What is Total Experience (TX)?

Your Guide to the Next Level of Customer Experience in Telecoms

As we learn more and more about the influential aspects of different types of experiences in the business landscape, a new concept has emerged for business leaders: TX”, or Total Experience. One can say that the age of experience has officially arrived for businesses in all industries.

No matter what type of business you run or the services you provide, you can be sure that “experience” is critical to your success. However, succeeding in this experience-driven landscape takes more than most companies realize.

Creating excellent experiences isn’t just about focusing on “CX” (customer experience). Rather, as many companies are beginning to realize, true success in the “experience economy” requires a holistic view of how the various aspects of experience interact.

Here’s what “TX” means and why it’s the future of customer experience.

What is Total Experience? Defining TX

Total Experience has been defined by Gartner as one of the most important strategic technology trends of 2021. However, it is a concept that has gained increasing attention in recent years as companies have doubled down on their experience initiatives.

Total Experience is essentially a combination of different experience concepts, such as:

• User experience: the experience of interacting with the tools and services offered by a company.
• Customer experience: the various elements involved in interacting with consumers and brands.
• Employee experience: how companies help their employees achieve their goals.

Total Experience essentially brings together all the different elements of the experience economy and encourages companies to take a holistic view of how each experience initiative impacts the others. Excellent experiences, for example, are rarely the result of a single strategy, but rather a combination of different efforts across the organization.

A good user experience can support both CX and EX. For example, a successful automated troubleshooting tool helps customers find the root cause of their issues faster while reducing the burden on employees by minimizing the number of issues that need to be handled manually. A good employee experience contributes to the customer experience by ensuring team members are empowered to do their best work.

Total Experience encompasses the entire business experience and all the factors that contribute to a company’s ability to make a positive impact in today’s economy.

Why is Total Experience Important Today?

So why is TX gaining so much attention in the modern market? In years past, different aspects of the experience economy were viewed and managed as separate entities. A customer service team was responsible for the customer experience, while IT and help desk groups oversaw the user and employee experience.

However, experts believe that eliminating the silos between these approaches will give companies a competitive advantage in the modern landscape. Brian Burke, Research Vice President at Gartner, believes that companies with a strong TX will outperform their competitors on a number of key satisfaction metrics in the coming years.

According to analysts and business leaders, viewing customer experience as a holistic concept enables companies to see the clear connections between how each customer experience initiative can affect the outcome of another. By linking UX, CX, and EX, companies can differentiate themselves with an end-to-end solution for satisfaction.

By bringing different experience strategies together in one environment, companies can also better understand how certain factors affect business outcomes. For example, when looking at employee experience and customer experience side-by-side, it is easy to see those unhappy and disengaged employees also lead to unhappy customers.

What TX Means for CX in the Telecoms Sector

While all industries can benefit from focusing on the total experience, there are an increasing number of potential use cases for this holistic view in telecommunications. Many telecom companies are facing rapid digital transformation, with increased customer expectations, accelerated revenue, and new discoveries in their industry.

To stay ahead of the competition and delight customers, telecom companies need to update their experience strategy with a focus on “TX” and break down the silos between their UX, CX, and EX initiatives. By implementing a Total Experience Roadmap, telecom companies can:

• Attract better talent and retain key employees during the “Great Resignation” period
• Empower employees to perform better and achieve higher levels of productivity
• Improve business efficiency and reduce potential costs
• Improve the customer experience through personalized and engaging interactions
• Reduce workload by improving the user experience at the customer and back-end level
• Strengthen brand reputation and differentiate from competitors

Key Strategies in the Development of Total Experience

So how exactly can companies in the telecommunications sector and other industries begin to implement a total experience strategy?

The answer to this question depends on a number of factors, from your budget to your approach to digital transformation. However, there are a number of key actions that can help get started with Total Experience, including:

Investing in Automation

Automation is an important tool for simplifying various processes for both employees and consumers. Automated tools such as chatbots and intelligent virtual assistants can provide self-service solutions to customers, allowing them to resolve a range of issues they may face on their own, without the help of specialists. This also relieves the burden on team members who must deal with endless requests.

Automation can also reduce the repetitive tasks that employees must complete daily. Systems can be implemented to handle the data entry and other mundane tasks on behalf of employees. With fewer mundane tasks, employees can focus on completing other important tasks.

Tearing down silos

To implement a truly successful TX strategy, organizations must start by eliminating the silos in their organizations that separate different groups responsible for all types of experiences. This can include merging front-end and back-end offices and developing technologies that unify the flow of data for many different employees in one place.

Eliminating silos also means that everyone needs to take ownership of the “experience” strategy in your organization. Rather than leaving the concept of customer experience solely to contact center staff, companies should focus on highlighting how everyone on the team contributes to better outcomes for end users and customers. Similarly, encourage every employee to improve the employee experience for their colleagues whenever they can.

Breaking down silos also means creating a single source of truth for capturing data relevant to UX, EX, and TX across the enterprise. Using all-in-one environments for data collection will help organizations make decisions that benefit everyone in the experience economy.

AI and ML-powered technology

Artificial intelligence and machine learning play an important role in various aspects of the overall experience landscape. The right intelligent tools can do much more than automate tedious tasks and improve the user experience. They can also help guide employees through complex tasks and help customers overcome challenges.

AI solutions can also help reduce the risk of errors in the workplace, which simultaneously improves the experience for employees, users, and customers. With AI providing a clear view of data and guidance on the next steps in a business process, there is less opportunity for error.

Delivering an Incredible Total Experience

The overarching goal of Total Experience is to build a business capable of delivering an all-around exceptional experience to everyone who interacts with a brand. To truly make your company stand out in today’s competitive world, you need to ensure that your company’s UX, EX, and CX are all aligned, with a focus on excellence in each area.

Contact Bulb Tech today to learn how we build tools specifically designed to help businesses on their Total Experience (TX) journey.