The first Tuesday of every October marks CX Day and this year we recognize a business world whose operations were turned upside down almost overnight. The global pandemic has left an indelible mark on virtually every facet of our life. From how we work to the way we interact with friends and families, new behaviors have been adopted across our society.
While many organizations were significantly impacted, the crisis has shined a bright light on the importance of customer experience and deep customer engagement and the professionals driving it. From all of us at Medallia on this CX Day 2020, I want to sincerely thank everyone working in our industry, especially those on the front lines who have dealt directly with increasingly anxious customers trying to achieve critical tasks in a fundamentally changed world. Listening to your customers and engaging them are more important than ever and I am proud to be a part of an industry that has risen to the challenge.
From curbside pickup, telehealth, remote work, the fast flight to digital and so many other changes across every industry, organizations have adapted and innovated to keep employees, customers and partners safe and satisfied. It truly has been inspiring to see how our own Medallia customers have responded in real time to help serve their customers and communities and I wanted to call out a few of those stories.
Creating a Contactless and Safe Environment
One of our hotel customers in New York City reopened in April to shelter front-line healthcare workers. Many doctors and nurses had been sleeping in their cars at home to avoid the potential risk to their families or in city garages to avoid commutes on top of their already long hours.
The city put out a call to hotels that had been mandated to close and this luxury property answered immediately. It had been closed for nearly a month and now had the enormous challenge of safely reopening in one of the country’s hardest hit cities.
The hotel redesigned physical spaces, implemented new cleaning and operating procedures and proactively communicated with guests with messaging to minimize in-person interactions. By reacting quickly and engaging staff and guests in real-time, the hotel was able to deliver a safe and contactless experience.
New Operating Models Customers Needed
One of our large banking customers quickly adapted to provide faster support to customers in need of urgent financial help. It created a new online process so customers could request loan deferrals. It captured critical information about the customer’s account online so a contact center representative could call back prepared and ready to help extremely anxious customers. This replaced a more complex, slower system in a critical time of need.
A retail customer showed the power of employees engaging a customer on a personal level. Workers went above and beyond to make a young boy feel special on his birthday. It was early in the pandemic and the mother had ordered a special present for her son they were picking up curbside as a family. Through previous communications, the employees knew and came out singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as they delivered the package.
The mom commented how that gesture turned what had been a depressing day because of COVID-19 into something special they’d remember forever. Small and personal touches, even in a contactless world, can go a long way to driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Celebrating CX Day 2020 and Great Experiences
Our team has witnessed countless examples of innovation and inspiration despite incredible challenges. Every transaction and experience is more complicated than a year ago and yet we’ve seen engagement and customer satisfaction scores from customers like these soaring. It shows the power of listening, deep engagement and being able to react quickly to meet and exceed changing customer expectations.
I am humbled to work alongside my team here at Medallia and amazing customers and partners who have stayed even more closely connected to their customers and employees. Let’s make sure we don’t stop, but take a moment today to celebrate CX Day 2020, this amazing industry and all the people who make great experiences happen.
