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Imagine you’re attending one of your favorite Broadway shows. You bought your tickets way in advance and, after months of waiting, you finally take your seat. A few hours later you exit the theater thinking, “Wow, what a great show! The cast was amazing.” And you’re right. The cast was amazing. But is that really the only thing that drove your amazing experience? Before you even purchased tickets to the show, so many people were working to ensure it would be a night you’d remember forever.

How did you hear about the show? Was it easy for you to buy your ticket, and how was it delivered? When you arrived at the theater, did you feel welcomed? Was it clean? Did you purchase anything there? How was the service? And, thinking about the performance itself, how was the sound quality? The lighting? If even one of these individual experiences was less than ideal, it would have impacted your entire experience at the show.

Customer experience is a huge production—one that can make or break a business.

You can have an amazing customer service team, but if your user experience leaves something to be desired, your CX will suffer. It goes without saying that employees who are the face of the company (customer service, sales representatives, etc.) must be committed to providing an exceptional customer experience. But what about the other employees? Do the people who have little-to-no customer interaction understand the importance of CX? And do they realize their role in it?

Every employee’s actions have an impact on customer experience. Take an IT staff member, for example. The IT team is responsible for making sure the company’s phones and computers are reliable and easy-to-use so that the customer service team is able to have positive interactions with their customers. What about HR? Human resources staff don’t typically engage with customers, but they are responsible for hiring the people who do. It’s critical that they hire people committed to CX.

So, how do you ensure every employee is committed to CX?

It starts with education. Explain the difference between CX and customer service. Make sure that each person understands the responsibilities of their role as it relates to CX. Challenge them to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and to identify any CX issues so solutions can be found. As the saying goes, if you aren’t making your customers happy, someone else will.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the theatre, it’s important to realize we’re each putting on our own sort of show every day, and everyone plays a part. No matter what industry, department or job you work in, your customers should be at the forefront of every decision you make. A positive CX strengthens brand loyalty and turns customers into fans which is a sure way to keep them coming back for an encore.