Let’s first unpack the meaning of Customer Experience, which is commonly referred to as CX. Customer Experience is a multi-faceted concept which includes many different elements, but it ultimately boils down to your customers’ perception of your company, brand, product and services. Managing your customers’ perception is key to your business.
If you think about the top two reasons why you started your business, it would probably be to offer your customers a product or service that you believe to add value to their lives and to gain financial reward. Your customers are the key reason why you do everything that you do to make your business work. Goes without saying that we must ensure that your customers are always well taken care of. Don’t fall into the cycle of being excellent at getting clients and making sales that you neglect the “what next” factor of your customer journey. I’ve seen many companies separate the function of sales and customer care – making customer care a separate department operating in isolation. The two departments often operate in silos, discounting the importance of the other. Sales and customer care should operate co-dependently – your sales guarantees your profit and your customer care efforts guarantee your future sales. The two should play nicely together in the sandpit. Your customer experience strategy ensures that you have processes in place to make sure that your customers have a hassle-free journey when they interact with your business.
What is a customer experience strategy?
A customer experience strategy includes documenting your entire customer journey, which looks at all the points that your customer interacts with your business processes. For example, if there are 5 steps in your sales process that your customer interacts with when they purchase a product, each step would be analysed to see if these steps are convenient and necessary for your customer to follow and if there are any aspects that could potentially be changed or removed to assist your customers with a quick and easy process. Technology and commerce are forever changing, customers want to interact with you and your processes as little as possible, while still getting what they want.
Customer experience is a fundamental aspect of your Customer Relationship Management (CRM). A positive customer experience ensures that a customer is more likely to become a loyal customer and refer your products or services to their friends and family.
Your customer experience strategy is the sum of all your interaction points that your customer engages in to buy your product or service. This CX strategy defines your action plans to deliver an eloquent experience for your customers.
Why is this process so important to you?
Imagine having a business that is fully functional, streamlined and products or services that were easily accessible and easy to purchase? Resulting in more customers and more sales. This would obviously be the best possible outcome. We don’t often stop and think about our post-sales processes and how convenient it is for our customers to engage with our business. Taking care of your CX strategy is key to unlocking a massive boost in sales and growth!
But how does one get this process on track?
This is an important question, which is often overlooked. Your customer experience initiatives should be an ongoing venture, not a once-off exercise. Getting your customer experience mapped out and documented is one thing. Sustaining and ensuring you adhere to the process is another. Intentional effort is required to ensure your adoption of a CX strategy is successful.
In conclusion, understanding your customers’ experience and perception is key to exceeding their expectations and ensuring your brand is dependable and trusted while building long-lasting relationships. If you’re ready to chat to me about how CX can benefit your business, book a call with me, please visit my page by clicking on this link.
