Published: | Last Updated:
Every business needs customers. A company will go under without someone to buy a product or service. A mutually beneficial customer relationship is a pivotal way to secure your business.
Many successful businesses have started investing in their customers by improving their customer’s experience. Through that process, they’ve found that investing in customer experience has many benefits.
The Definition of Customer Experience
There are a lot of complex customer experience definitions. However, It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Simply put, customer experience (CX) is what a customer experiences while interacting with your brand.
Providing a positive customer experience will help build brand loyalty. Customers will want to shop at your store again, and they’ll recommend your business to other potential customers.
No Channel Left Behind
While building a customer experience strategy, it’s essential to consider how your customers interact with your business.
Some channels your customers interact with may include:
-
Social media
-
Websites
-
In-Person Customer Service
-
Product Quality
-
Online Customer Service
Each of these channels is a way your customers create a perception of your business, so consider them thoroughly.
Customer Experience and Customer Service
The foundation of customer experience is customer service. To provide outstanding customer experiences, you must take care of your customers.
Here are a few excellent ways to improve your customer service:
-
Listen actively and attentively to customers’ concerns or feedback.
-
Respond promptly and empathetically to their needs and issues.
-
Offer personalized solutions or recommendations based on their unique situation.
-
Show gratitude and appreciation for their business and loyalty.
-
Seek their input and involve them in decision-making processes.
-
Follow up on their concerns or suggestions to demonstrate that you take their feedback seriously.
-
Offer incentives or rewards for their continued patronage.
-
Provide a seamless and hassle-free customer experience.
-
Be transparent and honest in your communications.
-
Continuously improve your products or services based on their feedback.
Remember, people feel appreciated and heard when they’re actually appreciated and heard. Customers are no different.
Customer Experience as a Sales Position
Creating mutually beneficial customer and company relationships is the goal of all sales positions. A big part of that is customer experience.
Creating a good experience for customers will help sales and create a beneficial relationship for both parties.
Measuring
Learning what customers think of your business is integral to creating great customer experiences. The best way to make your customers feel heard is to listen.
Metrics are great learning tools. They can help your business better understand your customer’s needs.
Customer Journeys
Tracking customers’ journeys toward making a purchase is an insightful tool. These should be simple and to the point.
Business owners can use tools like Google Analytics to track their site’s comings and goings. They can even follow where customers are in the purchasing funnel. This kind of tool is vital for finding areas of improvement for websites.
Customer Surveys
A great place to start when measuring customer experience is customer surveys. There are many different kinds of surveys, and their applications are limitless. Make the surveys customer-centric. Write easy-to-read questions, and don’t try eliciting specific responses.
Improving Customer Experience
While collecting data, you may find some areas that could use amendment.
Here are some things to consider when looking for things to improve.
Start With Employees
Taking good care of your employees is a great way to improve customer experience.
Employees are the face of your company and its first line of communication. If your employees aren’t supported, they can’t offer exceptional customer support.
Examine Customers Needs
An examination is the time your collected data will come in handy. Use it to explore areas where your website is underperforming or customers want change.
Listen to your customers and analyze their needs.
Meet Those Needs
How you meet your customer’s needs is different from business to business. Your research may show that your customers don’t like your website, think your storefront is dated, or find your products low-quality.
Don’t take these criticisms personally. Instead, use them as ideas to improve your customers’ experience.
Improving Customer Experience Example
In recent years McDonald’s experienced a decline in sales. After updating the interior of their stores and making a simplified menu with food that had higher-quality ingredients, they were able to raise their sales growth by 4.1%.
Traditional advertising is only one of the answers for unimpressive sales or declining foot traffic. Taking a thoughtful look at your customers, considering their needs, and meeting those needs is a great way to grow your business.
Start Growing
Understanding customer experience is a helpful way to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with customers.
On this topic, Seth Godin writes, It’s easier to love a brand when the brand loves you back. Be lovable, and love your customers.
Want to Learn More?
If you’d like to learn more about this topic, we offer a 4-week self-paced class through the REDC that covers everything you need to know.