Complexity is an insidious thing. Humans seem unable to keep things simple and will add rules, reporting lines, and complications seemingly for the fun of it. And process people take it to a whole new level.
Why is that so? There is a simple answer, but many people don’t like it, or don’t want to admit it; if you pay people for doing dumb stuff they get really smart at it.
Are you rewarding people for doing dumb stuff?
Politicians are especially good at creating fiefdoms and empires, and the ones really clever at that rise above the rest, making the problem progressively worse by in-turn recruiting like minded people.
Now as much as humans have traditionally done this, there is a new kid on the block. And this new kid is defining a whole new way of being, one that is built and operated with the customer at the center of everything.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that people haven’t talked about the customer before, just this time it is very different. The new game is all about customer experience management (CEM).
Here are a few of the meaningful stats that back this up.
According to Gartner, 89% of all businesses will compete on customer experience this year.
Another 89% believe customer experience will be their main differentiator by 2022.
The Temkin Group found that companies that earn $1 billion annually can expect to earn, on average, an additional $700 million within 3 years of investing in customer experience.
84% of companies who claim to be customer-centric are now focusing on the mobile customer experience.97% of global consumers cite customer service as important in their brand choice and loyalty.
CX also influences on-the-spot purchasing, too – as 49% of buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a more personalized experience.
BPG Research 2021
And for those organizations effectively embracing the customer experience CEM is much more than journey mapping and the surface experience. For the leading companies, CEM is the opportunity to connect everything they do, from the customer interaction, right through to individual task, activity, and systems that support them.
Interestingly this eradicates unnecessary complexity and creates a virtuous circle. You figure out what a successful customer outcome looks like, you align everything you do to achieve it, the customer ‘gets it’ and comes back for more, and you evolve the customer experience to be even better next time.
It is a bit like a fitness regime as you get fitter, you get faster, you become better, and what was once difficult becomes easy.
👑 Those who Get It Win the Triple Crown
Not surprisingly great CEM drives down the cost of delivery, improves service and grows revenue. This triple crown of deliverables becomes the tangible measure of success for Customer Experience Management.
And as if this wasn’t motivation itself to do more CEM the work environment is simplified; we can increasingly reward each other for delivering results and outcomes (doing the right thing), rather than just measuring and rewarding what we do (doing things right).
That is what I mean when we say ‘let’s get more scientific about the customer experience’
Have you got a North Star metric? It’s one of the essential things for any company looking to innovate and drive growth. If you haven’t created one yet, it is time to seriously figure it out. And today, I will be explaining what a North Star metric is, why it’s essential, and how to come up with one.
The North Star metric is the most critical. It is that Metric that would consistently deliver Successful Customer Outcomes (SCO’s) and drive sustainable growth if you focus on above all else.
For Facebook is ‘daily active users,’ Airbnb is ‘nights booked,’ and for the BP Group, ours is ‘monthly organization upskilling.’
Why is having one important?
Because delivering SCO’s and driving change is a lot of work, and it’s easy to dilute effort and resources on things that don’t move the needle. Additionally, getting distracted with the latest and shiniest new ideas is a common problem. Having a North Star metric keeps everyone in your company focused on the most critical Measure for your company’s success. Chosen wisely, it will connect the dots from the front line to the top team
Creating Your North Star metric
You may already have created it in your Successful Customer Outcome Canvas®[1] (SCOC®). Even if you haven’t yet the steps are straightforward by examining your current key performance indicators and assessing what could be a lead Metric. Examine the metrics in the context of what creates the best outcome, for the business and the customer. It is especially effective when you aggregate the SCOC’s against all your customer categories and bringing out the most significant ones and deciding decide which is the most essential Metric.
Defining that North Star metric can have a considerable impact not only on your immediate customers but on how your company operates overall.
Your North Star metric will be different from other organizations, as is how it’s rolled out and communicated.
Connect the dots, Draw the Lines
Anyone involved in delivering Successful Customer Outcomes and driving growth for your company, from the ‘C’ suite to the marketing team to the operations team and all of your external agencies, should be clear on your North Star metric and their role in driving it forward. If you don’t have one and your success maybe isn’t where it needs to be, perhaps you should consider defining one for your organization.
