Is Your C-Suite Still Living in the '90s of Customer Experience?

6 min

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Pallavi Pavithran

June 23, 2023

When it comes to customer experience, sometimes it seems like the C-suite leaders at many companies live in the Dark Ages. These executives often seem stuck in their ways, following traditional business practices that might have worked in the past but are no longer relevant in today's fast-paced world of customer centricity.

If you're running a business or are a chief customer officer or CXO, and your C-suite leaders are old-school regarding customer experience, you're probably missing out on major opportunities to stay ahead of the competition.

To get a sense of just how out of touch some C-suite leaders can be when it comes to customer experience programs, let's take a look at some classic moments from the beloved TV series "The Office ." This mockumentary-style show about a group of employees at a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers some priceless examples of what happens when leaders get stuck with the status quo and stop listening to the needs and wants of their customers.

The first example that comes to mind is when Michael Scott, the bumbling and clueless regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin paper company, tries to overhaul the company's website when they are trying out a new business strategy.

In a classic scene, Michael proudly shows off his design to the staff, only to be met with horrified looks and cringe-inducing comments. The website is a garish mess, with animated GIFs of cartoon cats and over-the-top graphics that scream "early 2000s." But Michael is convinced that he's created a masterpiece, even going so far as to tell the website designers that they "should be thanking him" for his brilliant ideas.

This scene perfectly encapsulates the danger of having a C-suite leader who is too wedded to their own ideas and resistant to feedback from others, especially customers.

Michael's website redesign was a disaster precisely because he didn't take the time to understand what his customers wanted and how they interacted with the company's online presence. Instead, he imposed his own vision on the project, resulting in a website that was clearly out of sync with Dunder Mifflin's audience.

Another example of how old-school C-suite leaders can get it wrong when it comes to managing customer experience and creating a customer experience strategy is when the company holds a "customer feedback meeting," and Michael invites a group of his silly friends to play pretending customers. The scene is played for laughs, with the fake customers providing absurd criticisms and suggestions that have nothing to do with the company's actual products or services. But the underlying message is clear: when you don't take customer feedback seriously and treat it like a joke, you're setting yourself up for failure.

This same lack of respect for customer feedback and employee experience is displayed in another episode, where Michael insists on using a "suggestion box" to collect ideas from employees. But instead of actually reading and responding to the suggestions in a thoughtful way, Michael uses them as fodder for his own ego, claiming credit for ideas he didn't come up with and dismissing the rest as irrelevant or silly. As he tells one employee who suggests a new product line, "That's not the direction we're going in, so it doesn't really matter."

This attitude of dismissing the voices and ideas of other employees or departments is all too common in the old business world, and it's a major reason why so many companies struggle to stay relevant and competitive.

When your C-suite leaders are set in their ways and resistant to change, it's easy to get into the trap of thinking that you know what your customers want better than they do. But without listening to your customers and truly understanding their needs and wants, you'll never be able to create products and services and curate CX initiatives that truly resonate with them.

A Few Tips to Make C-suite Not Be So Old School

So, what can you do to make sure your C-suite leaders are staying up-to-date on customer experience and evolving with the times?

1. Encourage a culture of listening

Make sure everyone in your company understands the importance of listening to customers and gathering feedback. This can include regular customer surveys, focus groups, employee engagement, and other methods of gathering insights directly from your audience. Be sure to share these insights with your C-suite leaders and encourage them to take them seriously.

2. Emphasize the importance of innovation

Show your C-suite leaders that staying competitive in today's market means embracing new ideas and trying new things. Encourage them to be open to experimentation and to push beyond their comfort points when it comes to their business outcomes and creating products and services that satisfy the customers’ needs.

3. Lead by example

As a leader yourself, it's important to set the tone for the rest of the organization. Make sure you're modeling the behavior you want to see in others when it comes to listening to customer communications and putting customer insight and their needs first. By doing so, you'll be in a better position to influence your C-suite leaders and help them see the value of being in a customer-centric culture.

At the end of the day, the key to success in today's business world is putting the needs and wants of customers first. If your C-suite leaders are old-school when it comes to customer experience management, it's time to shake things up and get them on board with a more customer-centric approach to business success.

The Use of Customer Data and Insights by the C-suite will Open a New Era of CX Initiatives

Start with the basics, like understanding your customers, their likes and dislikes, customer expectations, and what they want from your company. This would give you a head start on creating a customer experience that's personalized and unique.

Have you ever heard the phrase "you are what you eat"? In today's world, it's more like "you are what you buy." By understanding what your customers are buying, you can better understand who they are and how to cater to them.

But here's the kicker – customer data and insights aren't just a one-time thing. It's an ongoing process that needs to be constantly monitored and adjusted. You must keep up with the times and continue catering to your customer's ever-changing needs.

In conclusion,

Don't be like Michael Scott and underestimate the importance of customer experience efforts. So your C-suite leaders are stuck in their old ways regarding customer experience, it might be time to shake things.

So, let's bring a little Dunder Mifflin magic to our customer experience strategy and leave those old-school ways of customer success behind. Your customers (and your bottom line result) will thank you.

So, let's all aim to create exceptional customer experiences and avoid the cringe-worthy moments of The Office.