How Can Startups Deliver Exceptional Customer Experience

The term "customer experience" is frequently used, but what exactly does it imply? Customer experience can encompass a variety of factors, but it all boils down to the consumer's view of your brand. Even if you believe your brand and customer experience are one and the same, the consumer's perception is what determines the real customer experience.

This article is not just restricted to startups, but to any business owner that is looking to provide exceptional customer experience can use this as a guide for their processes.

What is Customer Experience?

The totality of a consumer's impressions and feelings as a result of interactions with a brand's products and services are known as customer experience (CX). CX encompasses a consumer's whole relationship with a company, beginning before they make a purchase, continuing through active use, and progressing to renewal or repeat purchase.

Customer experience is provided by any brand with consumers, whether the brand acknowledges it or not. Customer experience, as the name implies, is based on consumers' impressions and views. Consumers are the ultimate decider, regardless of whether a brand claims to provide a superior product or give excellent customer service. They can behave, respond, and react in unanticipated ways, making CX difficult for marketers to govern. To increase the likelihood of consumers' happiness, brands should evaluate and optimise each consumer touchpoint.

Steps to Deliver Excellent Customer Experience

Consumers, regardless of which service business they encounter, all agree that they want the best services at the best prices. They want to have the impression that you are aware of their issues and are working to resolve them. With so many companies in the market, it's critical to remember that consumers can replace you at any time if you don't provide them with an amazing customer experience.

Here are some recommended practices that you can consider to deliver an excellent customer experience:

  • Mapping Out A Customer Journey Map. Before developing a CX plan, a company must first become familiar with all of the different touchpoints throughout the customer journey. Companies can better understand a consumer's mindset when they become aware of an issue, research potential solutions, compare options, or decide to make a purchase by mapping the customer journey.
  • Understanding Your Consumers. Personalization has been shown to improve consumer satisfaction, with 91 per cent of consumers indicating they are more likely to shop with companies that offer personalised offers and recommendations. As a result, marketing campaigns and sales methods should never be one-size-fits-all; instead, businesses should personalize promotional materials for each consumer.

    Combining consumer segmentation and AI is the most efficient way to accomplish this. A corporation can segment consumers into discrete groups based on shared traits using its CRM system, and it can build out profiles based on a consumer's purchasing history and preferences for an even more granular view of the person.
  • Implement a Voice of the Customer Program(VoC). The process through which businesses gather consumer impressions in order to acquire firsthand insight into what the customer experience is like is known as the voice of the customer (VoC). VoC helps businesses better understand how their target audience views their brand, gives them insight into what they desire, and encourages them to engage with it.
  • Enhance the working environment for your employees. Employees are likely the most important component of producing a great CX, thus it's critical that the employee experience is also great. To that end, firms must make every effort to engage their employees so that they feel connected to their work, colleagues, consumers, and mission; this includes arming staff with the tools and technology they need to get the job done and focus on what matters.
  • Intergrate A Customer-Centric Company Culture. A memorable customer experience begins at the very top. Business leaders must display a customer-first approach to their workers in order to drive them to achieve their best. Customer-centricity must also be included in the company's guiding principles, and these concepts must be a fundamental component of new hire training and retraining initiatives. Companies can establish a customer-centric culture that reflects in the CX by doing so.

The video will be explaining 4 more ways to enhance the customer's experience.

Importance of Exceptional Customer Experience

Customer Experience is critical for long-term business success. It is crucial to provide a great and compelling CX so that consumers develop brand loyalty, promote your product or service, and leave you with favourable feedback that helps your company retain revenue and attract new consumers. Every company should prioritise CX not just because it will help them enhance their sales and support, but also because it is what their consumers expect and deserve.

The importance of the CX has never been greater. It's no secret that excellent customer service is crucial to a company's current and long-term success. As a result, as a consumer-centric company, creating a flawless CX is a must. 

