On September 14th, we held our first ever Ada Interact live conference in Chicago. With thought leaders from brands spanning industries and the globe in attendance, we were excited to ask what they think is next in the CX evolution. This week’s podcast is all about what we learned and how we can prepare. Let’s dive right in.

Customer experience is still critical

Fact: The experience a customer has with your brand is equally, if not more important than the product or service you’re selling. In fact, a recent NewVoiceMedia report found that 67% of customers have become “serial switchers” who are willing to switch brands after a poor customer experience. Along the same lines, Zendesk found that 50% of customers will change brands after one bad experience while 80% will leave after two.

To counter this trend, brands are looking for ways to treat every customer like a VIP. But what does that actually mean? We asked Ada Interact attendees, expecting to get a wide range of answers. However, it turns out that they all share a similar view: it’s about giving every customer the same high-quality experience. That means direct access to support, fast resolution, and empathy for the situation.

But who's in charge of CX?

So, if every CX leader wants a VIP experience for every customer, the bigger question becomes: who in the company is responsible for delivering that? Back in the day, marketing was primarily responsible for CX because they were in charge of the first touchpoint, typically an ad of some type. But that’s no longer the case.

Randy Beeridge, Head of Community Operations at Dott , agrees: “All teams internally are responsible for delivering brand interactions.” But she adds, “Typically, as the ones interfacing with customers the most, customer success or customer support teams take the most responsibility."

Host Perri Chaikof explains, “The customer care team has a much bigger stake in the customer experience. As the ones having literal conversations and interacting with customers every day, they’re seen as brand ambassadors.” 

The changing role of customer care has also changed the conversation around service and support. Christian Barrera , Chief Customer Officer at Lang AI , says, “When we used to talk about CX, it was very front-end focused — it was about marketing to them and getting them into a relationship.” But now companies are playing the long game. With so many brands providing repetitive service experiences, maintaining quality is essential to driving ongoing customer loyalty. As a result, service and support play a much bigger role in the overall customer relationship.

The new problem: keeping CX consistent

As is often the case, change brings new challenges. With so many teams involved in CX, there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen. This can lead to inconsistencies that get in the way of a brand’s ability to meet their promise to make every experience exceptional.

Perri explains, “An inconsistent brand experience is very jarring to the customer. If I’m not getting the same message from a brand across my entire journey with them, I get frustrated and lose trust.” Alex DiNardo suggests that the key to creating consistency on the customer side is creating consistency on the back end. Investing the time to de-silo teams and messages will help brands earn customer loyalty by repeatedly hitting the mark.

Get the full story

Watch this week’s episode on YouTube (https://youtu.be/TiYM9a_30_c) or listen on your favorite podcast platform to hear more from CX leaders on the floor at Ada Interact (we even talk about what we can learn from Blockbuster Video — yup, you read that right), including these key takeaways:

• Customer journey and customer experience are not the same thing
• With CX responsibility being shared, teams must be aligned
• Brand experiences are ultimately what you’re selling, so lean in

For more on Ada Interact, read the roundup blog post and watch the keynotes on demand.