Service and performance issues that surface through customer feedback are not reliable indicators of an organization’s entire customer experience. Instead, these attention-grabbing problems may be just the barest sign of more deep-rooted issues that can have a lasting, dramatic impact on your CX, as well as on your bottom line.
You can’t know what steps to take to truly and wholly resolve hidden systemic threats. Without taking a deeper dive into what is driving your customers’ thoughts and behaviors. It may be tempting to treat an isolated customer complaint or two as an easily managed anomaly, a one-off or a minor fire to be doused, but odds are that’s just – well, the tip of the iceberg.
Takeaways
- Customer complaints that reach the executive level may be symptoms of more deep-rooted, systemic issues in your organization.
- CX issues that have their origins deep within your organization become more resistant to correction the longer it takes to address them.
- Align your entire organization – from back office to frontline – toward serving your customers…or deal with the consequences.
CX is an Iceberg
At sea, icebergs can be one of the biggest dangers. Experienced sailors know the risk lying just out of sight when they spot even a tip of ice above the water’s surface. It is a widely known fact that only about 10% of an iceberg is visible. The rest is hidden below the surface, and that is where the real danger lies. The sharp, hidden ice can easily tear a hole in a ship’s hull (Exhibit A: Titanic).
Like an iceberg, the biggest danger to your business lies not in the complaints you actually hear, but in [dramatic pause] what lurks beneath…
Your survival might come down to this: how quickly can you spot the larger, hidden danger – and then course correct?
By the time an issue bubbles up to executive-level awareness, it may already be entrenched in your culture.
Your own organizational structure and culture may actually be contributing to the problem by hampering your ability to quickly detect CX problems and maneuver in response. Departments can be so siloed and compartmentalized that systemic issues impacting customer service are never brought to the surface. Teams become so insular and defensive that they unconsciously (or consciously?) hide friction-causing practices that harm CX delivery. Communication is ineffective and accountability is MIA.
By the time an issue bubbles up to executive-level awareness, it may already be entrenched in your culture. Problems that would have been easily solvable if detected at an early stage prove resistant to correction if they are addressed only when a complaint reaches the CEO’s desk or the BBB. You’ve already hit the iceberg. That’s the tricky thing about institutions: the longer a problem lingers, the more calcified it becomes within the organizational structure.
Aligning Around CX
For your business, success depends on sustaining relationships with customers. The invisible layers of your organization need to be trained and equipped to seamlessly support the visible frontline as they deliver service. Organizational problems are often complex, with many contributing factors (after all, people are involved). Processes and protocols are intended to ensure consistency, but slavish adherence to them can stifle initiative and agility when those qualities are most needed. The less you understand about how your organization aligns from the face to the core to fulfill its purpose of serving your customers, the greater the likelihood deep-rooted causes of customer dissatisfaction will persist.
I get it – it’s more comfortable to turn a blind eye to potential issues lurking beneath the surface – to write off service failures as one-time problems. But what if that problem results from a flaw in your service delivery system? Or a training issue that has become repeated so many times it’s now SOP? That just sets the stage for a continuous, under-the-radar exodus of customers – one you can’t halt because you’re choosing to remain unaware of the cause.
It IS possible to tell if customer complaints are isolated incidents or indicators of more systemic flaws in your people, processes, products, and channels. Flaws you need to address to avoid a long-term leak that can pull your business under.
The ROI of CX
In the near term, blind spots in your knowledge of your customers’ experiences might not have a significant effect on your business performance. But over time, companies that are unable to consistently measure, manage, and improve the full spectrum of their customer experiences exhibit lower levels of customer loyalty and, ultimately, lower financial performance and market value compared to their peers who do (Watermark Consulting).
If you’re looking for clarity in the murky sea of your market, step one is to get an accurate reading on the potential problems beneath the surface. It starts with a commitment to listen continuously. It continues with translation of your customer feedback into data-driven insights. Then by following through on these insights with impactful action, you fulfill your customers’ expectations and actually achieve your strategic objectives.
Yes, it’s dangerous and uncertain out there. But with your customer feedback to serve as your compass and the analytics and expertise to chart a true course, you can see the way forward. You will no longer just be drifting – hoping you won’t be sunk by an unseen threat.
Want more guidance on managing your CX? Reach out to our expert consultants today!
