CX Day is a wonderful opportunity to maximize value. Like a kaleidoscope, "value" is a word that takes on several gratifying interpretations when you shift the lens. Maximize your CX Day value by preparing well in advance to (1) learn, (2) engage, and (3) honor.
1) Maximize CX Day Value: Learn from PeersEvery September I frequently check the
CX Day website to mark my calendar for as many online and local events as possible. One year I attended 13 events: the #CXchat, live video panel discussions with CX enthusiasts across the globe, case study webinars, live-streamed company celebrations, local networking events and talk shows. This year there's a daily countdown event online for a week leading up to CX Day, which is October 2nd. And there will be daily expert "blog carnival" posts associated with the theme of each online event: professional development, core skills, soft skills, and CX futurist.
Get inspiration by checking out the announcement of CX Impact Award recipients. Enjoy the "10-minute take-aways" videos on the resources page. Peruse the company celebrations page to see how other companies (this year and past years' memory book) are spreading passion for customer experience -- some offering further learning opportunities and good deals*.
2) Maximize CX Day Value: Engage Your ColleaguesCX Day is the perfect time to spread awareness throughout every nook and cranny of your company about what customer experience is, what everyone can do to make a difference for customers, and what's been achieved, who's who and what's being pursued in customer experience. Companies can have contests, fairs, parties, celebrity visitors -- anything goes!
Posters, banners, selfies, and group photos are a huge part of spreading the word: a picture says a thousand words, you know. Get the templates on the CX Day website that make it easy for groups or individual employees to say "I love (heart) customers because . . . ".
Be bold in weaving educational bits among all the fun. Employees particularly appreciate coming away from festivities with more mojo than they had before. By "bold" I mean make it a little challenging for employees: what are their ideas for solving specific things that are hard for customers? what parts of their job would cause hardships for customers if they didn't exist? how can employees re-write their job description from the perspective of customers funding it? what are some neat things employees have seen elsewhere that might be borrowed or tweaked to add value to customers? (Remember, this is about maximizing value all-around!)
To get full value out of CX Day, follow the pattern of learning events: spread it out with a series of countdown activities and plan follow-on opportunities for fired-up colleagues to learn more about CX, see their work role from an outside-in viewpoint, and keep engaged in CX improvement and innovation, whatever their role. I like to think of CX Day more like a season than a 24-hour period. 'Tis the season to promote passion and action to help customers help you.
3) Maximize CX Day Value: Honor Your Customers
CX Day is a great reminder to express your gratitude to your customers. Some companies send heartfelt notes or goodies to customers. Sometimes customers are invited to the company celebration as speakers, panelists, or guests of honor for any variety of activities you're planning. Honoring customers is really first and foremost in this list of ways to maximize CX Day value. What customers care about the most is how well you're helping them meet their objectives with minimal time and costs. Learning more about CX and engaging more colleagues in CX passion are sometimes the greatest gifts you can give your customers.
What are your favorite ideas for maximizing value from CX Day?
*See how my company is celebrating CX Day with a wide array of CX skill-building opportunities.Image licensed to ClearAction Continuum by Shutterstock.