This post was written by ComBlu partner Steven Keith, Founder of CX Pilots

Leaders of professional services firms who are tasked with implementing CX programs are often looking for the best way to join the Client Experience movement without too much distraction from the day-to-day operation of their businesses.  In some cases, CX leaders strapped with low levels of executive and employee support, feel like they have to somehow make a CX transformation happen without their leadership and employees knowing there ever was a CX initiative. This is a reality of change acceptance in many organizations. Seems impossible to do.

There is a wide range of intention and understanding among our clients, and most often we hear two ends of the spectrum at once.  Leaders want to keep people focused and working on the core or focal point objectives of their jobs and the collective purpose of the firm, while at the same time creating what some might say is a new “CX obsessed culture.”  In many cases it can feel like an either-or scenario.

Executives that have been tasked with any size or shape of CX implementation understand that ignoring CX is no longer an option, diving in is an expensive and risky proposition, and the last thing they want is a costly hologram of effort that really doesn’t stick and ends up being a waste of energy.  Unfortunately, this is all too often the outcome at the end of many CX efforts.

We’ve found that all CX transformations differ in one very fundamental way – CX practitioners shouldn’t stop at selling you a ticket and handing you a map for your journey – they should take the trip with you, guiding your organization at every step—walking every path through the resistance with you.  The simple reason is that your culture is the engine of change—not the initiative, itself. Achieving a CX obsessed culture is not the same thing as implementing a CX program. If you’ve implemented a CX initiative without doing the work of engaging your broader culture in the change, chances are you have a CX hologram—a hyper real corporate mirage that everyone can walk around and see but mysteriously vanishes when you look away.

There are so many CX professionals out there who really do understand and believe in the transformative power of creating that CX obsessed organization – they know it exists, they’ve seen evidence of how it can drive the way a company performs, and they love to talk about this promised land. Problem is, they either believe it’s too impossible to realize or they resign themselves to believe that they’ve done enough, thus choosing to leave well enough alone.

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Cheryl Treleaven

Cheryl Treleaven

Principal

Engaging your customers is at the heart of successful marketing programs. For more than 20 years, Cheryl has been building and executing content and thought leadership strategies designed to do just that. She is excited to be applying that well-honed skill to a help companies like Microsoft, Cisco, 3M, Intel, Capital One and Barclaycard tap into their stakeholder communities and build sophisticated content strategies.

Her experience base spans a range of industries – from technology and financial services to retail, travel, consumer products and healthcare. Cheryl has served as an integral member of her clients’ marketing teams, providing counsel on marketing and brand strategy, thought leadership, media relations, product introductions, and event management.

Prior to joining ComBlu, Cheryl spent 10 years leading corporate marketing for large, complex organizations.