Hiring a consultant is like confiding in a good friend. At least it should be.
Too often, customer experience consultants earn a bad reputation. Some “service providers” offer shallow solutions, deliver advice and reports missing the “how,” or sell services that meet their sales goals rather than the business needs of clients. Walker’s customer experience (CX) consulting approach is different. The kind of difference that drives true innovation.
Walker operates as a good friend. We provide sound advice focused on your brand objectives. Our team offers actionable insights, making customer experience transformation possible. And we stay through the tough stuff. Our CX consulting experts work with you in the trenches to implement a successful customer experience program that achieves desired results.
Welcome to a Niche Customer Experience (CX) Consulting Firm
At Walker, we take pride in our role as an objective outside advisor. Our CX consulting is based on the latest research, proven practices, and extensive experience gained by serving hundreds of global businesses and brands. We do more than simply offer a list of uninspired recommendations to clients. We collaborate in a way that brings comprehensive customer experience insights to life.
Our success comes through your success. After all, that’s what friends are for.
Our Customer Experience Consulting Services
Walker delivers experience management services that create results. We provide implementation and engineering services for all programs—from fast starts to highly customized deployments. A sampling of our many customer experience consulting services include:
Strategy & Design
Walker offers end-to-end solutions for building, optimizing and managing an XM strategy.
Implementation
- Qualtrics training and support
- Survey and dashboard builds
- Close-the-loop case management
- Custom survey styling
- Website and digital feedback configuration
Program Management
- Program planning and scheduling
- Survey design and validation
- Customer experience metrics, KPIs, and program goals
- Causal modeling
- Report system development
Program Advisory
- Customer experience readiness and maturity assessments
- Customer journey mapping
- Listening architecture design
- CX governance design
- Culture development
- CX workshops and training
Selecting a CX Consultant: 7 Factors to Consider
Thinking about bringing in a customer experience consultant? Consider these key factors to find the right firm for your organization.
Objective Viewpoint
The primary benefit of hiring a customer experience partner is gaining an objective, third-party viewpoint. The “outside view” can be incredibly valuable to an organization. Most, if not all, customer experience (CX) professionals inside an organization can’t elude the “curse of knowledge.” They know so much about the inner workings that they cannot objectively create an accurate view of the customer. A customer experience consultant offers a better position for putting themselves in the shoes of your customer to provide a unique perspective and valuable insights.
Look for a customer experience consulting partner that will take a close look at all customer interactions to gain a complete understanding of the customer journey. Carefully evaluate their knowledge of customer experience strategies, including customer feedback methods used to understand your organization’s customers. Ultimately, find a customer experience consultant who will ask the right questions to understand your company and objectives. Typically, the more insightful a consultant’s questions, the more value they can bring to your business and brand.
Relevant Experience
Customer experience leaders deal with many obstacles. Hiring a firm with relevant experience consulting in this business discipline is important. Look for firms that have worked with a wide variety of customers – with stories proving their ability to anticipate and avoid common obstacles.
CX leaders have a unique role. The consulting service chosen to work alongside them must possess a deep understanding of customer strategies and broad tactical knowledge associated with customer experience management (CEM). Businesses frequently toss around terms like customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, the customer journey, and customer experience. Make sure the consultant you hire understands these disciplines in depth.
Ask any potential consultants if they participate in the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). Look for Certified Customer Experience Professionals (CCXPs) among their employees.
CX leaders deserve a company that really understands customer experience. Look for consultants with verifiable case studies for companies they assisted in achieving successful customer experiences.
Collaborative Approach
Good consultants take a collaborative approach. They roll up their sleeves to provide more than just recommendations. Instead, they get in the trenches working alongside you to bring plans to fruition. Look for a consultant who really wants to understand your business and brand—the range of customer interactions, how customer service works, the customer’s journey, the management systems you deploy, and the level of customer focus exhibited by your employees.
Do not settle for customer experience consultants only interested in quick fixes. A company that looks around, offers a report of shallow observations, and then collects a check will not help you create a valuable customer experience transformation. You deserve better. Find a consulting firm that provides a thorough roadmap and is willing to collaborate with your team and employees on executing the plan to generate the results you want.
Range of Services
Great customer experience management consultants bring with them an extensive portfolio of services. They resist offering “the typical strategy” and instead provide multiple solutions aligned with your unique business objectives.
Find a consulting firm skilled in developing and implementing a wide range of customer strategies. Consulting services might include:
- Building an effective customer feedback initiative
- Developing a customer loyalty program
- Understanding customer expectations
- Anticipating future customer demands
The strategy recommendations should not stop there. A skilled customer experience consultant must go a step further by offering proven methods for embedding these programs into the day-to-day workings of your company.
Your business deserves a consulting firm that listens intently to your needs, selects from an extensive menu of services, and knows how to improve customer experience by implementing the right program to achieve your business objectives.
Focus on You
Good customer experience consultants focus on your needs, not their solutions. That means you are the priority. They must be genuinely interested in helping you, even if that means referring business to other companies.
The rapidly evolving CX profession interacts with marketing, customer service, quality, product development, and other functions within an organization. Not surprisingly, some consulting firms offer every service client might need.
Let’s say you want guidance on word-of-mouth marketing, digital transformation, and brand loyalty strategy. Each program closely relates to CX, but often fits better inside the marketing department. A customer experience consulting firm might offer these services. However, a specialty marketing firm may be more qualified to deliver relevant insights.
A good consultant focused on your business needs to acknowledge their limitations. Look for a consulting firm that is competent, self-aware, and has a clear understanding of what is best for the client.
Flexibility
The only constant in life is change. Good consultants recognize this fact and work patiently with clients. They prepare for shifts in strategy, reorganizations, and changes to employees that may alter a project’s direction.
Customer experience represents much more than simply gathering insights from existing customers. The practice is dynamic and evolving. As a result, companies consistently reevaluate strategies, adjust direction, and introduce new initiatives. Despite the constant state of flux, the best consulting firms work with leaders to keep the focus on customer initiatives. Customer experience represents a discipline requiring attention and persistence. Skilled consultants help navigate the change and distractions that go with it. Look for a consulting firm that embraces change and adapts well to a constantly evolving corporate environment.
Focus on Results
A consultant should do more than manage a good project. They must focus on producing good results.
What is your objective? Are you wanting to increase loyalty? Do you need a clearer view of the customer? Do you want to understand the customer better?
These are good questions. Yet, the most effective consultants consider them too “soft.” They will feel comfortable pushing you to work toward objectives that gain C-suite attention: higher customer retention, increased share of wallet, better customer acquisition, reduced cost to serve, competitive advantage, and more. This type of focus on results that matter marks an essential characteristic of the right consulting firm for CX leaders.
Look for the firms that have business-savvy customer experience management consultants who will challenge your objectives and get to the heart of what senior leaders really want. Only then will true customer experience transformation be possible.
Contact Walker today to learn more about our consulting and management services.
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