An A-Z guide for exceptional CX

Today, customer experience has two fundamental elements: human and technological. Back when we didn't have sophisticated technology, the human element had the upper hand. CX then was primarily about managing customer emotions. But the continuous evolution of technology over time has cut out the need for humans to be involved in each step of the customer journey and led to fewer instances of managing emotions.

As a business, it's crucial that you maintain a fine balance between both of these elements in order to deliver an experience that your customers will remember for the right reasons. To do that, you sometimes need to get back to the basics and remind yourself of things like customer expectations, qualities and activities that ensure more success, and common pain points that customers face.

That's what inspired us to create this glossary, which lists these essentials from A to Z and briefly explains why they matter. If you're new to the workforce and are in a customer-facing role, this glossary can help you understand customers better and excel in your role. If you're in a leadership role and are facing a particular challenge, you can turn to this glossary to remember the qualities that made you a leader and find inspiration.

Let's get going!

Adaptability

Adaptability is the capacity to address changes quickly and make course corrections when needed. The thing about customer expectations and needs is that they keep changing as time passes. Businesses that track these changes constantly and take little time to adapt are the ones that lead the market and make names for themselves.

Burnout

This is what happens when Jack is all work and no play. Forget play; Jack shouldn't be bombarded with work all the time in the first place! Remember, employee experience always impacts customer experience. So look at the distribution of your teams' workloads and make changes as and when needed. Burnout can lead to serious consequences, such as poor health, subpar performance, and even increased attrition.

Consistency

There are many relevant qualities that begin with C: considerateness, compassion, and creativity, to name a few. However, we stress upon consistency because it sets the standard for how things need to be done, irrespective of the offering, location, business representative, or other variables. Consistently positive experiences lead to loyalty.

Direction

All teams need a clear idea of what goals they need to achieve, why those goals in particular, and how they can achieve them—and it's leadership's responsibility to elucidate these things. Otherwise, even the most talented and dedicated employees face the risk of wasting effort and failing to obtain their desired results. The level of detail that goes into the direction team members receive instills confidence in them and leads to better execution.

Empathy

Empathy is the most basic emotion a business should show towards its customers. Of course, businesses are primarily commercial endeavors that solve problems, but empathy is what helps them find effective solutions. An empathetic business maintains close ties with its customers, keeps tabs on their needs and pain points, and constantly works towards making life easier for them—something they can achieve through the next word in this series.

Feedback

What better way is there to obtain relevant details and determine the magnitude of a problem than to talk to those who face it frequently? There isn't one. So be consistently empathetic and collect feedback from your customers regularly. Manage their feedback systematically and use it to improve your offerings.

Gratitude

An emotion that goes beyond mere thankfulness. A business is not a one-man show; it grows through its customers and is propelled by each stakeholder in the journey, including employees, partners, and external vendors. On the surface, expressing gratitude to all these stakeholders might sound idealistic and inconsequential, but its results are intangible. A genuine expression of gratitude to customers for choosing your business, another to your team members and partners for choosing to work with you—all of these show your appreciation for them and boost their morale. Undoubtedly, it also needs to be complemented with tangible, materialistic forms of appreciation too, if you know what I mean!

Humanness

This is a new necessity born in recent times due to extensive use of genAI to create content. Per a recent study by Forbes, a majority of users feel uncomfortable with and disengaged from AI-generated content. This impacts users' trust in brands and raises questions about authenticity. Will customers be outfoxed if genAI tools start creating more human-like content? That's yet to be seen, but as of now, humanness in content is a primary ask.

Inclusivity

Inclusivity involves providing each customer with a positive experience regardless of differences in gender, ability, age, and language. When you're inclusive, it shows that you genuinely care for all of your customers and makes them value their relationship with you.

Judiciousness

By this, we mean the ability to discern between what's necessary and what isn't, what needs to be prioritized and what can wait, and what customers truly value and what they don't care about. Design and development teams often get carried away by their own need to innovate and keep creating "cool" things, pushing actual customer needs to the back burner. Again, it's all about finding the right balance.

Knowledge

Knowledge is a core expectation from professionals in customer-facing functions. A reasonably thorough knowledge of the offering and the industry your business caters to can make an ocean of difference in both pre-sale and post-sale customer interactions. Today, with the widespread use of AI tools, dispersal of knowledge in support conversations can be delegated to chatbots, but salespeople absolutely need a comprehensive understanding of the offering in order to gain prospective customers' trust.

Learning

Learning is the only way to stay relevant in an ever-changing business and technology landscape, which goes hand in hand with the previous term in the glossary—knowledge. Learn constantly, learn effectively, and apply whatever you learn in the work you do.

