Published: 12 June 2023
CX improvement tends to focus on what to add, failing to consider what to subtract. To improve CX by removing things, executive leaders should use the techniques in this research for generating subtractive ideas, then apply a structured evaluation to identify the most promising opportunities.
Many organizations feel comfortable — perhaps even too comfortable — adding to their customer experience (CX) to improve it, because such additive approaches are popular and often seen as the norm.
Consistently adding to your CX can result in idea homogeneity, but doing so means you often miss out on the unique value that can be generated by subtracting from it instead.
Incorporating subtractive thinking into your organization’s CX requires intentionality and focus, as there is more of a bias toward additive thinking relative to subtractive thinking.
As an executive leader responsible for CX, you should:
Introduce other key stakeholders in
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