Customer experience (CX) has a huge influence on the way customers perceive your brand. But what exactly makes up customer experience?
Well, it’s not just one thing. It’s formed by every customer touchpoint: how consumers discover your business, how your website looks and functions, the shopping experience (either online or in-store), the purchase and payment process, how and when your product is delivered, customer service interactions, product usage and performance and post-purchase communication. All of these steps along the customer journey impact your customers’ perception of your brand — and ultimately determine if they come back or not.
The important thing to remember is customer experience is never static. As customers’ needs, preferences and expectations change, your business needs to evolve to meet those needs. So, if customers come to expect an instant message chat for customer service and you just have a call center, you’ll need to step up. Or if your customers have gotten used to two-day shipping, you may have to rethink your delivery methods. If you don’t, those customers may go to a competitor who can give them the experience they want.
Learn from the Best: Brands with the Exceptional Customer Experience
So how do you improve your customer experience? Well, you’ll have to learn from brands who do it well. The companies that excel at customer experience tend to incorporate data, customer feedback and technology into their customer solutions. Here are four ways brands have gone above and beyond to create a memorable customer experience by 1.) understanding customers, 2.) valuing research, 3.) using technology in concert with traditional avenues and 4.) using data to create a personalized experience.
Casper Mattress
What did they do? The online mattress brand Casper is reinventing the bed shopping experience. In lieu of a traditional store, they created physical nap rooms in certain markets that allow customers to try out their product in the most natural way possible. They also offer a 100-day trial period so customers can try the mattress in their own home.
What can you learn? Understand how your customers use your product and allow them to integrate it seamlessly into their routine. When customers can test-drive a product, there’s less risk on their end. Plus, trial periods allow customers to feel confident purchasing a high-ticket item without feeling like they’re stuck with it if it doesn’t work for them.
Huntington National Bank
What did they do? Huntington National Bank spent two years listening to customers to create its digital banking hub. The online platform they landed on is tailored to their customers’ needs and desires. Customers can easily manage their money and set financial goals within the hub.
What can you learn? Do your research. Incentivize customer surveys with discounts and giveaways to gather valuable customer feedback. Listen to your customers, understand what they want and integrate it into your product or service. When customers feel heard, they’ll continue to voice their needs.
Allstate
What did they do? Allstate created an internal bot named Amelia that gives employees instant access to up-to-date information about their customers. This allows them to quickly provide customers with accurate, personalized responses.
What can you learn? Technology doesn’t have to replace traditional CX avenues. Rather, use advancements in machine learning and AI to work in tandem with your customer service team to deliver a solid response.
Netflix
What did they do? As a technology company with massive amounts of customer data, Netflix can use AI-powered algorithms to recommend shows users actually want to watch. Customer experience is a cornerstone that helps differentiate their streaming platform from their competitors.
What can you learn? If you have the data, use it. Customers have come to expect a highly personalized experience. Nearly every industry — from e-commerce to entertainment to insurance — has customer data they can use to create a more personalized, one-to-one experience with their customers.
How Does Your CX Stack Up?
If your customer experience is falling behind, it’s time to innovate. Learn from these examples and really evaluate the customer journey of your brand. And if you need a roadmap, download the Customer Experience Self-Assessment to see where your brand could improve.
Fill out this guide and see where you stand. If your customer experience still needs to be fine-tuned, contact J&C, the experts in the art and science of customer engagement.
Topics: Customer Experience
