More than ever before, businesses operate in a world of transparency. The always-connected-and-consuming buyer has unprecedented access to your organization. Your strategy and story are visible to anyone, anywhere, at any time. How your business operates, what your organization believes in, the actions employees take and the words you use to describe the value you deliver — are now omnipresent.
These touchpoints, interactions and messages define your customers’ overall experience with your company. They also directly impact financial performance. In fact, 73 percent of companies with above-average customer experience perform better financially than their competitors.
In the customer experience-driven world we live in, words and actions define how customers perceive their experience with your company. While your strategy drives your actions, your corporate story drives the storyline customers experience throughout their journey. That’s why your story and strategy must be fully aligned. When they are not, the customer experience breaks down. The perception of your brand is damaged. Customers lose faith and trust in your company. Customers leave and go to the competition.
A recent article in the Journal of Business Strategy explains that your corporate story’s strength lies in its ability to align leaders, drive decision making and mobilize the organization.
Companies that succeed in maintaining alignment between their corporate story and strategy win. They win because their words and actions align—creating a superior experience that increases customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and competitive differentiation.
