The Role of a Customer Experience Strategy Advisor

Introduction

Customer experience (CX) has rapidly become a top strategic priority and source of competitive advantage for leading companies. As a result, the role of CX strategy advisors who can guide enterprises on their customer experience transformation journey has grown increasingly vital. In this article, we will explore the core responsibilities of a CX advisor, the critical skills required, and how these professionals drive impact within organizations seeking to become more customer-centric.

Defining Customer Experience

Customer experience refers to the overall interaction and perception a customer has with a brand across every touchpoint and channel. It encompasses all aspects of a company's offerings - products, services, support, purchasing, retention and loyalty. CX advisors take a holistic view to shaping experiences that create value, relevance and emotional connections with customers.

The Growing Importance of CX

In today's highly competitive marketplace, delivering meaningful and differentiated customer experiences is a key way brands can stand out, build loyalty, and drive growth. Research shows that CX leaders substantially outperform CX laggards across many financial metrics. Consequently, CX has become a top boardroom priority. CX advisors play a crucial role in activating organizations around experience transformation and customer-centricity through strategic guidance.

Core Responsibilities of a CX Strategy Advisor

The core purpose of a dedicated CX strategy advisor is to help companies bridge the gap between understanding the importance of CX and effectively activating across people, processes and platforms to drive real change. Key responsibilities include:

Developing CX Vision and Roadmap

CX advisors lead the design of the long-term CX vision and strategy roadmap Defining CX Objectives and KPIs

They establish precise CX objectives, performance indicators (KPIs), and metrics aligned to business priorities.

Mapping CX Journeys

Advisors map existing customer journeys to identify pain points and opportunities. Journey mapping brings cross-functional teams together to gain customer empathy.

Identifying Gaps and Opportunities

CX advisors conduct analyses to surface CX gaps and improvement opportunities across journeys, processes, systems and capabilities.

Driving CX Initiatives and Programs

CX advisors play a hands-on role in spearheading key CX-focused initiatives and cross-functional programs.

Innovation Sprints and Ideation

They lead rapid design thinking workshops to brainstorm solutions and innovations.

Designing Customer-Centric Solutions

Advisors collaborate with teams to design improved customer experiences across channels and touchpoints.

Overseeing Implementation

They ensure flawless implementation of CX initiatives through project management, stakeholder alignment and change leadership.

Enabling Customer-Centric Culture

Transforming culture is vital for CX success. Advisors drive executive engagement, capability building, and cross-functional collaboration.

Leadership Alignment and Buy-in

Securing leadership commitment to CX across all levels is crucial. Advisors serve as trusted advisors to senior executives on CX strategy.

Change Management and Communication

They lead communications and change management tactics to drive adoption of CX principles company-wide.

CX Training and Education

Advisors design and deliver immersive CX training programs to instill customer-centric mindsets and skills.

Key CX Advisor Skills and Mindset

To be effective in this strategic role, CX advisors require an amalgamation of soft skills, leadership competencies, and technical proficiencies:

Customer Empathy and Focus

A deep understanding of customer needs, motivations and emotions is foundational. Advisors always view challenges through the customer's lens.

Collaborative yet Decisive

They build relationships and consensus across functions to gain buy-in while also being decisive on prioritization and execution.

Analytical and Strategic Thinking

Strong critical thinking, problem solving, financial analysis, and systems thinking capabilities help craft CX strategy and business cases.

Influencing Skills

Influencing executives, managers and frontline staff to embrace CX practices is core. Excellent communication, storytelling and negotiation abilities help drive change.

Measuring Success and Impact

There are several key metrics CX advisors track to quantify the impact of CX initiatives:

CX Metrics and Benchmarks

Advisors monitor established CX KPIs to identify performance improvements over time. Industry benchmarking also provides context.

Customer Feedback and Perception

CX advisors analyze qualitative feedback from surveys, interviews, and reviews to gauge sentiment shifts.

Business Growth and Performance

Ultimately, CX drives vital outcomes like revenue growth, customer lifetime value, retention, and market share which are tracked.

Conclusion

As customer obsession becomes a necessity for organizational success, having dedicated CX strategy advisors to guide experience transformations is absolutely essential. They bring the strategic perspective, customer wisdom, and cross-functional leadership needed to drive real change. With the right advisor partner, any company can become a true CX leader and outpace the competition.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ

1: What qualifications do you need to become a CX advisor?

Relevant education (business, psychology, design, marketing), 5+ years in CX roles, expertise in CX best practices and methodology, analytical and project management skills, and leadership experience are typical prerequisites.

2: What types of companies hire CX advisors?

All types of enterprises from startups to global corporations hire CX strategy talent, especially in industries where CX is a competitive differentiator like retail, financial services, healthcare, and technology.

3: How do you become a CX leader in an organization?

Becoming a CX leader requires experience driving CX initiatives, expertise advising executives, strong business acumen, influence across functions, customer empathy, and a proven track record of impact.

4: What is the career path for a CX advisor?

Typical career progression is from CX analyst/manager to senior manager/director, leading to head of CX or VP of CX, and eventually Chief Customer Officer.

5: How much do CX advisors and leaders earn?

Salaries range widely based on role and experience. Entry-level CX analysts earn ~$60K while CX directors earn ~$130K on average. Seasoned Chief Customer Officers can earn $250K+ at large firms.