Yesterday, I was the Hi-Tech Track Chair and as a result, had the pleasure of hearing Desirree Madison-Biggs, Director of Customer Experience at Symantec, speak about budget-friendy ways to put some zing in your CX program. (I must admit that it was quite cool to see the funny, yet informative, video they produced to update team members worldwide on NPS numbers.)

If you couldn't make it - shame on you! Just kidding...here are the top level take-aways in case you missed this session:

• Symantec was bold enough to accept some of their CX challenges head on and adopted a  position of "Customer First" and in fact, went so far as to give their CX program this theme: "Customer First: All the Insight, All the Time".
  
• Desirree HIGHLY recommended having a game plan for your CX program. "You need a roadmap to there," she said. She admitted that Symantec put together part of their roadmap after a lot of the work had been done, but it's clear they're leading in CX programming now.
• Desirree was smart enough to pepper her presentation with what would appear to be some obvious advice -- but these are all the things we forget when putting together CX programs. Sometimes the basics go by the wayside and we need someone who's been there to give us a gentle reminder. For example, here's this gem she shared: "You can't create promoters when service people aren't trained properly and aren't being nice to customers -- or if you have broken customer promises." Sounds obvious, right? But, how many times have you overlooked the forest for the trees when developing and implementing your CX program? Things to think about...
• She also recommended creating an internal buzz. This requires a few things: the 'buzz' needs to come from the top, employees need to be engaged and empowered with action steps in order to get them on the same page and success stories need to be celebrated.
  
• If you work within a national or international organization, don't forget to develop and nurture relationships with regional NPS champions. These are the people who'll keep the NPS home fires burning in between messages from corporate. For example, Symantec owned their CX program by mobilizing 17K employees to use a custom-developed customer assistance tool so that anyone can help a customer when needed. Genius. They also have a Customer First intranet/portal that showcases up-to-the-minute NPS scores and anything related to the organizations customer loyalty efforts. It's the first stop for anyone who wants to know about the Customer First program.
  
• Desirree also pointed out not to lump all staff into the same bucket when it comes to CX programming. For example, Symantec has a special portal for their sales team and have created a RVP (Relationship Value Program). They also rolled out manager training so management can have conversations with employees about CX goals and where they fit into the bigger picture - it's all about each person knowing how they can specifically positively impact NPS.
  
• The part that I thought was very forward-thinking is Symantec's CX Wiki, which is for employees as they move from position to position and want to bring information about Symantec's committment to customer loyalty with them.
• Overall, Desirree stressed, "Communication is key! It is the underpinning to creating change within your organization."

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But it got me thinking about the pervasive silent killer of customer loyalty programs . . . the dreaded “white binder syndrome.” The cost of this affliction is staggering but often hidden; hundreds of man hours from your employees, negative goodwill, and when it is most severe – rampant customer defections.

“White Binder” syndrome is easy to diagnose. Here is how it often presents itself:

• You, your staff, or your research team spend hundreds of hours creating beautiful notebooks full of perfectly formatted charts. Most often, much more time is given to chart formatting then to THINKING about what the customer is really saying.
• The binders delight the recipients. Most will sit the binder right on top of the “to-do” pile with the best intention to look at it the next morning over a hot cup of coffee.
• The next day comes. Urgent (but not important) calls derail the morning. The recipient promises to take the notebook home over the weekend for careful review.
• A few weeks of broken self-promises, the pretty white binder ends up on the book shelf, clogging the arteries of the customer loyalty program. Slowly killing it.

Tragically, the data collection team did their job, they got trustworthy data. But the organization failed because no action was taken.

But, you can overcome the disease. And when your organization starts taking action, remarkable things will happen! Renewals rates will improve, clients will buy more, and the word of mouth marketing engine will go into overdrive.

I am really excited that Eric Murphy, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Ingenix, is speaking at the conference. The Ingenix leadership team created a culture where action is paramount. As a result, in just 18-months they are enjoying measurable increases in their business outcomes.

Go ahead, self diagnose. If you are a victim of “white binder syndrome” then Eric is one presenter to be sure to hear. Members of the Ingenix program team will be at the conference as well. Come find me and I’ll be happy to make introductions or share ideas for overcoming “white binder syndrome.”

See you in a few weeks.