#109 Strategies to Measure and Prove the Value of Customer Experience Investments

The Delighted Customers Podcast with Mark Slatin

Tom Shimko, a seasoned expert in customer experience (CX) and marketing, to discuss the ROI of CX. Tom highlights the necessity of treating CX as a strategic imperative rather than a mere nicety. He unpacks the IDIC framework by Peppers and Rogers, emphasizing identification, differentiation, interaction, and customization as key steps.

Tom shares insightful case studies, including work with 1800 Flowers, AIG, and Prudential, demonstrating how targeted CX improvements can significantly enhance customer value and reduce attrition. He underscores the importance of aligning CX initiatives with senior leadership’s goals and understanding customer needs at every lifecycle stage to justify continued investment in CX efforts.

1. What are some misconceptions about proving the value of customer experience?
2. Addressing misconceptions helps CX leaders understand the critical elements that often go overlooked or misunderstood. Tom highlights the importance of measurable metrics in customer experience, which are essential for justifying investments and making informed decisions. It also helps shift the view of customer experience from being a "nice to have" to a strategic necessity.
3. How does the IDIC framework relate to the customer lifecycle?
4. Tom discusses the IDIC framework, which includes Identification, Differentiation, Interaction, and Customization. Understanding this framework allows businesses to segment their customers effectively, address their needs more precisely, and measure the impact of their strategies. By relating it to the customer lifecycle, Tom shows how this framework can be applied in real-world scenarios to enhance customer relationships and drive business growth.
5. Can you walk through some use cases from your experience to give leaders a blueprint for how they might identify opportunities to calculate the ROI of CX?

• Real-world examples and use cases provide practical insights and a blueprint for CX leaders. Tom's examples from 1-800-Flowers, AIG, and Prudential show how specific strategies can have a significant impact on business metrics like customer retention, revenue, and cancellation rates. These use cases offer actionable steps for leaders to follow and adapt to their unique contexts.

Meet Tom!

Tom Shimko brings a background of 20+ years of experience leading marketing, customer experience, and strategic planning in both senior management and consulting roles.

These have included building and leading the consulting division as a Senior Managing Partner at Peppers & Rogers Group, Director of International Marketing at Prudential, Head of Marketing Intelligence and Customer Experience at GE Capital, SVP, Customer Retention and Loyalty at AIG, and as the Chief Marketing Officer at Pitney Bowes, Danbury Health Systems, and the DMA.

His consulting clients cross B2B, B2C and Nonprofit sectors, and include organizations such as Acxiom, Oracle, 1800Flowers, Space.com, Jaguar, Wolters Kluwer, Rodale Publishing, the American Cancer Society, and the Young President’s Organization.

Tom currently leads Shimko1to1.com, where he helps organizations to increase customer acquisition, improve retention, and grow customer value, by focusing on customer needs, potential value, and by improving the customer experience.

Known for driving transformative growth, Tom excels in crafting innovative customer-centric strategies and leveraging data-driven insights, with a focus on action, impact and results.