Customer Service Week: Why Enterprises Need to Focus on CX

It’s almost here, so let me be the first to wish you a happy Customer Experience Day! While customer experience (CX) is significant year-round, the first Tuesday in October represents a special opportunity to thank, reflect on, and celebrate those who work so hard in CX-oriented roles in the workplace. 

CX Day falls inside of National Customer Service Week, which is a big deal at Liveops. While we celebrate agents and their service every day, it’s our pleasure to pay special attention to the face behind the phone on CX Day, as they are critical to high-quality experiences. In the same vein, it’s vital to recognize the significance of CX in the success of your enterprise. 

What is CX, and why does it matter?  

Simply, CX is the totality of every touchpoint a patron has with your business before, during, and after making a purchase. A fundamental piece of CX is the quality of human interaction and communication a consumer receives on behalf of your enterprise. In that regard, customers are typically looking for competence, empathy, patience, and timely assistance from a friendly face or voice. Whenever you’re patronizing a business, how would you like to shop, be approached, or interact with representatives? What are your ideals as a consumer? That’s CX. 

Unfortunately, CX is often cast aside as an afterthought or falls victim to budget cuts, perhaps because enterprises find its effect hard to trace. In fact, 1 in 5 businesses were expected to cut entire CX teams in 2023 altogether. With a nebulous ROI, it’s no wonder CX has been historically underrated and neglected. In honor of CX Day, we’ll let you in on a little secret. When done well, bolstering CX has a direct correlation to profit, and the ROI of investing in your enterprise’s CX is calculable. At Liveops, we understand an enterprise needs buy-in from leadership to secure a budget for CX, and that it’s imperative to present a solid, numbers-based case to the powers that be. Metrics are critical, and Forrester has provided the tools to make the case with their CX Index Score equation.  

Putting CX low on your enterprise’s priority list—or removing it from your priority list completely—is a mistake that can cost you more in the end. After all, it’s easier and cheaper to retain existing customers than to garner new ones. Positive CX generates brand loyalty, which translates to dollars and cents on your bottom line. Further, when a consumer has an extraordinary CX over and over, they become brand ambassadors for your enterprise, evangelizing the merits of your business free of charge. Individuals advocating for your enterprise by word-of-mouth is invaluable. 

Why is CX Day so important? 

Take a moment to consider National Nurses Week, an annual celebration that takes place every May. Nurses make up a population fundamental to healthcare as an industry, yes, but they also provide deeply personal bedside manner for individuals experiencing a medical event. Nurses and CX professionals may seem like an unlikely comparison, but think about it: how many aspects of your consumption, whether it be services or goods, are informed by the quality of communication you receive from a business? Whether it be software, clothing, cars, groceries, insurance, airfare, recreational activities, you name it—every day we consume something that directly or indirectly involves CX. While CX might not pertain to a medical event, the frequency with which CX is encountered is (hopefully) greater, and can heavily influence how people feel. With such a vast applicability, it’s warranted to designate a time to express gratitude to those passionately working behind the scenes to create and deliver remarkable experiences for consumers. 

How do I invest in CX?  

One of the most impactful CX strategies is investing in the agents that interface with your customers. When agents know they are valued and their efforts are acknowledged, they’re more likely to go the extra mile when providing CX. Putting a large emphasis on  the agent experience (AX) ultimately maximizes CX for the businesses those agents represent. Liveops has a dedicated team focused on improving the agent experience by providing programming to improve efficiency, develop skillsets, and create a robust, supportive community.  

Rewarding remarkable CX provided by specific agents perpetuates efforts, creating a positive cycle of CX. While one customer’s experience may not seem critical, remember that your enterprise’s collective body of consumers is made up of individuals. Every interaction counts, and agent/customer interaction is a huge piece of overall CX. 

Another CX strategy is to lean into AI and any tech complementary to human interaction. Note that AI and agents should not be siloed, but should work in tandem. Too much AI/bot interaction leaves a customer feeling frustrated and undervalued, while minimizing AI and technological reliance can unnecessarily exhaust human reserves. As with anything, there’s a balance. 

From revisiting and galvanizing your business’s “why,” to eliciting and acting on feedback, to keeping up with trends, there are a lot of ways to be proactive in fostering strong CX. 

How to Celebrate CX Day 

From providing a meal to handwriting personalized notes of gratitude to offering a bonus or day off, there are a lot of ways an enterprise can celebrate CX Day. The effort to participate in CX Day goes a long way in terms of making it clear to agents and CX teams that they are appreciated and held in high regard. They are a critical component to a business’s success and should be reminded regularly, especially during National Customer Service Week. 

When boiled down to math, the CX upside to your enterprise is irrefutable. However, many businesses don’t know this, which now puts you at an advantage. Implementing initiatives to improve CX will put you ahead of industry peers by garnering more loyalty and strengthening your bottom line. It’s an opportunity to be a leader in your industry, paving the way with informed CX efforts that transform businesses and expand profit margins. What better way to celebrate CX Day?