Set up a time with key stakeholders,
Identify your customer categories,
Agree on the SMART needs,
Choose the most important one, then
Brainstorm what it should be across the entire organization.
It starts with understanding who are your best customers are and why. You will need to cut through all distractions and noise to identify the one metric that will have the most significant and most sustainable impact on your business performance.
It’s a significant process, and sometimes it can be challenging to see the forest for the trees.
It will take a concerted effort, but it is one of the most worthwhile things an organization can do to connect the strategy to execution. Realistically isn’t that desirable for every organization seeking to make winning systematic?
The Guiding Light
The North Star metric becomes the guiding light. It is tangible, objective, and touches everyone and everything. It is a simple concept and as a result everyone can understand it.
You can explore the North Star Alignment approach within the Certified Outside-In Masters® program. Review the short video introduction here: https://cemnext.com/oi2020
Part Two. In Part One we reviewed how poor metrics drive bad behaviours. Lets dig deeper with a typical scenario…
And if you think this experience is unusual grab a coffee and google ‘poor customer experiences’.
Leadership Delusion
The leadership team can talk until they are blue in the face about customer centricity but if they insist on metrics designed for running factories everyone suffers. Here’s another typical conversation:
In all three instances the customer did not achieve a Successful Outcome. In fact there is now more effort required by the customer, and also more cost and time to be incurred for the organisation if the customer does follow through. If the customer doesn’t bother that is more potential revenue lost.
So how does this organisation look to the browsing customer? Pretty awful to say the least.
We know why this is so. Organisations like this are focused on measuring Outputs, rather than measures of Successful Customer Outcomes. If it is so obvious why is it so many persist in this Failure-Demand cycle?
Because they are measuring the wrong things. And guess what? Yes, they will have automated those measurements and put them on fancy management dashboards so everyone can feel happy. Except the customer of course. But what does that matter?
In Part Three – a big reveal. A couple of techniques that will help shape Successful Customer Outcomes brought to you from companies like Amazon, Zara, Zappos and Emirates.
Now, please remember if you pay people to do dumb stuff they will get really smart at it.
Join our upcoming Coaching and Accreditation sessions online, LIVE & Interactive
Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?
I just wanted to reach out, so you don’t miss out on this limited time offer on my new book Outside-In The Secret of the 21st c. leading companies.
You might be thinking, what is Outside-In?
To sum it up, ‘Outside-In The Secret’ reveals the fundamental difference between the top-performing companies and the failing also-rans. It is a massive shift in perspective that revolutionizes work forever.
The insights shared are based on my work and research with companies like BMW, Emirates, Zara, Zappos, and Amazon over the last two decades.
But hey, don’t just hear it from me…
So, I have codified the learning and the ‘Secret’ approaches, tips, tricks, and hacks to make them accessible to all. Initially published in 2010 and it is now wholly updated as Edition 10!
My colleague and BP Group co-founder says this…
Why You Should Read Outside-In The Secret
You may be wondering why you should invest your precious time reading this book. With all the pressures of the current business climate, why will this investment be worthwhile?
I’d like you for a moment to think of ‘high jumping.’ This is a sport that has been pursued actively from the Ancient Greeks in the original Olympics to modern times. And for nearly 3,000 years, people jumped using similar techniques. Then an innovator, Dick Fosbery, thought of a new approach that was incredibly simple and yet at the same time delivered ‘breakthrough performance’ levels enabling him to win the gold medal in the 1968 Olympic high jump bar. He leaped over the bar backward, overturning thousands of years of ‘best practice.’
So I would like you to give yourself permission to consider that you, too, can achieve ‘breakthrough performance’ in your own business endeavors. In this book, ‘Outside-In,’ Steve Towers will introduce you to some remarkable concepts that at first seem simple and obvious, and yet when applied, will allow you to win the gold medal in your own field of business.
John Corr, Director, Alix Partners, London, England.
And Guess What? Do you want something special?
