“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”
— Muhammad Ali, The Soul of a Butterfly
Organized to Serve Themselves
The culture of customer experience is still forming. A few companies have been grounded in customer service for decades, but they remain outliers. Most large companies are organized to serve themselves while providing a service or product to the market. The customer, when considered at all, lives inside one division: sales or marketing.
In the experience economy, the entire organization needs to be designed to serve customers and deliver a shareable experience. Everyone in the company must understand the real value of a consumer spending their money and time interacting with a brand. I used to say that all companies were becoming publishers whether they wanted to or not. I think the reality is larger than that. With the proliferation of connections between people and the speed of communication through technology, all companies are now experience providers.
When Design Had a Face
For many years, the experience was managed by a dedicated division within the Fortune 500. These teams designed the in-store, in-branch, or in-restaurant experience to be visually appealing, memorable, and efficient. The layout helped consumers know where to stand in line, where to get help, where to find specific products. And when the design fell short, it was staffed with friendly people who could fill the gaps: providing a personalized experience, building a personal rapport. If the design wasn’t quite right, the human connection made up the difference.
Technology has replaced many of these branches, stores, and human touch points, partly because it is more cost effective, partly because consumers chose speed and convenience. In response, large companies have tried to fill the gaps with a series of technology and marketing projects. But a serialized set of projects never produces the harmony and richness of the experience a consumer demands. When I hear large companies describe their digital transformation efforts, they sound like a symphony written by a series of committees, each focused only on the instrument they play.
The Promise of Personalization
It is the whole experience, in all its dimensions, that needs to be addressed. For a large company, this demands an almost unachievable level of organizational alignment. Most companies have been built over decades. The divisions, operating principles, and culture cannot be rewired overnight. The value of transformation is well understood, but adoption follows the standard distribution curve: early adopters take a leap of faith, and the majority waits until the leverage point becomes clear. In some cases, though, adoption can be accelerated when a killer application emerges.
In the case of digital transformation, the killer application is personalization. Delivering experience in context, relevant and tailored to the individual, is the key to moving an organization forward. It may take a decade or more for a Fortune 500 company to fully reorganize around the customer. But personalization lets you deliver value today, even while the larger transformation is still underway.
Companies that spent decades building around 20th century models can still recognize immediate value. Technology can recreate what the front line staff once provided: helping customers find what they need, answering questions, and building a sense of intimacy between consumer and brand. The organizational change will take time. The experience does not have to wait.
Let’s go be great.