CX Strategy War Room

Participants are split into teams and tasked with crafting a CX strategy for a struggling company. They must prioritize actions and budget allocation, present their strategy, and defend it in a "board meeting" scenario.

1. How to Set Up:

• Materials Needed:
  • Strategy battle cards outlining different tactics and potential impacts
  • Timers for each phase of the game
  • Whiteboards or large paper sheets for strategy mapping
  • Access to market research and internal business performance data
  • Projectors for team presentations if available
• Preparation Steps:
  1. Room Setup: Designate a ‘war room’ environment where teams can gather around their strategy tables with ample space to discuss and strategize.
  2. Material Distribution: Provide each team with strategy battle cards, markers, and data packets.
  3. Team Formation: Organize participants into teams, ideally with a mix of functions to encourage diverse strategic thinking.
  4. Briefing: Clearly articulate the goals of the game, emphasizing the importance of developing a comprehensive and executable CX strategy.

2. How to Play:

• Gameplay Structure:
  1. Strategy Formulation (60 minutes): Teams use provided data and strategy cards to build their CX strategies, considering all aspects from customer engagement to digital transformation.
  2. Strategy Presentation (30 minutes): Teams present their strategies to the panel, simulating a high-stakes board meeting.
  3. Feedback and Revisions (30 minutes): Based on feedback from the panel, teams refine their strategies, focusing on areas needing improvement.

3. How to Moderate:

• Moderator's Role:
  1. Facilitate Strategic Thinking: Encourage teams to think broadly and deeply about the impacts of their strategies on overall customer experience.
  2. Manage Time and Transitions: Ensure that each team sticks to the time limits for strategy development and presentations.
  3. Provide Expert Feedback: As part of the panel, offer realistic feedback, challenging teams to justify their choices and think through potential pitfalls.

4. Other Considerations:

• Debriefing: Hold a session after the presentations to discuss each strategy's strengths and weaknesses.
• Feedback: Encourage participants to provide feedback on the game's format and content, focusing on what was learned and what could be improved.

5. Wrapping Up:

• Conclusion of the Game: Ensure all teams have had the opportunity to refine their strategies and understand the feedback.
• Recognition: Acknowledge the teams that demonstrated particularly innovative or thorough strategies.

6. Learning and Reflection:

• Group Discussion: Facilitate a reflective conversation about how these strategies could realistically be implemented in the participants' own work environments.
• Key Takeaways: Highlight the importance of strategic planning in customer experience management and the benefits of cross-departmental collaboration.

7. Follow-Up Actions:

• Documentation: Collect and distribute all refined strategies and feedback for future reference and implementation.
• Implementation of Strategies: Discuss with senior management the possibility of adopting successful strategies from the game into real operational plans.

8. Feedback and Improvement:

• Survey for Improvement: Use surveys to gather detailed feedback on the game's setup, execution, and perceived value.
• Iterate Based on Feedback: Adjust aspects of the game based on participant feedback to enhance engagement and learning outcomes in future sessions.

9. Extending the Experience:

• Advanced Strategic Challenges: Introduce more complex and dynamic market scenarios in future sessions to challenge teams further.
• Integration with Real Projects: Use insights from the game to inform real strategic planning sessions, helping to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

10. Celebrating Success:

• Acknowledgment of Effort: Celebrate the hard work and strategic insights of all teams, especially those who provided innovative solutions.
• Sharing Across the Organization: Share the best strategies and the lessons learned from the game across the organization to inspire and educate others.