We marketers no longer have control.
And this changes everything. Especially when it comes to understanding the customer experiences we provide for our customers.
The customer demand for autonomy is stronger today than ever before. The days of carefully dictating the path of the customer journey are gone, as customers bounce backwards, forwards and sideways along previously linear customer journeys that took customers exactly where we wanted them to be.
Our customers want information at their fingertips on the device of their choice at any given time, and they want to be able to engage through channels of their choice. When there is a lack of preferred options, it creates a misalignment between customer expectations and the experience a company delivers. That gap influences whether customers continue to do business with you or switch to the competition.
There are many companies out there offering stellar experiences—companies whose products or services might not match the quality of yours, but the interactions and support provided are so strong that the lesser product is tolerated.
The bottom line is that customer loyalty depends on feeling valued, understood and respected, especially at moments of truth, those critical touchpoints that deeply engage a customer. You have multiple moments of truth you can maximize: the moment a customer discovers your product or service, their decision to buy, whether the delivered product or service lives up to expectations, the onboarding process and the upgrade or renewal opportunity. What are you doing, in each of those moments, that’s driving those positive emotions of connection, likeability and trust?
Customers are eager to get the information they need, the support required and the main benefit of the product or service they purchased from you, whether that’s more efficiency in their back-office business processes, a lower-cost service plan or a delicious caramel oat milk latte. Customers stay loyal to your business when the delivery of your product or service is supported by an experience—a conversation with their account manager, usage of the software program or the ambience of your physical location—that meets or exceeds their expectations of feeling valued, understood and respected.
What happens when an organization misses the mark? Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Even better, think about your own experiences. Recently, I had an experience with an insurance-company-that-shall-not-be-named. I needed a short medical leave of absence from work. The process described to me by the HR team was simple and straightforward, but once my HR team handed me over to the insurance company, it became convoluted and frustrating. The very “easy” portal through which I was forced to handle all communications was not updated in real time, or near real time. I was repeatedly reminded through their automated system to fill out paperwork that I had already filled out and uploaded—multiple times. There was no email address to reach a customer service person. I had to hunt through the colossal corporate website, outside the not-so-simple portal, to find a support phone number. I waited on hold for over 20 minutes, only to be told by the rep that everything was in the portal. Only it wasn’t.
How do you think I feel about that company today? I will not choose to do business with them again and, in fact, I started planning ways to work around them, should I ever require a leave of absence again. And it’s worth noting that I spent an extra 15-20 minutes hunting around that corporate website for some sort of email through which I could send my customer feedback about the aggravating experience. And I did.
Did I ever get a response or acknowledgement of any kind, even automated? No.
Do I feel valued, understood and respected? Again, no.
How can this—and similar situations across all industries—be made easier, quicker and more efficient, and, importantly, meet expectations for the customer? This is where customer journey mapping can help.
Proactive steps to take for stellar moments of truth
Mapping the customer journey should be based on both physical and digital touchpoints. Customers interact with you through a variety of channels: the website, email, physical mail, chat messaging, phone communications and face to face. The goal is to identify the customer’s needs and possible friction at each engagement point, and to design a new, more positive interaction. What can you change to make the process easier and more convenient for the customer, to make interactions more satisfying? Very likely, your efforts won’t be entirely on target the first time, but that’s ok. You’ll learn, adjust and get better.
It’s important that all employees align their effort to a mindset of “customer first.” This shift in your company starts with the employees, with leadership, and is more than just making sure you ask customers how their day is going or remember it’s their birthday. It’s about making choices in your business that reflect the needs of your customers above the faster or easier path to profit. Companies that live the customer-centric values understand that growth and profit come more readily and with less effort when you invest up front in ensuring customers are valued, understood and respected. It means each engagement point with a customer is not viewed as a transaction, but as an opportunity to build a relationship.
Additionally, you’ll need to map the metrics. Once you’ve defined the elements of the customer journey, track the trends of the number of calls to the call center, for instance, or sales volume or profit margin. Add different KPIs to your map to use as reference points as your customer experience program goes forward. The KPIs help monitor if your improvements have positive or negative impacts. Then continue iterating the process and, over time, you’ll know if what you’ve changed is appreciated because you’ll get their feedback—and more of their business.
The ability to recognize the moments of truth in your business and navigate them successfully is the key to shaping perceptions of your brand, building trust and driving loyalty. These are essential connection points because they are make-or-break opportunities for your business. Delivering value, understanding and respect in these moments creates a strong long-term relationship with your customers and takes you both where you want to go—on a journey toward success.