It is FREE for a short period of time…
This is what you need to do RIGHT NOW to get your copy:
P.S. — this book is the real deal. James Dodkins said that it’s: “the map that will allow you to turn your specialized knowledge, talents, and abilities coupled with this new perspective into a way of working that transforms you and your company! This is one of the shortcuts of the New Stellar Performers.” — and TODAY, you can get it for free, right here:
My previous book, Dare! Became an Amazon Number 1 Best Seller in February 2020. This book Outside-In The Secret will also be… get your FREE copy here: http://bit.ly/OI2021now
Business failures are all around us, nothing new there then. If we go back a decade or so we saw the demise of Nokia, we’ve seen companies like Blockbuster crash and burn, and other companies in the High Street whether it’s in Europe or in the US disappear and never to be seen again.
Why is this so? When you look at the investment those companies were making there was no lack of intent to spend in understanding how the customer was changing. In the year that Apple introduced the iPhone Nokia was investing heavily in voice of the customer (VOC) surveys, customer satisfaction and NPS.
But they missed the point. Progressive Outside-In companies (think Amazon, Zara, Zappos, Emirates) are not about retrospective subjective analysis of perceived performance.
Also it isn’t about overlaying processes with a new language when fundamentally the very systems and processes were never designed to deliver customer experiences. Those now creaking processes were designed with a factory mindset centred around production line thinking, throughput and waste. Hence the challenge for many is more fundamental as it’s not about rejigging what you’re doing – it is about a complete rethink to move outside in the way that you do business.
Remarkably even in the third decade of the 21st century there are still those companies that think they can just tweak and change the language inside their organisations.
As if doing better advertising and marketing to customers and talking about ‘new’ services on top of their existing infrastructures and IT systems hacks it. The actual reality is somewhat different.
Senior Executive commentary
Top teams and senior executives need to grasp this challenge. Roland Naidoo, a senior executive at African based entertainments company Multichoice puts the choice starkly:
“Would you measure how fast a 1600cc car performed around an F1 circuit. No? Then why would you try to measure customer experience AND improve it on processes and products there were never designed with experience in mind. Go on enter your 1600 into the next F1. Wonder how it would perform?”
Roland Naidoo, Multichoice Africa
Lipstick on a Pig? Surely not…
Those companies who understand that ‘outside-in’ thinking calls for a complete realignment and new appraisal of what the customer experience consists of.
Rather than, to coin a phrase, putting lipstick on a pig. You have actually got to think about what is it you’re trying to achieve; what does success look like for our customer? And then align across all functions, all systems and ways of working towards successful customer outcomes. Disney refers to this alignment as getting everybody to understand where true north is and not to do anything unless it contributes to that alignment. Imagine all new initiatives being assessed by a similar approach?
Are you working in a Rubik cube?
Another aspect which comes into play is this idea that traditional measurement* is predominantly subjective and retrospective. Progressive outside in companies are not reactive – they get scientific about the customer experience.
Measuring each interaction as it happens and if necessary course-correcting in real-time. They develop the ability to see around corners to understand what’s coming next. They don’t have to wait for analysis 2 weeks after an event to decide that some remedial action is required.
This knowledge in the instance of what is happening requires us to create this idea of ‘action in the moment’ for all our employees. Zappos**, for instance, give their employees the tools and the capability to be able to make decisions in the moment (without the need to escalate to supervisors).
Industrial Age thinking will kill you
And there is another challenge companies face if they are still organised around functional specialist silos. If you’ve recruited low paid people and given them a script to follow, manage them to average handle times and throughputs you’re going to fail.
Once more the outside-in companies have an edge here as they understand that to give your most precious resource (the customer) to the employees then you need the right people in the right place able to do the right things at that moment of truth.
So what is your organization doing? is it trying to put lipstick on the pig? is it just trying to overlay the existing process is an infrastructure with this new customer-centric way of talking and doing?
It is very simple. You need to get down to brass tacks of rethinking what customer experience is all about its implication for the organisation going forward. Those organisations that are taking this outside-in approach find the world becomes simpler, faster and much more directly oriented towards delivering successful customer outcomes and winning for the bottom line.
Yesterday someone asked me why was I publishing all the FREE material?
Well, in my line of work I am so often asked ‘who is the best person to watch on youtube about y?’ and of course each of us has our go-to person or people that we always mention. Terrific speakers and storytellers alike but I wanted to go one step further and collate some favourites. But then can it just be my opinion (as good as that could be?). No.
So I have scoured the web for the organisations who take time to run Awards programs and pass on that information for broader consumption. You could of course just go on Youtube and search for hours (and days) but these Tiptop Influencer lists make short work of that.
