Last week, Nepa sponsored the Insights Exchange 2019 in Salt Lake City. The theme of “Moving Mountains” was quite fitting and while there were many positive takeaways, I found the following insights to be the most impactful between the presentations and conversations I had with peers:

1. Customer Experience Still Needs to be Intentional

In ways, this ties in with my next point, but by itself it is still very relevant. I’ve often said to peers and clients that CX is an ongoing journey, not a destination. It doesn’t end with identifying the customer journey, measuring their emotions toward the experience or even connecting it with insights. I couple quotes from Ian Golding’s presentation:

• “It’s our job as CX professionals to educate on the importance of embedding the science of customer experience to enable differentiation.”

• “Courage – to be a CX Professional you need to have an exceptionally thick forehead for bashing against the wall. Courage, persistence and passion to do the right things for the right reasons.”

2. Tech Only Has Limitations

For years, I watched the industry gravitate towards “speed in insights,” however it was really just “speed in data.” Putting technology in place that will measure and report data that informs CX is a noble goal, but as I mentioned earlier, it is not the destination. It’s important to view data from one source for what it is, which is data from one source. A quote from Nepa CEO Fredrik Östgren reflects my core belief and reason for being in CX: “Research shouldn’t be conducted in isolation of the business, it should connect to business data and – ultimately – drive profitability.”

That often means more than one partner in supporting that CX journey. There are a variety of tools in the market place to help you along the journey, but it doesn’t mean they are all the right fit. In addition, is the tool being properly used? In speaking with a CX Industry Analyst recently, she mentioned in her view, 80% of companies are paying for technology features they don’t use or aren’t using properly. If you want to read more about this, I encourage you to read this short post.

3. Convergence of Brand Experience and Customer Experience

If you go back 50 years, the “brand image” was almost completely controlled by the brand messaging, which was controlled by the brand itself. Today with reviews, social media and earned media I would estimate that less than 10% of brand image is actually controlled by the brand.

One of the biggest factors emerging in brand image is the customer experience with the brand – which informs the reviews, social media and earned media. Surely we all have examples where an experience as a customer was broadcast to a group of individuals in some way. When I first entered the industry, I was told to estimate that a negative experience was discussed with ten people – usually close friends or family. Today, that can be shared with 100’s or 1000’s of individuals from our own couch. That’s brand power – but is it positive or negative? I’ve seen this convergence for quite some time, but I’d encourage you to read more about it here.