The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast: How To Sell Customer Experience, Not Customer Service

Episode Overview

In the November 27, 2024 episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, host Jon Chance engages in a profound conversation with Jeannie Walters, an award-winning customer experience expert and founder of Experience Investigators Affirm. The discussion centers on redefining customer experience (CX) beyond traditional customer service, exploring strategies to enhance sales and customer retention through exceptional experiences. This comprehensive summary delves into the key topics, insights, and actionable advice shared during the episode.

1. Introduction to Customer Experience

Jeannie Walters opens the dialogue by distinguishing customer experience from customer service. She emphasizes that while customer service is a component of the overall experience, CX encompasses every interaction a customer has with a brand throughout their entire journey—from initial awareness to becoming a loyal advocate.

Jeannie Walters [02:17]: "Customer experience is literally what happens throughout the entire journey. Every interaction you have between a brand and a customer from before they even know they need you to all the way to when they leave you or become a lifelong customer."

2. Customer Experience vs. Marketing

Jon Chance raises an important question about the relationship between customer experience and marketing, wondering if CX is merely a subset of marketing. Jeannie Walters clarifies that while marketing focuses on connecting with customers and guiding their journey, customer experience deals with understanding and designing interactions from the customer's perspective.

Jeannie Walters [04:32]: "Marketing is really an act inside the business to help connect with customers and help actually kind of guide them to where we think they should go next. Customer experience is more about understanding from the customer's perspective, what is it they need when so that we can actually design that inside the organization."

She further explains that customer experience requires a proactive approach to designing interactions that align with both customer needs and organizational goals.

3. The Role of Technology in Enhancing Customer Experience

The conversation shifts to the impact of technology on customer experience. Jeannie Walters discusses the dual nature of technology as both a facilitator and a potential obstacle in creating seamless customer interactions. She provides insightful perspectives on balancing technological efficiency with human empathy.

Jeannie Walters [07:59]: "Technology is a tool in the toolkit. You still have to figure out what is the overall strategic vision that you have. What are you trying to do? Who are you serving all of those things."

She highlights the importance of integrating technology like chatbots and self-service options while ensuring that customers can effortlessly transition to human support when needed.

Jeannie Walters [08:30]: "We need to blend the ease and efficiency of technology with the understanding and empathy of humans on a regular basis and look for ways that we can basically jump in at either point and give customers the options that they are asking for."

4. Generational Differences and Customer Expectations

Jon probes into how generational differences influence customer expectations and behaviors. Jeannie Walters responds by outlining how younger generations, unlike their predecessors, actively align their purchasing decisions with personal values and exhibit distinct behaviors in their interactions with brands.

Jeannie Walters [11:47]: "Younger generations are much more likely to align their values with who they do business with, and they are very serious about this. These younger generations are acting on that."

She emphasizes the necessity for businesses to be transparent and visible with their values to attract and retain these value-driven customers.

5. Speed as a Critical Factor in Customer Experience

Speed and efficiency have become paramount in meeting customer expectations. Jeannie Walters shares strategies for managing and defining time-related expectations to prevent customer disappointment.

Jeannie Walters [14:23]: "We need to make sure that when we talk about time, we are all speaking the same language. And sometimes that's just not the case right now."

She advises businesses to set clear definitions for timeframes like "soon" to align customer expectations accurately and avoid misunderstandings.

6. Building a Customer-Centric Organizational Culture

The discussion delves into the importance of fostering a culture that prioritizes customer experience. Jeannie Walters underscores the significance of a unified customer experience mission statement and consistent value alignment across all levels of the organization.

Jeannie Walters [16:33]: "We need to develop a culture where people feel empowered by a similar value structure. We use something called a customer experience mission statement to ensure alignment."

She advocates for comprehensive training and alignment to ensure that all employees, regardless of their position, uphold the organization's customer-centric values.

7. Implementing Effective Customer Experience Strategies

Jeannie Walters outlines a structured approach to embedding customer experience into an organization's framework. She identifies three foundational steps: mindset, strategy, and discipline.

1. Mindset: Establishing a customer experience mission statement to create a centralized focus.
2. Strategy: Defining organizational goals and the efforts required to achieve desired outcomes.
3. Discipline: Developing processes, cross-functional collaboration, and metrics to maintain consistency and measure success.

Jeannie Walters [19:43]: "I always think of customer experience work as setting the foundation with mindset, strategy, and then discipline within your organization."

She also highlights the importance of experiential innovation, where designing unique customer experiences can drive industry disruption and business growth.

8. The Importance of Testing and Monitoring

In addressing the necessity of continuous improvement, Jeannie Walters emphasizes the role of pilots and customer collaboration in refining customer experience initiatives.

Jeannie Walters [22:05]: "I like to think about it less about testing and more about like pilots. We take a smaller subset and say, okay, let's learn from this pilot."

She advocates for involving customers and frontline employees in the process to gather valuable feedback and ensure that strategies are effectively meeting customer needs.

9. Overcoming Organizational Silos

The episode highlights the common issue of departmental silos within organizations that hinder seamless customer experiences. Jeannie Walters points out the importance of journey mapping and service blueprinting to foster cross-functional collaboration and break down these barriers.

Jeannie Walters [23:19]: "Journey mapping and service blueprinting bring people together, and just the act of that can create real change in an organization."

She explains that these tools not only improve customer interactions but also enhance internal communication and alignment.

Conclusion

This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast offers a deep dive into the nuances of customer experience, presenting it as a strategic, holistic approach rather than a mere extension of customer service. Jeannie Walters provides invaluable insights into integrating technology thoughtfully, understanding generational shifts, fostering a customer-centric culture, and implementing effective strategies to elevate the overall customer journey. For businesses aiming to differentiate themselves and drive growth through superior customer experiences, this episode serves as an essential guide.

Connect with Jeannie Walters:

To learn more about enhancing your customer experience strategies, visit Experience Investigators or connect with Jeannie Walters on LinkedIn.