Connect

Chapter 13Selling to the Board

There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience.

—Archibald MacLeish

For most organizations, reaching the summit of the Customer Experience Maturity Model requires nothing less than a fundamental transformation. Such change requires genuine commitment at all levels of the organization—from the board to the areas of the business that impact or benefit from connected customer experiences.

In some cases, the need for transformation may originate from the board itself (when we say “board” we mean a committee or group that has been appointed to approve strategic decisions). In other cases, the need to change may originate from within the organization. Either way, the board will eventually need to approve the strategic initiatives and cost. It may be you or a colleague who will lead the charge and make the case. If so, we'd like to give you tools, tactics, and inspiration for selling connected customer experience transformation to your board and management.

Realizing There Is a Gap

The first challenge may be to raise awareness about the gaps in how your company currently provides customer experiences. This includes the customer's experience from first contact through sales and on through the customer's lifetime. The rate at which customers' habits are changing is head-spinning. For many companies, there may be a sheer lack of awareness about the rise of digital marketing in recent years and ...