How can you make change more fun?
Customer-centric change requires patience: changing behavior and engaging colleagues won’t happen in just a month. It is a demanding process, both for you as the initiator, facilitator, or leader, and for the people you want to engage in the change. Adding FUN to your CHANGE program is a brilliant idea, since it will boost morale and set your program apart from others.
Here are my five tips on how to make your CX change program more enjoyable while still achieving your goals:
- Create an overarching, compelling storyline
. Too many CX strategies are linear and corporate—schmorporate (sorry for my language). They lack excitement and fun, and they don’t spark any enthusiasm when you share them. So, how about adding a compelling storyline? Use sports, movie scripts, heroes, best practices, and all kinds of other stories. I still love Project #99, which Clint Payne, CCXP, launched in 2016. He wanted to improve the customer experience at Multichoice, a South African telecom and television provider, and created an overarching storyline in which he challenged the organization to resolve 99 current customer and employee issues. Project #99 is a great tagline that provides context for the change. - Set an appealing BHAG
. How about aiming for the moon when it comes to your CX or change program? How about truly setting an ambitious quantitative and qualitative goal? Project #99 is already a perfect example—resolving 99 issues in one year. But I have more examples for you. What do you think of this one? In three years, you and your company will be best-in-class in Customer Experience, and your NPS will reach a specific score (the quantitative part). And what if your company’s CEO were to share the story of how the organization transformed over the past three years into a truly customer-centric company in the Financial Times or HBR? These kinds of “moonshots,” also known as BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), work. They add fun and excitement to the change process. - Celebrate milestones—
. Too often, we just keep going after we’ve achieved a success. But how about breaking down your BHAG into a few milestones that can be celebrated? Or shining a spotlight on those who did a fabulous job—those who demonstrated customer-centric leadership, or a team that resolved a major customer issue? My suggestion is that you make sure you have a selection of fun gifts on hand. How about branded T-shirts, water bottles, pens, or customized virtual backgrounds to show your appreciation? Have the high performers have lunch with a senior leader. Take them on an inspirational trip—to another customer-centric organization or to an amusement park. - Create challenges and visualize them
What happened in Project #99 was that the CX team created challenges, and employees and leaders embraced those challenges. By working on short-term projects (don’t try to implement a CRM system with this one ????) that are high-energy and supported by senior leadership, they work magic. By ensuring the change is pleasant (rather than painful, even though it may feel painful at first), it fosters a sense of hope (rather than fear) and creates a sense of connection with others who are doing the same. Be sure to visualize the challenge’s journey so that others understand what they’re doing. Display those fun and vibrant visuals (like a logo for your team or project) throughout the organization. Both offline and online. Yes, this might require some guerrilla marketing tactics, and you might run into some conflicts with your organization’s communications and facilities departments. But remember: no guts, no glory! - Incorporate fun into your interventions
Too many workshops are purely functional: teaching the new behavior based on the customer manifesto and delivering on the new brand values. Workshops are important, and it’s up to you to make them fun. Here are some examples.
1. Create a CX quiz where you ask questions about NPS topics, include some fun CX facts (such as the date of the first complaint), and, of course, crown a winner.
2. Play the CX game—a fun CX workshop (in the form of a board game) where the questions and tasks are tailored to your organization’s context. The feedback we always hear is: “This was FUN!”
3. Add persona role-playing to your customer journey workshop. Bring props like scarves, sports gear, glasses, hats, and whatever else you can think of. Transform your workshop participants into customers. In my experience, participants will be a bit hesitant at first, but once they get going, everyone will have a blast!
You see, there are lots of things you can do and organize to make CHANGE more FUN. And I strongly recommend that you do so! Create fun—whether big or small—and know that it will give you and your colleagues the energy you need to keep the change going. I’m curious to hear what you think of these suggestions. And if you have any other suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
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Nienke Bloem is often referred to as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She is a global CX thought leader, educator, and keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She runs a speaking practice, a CX game company, and a training business; she lives and breathes Customer Experience and is the author of two books on CX.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for the CCXP, and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and achieve immediate results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she has been hosting a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helping leaders enhance their leadership skills and deliver an engaging CX story, including a solid CX strategy. In addition, she is a modern-day pilgrim and has drawn parallels between her journey and leading customer-centric transformations.
With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the language of business. Her keynote speeches and training programs on customer experience are inspiring and practical. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA, and her mission is to make customer experience work and help you achieve business results.
