With the emergence and growing momentum of Customer Experience as a strategic imperative, companies are becoming more and more passionate and polarized. At one extreme, we see companies failing to invest enough resources. At the other end we see some investing thousands, even millions, into a well intended marketing sinkhole and accomplishing very little.
What is needed is an approach designed to co-create purpose and measurable profits (value) for both companies and their customers. In theory this sounds simplistic but in application this is anything but easy and it requires companies to take a much deeper look at themselves, their customers and the communities in which they operate. To create thick Customer Experiences companies need to Create Shared Value. This goes far beyond VOC programs, it requires companies to rethink their products and services to simultaneously create economic and social progress. I am not challenging the significance of the voice of the customer, but I would challenge companies to rethink what they are asking and what they are hearing.
To create thicker Customer Experiences companies first need to understand the basic principles of Creating Shared Value and have unimaginable clarity. We have much to celebrate with regards to how far we have come in the Customer Experience movement but we are just beginning to scratch the surface of its true potential!