If boosting your customer base and profits is what you are aiming at, it’s time to work on your CX. Says who? Says, the 2019 Digital Trends report by Econsultancy and Adobe that reveals CX as the most exciting growth opportunity available to businesses this year.
Improving CX is the sure-shot way to retain customers, acquire new ones, and keep the competition at bay. That’s because CX is the sole brand differentiator that sums up a customer’s perception of how a brand treats them. In fact, CX has overtaken price and product as a key brand differentiator.
Without a doubt, CX matters to your business bottom line. So, where do you think you stand in terms of delivering superior CX? Answer that question carefully, because though 80 percent of businesses believe they deliver ‘super experiences.’ only 8 percent of their customers actually agree.
Read on to learn a few tips to step up your CX game.
1. Simplify Your CX Efforts
Extensive digitization has transformed customers into fickle buyers with ever-changing buying behavior, preferences, and expectations. But customer experience doesn’t have to be as complex as it sounds.
Customer experience is about understanding customer needs and helping them achieve what they want throughout the customer journey. When you place customer needs at the core of all your business decisions, you’ll be surprised at the results.
Pay attention to these essential elements of a CX strategy.
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Add a Personal Touch
This is where it all begins. If you look at top brands in the industry you will notice how they use the power of personalization to win customers. Notice Apple, for instance. The tech firm has dramatically raised the bar for the degree of personalization that can be embedded in products. Further, the brand keeps coming up with innovative ideas to enhance consumer value proposition.
Most businesses start with an original product idea; however, they fail to assess whether or not the product or service fits in with what the customer is looking for. Product development should always be undertaken with the end customer in mind. Staying attuned to customer needs and expectations can help you come up with relevant and engaging customer experiences.
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Pay Attention to the Customer Journey
The customer journey is at the core of every CX strategy. Add a little empathy to your CX strategy and understand their pain points, needs, obstacles, and expectations over time. A McKinsey study confirms that looking at the entire customer journey (not just customer touchpoints) can help businesses offer good CX which ultimately reflects in the revenue. Conduct a thorough customer journey analysis to predict customer behavior and implement CX improvement strategies that matter. Further, view heatmaps to understand a user’s online behavior and run A/B tests to see what works and what doesn’t. All of this will help you view things from the users’ perspective.
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Streamline Your Back-Office Operations
While it’s the most ignored aspect when mapping a CX vision, back-office processes are key to ensuring a seamless experience for customers. Make sure all such processes are digitally-streamlined and automated. Robotic process automation (RPA) holds a lot of promise in helping businesses automate repetitive and menial tasks, thus accelerating handing time and improving CX. Improve your back-office service quality incorporating RPA in your back-office operations.
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Leverage Technology
Businesses have always relied on technology for innovative tools to improve and simplify their CX. For instance, most businesses today use a chatbot on their apps or websites to address customer queries. Similarly, AI and machine learning can help you personalize content. Spotify uses ML to personalize the shelves and playlists based on the content a user previously consumed and enjoyed. Leverage the latest software and communication modalities to give your customers the best multi-channel experience possible.
2. Don’t Lose the Human Touch
A PwC survey report reveals 59 percent of customers feel that businesses are losing the human element in their CX efforts. The overabundance of tech innovations available today can make it easy to lose the human touch in our promotional efforts. But remember – technology is only a CX enabler. Though customers find it tough to live without technology in this digital age, they connect with humans (not bots)! Avoid being over-reliant on automated services. Use technology to understand customer behavior but couple it with real human communication to boost CX and reassure customers that you are easily accessible. Strike a balance between your digital and human experiences.
Much like American Express, the financial service giant, that uses innovative technologies like contactless payment and AI to offer seamless CX. Yet, the bank hasn’t lost its human touch. Its team is always available to support and guide customers.
3. Focus on the EX to Boost CX
Employee experience is a critical part of CX. That’s because motivated employees possess the ability to deliver exceptional customer experience. In fact, companies focusing on improving employee experience generate 2.5X more revenue than those who don’t.
Your employees are key to creating an awesome CX. So, make sure you invest heavily in them by offering them adequate training. Uphold an open, fun-loving, and merit-based work culture that keeps them motivated to give their best.
4. Invest in the Right Tools
Awesome customer experience encompasses all the customer interactions across a variety of channels and touchpoints. While it isn’t easy to navigate the vast world of CX, investing in the right tools can help you achieve your CX objectives. CX tools for customer surveys, behavior analytics, and multi-channel feedback collection, a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and a customer experience management platform can effectively support all your CX functions. For instance, Salesforce is a widely-recognized business CRM platform that offers a variety of tools for connecting with customers at various points in the customer journey. The platform uses customer data to offer actionable insights that can be used for providing a superior customer experience in this digital age. Ecommerce firms too can benefit hugely by adopting Salesforce as a part of their CX strategy. The platform offers effective commerce solutions that make in-store and online shopping seamless, quick, and enjoyable, thus boosting customer experience. Similarly, Cisco Webex Experience Management (formerly known as CloudCherry) harnesses real-time customer feedback and predictive analytics to optimize customer journeys and improve the experience. Determine your business needs and invest in the most suitable CX tools to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Wrapping Up
If you are looking to outpace the competition, improving customer experience is your best bet. Awesome CX is the reason why customers will choose you over your rivals and keep coming back. Use the tips and tactics shared above to wow your customers and increase their lifetime value.
