Top 3 customer experience blogs of 2021

December 28, 2021

Marion Siebert

We blinked and another year went by — but thankfully, we’ve got a lot to show for it. Reflecting on 2021, we’re grateful to have helped many of our clients ramp up their digital transformation (DX) initiatives and, most importantly, evolve their customer experience (CX) to meet the demands of a rapidly changing market. While CX has always been at the forefront of what we do, more organizations are only recently starting to have serious conversations around it, and we couldn’t be more excited.

To celebrate, we’ve rounded up our top CX blogs of 2021. We hope these inspire you to kick off the new year with customer experience at the helm.

Prioritizing the customer experience is key to accelerating business growth

A recent McKinsey Digital Sentiment Survey found that 75% of customers prioritized digital channels during the pandemic and would likely continue to use them moving forward. In this post, we examine what customer attitudes and trends will look like in a post-pandemic world, and what business leaders can do to stay a step ahead.

3 steps to future-proof your CX strategy

How do you future-proof your CX? Provide your customers with a positive experience at every touchpoint. We know, easier said than done — but we promise the effort is well worth it. The 2020 Forrester Analytics Customer Experience Index Online Survey found that when brands deliver a high-quality experience by communicating clearly, customers are 270% (no, that’s not a typo) more likely to increase their spending with those companies. This blog explores steps to help CX leaders make their strategies more resilient in a constantly evolving market.

To survive a new era of customer experience, a shift in thinking is required

As our lives become more digital, CX must continually shift to keep up with demands and expectations. Given the extreme transformations that CX has undergone over the last decade, Gartner went all out and updated its definition of customer experience management (CXM). We analyze this new definition, what it really means, and its implications for CX within the enterprise.

And that’s a wrap!

We can’t wait to bring you more CX insights and trends in 2022. In the meantime, if you want to build a better customer experience, but you’re not sure where to start, contact us to speak with one of our CX leaders.

5 signs to know you’re operationally mature

February 8, 2022

Philip L'Esperance

Guest blog writer from

When thinking about operational maturity, people tend to lean heavily on the IT side of the business. They look at the organization’s technical tools and processes and make quick assumptions that if these aspects are running smoothly, the business is in good shape.

But that’s simply not the case.

Looking at operational maturity with such a one-sided view is a surefire way to neglect other crucial components of the business that are required for growth and value creation within the enterprise.

Why does this matter?

For starters, the very livelihood of a business is determined by its level of operational maturity. It’s no secret that operationally mature companies have an easier time discovering new streams of revenue and growth. As Accenture notes, “Maturity progress increases efficiency and profits: Organizations that were one maturity level higher between 2017 and 2020 were, on average, 7.6% more efficient (lower operating expenses per dollar of revenue) and 2.3 percentage points more profitable (EBITDA as a percentage of revenues).”

So, how do you know if you’re on the right path? Here are five things that operationally mature businesses have in common.

They understand that digital transformation is about more than technology

Operationally mature companies approach digital transformation (DX) as a holistic strategy . Many businesses have made the mistake of rushing into new technology adoption as the primary driver of their DX “plan.” While DX often involves incorporating or updating new systems and processes, this is not its primary purpose. An effective DX journey begins with a thoughtful strategy that’s designed to rapidly evolve with a constantly changing market.

They eliminate tribal knowledge

As part of the overarching DX strategy, operationally mature companies work to eliminate tribal knowledge by creating processes that are independent of people. This process typically involves knowledge transfer through technology and improved information sharing. Another crucial step in eliminating tribal knowledge is to identify skills gaps, and work to fill those roles through employee training and strategic hires. An operational partner can help pinpoint the areas in need of improvement.

They’re quick to identify and remediate performance issues

According to Gartner, the average company experiences an operational performance issue three or four times a year. No matter where these issues stem from, they always require corrective action, and the speed of that action is crucial to containing the financial impact.

The same research shows that while 89% of companies can identify issues before they hit the financials, just 19% can remediate issues in a timely manner. And if that weren’t bad enough, the average organization spends 34% more time than it should remediating a performance issue, which can have grave outcomes for the business in terms of lost profit.

They’re more productive

When an organization can quickly remediate issues, it leaves time for bigger and better things. Instead of scrambling to fix what’s broken, team members are now free to focus on meaningful work. This often opens up several new avenues for focus, as leaders have more time for strategy and can tackle a new geographic market or product/service for an existing or adjacent market.

They know when to bring in partners

When there are still lingering performance issues, working with a capable partner can help reduce or eliminate these pain points. With the right operational partner, business leaders can more readily create enterprise value through the application of an extended ecosystem.

Here are a few crucial things an experienced partner can help with:

Mentorship, coaching, and strategy
Marketing, digital design, and development
Objective customer experience
Supply chain and operational performance improvement
Administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and IT
Guidance on organizational design, structure, and governance
Serving as a board member

Takeaway

Once all processes come together to function holistically, that’s when operational maturity reaches its peak. Organizations that take this aligned approach will continue to see success, while their less mature counterparts scramble to catch up.