CX Strategy

It’s been a crazy year for customer experience (CX), hasn’t it? Customers are factoring all sorts of new challenges and preferences into their brand decisions, and lots of companies have been busily playing catch up!

As we take off for the holidays (and hopefully get a chance to catch a relaxing break!) It’s normal to look toward the new year and wonder what’s next. Well, at Pearl-Plaza, knowing what’s next is in our DNA, and we’ve put together some of this year’s tip-top webinars to share what we’re seeing and help you make 2023 your best CX year yet! 

4 Must-Watch CX Webinars

Webinar #1: Designing, Actioning, and Proving an ROI-Focused CX Program

ROI has always been a hot topic in the CX world, and it only got hotter in 2022. A lot of organizations struggle to link their CX efforts to ROI, which makes securing additional support and funding very difficult. In this first webinar, experts Jim Katzman and Eric Smuda take a look at this common, fundamental CX challenge and pour decades of experience into helping you overcome it. The webinar dives into:

• The state of experience ROI & how we can bridge the gap
• Connecting efforts to acquisition and retention
• Driving growth and reducing cost to serve
• Socializing successes and encouraging buy-in

Watch the whole thing right here!

Webinar #2: Leveraging Customer Data to Craft Seamless, Differentiated Experiences In-Store and Online

Data was another big topic in 2022, and we can already tell it’s going to blow up even bigger next year. As we often say, data is as much an art as it is a science. Having data is great, but finding ways to sort through the noise to find actionable insights is what’s going to create actual Experience Improvement (XI).

We got two of our very own CX gurus, Radi Hindawi and David van Brocklin, to spill the beans on this data journey and how everyone, brands and customers, can get the most out of it, including:

How democratizing your data for an integrated view of experience creates consistency

• How to increase organizational intelligence across your different stakeholders (from frontline to c-suite)
• How can you increase loyalty and advocacy in this constantly changing market?

Watch the webinar to see what insights they shared!

Webinar #3: Digital Acceleration: How to Start the Next Digital Trend

Being a trendsetter in your marketplace isn’t just fun; it helps your customers have meaningful experiences and helps you stay at the top! We put together a webinar on how organizations can create trends, not just follow them, and the insights from experts Radi Hindawi and Chris Chan made it a hit! 

To give a quick recap, Radi and Chris talked about how digital transformation should no longer be the goal for companies; just a baseline. They then dove into the four steps that every brand should take to become a trendsetter in their verticals. 

Want to see what those steps are? You can watch and find out here!

Webinar #4: Everything You Wanted to Know About CX ROI But Were Afraid to Ask

Like we said up top, ROI was a big topic this year. So big that we couldn’t confine it to one webinar!

After wrapping up our first ROI webinar of the year, we knew there was still a lot of ground to cover when it came to this important topic. We also saw an opportunity to collaborate with our close friends at Forrester Analytics and invited one of their top researchers, Judy Weader, to share her research on the subject. She and our very own Jim Katzman teamed up to discuss:

• How brands are proving the value and ROI of CX and why it should matter to you
• The steps you can take today that will set you and your program up for success
• What it takes to shift from just sending surveys to being truly customer centric 
• The art of designing digital experiences that make a difference today

Click here to watch the full conversation!

CX Success in the New Year

These webinars cover important topics and will help you reach your experience goals in the new year. We had a lot of fun making them and hope that you’ll get a similar experience from watching them. Once you’re done, we have other resources you should check out as you consider your experience goals and how to keep owning the moments that matter. Happy Holidays!

Sometimes all we need is a shift in perspective. You can sit all day racking your brains for the answer to how to improve your CX program, but more often than not, creative answers require asking the right questions first. If this is you, our very own Ashley Goode (SVP) recently gave the keynote presentation at our August Experience Forum, a monthly event for our pearl-plaza.rumunity members across all industries to help them rethink their approaches and gain new inspiration.

And here are the three vital questions to start that brainstorming session:

1. Who do Your Customers Want to be?
2. What are Customers Really Buying?
3. How do Customers Want to buy?

Who Do Your Customers Want to Be?

Instead of asking who your customers are, start by asking who they want to be. What this question points out is the aspirational mindset of the modern consumer: how will this purchase measure up to who your customer wants to be? Due to changes in values and culture, customers today are more interested in buying things to fulfill a specific lifestyle rather than a need.

For instance, a customer who is keen on helping the environment would likely not want to buy clothes made through unethical practices. But they would want clothes from companies that abide by sustainable business models. So when understanding your customers, it’s important to think about your products and services as changes that shape their life.

What Are Customers Really Buying?

Let’s take a step back. In a time where corporate movements mirror societal ones, not only are customers buying a product itself, but they’re also buying into an experience that fits into a larger social context. Your product satisfies a practical function—like restaurants serving food because people are hungry—as well as a cultural one, because the food isn’t just food. It’s Mediterranean, Mexican, or Malaysian food.

For example, if you think about McDonald’s recent branding collaborations with celebrities such as Korean Pop band BTS, the food itself didn’t change much, but the logos and theme of the bags, sauces, and containers did. And that sent fans of BTS flying to McDonald’s—even though the food offering was nothing new. As you can see, your products are intertwined with our evolving culture, making them cultural products—that’s what customers are really buying.

How Do Customers Want to Buy?

Our culture today is heavily influenced by technology, and that can teach you how customers want to buy your products. With a growing population that would much rather text than call to contact businesses, it’s a no-brainer that customers now want more digital experiences—whether that’s a virtual store, online ordering, etc. 

With the aid of digital experiences, your business can help customers find and define their lifestyles. Incorporating digital elements into each part of your customer journey map will show customers that your brand cares about how they want to purchase products. After all, how customers buy is just as important as what they’re buying.

Find these questions interesting? Our Pearl-Plaza clients attend exclusive events like these monthly, featuring internal thought leaders, industry experts, and other experience rock stars. Want to learn more about the brands in the pearl-plaza.rumunity? Check out our Customer Stories page!!