In the last 2 years, companies have really had to revisit their customer experience (CX) in order to adjust to the pandemic as well as address a rapidly shifting customer mindset. “CX Native” businesses are those that have opened with the intention of serving their customer better than the competition and this is rapidly changing how all companies approach customer experience, personalisation and control over the customer process. Parallel to this, concerns around privacy have increased too with social media enabling customers to voice their experiences which have then put customer experience front and centre in people’s minds. So how do you position your business during these changing times and ensure that you avoid key mistakes in your customer experience strategy?
Defining CX
Customer experience (CX) refers to the way in which customers receive a holistic perception of their experience with your brand or business. It refers to each and every interaction the customer has with you, from navigating your website, interacting on social media, to receiving your goods, to after-sales engagement. Each and everything you do has an effect on your customer and will influence how they perceive you in the market and if they will choose to buy.
1. Don’t sideline your customer
This is when you fail to give immediate feedback on something or show a lack of interest in your customer’s query. Sometimes you may not be able to give feedback straight away, for example, if the product needs to be customized or priced according to your customer’s specific needs. So the challenge here remains in finding ways to manage your customer’s expectations, checking in without annoying them, and finally giving them solid or constructive feedback to influence their decisions going forward.
2. Failing to link your customer experience to your value proposition
You are not simply in the business of your specific goods or services. Rather, you are in the business of providing an offering as well as giving your customer a good experience. With this in mind, your product offering needs to drive increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, results and attraction in order to bolster your product and put your customer centre stage.
3. Trying to fix all CX problems at the same time
It will never be possible to fix your customer experience issues all at once. Especially for a busy business owner. The best strategy is to take a look at your CX as a whole, and then prioritise where change should happen first. By pooling resources to fix bigger problem areas upfront, you will sort out the issue faster and will then be in a stronger position to tackle the next problem on your agenda.
4. Ignoring points of interaction
A lot of businesses try to solve issues in a siloed way by focusing on individual points of customer interaction. While it is only possible to physically rectify one thing at a time, it is really important that you are considering the bigger picture and understand the entire customer journey where no point is ever more important than the other.
5. Constantly limiting creative exchange
A lot of companies have trouble with slowly producing strong and innovative solutions that solve customer challenges and build the brand culture. Perhaps they think that a problem is too big to fix, or will never be able to find funding to see that idea come to fruition. This kind of thinking is limiting and sends a message to your internal teams that big ideas are useless and will never see the light of day. This has a knock-on effect on your business and your customers will feel it all along their buying journey.
The bottom line
The longevity of your business depends on you paying close attention to your customers and what they need. This entails carefully listening to feedback, analysing sales and fostering a creative workplace where strong strategies can be understood and implemented. But when done right, customer experience has the power to transform a business, create brand ambassadors and invest in loyal lifelong customers.
To fund your next customer experience strategy, contact Merchant Capital today, and fund your business in the next 48 hours.