Many businesses pride themselves on quality customer service, but what about the customer experience? Understanding the customer’s entire journey of experiencing a product or service is vital to brand success.
Sure, a product has its use, but what is its purpose? Such a question speaks to what more a customer gets out of purchasing the products or services of a business.
Take time to answer that for the products and services of your business. Did your mind jump straight to statistics or more features? What about customer experience?
The purpose of your product or service links intimately with the experience of the customer as they use it. Businesses who put customer experience first end up with a stronger brand in the long run.
What Is Customer Experience?
Customer experience is the top decision-making factor for whether or not a consumer will continue doing business with a given brand. Many aspects make up the customer experience: customer service, service or product quality, reliability, cost, and access. It also is simply how the customer feels about the company itself.
Some 89% of companies today compete mostly based on customer experience. Interestingly, 80% of businesses also believe they offer “super experiences” to their customers. However, the customers agree to only an 8% margin. In fact, this vast margin of difference is actually a good thing.
You have a huge shot at disrupting a competitor. Besides, claiming new customers is never a bad thing.
Everything done by a brand is part of the customer experience. Of course, this includes its research and other behind-the-scenes business practices. Given these points, a focus on the customer’s experience is perhaps the most critical investment a company can make.
Building a Stronger Brand Through Customer Experience
Do you know who your customers are? How do your customers experience your brand? Here are five ways to build a stronger brand through customer service.
1. Tailor the Customer Experience
Undeniably, knowing your customers is the essential key to a customer-driven strategy. Sort all prospects into relevant groups of categorizes. Then, you can personalize functions based on how you understand each of their unique needs.
So, tailoring the consumer’s experience allows you to personalize communication. You will connect more closely with each customer.
2. Foster Emotional Connection
Want a unique customer experience as unique as your brand? Then, you must establish an emotional rapport with your customer base.
The Journal of Consumer Research recently found that over 50% of customer experience is emotionally-based, and this factor primarily shapes decisions. So, involve emotion in your brand. You engage your customers more deeply. You will boost loyalty, along with engagement levels.
Moreover, businesses that utilize this strategy experience an 85% increase in sales.
3. Get Real-Time Feedback and Fixes
How do you keep up with customer responses and priority in a continually shifting market? In truth, you ask, in real-time.
Receive insightful feedback in real-time with surveys conducted post-interaction. Conduct these surveys through calls, emails, and automated tools to discover more about each customer’s wants and needs.
Without a doubt, getting real-time feedback leads to more effective and efficient products. With prompt follow-up, you’re able to resolve customer issues in real-time, too. You will reduce hold times and unnecessary paperwork.
4. Deliver a Consistent Experience by Utilizing Multiple Channels
Where is the customer in the buyer’s journey? Is the process conducted on mobile or face-to-face? Either way, your brand must deliver a quality experience each time.
Different channels are now available to buyers. Equally important, make sure to innovate and improve all your channels. So, offer fresh experiences along with reliability consistently. Apply the right metrics and use customer satisfaction tools to measure each channel’s efficiency as well.
5. Consider Customer Experience When Investing in Technology
Technology helps your company gather vital data to determine customer demographics. Also, it can help you personalize the services you provide to your customers.
AI will strongly impact marketing and customer retention over the next five years.
However, technology should not be the center point of customer transactions, even in a digital age.
Additionally, problems arise when you use technology without considering customer needs. Enhance the whole experience for your consumers. Don’t overshadow it.
Above all, put customer service first to build a stronger brand. Not only will you increase engagement rates, but you’ll improve your services and products.