CX strategic alignment is one of the most crucial requirements for an organization to cultivate a customer-centric culture.

Most think CX strategic alignment is only for senior leaders, but it is not; CX alignment is required for all employees regardless of whether they interface directly with customers or not.

Lack of CX alignment is the reason many organizations’ CX initiatives fail.

Many organizations focus only on experience challenges from the customer’s point of view, often providing a quick fix to a customer’s pain point. To drive systemic change, organizations need to look internally to determine not only the required process changes but also the employee mindsets and behaviors required to deliver to a future state.

Organizations that are well-aligned in their customer experience strategy can generate better customer value because leaders and employees are working towards achieving common goals. CX alignment helps inform the people who develop products and services, direct marketing and sales efforts, allocate resources appropriately, and establish best practices throughout the organization.

How to Achieve CX Strategic Alignment

• Develop a CX vision that aligns with and supports your brand promise
• Determine the behaviors required to meet and deliver your vision
• Ensure leaders are aligned and understand their role and their department’s role
• Review departmental goals to ensure alignment with the broader organizational goals
• Educate all employees on the business purpose, future-state experience, and goals
• Develop a communication strategy

A Real Life Example

I had the privilege to work side-by-side with @Lior Arussy in designing, implementing, and managing the Mercedes-Benz USA CX program documented by @Joseph Michelli in Driven to Delight: Delivering World-Class Customer Experiences the Mercedes-Benz Way.

The Business Challenge

Align over 360 independent Mercedes-Benz dealers with more than 25,000 employees around a commitment to improve customer satisfaction and elevate MBUSA to become the leader in luxury car sales.

The Project

A multi-year program was created where we base-lined the current customer experience and employee engagement levels. The insights gathered were used to develop a customer experience and employee engagement strategy, which included ongoing unique dealer-level activation activities to instill pride in the brand, increase engagement, and build stronger relationships with customers.

Specific activities included:

• Stakeholder interviews to determine current challenges
• Sustainable success workshops
• Yearly employee Engagement Surveys and Engagement Pulse Surveys
• Cross-functional and cross-dealership employee co-creation workshops
• Development of a new customer experience structure and program theme
• Quantitative research with customers to validate the experience drivers
• Innovation workshops
• Cross-functional and cross-dealership sustainable success conferences
• Over 300 live in-dealership consulting days to reinforce and coach dealership leaders

The Results

• MBUSA became the #1 LUXURY AUTOMOTIVE BRAND in the JD Powers Sales Satisfaction Index.
• The brand experienced DOUBLE-DIGIT SALES GROWTH THREE YEARS IN A ROW.
• INCREASED DEALER-LEVEL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT BY 10% in 12 months.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for CX alignment; programs are custom-designed based on your unique objectives and current state culture.

ImprintCX understands the keys to successful CX programs and can support you along the way. We have a proven CX framework to develop the foundations for sustained customer-centricity.

Let’s have a conversation, and allow us to share our thoughts with you.