Have you ever visited a new restaurant at the recommendation of a friend? How about hired a plumber? Or watched a new movie? We tend to trust our friends’ recommendations more than we do paid advertisements or even online reviews. How do you get your customers to recommend you? By having a great customer experience. Excellent customer experience is one of the best forms of advertising for your business.
What is CX?
When was the last time you had an exceptional experience with a company? You probably continue to do business with them. Now think about the last time you had a poor experience with a business. No matter how reasonable their prices or unique their product or service is, you have already sworn off doing business with them. Both of these are examples of Customer Experience (CX), which refers to a customer’s overall perception of a company’s brand based on all their interactions with it.
In the past, a customer’s experience was confined to in-person contact and perhaps over-the-phone interactions with call centers. Doing business with a vendor or dining at a restaurant with decent customer service stood out to customers. But today customers expect to be able to contact support via phone, live chat, WhatsApp, social media, and even Amazon’s Alexa. Customers form opinions about your business based on your website, walking one step into your store, or eating their first bite of food.
How CX Has Evolved
Over the past decade, two key things have emerged as important best practices for your business to create an exceptional customer experience.
Business Hours Only?
There was a time when customers could only get a hold of call centers and customer support teams during normal business hours. This was considered normal to customers before the internet. However, the internet changed customer’s expectations. Now, customers can get information any time they need it by going online. As consumers’ expectations rise, companies are required to respond proactively to the changing online environment. Customer service conducted only during business hours is no longer acceptable.
One way your business can meet customers’ rising expectations in this area is by integrating live chat features on your website. Forty-four percent of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person is essential, even if that person is on the other side of a chat experience, according to Forrester Research. Including a live chat feature on a website benefits both the customer and your business. It offers a more convenient and streamlined customer experience and is cost-effective since customer service agents can handle multiple queries simultaneously.
Mobile Changes The Game
According to a study done by Oberlo, 2017 was the year when internet traffic from mobile devices exceeded that from traditional computers, and it has only been growing since then. Businesses then began to focus on optimizing their websites for mobile customer experience. This meant designing websites that arranged content in a way that was optimal for device resolution. Now customers expect to be able to interact with your business not just at any time, but from any place they want.
Having a website that is optimized for all screen sizes – desktop, mobile, and tablet – is essential to creating a more streamlined customer experience. Not only that, but making sure your customers can find you on their most used mobile device apps like Google Maps, Yelp, and Facebook is an integral part of staying on top of mobile trends.
CX: The Best Form Of Advertising
Here are some practical ways you can be sure your customer experience advertises your business in a positive way.
Be Where Your Customers Are
As we just learned, customers increasingly rely on their devices to direct them to your business products and services. To increase customer satisfaction and ultimately create a positive experience, you need to reach your customers where they are talking about you. Social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit are platforms that your customers will likely turn to talk about your business – whether it’s high praises or harsh criticism.
Your business needs to be aware that these aren’t just platforms for advertising. They are also where your customers want to interact with you. A study done by Sprout Social showed that 48% of customers make a purchase with a company because the company was responsive on social. It is essential for your business to respond to and interact with customers on the platforms that they are on to create a more positive customer experience.
Reviews Are Always Important
Your business’s online reputation is a good barometer of your customer experience. Google, Yelp, and Facebook are commonly referred to as the “big three” when it comes to review sites. But customers will also read reviews on sites like TripAdvisor, Better Business Bureau, Yellowpages, Manta, Angies List, and Foursquare. A good customer experience builds a strong reputation which means better reviews and recommendations. Making sure your business shows up with positive reviews on these sites is one of the most successful forms of advertising.
On the other hand, poor reviews are a form of advertising for your competitors. Most review sites have recommendations for similar products and services all along the margin of your business profile. If your business receives poor reviews, then competitors with higher reviews will automatically be recommended to potential customers. If you have low review ratings, even if you are spending money on advertising, this money ends up indirectly going towards your competitors.
Always Be Evolving
The COVID-19 pandemic caused online interaction to skyrocket. Many people believe that customers’ buying patterns have changed permanently as a result of COVID. Delivering an excellent customer experience in a post-pandemic world will be a key part of a successful business strategy. In a competitive business environment, customer experience should be seen as a strategic differentiator rather than just a cost center.
Countless emerging technologies can help your business improve personalization and strive towards more “human-to-human connection,” despite being through a phone or computer screen. One technology trend to look out for is Loom, a video software that teams use to send screen recordings easily to each other and their clients. Loom helps businesses save time by not having to discuss things in meetings and can be used to go the extra mile when assisting clients remotely.
Another trend that your business should be on the lookout for is creating an omnichannel customer journey. Customers expect a seamless experience across every digital and physical channel. One practical way for companies to do this is by integrating their Google Maps and Google reviews into the same profile. This makes it easier for a customer to find the goods and services your business offers and more likely to give immediate feedback. In order to create a perfect omnichannel customer journey, each touchpoint of your sales funnel needs to be connected to deliver a seamless experience.
In Conclusion…
Investing in great customer experience is not optional. It is an essential part of driving customer retention, protecting your company’s reputation, and evolving your business model. It takes a lot of work to build an exceptional customer experience that is memorable in the best way for your customers. As new technologies emerge and customer expectations continue to change it is important to remember that having a positive customer experience is one of the best forms of advertising your business can invest in.