Congratulations! You’ve become the leader of a customer experience (CX) organization. Exciting times, right?
When I first started leading CX teams, I learned quickly that it’s best not to start making broad proclamations right off the bat.
The first 100 days are about learning, establishing your role, gaining buy-in, identifying quick wins, and laying the foundation for longer-term CX success.
Moving too aggressively or overpromising outcomes early on can be risky. Rather, focusing on building credibility through demonstrated progress against a thoughtful roadmap first will enable longer-term success.
Questions to get off to a great start
The best way to get started is to get a clear view of the facts. This way, you can have a better understanding of the situation and make informed decisions.
So, before making any recommendations, ask questions and listen intently. Gather information about the organization, its customers, and the challenges it faces. By doing so, you can gain a better understanding of the overall situation and make more informed decisions.
Here are ten questions that I use for you to consider:
- What are the top 3 CX priorities I should focus on in my first 100 days? This helps prioritize the most pressing initiatives.
- What are our CX strengths that we can build upon? And what are some key CX weaknesses or opportunities? This provides an honest assessment of the current state.
- Who are our most valuable customers, and what do we know about their needs, pain points, and CX journeys? This identifies key customer segments to focus on.
- How do we currently measure CX – both quantitatively and qualitatively? Are there any gaps in our measurement programs? This assesses current CX metrics and KPIs.
- How is CX data currently collected, analyzed, and shared across the organization? What improvements could make insights more actionable? This looks at CX data flows and actions.
- How is CX currently reflected in our company culture, strategies, and processes? Identifies opportunities to further integrate CX.
- Who are our key partners across the organization that CX needs to collaborate with? Building partnerships and getting buy-in is key.
- What CX training or educational opportunities exist for our employees/teams? Looks for gaps to improve CX knowledge and skills.
- Are there any quick CX wins we can tackle in the first 30/60/90 days? Quick wins build momentum and support.
- How do our customers perceive their CX with our brand today? Identifies potential perception gaps to address.
Organizing your first 100 days
Organizing your first 100 days is a crucial step in setting a strong foundation for success. These initial days in a new role or position can significantly shape your overall performance and impact.
It is a time to set priorities, establish relationships, and lay the groundwork for future achievements. By effectively planning and strategizing your first 100 days, you can maximize your productivity, make a positive impression, and set yourself up for long-term success.
Here’s a plan that has worked for me:
Weeks 1-2:
- Set up intro meetings with key stakeholders and partners
- Conduct listening tours to hear pain points and opportunities from teams
- Review existing CX strategies, data, and processes to learn the landscape
Weeks 3-4:
- Outline a high-level 90-day plan and share for input
- Start gathering data on customer feedback, journeys, pain points
- Assess CX team skills and capabilities needed
Weeks 5-8:
- Finalize the 100-day CX roadmap and share it with leadership
- Identify 1-2 quick win projects to build momentum
- Develop customer journey maps for key segments
- Address any urgent CX issues or crises
Weeks 9-12:
- Implement quick win CX projects to demonstrate progress
- Develop strategy for VoC programs, metrics, governance
- Plan any restructuring of team or partnerships
- Outline 6-12-month vision and strategy
100 Day Accomplishments
The first 100 days set the stage for your success. Early wins will lay a solid groundwork for your continued progress. So, let’s take a look at some inspiring targets to strive for:
- Establish regular touchpoints with key stakeholders like executives, product teams, sales, service, etc. to build relationships
- Map current customer journeys and identify major pain points or experience gaps
- Conduct audits of existing VoC programs, CX metrics, and governance processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities
- Create a CX roadmap for the next 6-12 months with key initiatives and quick wins identified
- Launch 1-2 quick win CX improvement projects to build momentum and demonstrate value (e.g., improved feedback collection, closed-loop process, better CX data reporting)
- Define and document your team’s mission, vision, structure, and roles to align with CX priorities
- Start developing CX governance models for voice of customer, customer insights, metrics, and goal-setting
- Create an outline of a 3-5 year CX transformation strategy and plan
- Establish a regular cadence for reporting CX metrics and insights to key leaders and teams
- Identify key skills, capabilities, and technologies needed to scale CX efforts and begin hiring
- Begin documenting CX standards, guidelines, and policies to streamline efforts (customer data, VoC, research, etc.)
- Develop your next 100-day plan for the next phase based on learnings during your initial ramp-up
Even though it may feel like a lot, 100 days will fly by in no time.
Following this plan, you’ll have already made incredible strides in getting up to speed, identifying your potential, and setting the stage for lasting change.
Your commitment to the CX vision and plan is evident, and you can see your momentum building.
Mark Levy is an experienced business leader with over 25 years of expertise in digital and customer experience. Currently serving as the Vice President of Customer Experience at Frontier Communications, Levy is responsible for spearheading initiatives aimed at enhancing customer experience across the organization. He is also an executive coach, author, and publisher, having recently published a book titled “The Accountability Team Handbook.” Levy also writes the DCX Newsletter and Podcast, which offers weekly insights, trends, and best practices for customer experience professionals. Find him on LinkedIn.
