Customer Experience - More Than Just Hype

I have been working and playing in the technology space as a consultant for over a decade.  I love technology.  I especially love using technology to solve problems - business problems, personnel problems., communication problems - you name it.

I grew up in technology by writing software and one thing I appreciate about technology is the logic of it all.  Things are ordered and make sense in the database, and in code.

Enter customer experience. 

Over the past year, I have been challenged to change my perspective.  Where I used to analyze internal processes to find duplication, redundancy, and inconsistency, I have been asked to rather solve for duplication, redundancy, and inconsistency from the end customer's perspective.  

At first, the vocabulary of the customer experience was uncomfortable to me.  Optimal customer experience as a term felt like a gray, fuzzy, nebulous idea.   Evaluating the customer experience felt like something a sales or marketing manager should do, not something where a technology strategist should be involved. 

However, as I read everything on the topic I can get my hands on and work through Customer Experience Optimization assessments, it all makes sense to me.  It makes sense to me because I am a customer.  I abhor a company who makes it difficult for me to buy from them or use their products or services.  I love a company who lets me quickly accomplish what I set out to do, all while I am wearing my pajamas and sitting in bed because my baby and toddler are finally asleep. 

I am a raving fan of some companies, and a loud critic of others - largely based on a few experiences.  And for me, that engagement style of choice generally involves some combination of technology and people.  I want to use the web/my iPad/my phone to do what I need to do.  However, if I need to call in, I want to talk to a human being who will solve my problem as quickly as possible.  

In the world where customer experience is king, technology should enable a customer and business to connect on the customer's terms, while helping the business understand, track, and anticipate the customer's preferences and goals.  The customer experience trend is about businesses realizing that if their customer experience is not stellar, they cannot compete. 

I think this is an exciting time to be a customer, and an even more very exciting time to be somebody who loves solving business problems with the support of technology.