How to best organize for CX
With a clear CX ambition in place, leaders can design the target organization and operating model.
Start: How to best organize for CX
Create a dedicated CX function
CX center of excellence
Enable customer centricity across the organization
What are the core tasks of this function?
• CX measurement & insights • CX capability building • CX program management
CX factory
Systemic journey redesign and optimization at scale
What is the current business archetype?
Contract-based B2C and B2B businesses
Transaction-based B2C and B2B2C businesses
B2B enterprises
Enable customer-centricity
Back
Ownership of critical roles and tasks
CX Insights
BUs
Shared
CoE
CX measurement
Journey redesign
Design/innovation
Approval for CX initiatives
Agile execution
CX plan
CX develop- ment
Journey architects
Strategy
Analysis
CX head
CXO
Structure
centrally manage Customer Experience efforts with a broad mandate
employ a staff of journey architects to convene cross-functional teams across BUs, partner with journey owners within the BUs, and run journey-redesign efforts
provide ad-hoc reporting and analysis to journey owners to track progress on CX initiatives and success/failure of test concepts
maintain the CX measurement system as a single source of truth
maintain a budget for measurement, analytics, and test-and-learn projects for journey redesign
Primary functions
This team works best when it is equipped with authority and budget, and reports directly to a board member. It should be positioned high enough within the organization to align all business units on customer experience initiatives and help with implementation.
CX factory workflow
Global journey redesign, local implementation
Joint definition of asset library
Ongoing sharing of best practices
Continuous improvement and progress tracking
Local deployment, including integration with local processes
Joint development of prototypes and MVPs for prioritized journey elements
Ideation and journey redesign, including back-end processes
Collection and creation of customer insights
Prioritization of journey waves and pilot OpCos
Harmonization of customer-journey definitions
Global factory level
Local OpCo level
A CX factory helps clients achieve their goals quickly through:
Collaboration: globally shared solutions cocreated based on deeper customer insights
1.
Open-mindedness: allows for innovative designs with higher business impact and KPI-driven success management
3.
Agility: a fail-fast, learn-fast approach that enables rapid discovery, design, and development of solutions
2.
A CX-factory structure works best when CX assets are quickly designed and scaled across different markets and business units, and employees (business experts, functional experts, designers, journey owners) come together to push specific priorities (redesign products, services, journeys, business models).
A central unit for customer-journey redesign at scale across multiple countries.
Sales B2B
Sales B2C
Marketing and product management
CCO
Claims management
Billing
Customer service
CFO
IT function 3
IT function 2
IT function 1
CIO
A customer journey-based organization works best in industries with contractual relations and clear journeys along the customer lifecycle (eg, telco, insurance, energy retail), assigning clear value pools and targets to the owners of individual journeys, which are then tackled in cross-functional teams. Functional silos can pose challenges to be able to align on: key value pools and KPIs, end-to-end responsibility for customer journeys and related targets, and cross-functional excellence in customer acquisition, base management, and retention.
Breaking down the silos: from fragmented, function-based structure to one integrated around journeys and value pools
commercial functions split across three board members
no clear assignment of KPIs and value pools
“functional silos” with limited interactions and unaligned targets challenge alignment on key value pools and KPIs, end-to-end responsibility for customer journeys and related targets, and cross-functional excellence in customer acquisition, base management, and retention.
Fragmented
From fragmented
To integrated
all functions under same leadership with aligned targets and priorities
dedicated IT teams (eg, for operations and retail), with cross-functional collaboration as new standard
structured by key value pools and customer journeys, with clear ownership of customer acquisition, base management, and retention
Integrated
Retail IT
Operations
Retention (“I leave”)
Base management (“I pay/I use”)
Acquisition (“I join”)
B2B
B2C
An omnichannel organization in a transaction-based environment with strong channel managers works best in this environment. They ensure customer excellence in their respective online and offline channels and are united by a clear governance that promotes seamless linkages between channels aligned with today's customer expectations. A CX center of excellence or a CX factory plays a key role in supporting omnichannel collaboration and customer-centric decision making across individual channels.
From function and channel silos
To seamless omnichannel management
customer service mainly seen as cost center (under CFO)
no dedicated CX function / no formal omnichannel-alignment meetings
key sales channels under different board responsibilities
Function- and channel-based structure
Analytics
CRM/loyalty
Social media
ESG
Services
Offline marketing
Finance
Legal
Planning
Multiple categories
Commercial
Marketing performance
Marketplace
People
CTO
Logistics
In-Store
E-commerce
CEO
Dedicated omnichannel-alignment boards to review channel performance and align on key omnichannel priorities and projects
Customer service shifted to CCO as key experience driver across channels
CX, CRM, and commercial analytics capabilities integrated in one function
integration of all sales channels under one board owner
Seamless omnichannel management
CRM and analytics focused on online channel
HR
Core IT
Finance and controlling
Buying
Assortment management
Merchandising and logistics
Customer insights
Comms and PR
Brand identity / brand marketing
Marketing and branding
CRM and analytics
UX / shop management
E-commerce IT
Performance marketing
Store management
Visual merchandising
Store operations
Omnichannel-alignment board with leaders from all customer-related functions
Chief merchandising officer
CX, CRM, and analytics
Continuous learning based on voice of customers, CRM, and other forms of customer inputs Customer-journey optimization sprints to meet customers where they are: in the field, online, or via remote human interaction
Customer-centricity training
Prompt, efficient decision making between local sales units and global business and functions Dynamic resource reallocation over short-, medium-, and long-term cycles
Rapid decisions and pipeline management
Organize as cross-functional, self-steering, key-account squads working in sprints Equip with data and technology to identify and provide customer support Allow reps to adjust discount rates to improve efficiency
Sales-team empowerment
Best practices adopted by B2B champions to increase salesforce customer-centricity
Losing a customer tends to be more costly for B2Bs than for B2Cs. CX excellence in B2Bs, therefore, requires bringing classical sales, CRM, and account management to the next level by using journey thinking and analytics to drive tailored decision making along the customer journey.
