CIOReview | | 19 DECEMBER 2023From the roots in customer service to the launch of interactive survey programs and journey mapping, customer experience or CX was created to understand the human experience with a company or brand. Shift ahead to omnichannel support, the focus on digital transformation, and now generative AI. Are our experiences being dehumanized? Through this evolution, 'ownership' of CX has often migrated from contact centers to marketing and, in recent cases, digital services departments. A precious few have created a stand-alone chief experience role to keep the focus clearly on the customer. More often, you will find CX leaders anywhere in an organization, sharing titles with the CCO, CMO, etc. Is CX lost? Forbes recently stated that '22 percent of Fortune 100 companies have a C-level customer officer, compared to 10 percent of Fortune 500 and 6 percent of Fortune 1000.' We should all agree that everyone in an organization is responsible for some part of the customer experience because, in today's business, the customers are interacting with so much more of the organization. However, when everyone owns something, doesn't that ultimately mean no one really owns it? So why aren't more companies investing in a C-level customer officer or, more importantly, in a customer experience officer (CXO)?The organizational alignment between departments to drive a seamless customer journey or experience is getting harder. With technology now key to any successful CX analytics or research program, as well as any successful CX execution program, the landscape is getting more complex. Just as businesses have silos between departments, they too often have silos between their tools and technology. Without a coordinated strategy and corresponding tactics, companies may find themselves adding even more pain to the sometimes difficult customer journey. We have all faced this disconnected experience where the call center doesn't know what we were trying to do on the website, or the chat team doesn't understand how many times we've already called about a situation. Silos are pervasive across the experiences we create and get more complex the more technology we use. So, is your IT department the next one to take the lead on CX strategy? They've been handling that role in high-tech companies for quite a while. Why not let them take the reins everywhere else? Think about it: most IT teams own and operate the technology driving the employee and customer experiences anyway. They often have the deepest pockets for infrastructure investments as well. With the growth of digital transformation, organizations already rely heavily on IT to ensure that their website or mobile experiences add value to the company. Yet most IT departments exist to translate business needs into technology solutions. Often, those business units lack a real understanding of how the entire organization functions and may suffer from a myopic vision. IT could be the next department to take the lead across your organization. However, most IT employees struggle to understand the overall business. If technology will drive the next decade of CX advancement, then IT organizations need to invest in greater understanding and integration with the business units they support. Technology leaders must spend time in the business so they can see the challenges faced by customers and employees to provide the kind of leadership today's companies need. IT leaders must embrace the potential role they can play in orchestrating the customer journey to include both technology and human supported channels. So, can your CIO be your CXO? Maybe, but it won't be easy. I like to say there are three steps to creating great experiences. 1. Align your people. 2. Refine your processes. 3. Design your platforms. IT leaders can't just jump into the last step, where they are integrating their technology into cohesive platforms. Rather, they need to focus as much on aligning people and refining processes for their organization. It will take a new set of skills for IT leaders to embrace that responsibility. IS YOUR CIO THE NEXT HERO OF CXBy Sean Albertson, Founder & CXO, CX4ROCKS, LLCSean AlbertsonIT LEADERS MUST EMBRACE THE POTENTIAL ROLE THEY CAN PLAY IN ORCHESTRATING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY TO INCLUDE BOTH TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN-SUPPORTED CHANNELSCXO INSIGHTS
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