Customer experience isn’t a transactional tool to simply drive leads down a conversion funnel. Customers today don’t want what you’re selling. They want ease of business, accessibility, collaboration, transparency, partnership, problem solving, and empathy, too. They want to see how you relate to, help, and connect with them on a human level.

And yet, all too often I see emotionless customer interactions from marketers trying to push upsells or asking customers to attend an event without understanding what the customer cares about. Something’s amiss, and we know it. Recently, 35% of marketing professionals noted delivering exceptional customer experiences as a leading marketing challenge.

Customers’ needs are always changing, which means our approach to customer experience should also change. Instead of struggling to evolve alongside your customers this year, here’s my perspective on how you can adopt the customer-centric mindset necessary to stand out.

Step 1: Infuse customer-first thinking into each and every interaction a prospect or customer has with your brand.

At RollWorks, some of the guiding questions that shape our customer experience include:

• How do you bring value to a customer?
• How do you help them reach a resolution?
• How do you put their needs first?

We work hard to ensure our entire company understands our strategic vision, but even the best strategies can be derailed with a lack of alignment.

One of the best ways to emphasize the importance of customer centricity companywide is by breaking down silos within your two most revenue-boosting departments: marketing and sales. If these departments align on overall business objectives, goals, and strategies, why should they not also be in agreement on the target account list (TAL) and how potential customers are identified, engaged, and measured?

Step 2: Personalize the customer journey and quantify insights that inform your next action.

Long gone are the days of one-and-done buyers. Establishing data for each account is essential from start to finish, which is where account-based marketing (ABM) is effective. In addition to helping you customize campaigns and create real conversations that resonate with your audience, ABM continues long after the sale is won through various measurements, such as customer journey-mapping and looking at intent data.

With ABM, you can view what your current customers are doing both within and outside of your brand. This allows you to customize the campaigns and conversations you’re having with them based on those interactions, web searches, and competitor considerations.

Step 3: Talk to your current and churned customers. And then really listen to what they have to say.

No matter how detailed your buyer personas, they’re constantly evolving. So start engaging and learning from your real-life customers. When you’re talking with them, focus less on what’s nice to hear and more on curating authentic, valuable intel on whether or not you’re truly delivering.

Stop trying to make data look good and actually lean into what can use improvement. This is when we start to build trusting relationships with our customers that demonstrate our commitment and investment in their overall prosperity.

—Randi Barshack, CMO, RollWorks