In customer experience leadership, it is easy to get swept up in the urgency of daily operations—handling complaints, fixing broken processes, and responding to customer issues as they arise. This day-to-day intensity and whirlwind is what leadership scholars Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky describe as the “dance floor”: a place filled with noise, immediacy, and constant movement. Yet the companies that consistently deliver exceptional customer experiences know that staying on the dance floor is not enough. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp They intentionally rise to a higher vantage point, the “balcony,” where they can observe the full customer journey,…
Author: By Grace Ngugi
When you think of a doughnut, the first thing that likely comes to mind is its shape: round, with a hole in the middle. It’s simple, iconic, and universally loved. But beyond the glaze and sprinkles lies a metaphor that businesses can learn from. The perceived shape of a doughnut is round and centred; it can be a powerful lens through which we can view customer centricity. First, the round shape depicts its symmetry and balance. A doughnut is symmetrical. No matter how you turn it, it retains its balance and wholeness. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp In business, this kind of balance is essential. Customer-centric organisations…
Two women in a clothing store. [Courtesy/GettyImages] In the age of personalisation and digital immediacy, delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX) goes beyond usability or convenience. It requires a deeper understanding of human psychology, specifically, how people actually arrive at buying decisions. This concept is best explained by Behavioural Economics, a theory that blends insights from psychology and economics, explaining the often irrational, emotional, and cognitive patterns that shape consumer behaviour. Similarly, in today’s hyper-competitive market, selling a product or offering a service is no longer enough. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Consumers are no longer driven solely by…
To build trust, offer a loyalty reward tailored to a customer’s purchase history, as the customer shares a detailed review or refers friends, indicating stronger trust. [iStockphoto] Trust, they say, is earned when actions meet words. Longevity in business is all about building lasting relationships, and relationships do not just happen; they require a lot of effort to cultivate. Trust is the key element that holds relationships together. The theory of social penetration explains this concept well. The theory describes how interpersonal relationships evolve. Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor advanced it, positing that as people get to know each other,…
As the familiar adage goes, information is power, and those who have it hold sway over those who do not. Such a scenario is best demonstrated by information asymmetry, whereby one party in a transaction or relationship has more or better information than the other. This explains the root cause of many misunderstandings, inefficiencies, and even injustices in systems—whether at workplaces, in service delivery, or society at large; this imbalance is everywhere. Information asymmetry, if left unaddressed, can breed mistrust, poor decision-making, and broken systems, eventually diluting the overall customer experience. Take the modern workplace, for instance. Specialisation of labour,…
As the familiar adage goes, information is power, and those who have it hold sway over those who do not. Such a scenario is best demonstrated by information asymmetry, whereby one party in a transaction or relationship has more or better information than the other. This explains the root cause of many misunderstandings, inefficiencies, and even injustices in systems—whether at workplaces, in service delivery, or society at large; this imbalance is everywhere. Information asymmetry, if left unaddressed, can breed mistrust, poor decision-making, and broken systems, eventually diluting the overall customer experience. Take the modern workplace, for instance. Specialisation of labour,…