Whether you run a new or established business, customer experience is key to succeed in today’s market. Companies that adapt to the changing needs of customers in markets with similar products will be more successful than those that don’t.
But how can you improve your customer experience? That’s what we’ll look into in the next lines.
What Is Customer Experience Exactly?
The customer experience is the overall experience your customers have when interacting with your brand. It encompasses all touchpoints and interactions. From the first interaction with an employee to the last interaction with a product or service.
What key factors would make a good customer experience?
#1: How easy it’s to find your product or service on a website.
#2: The quality of your customer service.
#3: How easily you can reach a live human being when you call.
#4: The frequency and timing of your follow-up emails or text messages.
#5: The way your website works across all devices (e.g. UX and if it’s mobile-friendly).
#6: How quickly do you respond to requests for help or information.
These are just a few examples of the many different ways customers experience brands. So it’s no surprise that customer experience has become such an important part of marketing strategy in recent years.
The good news is that there are a lot of things you can do to improve your customer experience strategy. So that users and customers have more positive interactions with your brand – and stay loyal to you as a result!
According to Salesforce, 67% of brand customers will pay more for a great experience.
Why Is Customer Experience So Important?
Customer experience is one of the most important aspects of doing business because it affects the bottom line. A positive customer experience increases customer loyalty, word-of-mouth marketing, and referrals.
As we mentioned earlier, in the digital age, customers demand brands to provide them with a good and comprehensive experience across all channels. In return, customers give brands one of the most valuable things customers can give companies: Loyalty.
“As physical products become more and more similar the battle zone for companies will increasingly be customer service”
Gordon Bye, Managing Director, Eurostar
A recent study published by Motista states that consumers who have an emotional connection to a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value. In addition, the document confirms that they are more likely to recommend the brand to their acquaintances.
On the other hand, negative customer experience can drive customers to competitors.
10 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience Strategy
While there are many ways to improve your customer experience strategy, essential practices work throughout all industries. These include being responsive and empathetic to your customers. This is achieved primarily through frequent and non-invasive contact with users.
It’s also essential to encourage referrals from your customers and build a bond with those who refer you.
In short, you’ll have to make sure customers feel identified and close to your brand!
So the more customers engage with a brand, the more they will buy its products. This probably also means that they will recommend the brand to others. For this reason, building a relationship with your brand’s audience is essential. And online brand communities play a big part in that!
#1: Identify Your Core Values
You should also be clear about what your brand stands for – and what it doesn’t. For example, if you’re an environmentally friendly company, you should make that clear when you visit your website. Or if you’re a startup that’s committed to work-life balance, you should communicate that too.
#2: Be Transparent
After identifying your core values, make sure that you clearly communicate what makes your brand unique and valuable to potential users by highlighting its benefits and features prominently.
#3: Incentive Customers to Give You Feedback
One piece of advice we always like to give is to listen to your audience. To do this, you must provide them with channels through which they can express their thoughts and read their evaluations, comments, and experiences.
Your customers are an invaluable source of information on how to improve your customer experience strategy (and therefore your business). The only problem is that they will only tell you if they feel they can trust you.
One way to gain their trust is to incentivize them with rewards for taking surveys or providing feedback on your website or social media. This is an easy way to get valuable feedback without having to do anything in return!
While customers’ feedback is essential, it’s also important to follow up with those consumers who have left their comments and opinions.
#4: Create Experiences That Connect Customers With Your Brand’s Identity
One of the best ways to engage customers is to create memorable experiences that connect them to your brand’s identity and values.
For example, if your company espouses values such as creativity and innovation, then you should create experiences that reflect those values at every touchpoint with the customer. That way, they connect with your brand’s identity and are more likely to come back!
#5: Train Employees on Your Customer Experience Strategy
Make sure your team is on the same page about what constitutes good service and how to deliver it effectively. Also, training them on how to implement the CX strategy in their daily tasks!
#6: Use Data to Prioritize Improvements
An important part of improving a customer experience strategy is using analytics to track success and prove the value of your work. In this case, you can gather information through community chats, surveys, and interviews, and use feedback from your customers to analyze whether or not your strategy is working.
Also, it’s important to focus on one key metric for measuring success, and improve that metric constantly!
#7: Implement Automation
It’s not enough to simply have a well-functioning website or app. It must also be able to speak directly to your customers. With automation tools like chatbots and voice assistants, you can communicate with your customers in real-time to address questions, issues, or concerns immediately. This will result in happier customers, more sales, and higher profits for your business.
#8: Create a Brand Community
If you’re thriving to improve your customer experience strategy, it’s more important than ever to encourage your customers to talk about your brand. Especially if you want those conversations to happen online, not in person. Create an online brand community where people can interact with each other –and with you–, and they’ll be more willing to share their experiences online as well (which in turn means more visitors).
#9: Use Video as an Effective Marketing Tool
Video marketing has been around for years now. However, it continues to be one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers online. Especially when combined with social media advertising such as Facebook video ads and Twitter video cards.
#10: Use Social Media to Engage Your Audience
Social media is the perfect place to interact with customers and learn what they want from your brand. It’s also a great way to share information about new products and services, build brand awareness, and create more opportunities for sales.
Customer experience strategy is about making customers happy, sure. But why does that have to be the end goal? Let us not forget: It’s not just about sharing information or solving a problem. It’s about building relationships with your audience and fostering long-term relationships between you and your customers!
