Time is the most value commodity we have today. Apps like Uber and mobile banking allow us to order cabs and pay bills with a few taps and swipes. We can talk to our smartphones and cars to receive directions, weather updates and restaurant recommendations. But are you aware of the microchips or processors inside these devices? Better yet, do you even care?
Unless you’re a brand evangelist, chances are you know very little about what goes inside the tech you use, or the code within SaaS tools and apps that make your life easier.
The only thing you do care about is the user experience and outcome.
Why user experience is important
Consumers today aren’t wowed that the latest Apple iPhone is using a PowerVR Series 6XT GX6450 (quad-core) processor to run its software.
They are wowed by the device being able to connect to WiFi automatically and use FaceTime to video-call friends for free in real-time.
Econsultancy asked companies what they thought the most exciting opportunities for their businesses were:
Customer experience (CX) came on top beating both content and mobile marketing.
But that’s not all, a survey undertaken by Walker stated that CX will become more important than price and product by 2020:
(Source: walker)
Yes, the CX will be a bigger factor than price and product!
Now stop reading this article and take a look at your mobile device for a few seconds.
How do businesses position themselves to win and retain customers using CX?
This is a question every business needs to continually ask itself to stay on top. Primary Intelligence believe there are 4 pillars to the customer experience, they are:
- Customer Retention: Will we survive a contract renewall?
- Revenue Realized: Are customers spending less than anticipated?
- Revenue Retention: Are customers spending the same this year as last?
- Revenue Expansion: Are we identifying all upsell opportunities with this client?
How many of these areas is your business focusing on?
A great CX strategy focuses on:
Delivering it all the time – a seamless CX is not just a one-time thing. The customer expects the same experience every time they do business with you. The best CX will be an automated process leading the customer through the exact same journey over and over again, with no bottlenecks or surprises.
Consistent touch points – when it comes to spending money, consumers don’t like surprises (unless it’s free gifts at checkout) during their buying journey. Businesses who offer the best CX ensure the customer experience at every touch point feels and looks the same.
Whether they are ordering online and collecting in-store, or ordering by phone and checking their order online – the experience has to be consistent in design, feel and experience.
Personalization – To offer the best CX you must know each customer’s individual needs.
How many times in the past have you been shown a product ad from a brand you had no interest in and were annoyed at its lack of relevance?
Marketing strategies must be personalized, email lists segmented and retargeting used to ensure customers see the right ad messages based on their position in your sales funnel.
Embrace Technology – mobile apps, responsive websites, CRMs, online marketing and analytics tools all make it easier connect, track and serve your lead or customer better.
It’s impossible to provide the best level of CX without using technology, especially with consumers becoming ever more reliant on it.
Summary
Booking a flight used to involve walking to the nearest travel agent and seeing what dates they had free. Today you can book a flight to Australia in less than 2 minutes.
Consumers want to do everything in the fastest and smoothest possible way, with no hiccups or errors along the way. Consumer have gotten so lazy that a third don’t even bother to return faulty goods.
Top brands like Amazon and ASOS are aware of this and instead of maximizing their profits and leaving customers with faulty goods, they provide a free returns service making their customers’ lives (and experience) better.
This is why Amazon recently became the 5th largest U.S listed business in the world this year, they offer some of the best CX out there, and are always on the lookout for innovative new ways (such as drone delivery) to further improve their CX.
