Picture your customer’s journey when they complete a purchase from your company. No matter what your product or service is, there will be multiple touchpoints that your customer will encounter before their journey is over. This will include things like their first impression of your company to receiving assistance after they have purchased the product. All of these things are part of your customer’s experience, a topic that is becoming more and more important in gaining and retaining customers.
An increasing amount of customers will pay more to ensure that they have a good experience, especially millennials and younger generations. These customers are indicating that they will switch brands and pay more if it means they will have a better and more consistent customer experience. We have already seen millennials “kill” many different types of businesses, here’s how to create an awesome customer experience that will help your business to thrive.
First things first, what is customer experience?
Think back to the beginning of this article when you were thinking of your customer’s journey. This typically begins with your customers becoming aware of your business, this can happen through advertisements, marketing efforts, word of mouth or any other number of ways. Next the customer can visit your website, come by your store or call in to learn more and possibly buy something. Then there are any interactions after this purchase, such as future purchases, troubleshooting or other customer services. All of these points in their journey are part of their experience and, depending on how each of those interactions go, will determine the customer’s overall experience.
Why does customer experience matter?
A customer’s experience will shape their expectations for your business. They will learn whether they should expect happy and helpful employees or slow and grumpy customer service. This will largely influence whether your customers will come back to you or if they will find another company. It is 5x cheaper to keep a customer than to find new customers, so if you hope to slow down your churn and keep loyal and happy customers then your focus needs to be on your customer experience.
Another reason to focus on your customer’s experience is because if you have happy and loyal customers, then they will likely tell their friends and family about their positive experience and bring even more customers to your company.
How do you create a better customer experience?
Focus on the customer: the only way you will improve your customer’s experience is by focusing on your customer’s problems, concerns, questions and expectations. Then create a seamless and easy experience for them.
Consistency: It is important to maintain a consistent brand experience so your customers will always know what to expect from you and your brand. From your social media to your physical stores, give your customers a great experience every time.
Personalize their experience: customers are getting used to having services personalized to their likes, dislikes and past purchases. Take advantage of the technology we have to give your customers an intuitive experience that meets their needs.
While focusing on your customer’s experience is a bit of a long-game marketing strategy it is one that has been proven to work over and over again. Simply look at one of the biggest companies in the world, Amazon. Amazon didn’t start making money for several years because they were focusing on giving their customers the best experience first. They knew it would pay off and it has. Take the time to create a customer experience strategy and you will see it pay off for you too.