Over the years, companies have evolved their marketing and customer relation techniques. The rise of inbound methods and technological advancements have allowed businesses to get closer to consumers more than ever.
Customer Experience (CX) in particular is stealing the spotlight. It’s important to recognize that this is different from customer service. CX encompasses the whole buyer’s journey and the resulting relationship you have with your customer even afterwards. It’s made up of different touchpoints and moments, from marketing to post-sales. In that sense, customer service is part of CX principles.
According to Digital Marketing Trends Report, majority of companies are more excited to prioritize customer experience versus other areas like content marketing and social media. If you don’t have proper a customer experience management strategy, you’ll risk falling behind in the game.
To avoid common user experience mistakes, it’s advisable to follow the ten commandments of customer experience management.
1. Thou Shalt Place Customer Experience at the Core of Company Operations
Your whole company must understand the benefits and impact of proper customer experience management. Understand what each role can bring to the table. If your team knows the philosophy behind your strategy, it will help everyone work together towards the same goal.
Departmental alignment is essential when launching any strategy. You must have the right mindset and resources to achieve this. While doing so, analyze where you stand with your current Customer Experience Management (CXM) practices. The knowledge will help you map out your vision and goals moving forward.
2. Thou Shalt Always Put the Customer First
Adopt a “the customer is always right” mentality. Since you’re aiming to sell a product or provide them with a service, it’s imperative that you listen to them and their suggestions.
When you market yourself, always strive to provide value, so they genuinely gain new information from your brand that is relevant to their lives. During inquiries, assist them in all areas and don’t leave them hanging. This doesn’t even need to be in the form of a call or personal interaction. Effective website design can help consumers find the information they need to help them make the right purchase decision.
Before making a move, always ask yourself, “Will the consumer appreciate this?” If the answer is yes, then go ahead and execute your plan.
3. Thou Shalt Optimize the Buyer’s Journey
Understanding your buyer’s journey is integral to a successful customer experience strategy. Once you’ve identified their path, it will be clearer how to make things easier for them. Simple things like having a mobile-friendly website and live chat can significantly improve their experience on your page.
Remove any obstacles and challenges that your consumer may see along the way and speed things up for them. You’ll be surprised at how appreciative customers can be if they get to accomplish or buy what they came to your website for as fast as possible.
4. Thou Shalt Maintain the Trust of your Customer
Keeping your customer loyal is equal parts excellent service and empathetic customer experience. If you severely lack the other, this may be a struggle for you. 32% of consumers will discontinue doing business with a brand after just one negative experience.
Keep being honest and consistent with your brand’s messaging, stay accessible to your customers, and don’t forget to keep giving them value.
5. Thou Shalt Be Sensitive Your Customers
Remember that your customers are human beings going through different personal experiences. The emotional component of your strategy may have far more substantial weight than the usual factors that marketers or businesses invest in. Vocalcom reports that 63% of customers remain loyal to a company that they perceive as positive, while 74% would become brand ambassadors.
Train yourselves to address the different reactions of your buyers. You can do this by anticipating certain situations and reaching out to customers who have had negative experiences. Encourage them to leave feedback or support tickets through which you can assist them further. Always strive to be genuine, too. Customers see through cookie cutter responses, and you’ll only come off as insincere.
6. Thou Shalt Respond to Customers in Near Real-Time
In the age of the internet where everything’s instant, you can’t afford to make customers wait. Near real-time response rates are crucial in all stages of their buying journey, from inquiry to after-sales. You want to show that you are always available and ready to assist.
The same is true for capturing feedback. Customer feedback will help you determine whether you impress your customers positively or which areas you need to improve. So, keep an eye on those channels and address any issues right away.
7. Thou Shalt Analyze Your CX Data
As you experiment with different strategies, you’ll come to realize what works and what doesn’t. First, there’s performance analysis. Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a good indicator for how well your customers are reacting to your brand or service. Are your buyers recommending you or not? How will you be able to get them to support you?
Revisiting previous campaigns like sales and product launches can also clue you into what your customers are looking for. Were your past events a success or failure? What made it so? Pay close attention to the data.
8. Thou Shalt Go Above and Beyond Expectations
Great customer experience is when you have proven to be there for your customers every step of the way. Going the extra mile may be in the form of checking up on them and their experience, giving them personalized rewards for being a loyal customer, and the like.
Don’t underestimate the power of these little actions that can considerably improve the experience of your customers. You must also have solutions to problems that customers themselves may not realize they have.
9. Thou Shalt Invest in CX Software Platforms
Customer experience management isn’t a walk in the park. Like other areas of your business and marketing plan, data needs to be monitored continuously so you have benchmarks and references. Many CX software tools can help you out, and they’re flexible enough to work in whatever industry you’re in.
Take time to learn and maximize your platform so that you can analyze trends in your CXM. This leads to the last commandment, which is…
10. Thou Shalt Vow to Constantly Improve
There should always be room for improvement in your CXM. Buyers will continue to grow and change over time, and your business should always be ready for what’s next. Watching trends closely and routinely training your team members with how their job functions can assist in good CX, are both great ideas for continuous improvement.
Final Thoughts
Following these commandments will not only ensure a good CXM strategy, but have you besting your competitors as well. If you make your consumers your #1 priority, and you’ll see an increase in brand loyalty, revenue, and overall success.
Take the first step towards awesome CXM by developing realistic and accurate buyer personas!
