Customer experience, also known as CX, is the holistic perception that your customers have of your brand. This experience determines the fate of your brand and future interactions of customers with your business. A lot depends on this aspect of your business.
CX is evolving rapidly, largely thanks to digital advancements in this sector, and many marketers are struggling to keep up with the latest customer experience trends. Businesses that can perfect their customer experience will stand out from the noise and win loyal customers.
Here are 6 easy ways to improve your customer experience!
How to Improve Customer Experience
It is no secret that customers value good service. A recent Oracle study showed that 82% of customers reported leaving companies because of bad service. On the flip side, 86% of customers said that they would pay more for better customer service. Luckily, improving your customer experience doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive.
1) Strike a Balance Between Automated and Personal Experience
Since all the hype currently is about AI, companies often forget to create an optimum balance between the use of bots and the incorporation of human interaction. Automation is a great solution to reduce costs associated with customer service, but did you ever think about how customers feel about it?
It may be fast and responsive, but it cannot offer the human interaction that customers want. Like you can install card machines to promote contactless payment but a qualified agent must be present to guide you through its use and help you if it doesn’t function properly.
Brands must adjust the right fit with digitalizing whilst keeping human customer service agents.
2) Personalization Is the Magic Ingredient
A study by Epsilon found that “80% of people are more inclined to purchase from a company that provides tailored experiences”. This shows that customers will not be happy with a one-size-fits-all customer experience solution. Brands that provide custom messaging to their audience show that they have invested their time and energy to get to know their customers and make their experience better.
A hint of personalization in your customer experience demonstrates that your business has a strong desire to build a connection with your customers on an individual level. This, in turn, contributes to a positive user experience.
3) Digitalize Experiences with the Help of AI and Chatbots
Chatbots are more than mere customer service tools. These are extremely useful tools for marketers and sales agents. Chatbots are fast and always available; this allows customers to feel valued and heard. They can access your brand’s sales team at any time and communicate their concerns or feedback.
Chatbots are now being integrated with social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger so that businesses can automatically respond to direct messages from customers. AI is easily the most disruptive technology of our age. It is projected that by the end of 2021, 62% of businesses will incorporate some form of AI into their customer experience processes. This technology has transformed the digital customer experience.
4) Ask for Customer Feedback (and Put It into Action)
To better understand your customers, it is essential to listen to them. You should develop a dedicated approach to learn about their needs and the issues they have, in order to resolve them. This is where surveys come into the picture! Though surveys have been around for many years, marketers are increasingly realizing their potential and incorporating responses into effective strategies and policies.
Your job does not end here! You should collect customers’ feedback and their responses, but it is even more important to translate their feedback into action. If a customer has a complaint, you should resolve the issue to show the customer that their voice was heard.
5) Measure Customer Satisfaction
Companies should regularly measure customer satisfaction to ensure that they continue to have positive experiences with the brands. This allows brands to identify pain points and rectify issues.
Metrics like Net Promoter Score represent how likely customers are to recommend your brand to others. This helps you to predict repurchases and referrals, and gain insights into strategy. Customer Satisfaction Score, or CSAT, helps you determine how happy customers are with your products or services.
Once you implement your CX strategies, you have to track their progress and the best way to do this is through measuring customer experience metrics. A quick survey can help you understand customers and how the changes have impacted their experience.
6) Promote Customer-Centricity as a Core Value to Your Whole Team
It’s important to make sure that your team is on the same page, and that they share the same set of values. This creates consistent experiences eliminates customer experience issues. Make sure that you share your CX goals with the whole team and encourage them to achieve them.
Your customer should be the foundation of all your business’ goals and processes. Customer experience gravitates around customers, and if all your departments gear their operations towards customer-centricity, the customers’ experiences will be impeccable.
Wrapping Up
It is essential to dedicate your focus and assets to improve customer experiences because, in today’s competitive marketplace, brands are competing more on customer service then their market offerings. The landscape for CX is evolving, and businesses must stay on top of their game to keep up with these trends.