Like Phoenix from the ashes - Opportunities for the Greek B2B sector through successful customer experience (CX) management

Hellenic Institute of Customer Service (HICS)Athens, December 18th, 2012

Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus MBA, MResdr.philipp.klaus@gmail.com

http://thecustomerexperienceblog.blogspot.com/

Today’s Agenda

• Importance of Customer Experience (CX)• Exploring Practices and Strategies• Link to profitability• Best practice illustrations• How can you take advantage of this

knowledge?

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Importance of Customer Experience (CX)

• What is it?• 356,000,000 hits • The next competitive battleground • ‘Eighty percent of companies believe they

deliver a superior customer experience, but…• Only 8 percent of their customers agree’

Harvard Management Update • Linkedin (December 10th, 2012) 804 groups with

1,429,082 members ©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Importance CX Strategy

• Need for clear strategy.• Learning from (mistakes of) the past, think

CRM (Maklan, Peppard & Klaus, forthcoming).• Challenge of broad, holistic definition (Klaus &

Maklan, 2007, 2011, forthcoming).• Clear scope, achievable plan, develop dynamic

capabilities (Klaus, 2011).

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Explore Practices

• Interviews With 342 Customer Experience Managers responsible either for global or their country customer experience management strategy

• Industries: Retail, Luxury Goods, Financial Services, Energy And Utilities, Accounting, Telecommunication, Management Consultancy, Professional Services, IT, FMCG, Manufacturing

• B2B, B2C, Services and Goods• Link to profitability

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Clusters of Experience Management Practice

6

Preservers Transformers Vanguard

Definition, Scope and Objectives

Extension of service Acknowledge the broad nature of CE and its strategic importance

Broad and strategic. No other priority “tops” it.

Governance

Functional level, initiatives, Focus within the firm.

Link CE to organizational goals and strategy

Policy and operational levels aligned. Continual assessment and improvement

Management (Operational)

Service quality, channel integration

Channel integration, loyalty, brand perception, recommendation

Integration of business processes through the supply chain and across channels. Commensurate HR and Organisational Development policies.

Policy Development

Lack of over arching vision

Strategic intent, varies as to sponsorship

Committed top level sponsorship, cross functional ownership

Challenges

Not a strategic initiative, cannot make the business case for change

Looking for senior sponsorship, more appropriate metrics, business and process models

Reinvention, maintaining competitive edge. Business partners sometimes a limiting factor.

Source: Klaus, Edvardsson and Maklan (2012)

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Link to Profitability

• Lowest profitability• Transformers• Average performance• Preservers• Highest profitability (by far)• Vanguards

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Best CX Practice in B2B

• Either stay put (Preserver), hope and pray, or…• Move towards (or become) becoming a

vanguard• Vanguards act non-context and industry-

sector specific• Different steps to do this, one proven one…

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Evidence From Our Clients

• Leading Financial B2B Services UK• Introduced CX strategy 4 years ago• Led by CX quality measurement “CXQ”• Only what measures get managed• Marketing ROI• Ranking of what triggers behavior• Cost-cutting opportunities

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Evidence From Our Clients

• Construction USA• Similar situation to Greece in terms of

economic downturn and crisis• Include all supplier in the CX delivery• Remunerate and educate suppliers• Hire people with CX skills• Custom CX research for personalization of

services

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Evidence From Our Clients

• Tourism Industry North America• Align CX expectations to CX segment• Highlight differences in customer stage, 1st,

returning, regular customers• Tailor communications accordingly• Increase in loyalty and positive word-of-mouth

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Evidence From Our Clients

• Outcomes:• Increase in profitability• Increase in market share• Increase ROI of all marketing activities• Cut costs by more than 20 percent• Increase in loyalty• Increase in recommendations

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Secret of Successvvv

Clea

r Defi

nitio

n CE

Str

ateg

y W

ith/B

ased

Upo

n CE

Mea

sure

men

t

Financial Success in Terms of Revenue Increase Based on CE Strategy

Preservers

Transformers

Vanguards

©Prof. Dr. Phil Klaus & Associates – The Customer Experience Blogspot® - All rights reserved

Conclusions

• Challenges are great times for opportunities• Counter approach – in crisis successful• CX is a, or even THE key

Thank you for your attention. For further information on how to develop winning CX

strategies and practices please contact:

dr.philipp.klaus@gmail.com