Customer service is something you have worked hard to develop in your business. You have become an expert at responding to customer’s needs in a timely and appropriate manner. You have hired and trained the people who interact with your customers, and they do a great job serving your customers. But you aren’t seeing the results you had hoped for in reviews and return customers. How can you get even better at serving your customers? It’s time to consider the customer experience.
Customer service is a term everyone knows. It describes the human connection between your company and the customer and the direct support you give to your customers. It is the assistance and advice you offer to the customer and is often initiated by the customers when they have a problem or question. Customer service is also a very important part of the customer experience.
Customer experience (CX) encompasses all the ways your company interacts with the customer and refers to the broader customer journey and how they feel about your brand. It includes three main components: customer service, technology, and design. CX goes beyond just human, face-to-face interaction with your customers. Everyone on your team is part of creating CX, even if they don’t directly interact with customers.
Today the competition for customers begins with the customer experience. Consumers start making decisions about your brand and your product long before they interact with someone face-to-face at your store. A study from Gartner concludes that CX is proven to be the only “truly durable competitive advantage,” and states that 89% of companies expect to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience. Additionally research from Bain & Company shows that 80% of companies think they are delivering a superior customer experience. But consumers say only 8% of business provide a superior experience. This means that your CX is probably not as great as you think it is. Forbes concludes, “Focusing on customer experience management (CXM) may be the single most important investment a brand can make in today’s competitive business climate.”
When it comes to creating CX, consistency is key. Your customers need to be able to recognize your brand wherever they find it. They need to know what to expect from your brand as far as quality and customer service. Creating a single, great customer experience is beneficial, but if you want to grow your brand loyalty and get customers to return, you must deliver consistent experiences across multiple interactions.
When you pay attention to customer experience, your business will grow. Research by American Express shows that 60% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. A study by the Temkin Group suggests that companies could see a 70% ROI when they invest in the customer experience. Your company already has the customer service part, but as a small business, you struggle with the technology and design parts. If you need a partner to help make this happen, Riley & You is here to help. Let us get started on improving your customer experience today.
