In order to achieve a seamless customer experience, one needs to consider the larger business model. (Discover SaluteCX – customer experience experts.) But first, let’s unpack what the term ‘customer experience’ actually means.
Understanding customer experience
Customer experience (CX for short) is your customers’ perception of their experience with your brand. Every interaction they have with your company, whether in-store or online, influences this perception. And ultimately determines if they will return to your brand in the future.
Why a seamless customer experience is important
In the retail industry, creating a seamless customer experience is beneficial for many reasons. We have outlined some of them below:
1. Increases customer satisfaction and loyalty
A happy customer is a loyal customer.
2. Grows customer lifetime value
When you have a loyal customer, they are considered profitable over an extended period.
3. Generates positive word-of-mouth marketing
When a customer is impressed by your brand, they are more likely to give it a positive review and refer others to it.
4. Creates marketing opportunities
Identifying the touchpoints available to your customer allows you to market to them more directly.
5. Gives your brand a competitive advantage
In the saturated markets of today, customer experience is the differentiating factor between businesses – which you can leverage to tip buyers in your favour.
What customer experience looks sounds like
Your company’s CX is made up of various touchpoints, forming a whole – an orchestra, if you will. All of these touchpoints work together to achieve a common goal, like the various instruments of an orchestra in performing a symphony. For example, your product is like the drum, forming the beat of your brand. Your store aesthetic is the piano, playing the perfect accompaniment. Your floor worker iterations are the violins, singing to your customers’ tune. And your telecommunications are the trumpets, calling all prospective shoppers to your premises. Every touchpoint has a role to play in your customer experience orchestra, and needs to be carefully tuned to play your beautiful brand song.
Understanding the role of customer service
Customer service is the human element behind each instrument. The individuals at touchpoints who assist clients on their path, and provide solutions to their problems. Customer service is an integral part of customer experience as it humanises your brand and makes it accessible, helpful, and even caring in the eyes of the customer (fostering customer bonds and brand loyalty). For example, a customer might call your store to request a refund, or visit in person to request a return. This is when touchpoint consistency is vital – as one bad experience can turn a customer off your brand for good.
Boosting sales through customer service initiatives
When you think of customer service, what do you immediately think of? Queries. Yes, customers like to feel heard and attended to on an individual level – whether they are complaining, praising, or seeking information. And customer service plays a large part in building that trust on a one-to-one basis. However, shoppers don’t only use customer service touchpoints to ask questions. They also use them (often indirectly) to learn more about your brand as a whole, and its values in particular. If there were any indication of this, in no time has it been clearer than during lockdown. Despite the social-distancing hurdles, leading companies achieved seamless customer experience through cutting-edge customer service initiatives (which subsequently boosted sales and brand loyalty).
Here are some of the ways companies have changed their approach to customer service as a result of the lockdown:
– Assuring customers of individual safety in-store through number restrictions, sanitisers, innovative product releases, and minimal interactions.
– Taking an empathetic approach to customer financial and emotional distress by developing pragmatic purchasing solutions and joyful brand messaging.
– Assisting customers with the shift to online channels and social distancing protocols so the transition is comfortable and easy.
– Maintaining customer trust through assured product availability, brand accessibility, reiteration of company values, and caring in-store and online interactions.
Does your company offer a seamless customer experience?
If not, or if you wish to make sure, we can help! Contact SaluteCX for a comprehensive in-store customer experience audit, driven by data and geared towards solution development. For more information about our initiatives, click here.