Mindfulness

This is a core personality trait that helps us understand human emotions and circumstances more clearly, has the potential to transform relationships, and is essential in both interactions with customers as well as teammates. As a starting point, constantly monitor your thoughts and words and the effect they have on your interactions with people. In tense situations, ask yourself the question, "Am I responding or reacting?" Most importantly, pause and observe the tone of the person you're talking to; look for subtle changes in facial expressions and body language to understand where the conversation is headed.

Network effect

The network effect is a social phenomenon that's central to marketing. Truly effective solutions both speak for themselves and make others talk about them. No matter what your offering is, nothing can beat the impact of word-of-mouth marketing and customer advocacy.

Openness

Openness is another personality trait that does more good than bad. Openness to feedback; openness to new ideas and perspectives, irrespective of the person's experience or seniority; openness to try out new ways of doing things—all these have proven to be beneficial for both humankind in general and businesses in particular. It's also key to achieving the other quality of adaptability we mentioned earlier.

Proactivity

This is a trait that customers appreciate from businesses and their representatives. Does your offering require a periodic check-up? Set up a call or meeting even before the customer contacts you. Is a delivery going to be delayed? Keep the customer updated about it. You have a new idea? Don't hesitate to talk about it and explore its potential. The more initiative you show, the more appreciation you'll receive.

Quality

This is the one thing that must be the cornerstone of all that you do. Insufficient or nonexistent QA has led to terrible consequences in the real world—both for commercial institutions and individuals. So no matter what you do, NEVER compromise on quality and testing. Factor in a round of comprehensive QA for all that you put out, whether it's a new software tool or a social media post.

Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness is a personality trait that's an asset for businesses of all sizes. You might not always have what a customer needs, but you may be able to provide a temporary solution. How can one quickly figure out what's needed and how it can be done? By acquiring knowledge, of course! In that sense, resourcefulness is a kind of skill that you can cultivate.

Self-service

Self-service is a provision that a good number of customers have always wanted and appreciated and will continue to want and appreciate. Providing your customers with the option to fix issues by themselves saves them a good deal of time and makes them feel empowered. It also removes a significant load off your support agents and enables them to work on fixing more complex issues.

Transparency

Here's another cornerstone of CX. When customers buy a product or service, they want to know exactly what they're signing up for. Things like hidden costs or ambiguous terms and conditions are a sure-shot way to lose a different T: your customers' trust. Be transparent about what your solutions can and can't do and be truthful when a crisis occurs. The fact that you didn't lie to them will itself help you retain their loyalty.

Unification

What's that? One more cornerstone of CX? Absolutely. CX is not the function of a single function or a select few functions or teams; it's the collective responsibility and effort of every stakeholder involved in the business. Teams functioning in silos has been a problem plaguing businesses for a long time, and the only meaningful solution to this issue is unifying these silos, or at least making them communicate and work more closely with one another.

Values

These are the ideals that shape a business' identity—the ideals that a business is known for. It's essential that each customer interaction at each touchpoint reflects these ideals. Your business's direction can change from time to time, but its core values must persist, just as your commitment to adhering to them must remain unwavering.

Waiting

Now here's something that customers across industries don't appreciate. Depending on the complexity of your offering or solution, set expectations and timelines clearly, and do your best to deliver on time. If you do expect delays, maintain transparency and communicate as soon as possible. Even in support interactions, one of your primary goals should be to reduce wait times and connect customers to support agents as quickly as possible.

eXperimentation

Ermm. We can hear you tutting at us, but hey, you know how X is! So please bear with us. Take a leaf from our book and don't hesitate to eXperiment like we've done here, because experimentation is what leads to evolution. Sure, tried and tested methods assure a certain level of success, but it's the new and untried things that disrupt the market. Experiment judiciously. Follow a trial and error approach that doesn't affect the overall CX you offer.

You

Yes, you, the reader of this article, matter. You're the one who has invested time to learn or relearn something. You're the one putting the effort to get better in your role. If you're someone in a customer-facing role, you're obviously going to spend a good deal of your time and energy on delivering what your customers need. When it comes to your work, the "you" you will mostly be referring to is your customers. Focus on your wellness so that the next time you ask a customer, "How may I help you?" they feel confident in your ability to solve their issue.

Zeal

A few years ago, one of our teammates came up with an incredible line: "Customer service is a day job, and the job is to make your customer's day." The spirit and energy of this line is what we refer to as zeal in this context. Put your customers first. Be obsessed with their needs and how to fulfill them. If you're new to the workforce, make a conscious effort to cultivate this spirit. If you're a CX veteran, channel this spirit and wisdom from your years of experience to inspire your teammates. After all, the job is to make your customer's day, isn't it?

Now that brings us to the end of this article. Well, just like how a business is not about a single individual, excellence in CX is also not about any one of these 26 terms in isolation. It's a combination of these 26 qualities and aspects that contribute to great CX. If you found this glossary useful, please bookmark this page and follow this space for more content.