Got CXM? Why customer experience management isn’t just a nice-to-have for strategic account management

By Raj Parekh, Partner, CuebridgeCX

According to Gartner, it’s the “new competitive battlefield.” Per Forrester, 84 percent of firms aspire to be leaders. In strategic account management, companies have to address the never-ending question of how to differentiate themselves and gain market share. And yet most SAM organizations — large and small — haven’t tapped this potentially huge source of competitive differentiation.

I’m talking about customer experience management (CXM), which I would argue may be the single most important investment a company can make in today’s cut-throat business climate. It is absolutely essential to success today.

Leading industry publications and consulting companies have conducted significant research into the growing trend and have found that:

• CX leaders earn 3X greater returns than CX laggards
• Great customer experience results in 2X customer engagement 
• Eighty percent of companies believe they deliver “super experiences,” but only 8 percent of customers agree.

CXM vs. CRM: Do you need both? 

Yes! (And here’s why.)

The reasons lie in how these systems are built and the purposes they are built to fulfill. CRM systems are focused on opportunity management, while CXM systems are focused on managing the ongoing delivery of value and the assessment of outcome attainment. CRM tools are not designed to manage triggered work streams or focus on sustaining and protecting ongoing revenue and client relationships – all activities that are fundamental to the successful implementation of a strategic accounts approach. This is where CXM shines.

First, a definition of terms:

CRM CRM software keeps sales processes organized and aligned with best practices up to the point that a deal is closed.

Value Selling A sales approach that focuses on benefiting the customer throughout the life cycle of your relationship. Account managers are focused on taking a consultative approach to selling, such that customer decisions are based on the overall value potential of the supplier’s products and services.

Customer Success Once a deal has closed, customer success continues the relationship by helping to deliver on the promises made during the sales process. Customer success is focused on retention, loyalty and advocacy.

Add them all together, and you get customer experience management. Bottom line: You need both CRM and CXM for your business to succeed. 

The basics: What CXM actually is

Does introducing CXM mean implementing a completely separate system from my existing CRM? In a word: No! Customer experience management is complementary to your CRM. When done right, CXM helps optimize your overall technology investment by laying customer experience functionality on top of your existing CRM. How? By bringing the power of digital transformation to your customer relationship through enabling your strategic account managers to provide superior insights and experience to their customers at every stage in their journey with your company’s products and services. 

The Customer Life Cycle: From Awareness to Advocacy

Advantages and key design elements of CXM system

With the introduction of digital natives among client organizations, CXM has emerged as the next frontier for account teams. For companies to survive and thrive, cultivating and focusing on growing existing customer relationships has become integral to strategic planning and operational execution.

The implementation of CXM is the ultimate solution.

Traditional CRM	Next-Gen CXM
Unified System
Key accounts data and essential intelligence is spread across the organization (financials in external systems, plans in PowerPoint, Excel and Contacts & Opportunities in CRM, Google search, et al.)	Under one Unified application, CXM combines data silos and digitizes functions by leveraging CRM, social media, and financial and contract data to deliver a superior client experience across their life cycle with your company.
Insights to Action
No standardized way for management to trigger best practices and required field actions in real time	CXM system triggers workflows on real-time basis for account teams to take time-critical action to service clients effectively, stay ahead of the competition and be consultative
Best Practices at Scale
Best practices are often not standardized across the organization. Disparate approaches rule the roost.	CXM systems are designed to coach users and allow critical thinking at the point of client engagement. It provides periodic updates and expert guidance to users for effectively performing their day-to-day tasks
Enterprise Memory
Account intelligence is tacit and ad hoc. Risk of data loss due to employee attrition negatively impacts future growth.	CXM system maintains enterprise memory by combining data like Client 360, activities, engagements, etc.
Employee (User) Experience
CRM adoption among employees/users is challenging. Account teams often wonder, “What’s in it for me?” While CRM provides visibility to leadership, it struggles to provide value for the actual users, i.e., the account managers.	Successful CXM systems are designed to add value, simplify day-to-day task management, reduce tedious data entry and create essential utility for the account teams. For leadership, they provide visibility into account team activities and productivity.

Benchmark outcomes achieved by successful  implementation of CXM

CXM: Meet Your Customers’ Needs

Your customers deserve the best service. By combining CRM with CXM, your business will increase revenue, garner and retain new customers, increase credibility with existing customers and create lasting trust with your long-term relationships.

CuebridgeCX LLC, specializes in key account management and client engagement technology. CuebridgeCX offers out-of-the-box customer experience management (CXM) solutions and value-based go-to-market services. www.cuebridgecx.com