Many companies think of customer service as just what happens when a customer calls with a problem, but Cisco has transformed customer experience to include the entire customer journey. According to Alvio Barrios, SVP Americas Customer Experience, the goal of customer experience is to proactively engage with customers and help maximize the value of whatever products they’re getting from Cisco.

As the market transforms, Cisco’s products and services have also transformed. The same is true with customer experience. Customers want to get to market faster and be competitive, which means Cisco must proactively help customers and find opportunities to better optimize their solutions.

A number of factors contribute to Cisco’s customer experience transformation. It starts with a commitment from executives across the company. Customer experience impacts all functions of the company, so all executives need to be on board. Employees must also be engaged in customer experience. At Cisco, employees understand what’s happening in the industry because they’re experiencing it themselves. Part of Barrios’ job is to leverage customer focus and turn it into customer obsession to create an open, customer-first culture.

Customer experience transformation must happen fast because trends and technology are constantly changing. Cisco uses a feedback loop to listen to customers and find ways to improve its products and services so it can deliver a better experience in the future. Cisco also uses analytics and insights to find potential challenges and opportunities. Barrios says the most important thing about moving quickly is to be bold and totally committed. Challenges will arise, but a deep conviction and bold actions can help push through the trials.

Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Change takes time. Cisco celebrates the small wins and works to eliminate silos with a company-wide customer experience blueprint. Getting all employees on the same page and being honest will help everyone see success and the purpose of customer experience.

The best customer experience is proactive and comes from companies that are obsessed with their customers. Cisco shows that like the customers themselves, the experience should also be constantly transforming to provide amazing, proactive solutions.

This podcast is sponsored by Cisco.