How Successful Companies Improve Customer Experience
Consumers are more discerning and more informed than ever before. Earning repeat business from a customer base may be more difficult, but it can also pay even greater dividends in the modern business landscape. And when we talk about turning consumers into repeat customers into brand advocates, that begins and ends with improving customer experience. Customer experience (CX) management encompasses a wide variety of considerations ranging from identifying customer demographics to responding to public feedback.
Today, we will discuss customer experience management, how brands can work to improve their customer experience, why memorable experiences are so valuable, and finally review some high profile examples of companies leaving a positive impression.
Customer Experience Management 101
Customer experience is a near ubiquitous term in the business world, but it sometimes benefits even the most seasoned veterans to review what this term truly means. Here are just a few areas which form a customer’s experience of your goods and/or services.
The quality of the product: beyond all else, customers expect to get what they pay for. Delivering a quality product which meets, or hopefully exceeds, expectations will always be the primary pillar of customer experience. The best customer service in the world will not make up for a lackluster product.
Matching customer experience to brand personality: your customers consciously and/or subconsciously will built their expectations around your brand personality and brand identity. This is an extremely important part of CX management, as matching reality to expectations creates satisfied customers.
Show that customer experience is a priority: customers are going to have issues with your product. That is a reality of doing business. How your organization responds to issues and even responds to happy customers goes a long way towards turning one-time buyers into life-long advocates.
How Brands Improve Customer Experience
So how can we use this information to improve our customer’s experience and, in turn, our customer’s perception of a brand?
Focus on creating memorable customer experiences
Customers want to be wowed by your product. For all of the cynicism which undeniably exists in the world, the fact remains that the public responds positively to brands who go above and beyond to exceed expectations. Creating a memorable customer experience is the most surefire way to get word of mouth referrals not to mention customers for life. The key here is to use market research to understand your customer’s wants and needs and then rise to the occasion.
Utilizing market research feedback loops for focused customer care
With powerful data analytics software, it is possible to set trigger points for just about anything. You may want to focus on your less than satisfied customers or perhaps it is advantageous to hone in on a certain demographic. With this information, brands can focus their attention on the groups which need it most. Improving the customer experience for key demographics can have far reaching benefits in the long run.
Anticipate your customers’ needs
We have all probably heard the saying: “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Unfortunately, this is the attitude of many brands as well. This might include responding to negative online reviews, making disgruntled clients a higher priority, or any number of solutions which cater to your unhappiest customers. While all of these practices are certainly important, anticipating the needs of all of your customers may be an even stronger strategy. If you can make an unhappy customer happy with more attentive care, just imagine the response from a customer who already loves your brand! Anticipating customer needs is yet another way to deliver a memorable customer experience and improve customer experiences across the board.
Examples of Companies Wowing Their Customers
All of these buzzwords are great, but do the concepts of CX management truly extend into the real world? When we look at the top companies around the globe such as Amazon and Apple, it is easy to see that prioritizing customer experience clearly pays dividends. Let’s examine how.
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. It is important to understand that this rise to prominence was squarely on the shoulders of customer service and customer experience management. After all, delivering packages from a warehouse isn’t exactly revolutionary. Delivering packages ahead of schedule with generous return policies? Now that’s a different story.
Apple is the largest tech company on earth…for now. Unlike Amazon, Apple was not just another company vying in the marketplace. Instead, they separated themselves from competitors like Microsoft, Blackberry, and Nokia by focusing on delivering customer experience. Apple’s customer focus has always been a lifestyle promise. These products are the future. These products will allow you to make the next great film. The differences between Apple and Amazon are enormous, but their focus on customer-first branding is what allowed them to climb to the top of their industries.
Clock Tower Insight Offers Cutting Edge Customer Experience Management Tools
Clock Tower Insight is proud to work with a wide range of B2C and B2B industries, including retail, CPG, food service, and advertising organizations. We believe in using powerful, cutting edge research to offer brand-specific insights. With this insight, we work with brands to turn the data into actionable information, and eventually into business growth. Our services include brand positioning, customer experience management, and much more.
Learn more about how Clock Tower Insight can help your business today.