Customer experience isn’t an expense. Managing customer experience bolsters your brand. (Stan Phelps)
Customer Experience…what does it entail?
“Customer experience (CX), is it the same as customer service?” You may be wondering what CX is, how it differs from customer service, and why it should concern you as a small business owner. Unlike customer service, which is the process of aiding a business’s customers by providing a service or a product that suits their needs, Customer experience (CX) involves the entire relationship between a company and its clients.
Customer experience is the impact felt by the customer after interacting with a business or brand. CX covers every level of contact a client has with a business (customer touch-points), from the time the client discovers the brand to the service delivery by its employees and the quality of products offered.
Good CX vs Bad CX
A customer’s experience with a brand influences the customer’s opinion of the business/brand. CX could either be negative or positive, and businesses should strive to attain the latter.
When a client’s experience with a brand is positive, it leaves a good impression on the client and leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. The customer, in turn, becomes a promoter. The by-product is a boost in the company’s image and bottom line.
However, when a customer has a poor impression of a brand after interacting with it, it can cause the customer to become a detractor, which causes the business to lose clients and have a negative image, affecting profits.
Therefore, businesses need to focus on delivering the best CX possible.
Importance of Customer Experience
Increase in customer satisfaction and reduction in churn
Quality increases when a business focuses on ensuring that service delivery at various customer touch-points is of the highest standards. This improvement reflects well on the business and helps it expand its customer base.
An increase in customer satisfaction conversely leads to a reduction in customer churn. When customers are satisfied, customers are less likely to drop the brand in favor of another as their needs are being met.
Boosts brand perception
Customer experience is the new marketing battlefront. (Chris Pemberton)
A focus on good CX delivery leads to an improvement in the way customers perceive a brand or business. Its customers have a positive experience at every touchpoint: excellent service and premium products.
These satisfied customers then act as marketers for the brand, promoting it to their network. The brand then becomes known for its quality service and attracts more patronage.
Boosts sales and profits
Customer loyalty and increased patronage of the company’s products and services leads to increased sales and profits.
Conclusion
A consistent and predictable experience creates customer confidence, which can lead to loyalty. (Shep Hyken)
Customer experience differs from customer service as it defines how a brand’s customer interacts with it.
Ensuring a good CX promotes customer retention and loyalty, boosts brand perception, and increases sales and profits.
