At a Glance

A foundational rule of digital transformation is to lead with customer experience (CX). By making every decision through the lens of the user, organizations make technology and process changes that benefit the business and build long-lasting customer relationships. The CX teams at Said Differently have had a hand in transforming entire customer journeys, as well as distinct touchpoints along the way. Using our seven-step process for end-to-end CX transformation, we have helped leading consumer brands, complicated conglomerates, luxury retailers, and nonprofit organizations with projects across every stage of the customer journey. These include CX strategies, customer service transformation, loyalty and rewards programs, and customer relationship management (CRM) programs – an often overlooked component of CX.     

Insights:

→ Successful digital transformation leads with the needs or pain points of the consumer, then identifies or builds the technology needed to deliver the customer experience.
→ In a CX-centric approach to loyalty programs and subscription services, sales is not the only success metric. Brands should try to deliver customer touchpoints that bring the brand to life and increase customer lifetime value.
→ While CRM programs are not often viewed through the CX lens, they play a critical role in forming a consumer’s opinion about a brand. As such, it is worth the time and effort to ensure every point of communication reflects a brand’s CX strategy. 

End-to-end CX: a seven-step approach to codifying customer experience

Said Differently follows a seven-step approach to understanding the holistic customer journey and delivering seamless experiences across every touchpoint. Some clients require a deep dive into just one or two steps in the process. Others, like Brightspeed, a no-nonsense internet carrier, engage us for the entire CX transformation process. 

Here’s a high-level look at our approach.

Step 1 - Customer Journey Mapping
The process begins with us mapping the existing customer journey, from awareness, through consideration, purchase, loyalty, and advocacy.

Step 2 - Identify Moments of Need
Next, we identify consumer moments of need and pain across the journey. For an automotive brand, a moment of customer need might be scheduling a test drive. For Brightspeed, customer pain points included requesting and waiting for a technician to install internet or address a service disruption. 

Step 3 - Identify Opportunity Areas
Here, we help identify the biggest opportunity areas based on steps one and two, as well as the needs of the business. 

Step 4 - Internal CX Initiative Audit
We work with business stakeholders to understand existing initiatives that could impact our CX efforts. We look for ways to support and improve these efforts while ensuring they align with the holistic picture of CX we have helped paint. 

Step 5 - Brainstorm Solutions
Then, we brainstorm solutions for opportunity areas that have not yet been addressed – areas that are ripe for disruption. For example, for Brightspeed, we suggested overhauling the company’s call centers to improve multiple moments across the customer journey.    

Step 6 - Execute
Next, we execute against those ideas – designing and bringing to life experiences that deliver brand values and build positive customer sentiment.

Step 7 (ongoing) - Monitor, Report, Optimize
Finally, in step seven, we monitor results, report on findings, and optimize experiences to make them even better.

Post-Purchase: customer service transformation to advance brand and CX goals

The ongoing call center transformation project we are doing as part of our end-to-end CX strategy partnership with Brightspeed is a great example of a touchpoint-specific engagement. The example also demonstrates how we use a CX lens to inform technology choices. 

Call centers play a critical role in the customer experience, as the majority of customer interactions occur on the phone in most industries. Yet, 38% of U.S. consumers feel that the employees they interact with don’t understand their needs. With agent training, technology deployment, and smart processes, organizations can build call centers that deliver exceptional service and experiences to deepen customer relationships. 

Call center transformation projects can include agent training, rewriting agents’ scripts, overhauling processes, and assessing and implementing new internal technology and customer platforms that keep customer needs front and center. In the case of Brightspeed, we are also working to ensure every customer touchpoint delivers on the brand’s newly-created mission, one Said Differently co-created: to be the simplest ISP in the world. 

Loyalty: programs designed around customer needs 

Delivering exceptional service is just one way to reduce churn, drive sales, deepen relationships, and create loyalty. Loyalty programs play an important role, too. Ninety-six percent of consumers believe loyalty programs can be improved, and 75% would switch brands for a better loyalty program. One of the most common reasons loyalty and rewards programs fall short is because a brand leads with the goals of the business instead of the needs of the customer. 

Said Differently’s customer-led approach to conceptualizing, designing, and developing loyalty, reward, and membership programs has helped iconic consumer brands and luxury retailers reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value (CLV) by creating a sense of belonging. Designing these programs for high-end, luxury brands is especially challenging: a steady stream of coupons can actually degrade a brand’s value over time. As part of our partnership with a luxury retailer, we conducted primary and secondary customer research to uncover new learnings about its shoppers. Based on our findings as well as shopper data, our team developed an elevated loyalty membership program that included in-store experiences and clever perks that reflected consumer interests and brand ideals. 

CRM programs: an overlooked component of holistic CX 

You won’t often find CRM work filed under the CX wrapper. But the CRM platform is the source by which most brands communicate with customers most frequently. As such, Said Differently scrutinizes every piece of communication our clients send to customers. For Brightspeed, we have rewritten hundreds upon hundreds of emails to ensure every message is relevant and reflects the CX strategy.  

CRM programs can deliver value at every phase of the customer journey and increase customer lifetime value (CLV). Our CX-led approach to CRM made a remarkable difference for a service-focused client in a highly-regulated space. The company’s previous approach had been to blanket audiences with the same email offer every month or two. We built a trigger-based CRM program that accounted for the entire customer lifecycle. We mapped out what customers need at every moment and crafted content that delivered true value, while reflecting the needs of the business. 

In sum: technological advancements that enable on-brand experiences 

Companies are spending millions on digital transformation projects. The ones that end up ahead will be the ones who choose technology solutions that enable exceptional customer experiences; the ones who work to connect every customer touchpoint to create a seamless experience. Our comprehensive approach to CX allows us to create a holistic customer experience and systematically improve individual touchpoints along the way.