3 Ways Companies Get Customer Experience Wrong (new HBR article)

Don't leave your company vulnerable to competitors who are committed to boosting customer-facing value to improve the bottom line.

Marketing Growth Leaders welcome CX author and superstar Jeanne Bliss (front row, indigo blouse), 2018.
Marketing Growth Leaders welcome CX author and superstar Jeanne Bliss (front row, indigo blouse), 2018.

This year, it’s tempting for C-Suite leaders to obsess over boosting the balance sheet.

They focus on efficiency—the theme song of our times.

I see it every day in my CEO Coaching. I bet you see it, too.

This is what my clients secretly tell me…

My board/boss wants us to go faster. Hire fewer people. Replace analysts or assistants with generative AI tools. Combine the jobs of three people into one job. Grow revenues without making additional hires.

This approach has irreparable consequences. It leaves companies vulnerable to competitors who are committed to boosting customer-facing value to improve the bottom line.

Marketing Growth Leaders welcome CX author and superstar Jeanne Bliss (front row, indigo blouse), 2018.

✨ Here’s a recent example. ✨

A mid-sized B2B public company recently experienced a six-month stock price dip. The CFO immediately froze all new marketing initiatives. They required every executive team leader to find at least $1 million in expenses to cut.

For the CMO, this represented a missed opportunity to invest in identifying new customer segments, to fortify their retention strategies, and to experiment with new CX programs.

That CMO understands what it takes to grow. He brings a rich set of experiences from his previous roles in enterprise software and financial services — such as strategic account planning, customer advisory board programs, and brand-fortifying thought leadership strategies.

Investing in just ONE of those areas would have paid for itself by sparking long-term growth at a time when their MUCH larger competitors were cutting back.

Don’t let this happen to your firm. Consider these strategies in my HBR article. (you will find this article filled with helpful advice, examples and links).

How are you boosting the balance sheet without sacrificing long term customer impact and loyalty? Drop me a note. I’d love to hear from you.

And on a personal note…

You’ve probably heard the quip:

“How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice, practice, practice.”

We don’t know the origin. But it applies to me at this moment in time.

When my editor launched my first article on the cover of HBR.org, I wanted to sing from the Virginia mountaintop.

I’ve been practicing life as an author and writer for 28 years.

Getting published in HBR is my Carnegie Hall.

Play on!

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