CxP Law #1: Every Interaction Creates A Personal Reaction

This is the most fundamental customer experience (CxP) law of them all. Simply put, experiences are totally in the eyes of the beholder. The same exact experience can be good for one person and bad for another. As a matter of fact, it can be good for someone at one point in time and then bad for that same person at another point in time. That’s why we often say “experiences designed for everyone satisfy noone.”

Here are some implications of this law:

• Experiences need to be designed for individuals. While it may not be possible to individualize every interaction, focusing on narrow segments (like Personas) is critical.
• Customer segments must be prioritized. Since you need to design for specific types of people, experiences will be optimized for a set of customers. That will require companies to have a very clear picture of their important (and not so important) customers.
• Customer feedback needs to be the key metric. Internal measurements may provide a sense of how the business operates, but they don’t give a true evaluation of customer experience. That’s why companies need to establish a Voice of the Customer (VoC) program; letting customer input drive priorities, decisions, and investments.
• Employees need to be empowered. Since every situation can be somewhat different, the needs of customers can vary across interactions. That’s why front-line employees need to have the latitude to accommodate the needs of key customers.

The bottom line: You need to understand your customers, personally.

P.S. Here’s a link to all 6 laws of customer experience.