4 Minute overview of the content of the 6 sessions over 6 weeks at 3 hours per week
Hi Steve here, as an aside I first ran these sessions in December last year and they were very well received, despite being on a Sunday, so ignore my comment in the first few seconds about Sunday because they are through the week as well.
You will join for 3 hours per week in a live interactive video call and put to work the techniques I review in the video. Immediately usable with colleagues (near or far) you will innovate new approaches to work as we all grapple with our new normals.
Available across the planet in time zone friendly sessions – watch the overview and click the links below to review the detail and register.
See you on the inside! (I mention Sunday training but that is up to you)
Please keep safe in our new normal and I hope to see you soon in the online sessions! (Live, interactive and hands-on with real case studies).
We all know times are difficult so I wanted to use the current challenges of many of us in self-isolation to our collective advantage and launch a spiffy online series of sessions focused on the very latest ‘Next practices’ to complement your customer experience/process certification.
Steve keynoting in Romania in March 2020
For the first time ever, I’ll be teaching Outside-In 2020 Vision Workshop starting soon with SIX sessions over SIX weeks, and then a Bonus seventh session.
This training will be held online in a live weekly interactive video class. You’ll get your questions answered, see live-action, and practice with others. Each week will be about 3 hours.
If you’ve already found value in customer experience and process thinking, and want to go farther, I hope you join these sessions.
DATES for the Six LIVE Sessions
(and timezones)
South Africa – Register Here Now >> Monday: April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11 <<
Australasia – Register Here Now >> Tuesday: April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12 <<
USA – Register Here Now >> Wednesday April 8, 15, 22, 29 May 6, 13 <<
Europe – Register Here Now >> Thursday April 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7, 14 <<
PRICES Session One Only (to test if this works for you) USD 97 AUD EURO Session 1-6 (early bird) USD 297 AUD EURO Session 1-6 USD 597 AUD EURO
Explore Deeper Outside-In
This will be an opportunity for people already using the CEMMethod to go farther and to systematically explore significant areas of process and customer experience transformation. Working together as a group we can learn from and be inspired by each other, as well as gain from Steve’s experience.
We will learn…
New Outside-In principles.
New methods and formats.
Learn more about advanced Outside-In practices.
How to deal with challenges we’ve encountered – in our own work and with the people in our organisations.
Learn and begin to deploy the Outside-In Customer Performance Landscape. This is a powerful tool that literally connects the dots of everyone and everything an enterprise does.
How to integrate the different approaches and formats into a single approach.
Woven into the teaching, we’ll have the opportunity to explore unexpected aspects of Outside-In and the CEMMethod as they emerge.
Because this work is operating on a different level than most of us are accustomed to, frequently small (or big) “misunderstandings” on the part of the unconscious mind can hold us back — until our system “gets it.” We will explore how to identify these “misunderstandings” and how to create new insights and “aha” moments. DATES for the Six LIVE Sessions (and timezones)
South Africa – Register Here Now >> Monday: April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11 <<
Australasia – Register Here Now >> Tuesday: April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12 <<
USA – Register Here Now >> Wednesday April 8, 15, 22, 29 May 6, 13 <<
Europe – Register Here Now >> Thursday April 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7, 14 <<
My personal interest in teaching this
From my experience so far, I believe thinking and practising Outside-In has the potential to guide each of us individually on a path that is transformative. And because it brings more wisdom, clarity, compassion, and humour, it can bring needed healing and transformation to our world.
I would like to support those wanting this deep transformation, and those wanting to coach others, to have the skills and experience that will make this possible. That’s the purpose of this Advanced Outside-In Training for 2020.
I’ll be including as much as I can fit in of what I’ve learned over the past two decades exploring this work in my own life.
Seeing Outside-In online soon
Live Online Video Training
This will be an online course, so you can participate from any location. We’ll have interactive video, so it will be much like in-person training — except you won’t have any travel costs.
A big benefit from this course will be participating in the paired exercises with coaching available. Each exercise will take us into different Outside-In territory.
