Once, not that long ago, enterprise success depended upon the nuts and bolts of an organisation’s functionality.
Now, it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
Much like the relentless advancement of technology itself, long-term success is no longer driven solely by back-office machinations.
Instead, people are as important as process – and for customers (the most important people of all), perception is reality.
And that means user experience is now king.
Put simply, you are only as good as your customers (or partners) think you are.
And in a super-competitive market, that makes UX about as important as it gets.
So much so, that the smartest organisations have it front of mind in everything they do.
Partner with THAT kind of organisation, and it’s a win-win all around.
Global cloud communications provider Kandy is one of those organisations for whom user experience has become an obsession.
“Every touchpoint of the customer journey represents an opportunity to deliver an exceptional experience and, for us, there is no higher priority,” says Sara Hughes, Kandy’s Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Channel Marketing.
“Everyone shares the same mindset – from the CEO to every person in every department.
“It’s about making the user experience frictionless and frustration-less.
“If you do it well, your customers become your biggest champions.”
It’s certainly the case that customers in general – whether in the commercial or consumer sectors – continue to demand better service.
Kandy began ramping up its investment in its user experience two years ago, hiring professionals with the skillsets to deliver on its high aspirations.
It mapped its customer journey and looked at how improvements could be made at every single touchpoint; from an initial website visit right through to its contract renewal approach.
And – alongside the strategic thinking – it invested in dedicated teams and technical tools to survey customers, act on feedback, and track responses.
Customer interfaces, two-way communication channels and ‘how they buy’ customer relationship analysis processes are all now embedded.
Customers and partners benefit from monthly ‘touch point’ meetings to ensure all is well, and quarterly business reviews dive a little deeper.
Additionally, every department has a designated user experience customer success advocate; specially-trained and with a responsibility extra to their regular duties to promote best practices among their colleagues.
Customer Satisfaction (C-Sat) scores are linked to individual employee performance and incentive schemes exist to encourage and maintain a commitment to the cause.
Finally, if an issue occurs, dedicated policies and processes exist to ensure rapid resolution.
“We have become used to experiencing a certain level of service in our personal lives and now we expect the same in business,” says Hughes.
“Our teams put themselves in our customers’ shoes. They are educated and incentivised to do so and, across the board, they know they have the right kind of support from managers and senior leaders to ensure they get it right”
“We take customer feedback to heart, and rightly so. We find that our customers and partners want to provide us with it because they know we are going to respond.
“It’s an approach which builds trust, and trust builds long-lasting relationships.”
It’s a philosophy that also influences Kandy’s approach to the design of its solutions and processes.
It places emphasis on simplicity and ease of use: streamlining technical processes wherever possible and reducing the number of customer touchpoints in deployment and management.
It all adds up to an obsessive focus on ensuring that the customer – and ultimately the user – comes first.
And for Kandy resellers, it’s an approach that can rub off.
“Our focus is on delivering our own world-class user experience but of course we hope that our wholesale partners are inspired by our approach,” says Hughes.
“Then it becomes a golden thread which runs through the entire value chain.
“And THAT is a differentiator for everyone.”
To learn more about how Kandy can help YOUR business grow, visit kandy.io
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