CX: Unlocking Business Success through Employee Experience To Deliver Great CX

Delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX) has become a top priority for companies seeking a competitive edge. To achieve this, your employees must understand why CX is important and their role in delivering on it.

We spoke to insight6 Specialist Chris Lowe about measuring the employee experience to improve business performance.

Name: Chris Lowe

Location: Manchester and West Yorkshire

Joined insight6: February 2013

Previous job: National Sales Manager (Associate Director), FTSE500 Pharmaceutical Company.

Professional background: Chris spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry, leading sales teams of up to 70 people regionally and nationally.

What is the most critical factor for businesses to get right to deliver a great customer experience? 

To improve customer experience (CX), a business must prioritise the employee experience. Investing in people and recruiting leaders at all levels who care about their teams is crucial for successful CX.

Communicating and living your organisation's values will allow you to build a positive culture from which the whole team will benefit.  

Focusing on what your team are doing well and celebrating their progression will enhance this further. If we can get to a ratio of providing four pieces of positive feedback for every part of constructive feedback, then teams become more willing to learn and feel good about their performance. When they feel good, they become good and just get better and better.

I can't stress enough how important it is to invest in your people and ensure that leaders at all levels care about their people – get that right, and your CX will follow.

Where do businesses need to improve when delivering a positive customer experience?  

My advice to businesses looking to deliver a more positive customer experience is to take your time and beware of making changes based on the areas that have the biggest impact on your customer experience.

Once the core measurables have been established, continuous monitoring and reviewing of performance over time can identify elements that may require attention. This also provides a reliable baseline for measuring future progress.

The biggest mistake businesses can make when implementing a CX strategy is to force it onto their teams. Instead, engage the team, encourage them to share their ideas and allow them to implement them. Then, incentivise the team to deliver superb CX and provide the necessary tools and resources. Teams that implement their own strategies can then celebrate their own results!

When a business is considering its performance targets, what advice do you have to offer?

If a business is considering its performance targets, I would advise prioritising the customer experience (CX) as a critical factor in achieving long-term revenue growth. CX is crucial for customer retention and expansion.

Unfortunately, many small to medium-sized businesses do not prioritise CX because it's often seen as less tangible than other KPIs such as sales.

The leadership team need to consistently demonstrate that they care about CX. It has to be measured and discussed consistently. To achieve this, set a clear vision and objective for CX at the board level - Chris Lowe, insight6

The leadership team need to demonstrate that they care about CX consistently. It has to be measured and discussed consistently. To achieve this, set a clear vision and objective for CX at the board level. This will ensure managers and their teams prioritise CX and make it a united goal. It's also essential to include regular measurement and CX objectives in annual reviews to keep the focus on CX performance.

Can you share a story about a negative customer experience you have had?  

Certainly! I've had some unfortunate experiences with the telecom industry. One month, while checking my phone bill, I noticed that BT had been overcharging me for a few months. After a frustrating conversation with one of their customer service team members, I was left outraged. The employee refused to accept any fault for the overcharge and instead attempted to blame me for not reviewing each bill.

I had a similar experience with Vodafone, where a customer service representative insisted that my issue could not be resolved over the phone and that I would need to go to a store. They terminated the call, and I had to make a second call to have the issue resolved. It was then resolved on the phone.

These experiences demonstrate that a single employee can create a negative impression of a business and its attitude towards its customers. Therefore, investing in your teams and regularly reviewing their performance is crucial to ensure a positive customer experience.

Who, in your opinion, is leading the way in delivering an exceptional customer experience, and what sets them apart? 

first direct is an excellent example of a company that has revolutionised the traditional banking industry by delivering exceptional customer experience. Their lack of high street presence means they needed to stand out in other ways, and they've chosen to do so by prioritising the customer above all else.

One of the standout features of First Direct's CX strategy is its focus on empowering its customer service team. When you call their customer service team, you get straight through to someone trained and authorised to resolve any query. The team are motivated to help customers and doesn't have to pass callers on to another team or a manager because they have been empowered and upskilled to handle customer issues, setting them apart from other banking call centres.

Overall, First Direct's commitment to delivering excellent CX and empowering their customer service team has made them leaders in the industry, and they continue to set the bar for others to follow. 

What led you to join insight6 and pursue a career in CX?  

After a successful pharmaceutical career, I was ready for a new challenge. A big driver for wanting to start my own business was an open-ended earning potential based on my success.

I started looking at franchises as I didn't necessarily have a 'big idea' for my business; I just knew I wanted to use my leadership and sales development skills further. insight6 ticked all the boxes, and the world of CX and how passionate insight6 is about the subject excited me.

I love seeing transformation; whether it's behaviour change, sales performance or customer experience, it all comes back to leadership and people skills.

What is your favourite part of the job?

The best thing about being a CX consultant is working closely with business owners or decision-makers, having complete oversight of the whole business, and being able to advise them on how to make real change. It's like an access-all-areas pass!

Improving selling skills within a business is a crucial area of interest; it allows me to train, coach and mentor. I enjoy watching a team grow in confidence and ability – I liken it to putting the wind beneath their wings.

Seeing the change in Google reviews when I start working with clients is also fantastic. I'm business-focused, and our online feedback tool, instantinsight, delivers tangible results, publishing reviews straight to your platform of choice!

What type of clients are you working with right now?

We have two major cities within our area – Manchester and Leeds – so we work with many legal and professional service firms. I speak at legal networking events across the region, and we get many referrals from the sector.

We also work with a large motor trade business as well as a lot of independent companies across lots of different sectors. I love the diversity as CX translates across every industry!

About the author: 

Chris Lowe is insight6 Specialist for Manchester and West Yorkshire. Please feel free t reach out and connect with Chris on LinkedIn. 

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At insight6, our unique and tailored solutions allow businesses to transform their customer experience cost-effectively, from end to end, with the dedicated support of a local specialist. To find your local Specialist to transform your customer experience, call +44 (0) 800 970 8987 or visit www.insight6.com. 

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