The Customer Experience Pennant Race
Are You Managing Your Team to Win with Customers?
As you might’ve figured out already, baseball is my favorite sport. And we’re just reaching every baseball fan’s favorite time of year: the fall, when teams make their final push to make the postseason, and ultimately one of them shall be crowned World Champion. Rosters expand on September 1, allowing Major League teams to call upon young talent from their farm systems to join in that pennant race (or at least “audition” for a role in next year’s efforts, if not demonstrate trade value). It’s “all hands on deck,” and if your team remains in contention, the manager must build each game’s lineup to optimize output, hit when it counts, keep the opposing team on its toes, and win the necessary games to continue playing into October.
Play to Their Strengths
This past month, my favorite team, the New York Yankees, has found itself on a bit of a hot streak. Having suffered setbacks early in the season, reaching the playoffs remains a long shot, but with considerable talent contributing top-notch work—such as rookie catcher Gary Sanchez reaching 11 home runs and 30 hits faster than any player in MLB history, and starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka getting five scoreless starts of at least seven innings, with an impressive strikeouts-to-walks ratio—there remains a great deal of hope for the remainder of this season, and beyond.
But what if these two players switched roles? Have Sanchez take the mound, and put Tanaka behind the plate. What do you suppose would happen?
I’ll tell you what would happen. Things would get ugly. Even the most hopeless of teams would likely turn that game into their own “batting practice.” And fans would likely stop showing up. That means less revenue from ticket sales, concessions, paraphernalia—you name it.
Having the right talent is only part of the equation. Knowing how to use it is every bit as important. And what’s true for baseball, is true for your brand’s customer experience strategy.
Every “player” on your team brings their own unique traits, strengths and weaknesses. Some make great planners. Others just seem to have a way with customers. Others still excel when it comes to analytics, crunching numbers, spotting sources of trouble, and acting on opportunities to elevate the brand. You might have a great setup man. Or someone who never makes errors. Or always comes through in the clutch. When the talent is there, the manager positions the team for success.
Assess Your CX Personas, and CX Program Maturity
At NICE, we’ve worked with countless CX professionals, and have gained an up-close look at what works and what doesn’t. We’d like to invite you to take our free persona quiz, to help you and your colleagues assess how each team member can best contribute to winning customer experiences.
While the persona quiz offers help on a player level, we’ve also developed a free maturity assessment quiz, to help point the way forward towards best-in-class CX. Whether you’re in “rebuilding” mode like the Atlanta Braves, or “we’re going for it right now, because we’re sick of our ‘lovable losers’ reputation” mode like the Chicago Cubs, our decades of experience in working with clients to develop efficient, optimized CX strategies has empowered us to demonstrate where you stand on your journey, and outline the mindset, tools, and processes that will deliver you to your goals.
When you’re managing a team, scouting the players on your roster is the first step towards winning, and taking advantage of those strengths is the second. With the tools we’ve created, we’ll help your CX team break out of its slump, or make that great run to postseason glory.
That being said…LET’S GO, YANKEES!
Watch our on-demand webinar, “MVP (Most Valuable Personnel): The Employee Impact on Customer Experience,” and learn how to ensure employees are not only engaged with, but actively promoting, a customer-centric culture that will best promote customer satisfaction and loyalty.