reverse thinking: how it transforms your customer experience
WHY REVERSE THINKING?
Success isn’t just about having a superior product or service. What truly differentiates leading brands is the customer experience—a compelling, memorable journey that becomes marketing in itself. Your people are the heart of your brand, and ensuring they live and breathe its values is key to delivering exceptional experiences. This is where Reverse Thinking comes into play.
Reverse Thinking redefines traditional approaches by focusing on the people who understand and embody the brand’s essence. By empowering employees to align with the brand’s core values, businesses can create lasting impacts that resonate deeply with both employees and customers.
This article dives into how Reverse Thinking can transform customer experience (CX), providing actionable insights for leaders seeking to shift their strategy, supported by data-driven results.
why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership?
why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership? why apply reverse leadership?
the problem
traditional CX strategies
fall short
For decades, businesses have focused on optimising products, services, and processes to enhance customer satisfaction. While these efforts yield incremental improvements, they often fail to create the emotional connection that fosters loyalty. In fact, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a great experience, but only 1 in 3 brands consistently deliver it.
The root issue lies in an overemphasis on external factors like product quality while neglecting the internal—your people. A perfectly designed product cannot reach its potential if the customer experience around it feels transactional. Today, customers crave authenticity, meaningful interactions, and connection.
Reverse Thinking: start with people to elevate the customer experience
Reverse Thinking: Start with People to Elevate the Customer Experience
Reverse Thinking flips traditional CX approaches on their head. Instead of focusing on products first, it starts by aligning your people—your employees—with the brand’s purpose and values. If employees aren’t fully living your brand, how can customers connect with it?
When your team acts as empowered brand ambassadors, they infuse every customer interaction with authenticity. This leads to memorable and meaningful experiences that go beyond the transactional, creating a deeper connection with customers.
Data-Driven impact: empowered employees create loyal customers
The link between employee engagement and customer experience is undeniable. Companies with highly engaged employees outperform their competitors by 147% in earnings per share. Empowered employees deliver better service, increasing customer satisfaction by up to 20%.
Furthermore, businesses that prioritise employee empowerment and decision-making see a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17% productivity increase, according to Gallup. This correlates directly to improved customer retention rates. Research by Bain & Company shows that increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%.
actionable steps:
applying reverse
thinking to
customer experience
Ready to implement Reverse Thinking and elevate your CX? Here are actionable steps to guide your transformation:
Align Your Team with Your Brand’s Purpose
Communicate your brand’s purpose and core values clearly to your employees. Ensure they understand not just what your brand offers but why it exists. Create a shared vision that inspires action. Use immersive training experiences to solidify this alignment, turning employees into passionate brand advocates.
Empower Employees to Act Authentically
Give your employees the autonomy to make decisions that align with the brand’s values. Authentic interactions are key to great customer experiences. Consider empowering frontline employees to resolve issues or surprise customers with personalised gestures that reflect the brand’s ethos.
Foster a Culture of Continuous Feedback and Learning
Encourage open communication through continuous feedback loops. Platforms like Reverse Navigator help collect insights from both employees and customers, fostering continuous improvement. By cultivating a culture of learning and adaptability, your team will be better equipped to meet evolving customer needs.
Recognise and Reward Employee Contributions
Recognition is a powerful motivator. Develop a recognition programme that celebrates employees who embody your brand’s values. This reinforces desired behaviours and strengthens the connection between employee actions and the brand’s mission.
case study: the power of reverse thinking in action
TRANSFORMING INTERSPORT
A prime example of Reverse Thinking’s effectiveness is seen in Intersport Netherlands, where 65% of stores adopted Reverse Thinking through the STAR and EPIC programmes. These stores shifted focus from merely selling products to delivering extraordinary customer experiences by aligning employees with the brand’s mission.
As a result, these stores saw a 33% revenue increase, a 15% improvement in NPS, and a 14% rise in conversion rates. Additionally, employee satisfaction (eNPS) increased by 48%, demonstrating the powerful impact of aligning employee engagement with customer experience strategies.
conclusion
People Make the Brand—Empower Them, Elevate the Experience
In today’s experience-driven economy, simply focusing on your product or service won’t set you apart. What truly makes a difference is the connection your people have to your brand and their ability to reflect its values in every customer interaction.
Reverse Thinking offers a fresh perspective, shifting focus from the external to the internal. By empowering and aligning your employees, you will naturally create an exceptional customer experience that not only satisfies but also delights and engages. Start with your people, and the experience will follow.
To further assist in mastering the principles of Reverse Thinking, download our Reverse Thinking Workbook, packed with practical exercises and insights that complement this article.
Sources
Start Reverse
The Journey by Andre Wiringa
Deloitte
The Journey by Andre Wiringa
Gallup
Global Human Capital Trends
Harvard Business Review
The Impact of Purpose – Driven Leadership
