Hi Daphne, tell us about yourself, your background?
I’m currently building and laying the foundation for a scalable CX machine at a tech startup in Toronto, Canada: #paid. I’ve been with the company in various capacities over the past 5 years, from Finance to RevOps to CX. It’s been amazing to grow and scale my skillset with the company and people in tandem. Prior to #paid, I’ve led roles in Retail Procurement and Finance (always been a numbers/operations kinda person)! I’m a customer, and people advocate by trade, and an operator by experience. Outside of work, I love eating my way through countries I visit and experience with my partner!
Online commerce was booming in 2020, and so did consumer reviews. – How can brands better utilize this data to improve their customers’ experience?
Consumer reviews should inform brands what their customer’s biggest problems are with the product or experience as well as what the brand should continue doing that their customers rave about. With reviews laying the foundation for experience iterations and product development, brands can feel confident their roadmap is aligned with what their customers want and expect of them. When brands design and lead with a customer-first approach, they create a powerful competitive advantage and strong customer loyalty.
I would take it a step further and suggest that brands not only engage with customer reviews, which seems table stakes now but also create re-engagement campaigns based on customer sentiment and cohort. These re-engagement strategies may include reaching out with a new product or feature updates specific to the customer’s feedback, as well as following up to unlock more opportunities to hear directly from customers.
What is one element that must always be considered when working on a CXM (customer experience management) strategy?
Data! Accessibility, availability, and accuracy of data are integral to any CXM strategy. Every great strategy starts with reading the story inferred from numbers. I like thinking about this in a methodical way. Start with a hypothesis you want to test and create metrics of success to validate whether or not the results produce value. Lay the groundwork to ensure the metrics can be tracked and monitored regularly (ideally in a decentralized way so anyone can participate if they’re interested).
Start experimenting with changes to the process in sample sizes to understand the impact. Use these small tests to inform the hypothesis and provide direction on the process and/or product changes. Depending on the impact level of the change, the rollout may be phased or in one fell swoop. Gather feedback on the change, preparing for the next iteration. REPEAT.
Do you think personalization and customer-centricity are going to become increasingly more relevant in the coming year? How so?
Personalization and customer-centricity seem to already be baseline expectations customers have of top brands. In the coming year, it will be more important than ever for brands to keep up with customer demands while balancing internal resources to support these customers.
Growth from headcount is good, but growth from process or product efficiencies is better. Leaning into low-touch or no-touch high-tech customer experiences will help CX folks spend less time doing things that can be automated and more time solving hard problems with their customers. This consultative approach is a higher impact and value on consumers and should contribute positively to retention and loyalty over time.
What’s the most insightful book you read in 2020?
An oldie but a goodie, “Outwitting the Devil” by Napoleon Hill. Written over 80 years ago yet still so relevant (even more relevant somehow?!) to today’s environment 👏
Daphne’s predictions for the future of CX
What are your predictions for trends in customer experience in the coming year?
- An increase in re-engagement tactics and solutions to win back churned or inactive customers.
- Promotion-fatigue by customers.
- More community-based events and memberships to foster learning amongst customers.
Last but not least, what is your favorite CX metric?
Retention! It tells the story like it is and is an integral driver of sustainable growth.
