Client Experience: Business Performance Cell 3 (of 7)
- Julian Pitt
- May 6
- 5 min read
Reimagining CX: Adapting to Change
This article is part-four of an 11-part series and represents an extract of Design Advisory's Business Performance and Transformation Handbook.
In the era where clients are receiving what they want, when they want, and how they want it, cultivating an exceptional client experience isn’t merely a matter of service delivery, it distinguishes market leaders from laggards.
This Performance Cell focuses on the pivotal role of Client Experience in driving sustainable revenue growth through higher conversion, longer lifetime value and creates advocates resulting in more referrals.
A Reflection Exercise: what level of confidence would you have in this statement?
Our Client Experience is regularly measured and benchmarked, and subject to robust continuous improvement.
What do you think other stakeholders would say; staff, clients, prospects, channel partners, delivery partners?
While your client experience has so many more components than this, we’ve found it a great indicator for maturity across the spectrum, as well as being an easy method to easily identify differing views that can become the foundation of profound conversations.
Actions to Excellence
Building upon your work completed on Strategy and Offer, complete your roadmap your path to business performance with:
Mapping Client Journeys
Understanding the client journey is akin to navigating a roadmap to success. Develop comprehensive client journey maps that delineate the stages, activities, channels, emotional experiences, and significance of each interaction. Grounded in the previously defined client personas and service offers, creating client journey maps provide invaluable insights into the client's perspective, enabling you to anticipate needs, mitigate pain points, and deliver personalised experiences that surprise and delight your clients.
Continually Manage the Tensions of What is Desirable, Feasible, and Viable
Crafting an exceptional client experience requires striking a delicate balance between what is desirable by people, feasible with technology, and viable for profitable business operations. Align your offerings with client preferences and aspirations while leveraging technological advancements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Simultaneously, ensure that your endeavours remain economically viable, fostering sustainable growth and profitability in the long run.
Cultivating a Culture of Excellence
Success in client experience hinges on clarity of vision and robust performance metrics. Define tangible measures of success that encapsulate key aspects of the client journey, from initial engagement to post-service support. Develop mechanisms for feedback and monitoring performance delivery, empowering you to iterate and improve continuously.
Embrace a data-driven approach, leveraging insights to refine strategies and optimise outcomes. Feedback can be built into event-based process design or generated periodically. Feedback is a gift, don’t turn it into a client chore; make it easy and doing overdo it. Ensure feedback is captured, acknowledged and acted upon through prioritised action planning managed with continuous operational improvements explored in the next Environment.
Develop and Embed a Service Philosophy
Beyond transactional interactions, a robust service philosophy serves as the moral compass guiding your organisation's conduct related to clients. Define core principles and values that underpin your approach to client experience, emphasising integrity, empathy, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Seek to embed these principles into the organisational culture, ensuring that every touchpoint reflects your commitment to surpassing client expectations and fostering enduring partnerships.
While so much of the professional services market has become commoditised with the mimicking of service offer and competitive pricing tactics, client experience is critical to grow client repeat business and have them act as advocates and an extension of the sales team.
Tools and Templates
1. Customer Journey Mapping
2. Human Centered Design Framework
3. 5Es Experience Design Framework
4. Net Promotor Score
5. Customer Effort Score
6. Voice of Customer Framework
Case Study
Elevating Client Experience Through Service
In highly commoditised markets, where products and services often appear interchangeable, organisations are turning to service excellence as a key differentiator to compete effectively. By redefining the client experience, these companies focus on delivering exceptional interactions that foster loyalty, build trust, and create emotional connections with their customers.
One way organisations have refreshed their client experience is by adopting a client-first mindset at every level of the organisation. This approach involves deeply understanding client needs and preferences, often through tools like Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs or real-time feedback loops. Armed with these insights, companies can personalise interactions, tailor solutions, and proactively address issues before they escalate. For example, financial services firms have implemented concierge-style customer support that provides instant, expert assistance for even the most complex queries, creating a premium feel even in a standardised offering.
Another strategy involves embedding service excellence into every touchpoint of the client journey. Organisations are investing in seamless omnichannel experiences, ensuring that clients can transition smoothly between digital and human interactions without disruption. Retailers, for instance, have enhanced their in-store and online customer service by equipping staff with real-time data about client preferences and purchase history, enabling more meaningful and efficient interactions. This blend of technology and human touch has become a hallmark of service excellence.
Furthermore, companies in commoditised markets are adopting proactive communication and support strategies to distinguish themselves. This includes anticipating client needs, offering value-added services, and delivering consistent follow-ups. For instance, logistics providers have integrated AI-driven tracking systems that not only offer real-time updates but also notify customers of potential delays with alternative solutions, turning a potential frustration into a moment of trust-building.
By focusing on service excellence, organisations are moving beyond competing on price or features. Instead, they are fostering memorable experiences that clients value and are willing to pay a premium for, even in commoditised industries. This shift highlights the critical role of human-centric strategies in creating meaningful differentiation and sustainable growth.
Deploying the RADAR Protocol across the 7 Performance Cells has been a game changer for organisations. We hope this article has offered some new perspectives or reminders on the importance of your Offer in the context of business performance and transformation.
If you'd like to explore more, contact us for a conversation on developing these in the context of your organisation, no matter how big or small, no matter the sector you operate in, or the region you're based.
And if you'd like to explore more on your own or with your team, here are some recommendations for further reading from the team at Design Advisory.
The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty
Authors: Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi. This book challenges the notion that exceeding customer expectations is the key to loyalty. Instead, it argues that reducing customer effort is more effective in building loyalty.
Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business
Authors: Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine. This book emphasises the importance of customer-centricity and provides a framework for improving customer experiences across various touchpoints.
Customer Experience 3: High-Profit Strategies in the Age of Techno Service
Author: John A. Goodman. This book offers strategies for delivering superior customer experiences in a technology-driven world, focusing on balancing technology and human interaction.
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