Will Customer Experience Overtake Price In 2020?

If we asked you what you think is the top ‘trend’ for business growth in 2020, you might say content marketing, video or social media… but what if we told you that customer experience, or CX, will trump them all?

Econsultancy and Adobe conducted their Annual Digital Trends report and the results are in – CX is leading the way!

What is Customer Experience?

Exactly what you might assume, CX is how your customers feel about your company – the experience they have when engaging with your brand.

If they like you, not just your product or service, but the experience of being your customer, they are going to stick with you.  

An added bonus? 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, and 49% of buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a more personalized experience. Clearly, the benefit of investing time and money into creating an amazing CX for your audience is huge.

How do you create a great CX?

The key is to get to know your customers and use that information to tailor an experience that is personalised, meets their needs and makes them feel valued!

Here are some tips on creating a CX your customers will love…

1. Customer feedback

Sound obvious? You’d be surprised at the amount of businesses who don’t have systems in place to collect feedback – and the number who don’t implement it even when they do!

Use surveys, webforms, read your online reviews, get your staff to ask certain questions before and after jobs… however you choose to go about it, real feedback is the best way to begin understanding what your customers like and dislike about the experience of using your business – then you can see where and what you can improve on.

2. Communication consistency

We now need to be active and reachable on multiple platforms, which means there needs to be a consistent standard of brand communication wherever a customer will interact with you – online or off.

From branding, to tone of voice (friendly, warm, professional) and available information (e.g. FAQs and contact info), there needs to be a consistency in your customer experience. For example, if your admin staff answer the phones in a certain manner, your email or FB message responses need to match. 

3. Be Mobile! 

From searching your website to accessing customer support, your business needs to be mobile-friendly or it will leave a bad taste for your customers! 

If your website is difficult to navigate, slow to load, or doesn’t provide the information they need quickly and easily, your customers will view these as negative experiences with your brand – and you might lose them.

4. DIY-ability

Can your customers find the information or answers they need quickly and on their own? 67% of customers prefer self-service over speaking to a company representative – so instead of a 30-minutes call when they need answers, how can you make it a quick, 5-minute online search for them instead? 

As part of creating an easy, positive CX, it’s important to provide self-service options so they have the tools available to get immediate help when they need it. Chat bots, Messenger Marketing… online AI options are becoming available to businesses of all sizes – so it’s time to get on board! Use automation to free up your time for other aspects of the customer experience that require a human touch.

5. Personalisation

How can you find ways to make your customers feel they are more than a number? From personalised product recommendations and “handwritten” notes in posted orders, to email marketing that uses their name in the subject header, there are many ways to surprise and delight your clients. 

Collecting customer data lets you mine it for insights you can use to make their experience better, tailoring what you offer and how you offer it to suit their needs!  See What is the ROI of Data Insights for more info.

It’s not just about price anymore, businesses are competing based on customer experience and creating brand loyalty that will keep them coming back for more. 

Do you know what your customers experience when they buy from or interact with your brand? Looking into your customer journey can help you map out this experience.

2020 is just around the corner – so it’s time to make CX a priority in your business!

Struggling to know where to start? We love data and know how to use it – talk to our team today.