Training Dates & Times
We’ll meet approximately 3 hours, once a week, for 6 sessions. After the training, there will be a bonus coaching session to help integrate the learning. DATES for the Six LIVE Sessions (and timezones)
South Africa – Register Here Now >> Monday: April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11 <<
Australasia – Register Here Now >> Tuesday: April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12 <<
USA – Register Here Now >> Wednesday April 8, 15, 22, 29 May 6, 13 <<
Europe – Register Here Now >> Thursday April 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7, 14 <<
PRICES Session One Only (to test if this works for you) USD 97 AUD EURO Session 1-6 (early bird) USD 297 AUD EURO Session 1-6 USD 597 AUD EURO
How this Online Training Works
The training will happen online through Zoom.
This will be an extended training, meeting approximately 3 hours, once a week, for 6 sessions. Each session we’ll learn at least one new format. As with the live training, I’ll demonstrate each new method, you’ll be able to practice each method, and we’ll have time for discussion afterwards.
We’ll be able to include everyone’s video feed so that we can see and hear each other. When I’m talking you’ll see and hear me. Then when I do a demonstration, you’ll be able to see me and the work I am doing. When there’s a discussion, we’ll be able to see who is sharing.
We’ll be able to do exercises in pairs, by using Zoom’s “room” feature. Each pair will have their own “video room” to do the exercise, and you’ll be able to raise your hand and call me into your room if you want coaching assistance. Once the exercise is done we’ll return to the meeting as a group.
Access the recordings of the sessions, anywhere anytime to suit your Needs.
Recordings You Can Review Each training session will be recorded, and you’ll have the opportunity to view the recording as many times as you like in between sessions. If you have to miss a session, you can catch up by viewing the video. The recordings will remain available (to training participants only), until 2 weeks after the last training session.
Extra Support Included in this training, I’m offering a follow-up group coaching session, (meeting online and recorded), just for participants in this training. The intention of this coaching session is to support you in integrating your new learnings about Outside-In, in your life and your ongoing practice. You’ll be able to share how things are going and ask questions about challenges, or anything else.
Who is Eligible If you’ve already found value in customer experience, process thinking or Outside-In, and want to go farther, I do hope you will join us on this exciting journey. Of course, if you have gone on further to become a Master or Champion this training will help you be even more effective. Check with us if you have any questions.
DATES for the Six LIVE Sessions (and timezones)
South Africa – Register Here Now >> Monday: April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11 <<
Australasia – Register Here Now >> Tuesday: April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12 <<
USA – Register Here Now >> Wednesday April 8, 15, 22, 29 May 6, 13 <<
Europe – Register Here Now >> Thursday April 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7, 14 <<
PRICES Session One Only (to test if this works for you) USD 97 AUD EURO Session 1-6 (early bird) USD 297 AUD EURO Session 1-6 USD 597 AUD EURO
Technical Requirements To participate you’ll need access to the internet, and have a computer or laptop with a webcam. We’ll ask you to participate in a very brief set up a meeting ahead of time, to make sure you can log into the meeting successfully.
Investment: $297 EARLY BIRD – $597 FULL PRICE – Register Here Now This includes…
the online course of 6 sessions,
the 1 follow-up coaching session, and
access to video recordings during the training period
an advanced copy of my new book ‘Outside-In 2020 vision’
access to a dedicated and exclusive WhatsApp Outside-In group
certification and accreditation
lifetime access to The Experience Manager
Because this is an extended training, after each session if you have suggestions or questions you’d like me to address at the next meeting, you can email or WhatsApp them to me.
DATES for the Six LIVE Sessions (and timezones)
South Africa – Register Here Now >> Monday: April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11 <<
Australasia – Register Here Now >> Tuesday: April 7, 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12 <<
USA – Register Here Now >> Wednesday April 8, 15, 22, 29 May 6, 13 <<
Europe – Register Here Now >> Thursday April 9, 16, 23, 30 May 7, 14 <<
PRICES Session One Only (to test if this works for you) USD 97 AUD EURO Session 1-6 (early bird) USD 297 AUD EURO Session 1-6 USD 597 AUD EURO
Group Size: We’ll be limiting the group size, so register soon if you want to be sure to have a seat at the ONLINE table.
If you’ve already found value in Customer Experience, Process Management or Outside-In, and want to go farther, I hope you join this training.
I am very much looking forward to it and meeting with you soon,
