What does CX Mean to You? A Closer Look at What Truly Matters

Yay or nay? Nowadays a product that works is no longer enough.  Businesses get the nod based on the level of customer service they provide.

Technicalities and marketing strategies aside, what truly matters is exceptional Customer Experience(s) – encounters that a customer has with your company that makes them happy transacting with you.  

What is CX?     

CX encompasses everything a firm does to provide outstanding experiences, value, and growth to consumers.  

But why so critical?  Why is there even a C-suite position for Customer Experience alone?

In an era where “how a company serves its consumers” is just as important—if not more important than the goods and services it offers, every business that seeks to go global should have a CX they can call their own. In today’s digital age, when consumers evaluate and discuss their experiences with a firm in public forums, it is critical for businesses to connect with customers emotionally throughout their journey. 

Customer experience is not only the ethical thing to do for consumers, but it also generates three times the returns for shareholders.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a test of how to communicate with clients during times of distress. And many fared remarkably well in offering strong CX. For example, many organizations quickly adjusted by reorienting their efforts (and even protocols) to fulfill customers’ fundamental demands with regard to safety, security, and daily ease. Consider e-commerce enterprises and food delivery services, which created contactless delivery systems to protect clients and drivers as the virus spread. 

Now that restrictions have been lifted for a good three years, the competition has been made stiff by a higher demand for top-notch customer service. 

How are Customer Experiences measured?

At first glance, it might be somewhat of a challenge to imagine how “satisfaction” is measured. Customers expect “magic”. 

But measuring “magic” or even the magical experience CAN be done.  In a nutshell, here’s how it’s done.

• Measure the customer journey rather than the number of touchpoints or overall satisfaction.

• Invest in integrated technology that takes daily input from several sources and combines survey results and other data to create comprehensive dashboards.

• Consistently nurture a mindset of continuous improvement at all levels.

Make your data gathering work for you. Depending on how ingrained CX is in your organization, evaluate how CX prediction (through the data gathered) might help you keep ahead of customer attrition and displeasure.

Why?

Survey-based methods alone may not always meet the needs of today’s enterprises; they are limited, reactive, complex, and misdirected.

Predictive consumer insight may give more powerful insights toward enhancing customer experiences.

Speaking of Customer Journey…how does this have anything to do with CX?

The consumer (choice) journey (CDJ) is a rethinking of the classic marketing funnel. In this method, the way consumers make choices is portrayed as a circular process with four stages where clients may be acquired or lost:

1^st:        Initial Consideration

2^nd:      Active Evaluation (Researching Potential Purchases)

3^rd:       Closure

4^th:      Post Purchase

If you are to remember one thing, remember this — consumers buy brands but they also buy the experience.  And the desired experience can always change!

A  customer’s consumer decision journey continues to evolve, especially with the onslaught of new technology and capabilities available to consumers. Today, organizations must actively influence their consumers’ decision journeys rather than just react to them. To gain a competitive edge, businesses should try decreasing or even eliminating certain assessment processes. To promote a faster customer loyalty journey, four separate yet interrelated competencies are critical:

1. Automation may be utilized to simplify the customer experience (for example, being able to photograph a check using your phone and depositing it using your bank’s app rather than physically visiting a branch);
2. Proactive customization or personalization employs a customer’s data to rapidly personalize CX;
3. Contextual interaction guides a consumer to the next set of interactions based on where they are in their journey; and
4. Journey innovation identifies new sources of value, such as a unique service. Companies use their data and insights about clients to determine what new services they could potentially appreciate. Top organizations also create customer choice journeys that encourage open-ended testing and rapid prototyping of new services or features.

The formula should be fairly simple because no one wants to support a firm that provides terrible customer service.

There will always be a desire to shorten even the shortcuts wherever feasible. Customer service for your product or service is no different.

Do keep in mind that good Customer Experiences tap into the emotional connection you have with your customers.  Every interaction a consumer has with your organization is a chance to demonstrate that you care and that you are worth going back to. Unhappy customers are likely to tell others about their negative experiences.  A single negative incident can ruin their experience and in turn, damage your reputation.

Where are you in your Customer Experience journey?

Find solutions that work. Get the most out of your customers by collaborating with a group that has a deep understanding of customer service, care, and experience.