What Makes a Good CX Leader?

Craig McGill

September 27, 2024

Customer experience (CX) is a dynamic and complex measurement that businesses are always trying to decode. As customer expectations continually change, CX leaders need to continually shift priorities, identify new opportunities, and set their team up for success.

So, what can you do, as a CX leader, to set your organization up for success?

As we have been learning on our CX tour, while many organizations now have their CX champions, there is still a lot of uncertainty around what makes a standout CX leader and who should be running CX campaigns. So we asked a number of 8x8 CX experts what makes an outstanding ambassador for delivering customer experience.

Vision, Plans, and Culture

8x8’s Chief Customer Officer Walt Weisner believes that it all starts with vision and culture. He said: “A great CX leader has a vision and a plan to achieve consistent success for customers, team members, and shareholders. There has to be the operational rigor to measure customer experience at every key point in the customer life cycle and take action to continuously improve it based on customer feedback.”

See how 8x8 worked with an NHS trust to deliver outstanding CX as it met its 5 p goals of Patients, People, Place, Performance, and Pounds.

Help Internal Teams or Your External CX Will Fail

Our Senior Director of Customer Success Programs at 8x8, Jenny Hood, has noticed in her career that there are a few key characteristics that stand out in CX leaders.

She said: “Relentless commitment to the customer has to be the north star for anyone in CX. That empathy also comes in handy when internally, because a great CX leader helps the internal teams to view the world from the customer's eyes.” Hood believes that it’s critical to not lose sight of the big picture. “The CX leader needs to understand the big picture for their company and how CX contributes to that,” she adds.

Learn how Trek uses data to drive CX and give customers “a big hug."

Think of CX Like Football or Soccer

Perhaps thinking about 8x8’s recent announcement of 8x8 being named as the Official Business Communications Partner of Southampton FC, 8x8 AI expert Jonathan Mckenzie thinks CX is a pivotal part of a business, but can be compared to soccer and football.

He said: “The company is the team, with employees playing different roles similar to players on the pitch. Each player/employee contributes to the overall performance with the CX leader as the coach, developing strategies and training the team to ensure everyone knows their role and how it impacts the customer experience.

“The customers are the fans, investing their time and money into the team, while the customer journey is akin to a football match, where every touchpoint, from the purchase to post-purchase experience, should be memorable and positive.”

See how Halfords learned to put customers first.

Companies Must Remember Employees Are Customers too

CCaaS Director at 8x8, Christina Calabrese, thinks of CX a bit differently. She said: “A good CX leader is measuring experience holistically. First, they are looking at the core experience customers have when doing business with their company.”

When looking at this, Christina believes it starts with questioning multiple aspects including:

How do our customers want to communicate?
When do they want to communicate?
Where are our customers located?
What are their biggest challenges when trying to communicate with us?
What percentage of our customers are repeat customers?
How hard is it for agents to support customers?
How easy is it for employees to communicate internally and switch between communication platforms like phone, chat, and SMS?
How integrated are the organizational communication platforms for internal and external support?
What frustrations do employees have?
Are employees set up to be successful?

25 Years of CX Experience Has Revealed Four Key Traits

There are four key areas where CX leaders need to commit to, claims 8x8 Global Vice President of Professional Services, Chuck Emmette. He cites empathy, vision, communication, and employee engagement as the key differentiators.

He said: “A world-class CX leader is committed to customer-centric values and always puts customer needs first. You must also instill a culture of empathy and responsiveness throughout the organization as well as fostering stronger connections with customers which drive loyalty.”

Chuck has found over the past 25 years that the top CX leaders always have at a minimum the four following traits:

Empathy – Putting yourself in the shoes of your customer gives you valuable insights into your customer’s needs, pain points, and preferences. This drives better decision-making and initiatives to improve overall customer experience.
Vision – Having a clear vision and strategy for delivering a holistic customer experience is key to understanding the importance of every interaction. Having a vision that aligns all internal processes and resources in the customer lifecycle from initial engagement to post-purchase support is the key to success.
Communication – You must articulate vision, inspire teams, and drive cross-functional collaboration to achieve shared objectives. Breaking down silos and driving alignment means everyone is working towards a common goal.
Employee Engagement – An employee-first focus drives a positive work environment, which provides opportunities for growth and development and cultivates a team of advocates dedicated to delivering outstanding service.

Excellent CX Needs Great QA

Quality Assurance, Knowing Your Communication Streams, and Feedback are Essential to Excellent CX. That’s the thinking of 8x8’s Business Value Consulting Manage, Melissa Hopken, who believes using quality assurance initiatives and feedback lead to an ever-improving customer experience.

She said: “Quality assurance programs and using the data from those activities allows companies to better mentor and coach agent behaviors. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also helps better educate agents making them more comfortable and increasing their productivity. As the largest investment in a contact center is salaries and benefits, protecting this investment not only impacts the client experience but improves the company’s reputation and financial success.”

The Kansas City Royals tell their CX secrets

Great CX Pays Off in the Long Run

If it’s not obvious by now, we believe that CX is crucial in the contact center industry. In an increasingly competitive market, positive CX differentiates companies, helps with customer retention, and reduces churn to drive revenue growth.