The Customer Experience Sixpack

Just as there are six flight characteristics essential to pilots (which they refer to as the “sixpack”), there are six dynamics essential to customer experience leaders. We’re not talking about drinks or abs—these are the six underlying and most basic dynamics at work. In flying, they include altitude, speed, and others. In customer experience, they are: demand, supply, quality, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and innovation.

You won’t find—at least I haven’t found—resources on customer experience that emphasize these dynamics (other than in piecemeal fashion). That puzzles me. Especially since these issues tend to force themselves on conversations during times of upheaval and change. My encouragement to you is to make a practice of following them whether the air is choppy or you’re flying along smoothly. Let’s summarize what each means.

Demand. What is the demand for your products and services? How is it evolving? For example, the onset of the global pandemic in 2020 significantly impacted the need for products and services. Some organizations—e.g., restaurants, commercial airlines and health clubs—saw demand rapidly decline. Others—e.g., shipping companies, cargo airlines, consumer technology providers and medical systems involved in Covid-19 testing or care—saw demand increase dramatically. Predictions on cases and hospitalization rates became front-page news. Every organization was forced to keep an eye on demand.

No one has a perfect read on the future. However, organizations that get good at forecasting customer demand make far better decisions on priorities and resources...Read more