Businesses should and already know that consumers will reward you if you please them. Research shows that they are willing to pay a 16 per cent premium for a positive CX. A Harvard Business Review study found that consumers who had previously had positive experiences spent 140 per cent more than consumers who had previously had negative or unsatisfactory experiences.

It is also shown that if consumers of a subscription-based business have a positive experience, they are more likely to stay a member for a long time.

Examples of Good Customer Experience

In today's business world, it takes a lot more than just making a product or service that people want to buy. It all boils down to providing a positive consumer experience. The vast majority of buyers, in fact, are willing to spend extra for a superior customer experience. Companies must build and deliver more customer-centric experiences and campaigns to stand out from the competition, as this gives your target audience a compelling reason to stay and become repeat consumers.

The following are some examples of CX strategies:

McDonald's

When McDonald's saw a drop in sales, they decided to focus on CX to turn things around. They began by attempting to listen to their consumers and offering them a more streamlined experience, similar to what they had requested. McDonald's simplified its menu in Malaysia in response to consumer's input, improved order accuracy, and began utilising higher-quality products. For example, some outlets in Malaysia have self-order booths instead of waiting in a queue to order at the cashier. This enables a seamless ordering process improving the in-store customer experience as there is a reduction in waiting time.

McDonald's also spent time upgrading store interiors for a nicer aesthetic, as well as installing digital, self-order kiosks and table service, resulting in shorter wait times. McDonald's is able to differentiate themselves from their competition by improving their overall customer service experience.

Adidas

Adidas has been fine-tuning its digital experience in recent years by focusing on creating better CX. One of its most significant initiatives arose from the realisation that consumers were increasingly purchasing online. By tailoring its messaging and content based on data insights and user participation, Adidas was able to create a straightforward and tailored-to-fit consumer experience. In addition, the corporation began to pay attention to consumer input. They expressed a desire for more sustainable goods and in just one year, the firm produced almost one million pairs of shoes from ocean debris.

Casper

Casper, a mattress manufacturer, has a completely unique approach to optimising the customer service experience. The company that delivers mattresses to your door built a free chatbot, particularly for insomniacs. Consumers can text “Insomnobot3000” from their phones and have a real dialogue with the chatbot about anything that is on their minds. The Insomnobot3000, on the other hand, isn't simply for insomniacs looking for something to help them sleep. Casper can collect mobile phone numbers and deliver promotional offers and discounts using the chatbot. Casper made $100 million in sales in the first year of the Insomnobot3000's launch, thanks to the chatbot.

Tommee Tippee Cups

Tommee Tippee Cups, a small but capable company, is one of the best examples of a fantastic CX. The company came across a father looking for a replacement for a limited edition Tommee Tippee sippy cup for his son, Ben, who has severe autism, on social media. Because Ben would only drink from his sippy cup, his father created the hashtag #cupsforBen. The outcome was a viral tweet with hundreds of likes, retweets, and shoutouts, which drew the attention of the firm. The firm eventually announced that a limited run of the discontinued cup would be made, specifically for Ben.

Differences Between Customer Experience and Customer Service

Is customer service an important aspect of the whole consumer experience? Is CX what happens when someone receives customer service or is it something else entirely? Is it possible that they are the same thing?

The terms "customer service" and "customer experience" are frequently misunderstood or misused. They aren't identical, but they are connected. Customer service differs from CX in that customer service is one piece of the puzzle — it focuses on human interaction and directly supports consumers — whereas customer experience is the total of the complete customer journey with your company.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CUSTOMER SERVICE
The complete consumer journey, from beginning to end. As a result, various departments, such as quality control, sales, and marketing, are involved in providing a positive CX.A company's support function responding directly to a consumer's request in order to improve the consumer's connection with the company.
The company listens to its consumers and anticipates their wants and requirements in order to optimize the consumer journey without being promptedThe consumer usually takes the initiative, either by contacting assistance or by reporting an issue that needs to be resolved.
Is about the consumer's relationship with the brand and can't be tied to a single event. Everyone who comes into contact with the brand is a part of it.Usually occurs after purchase and is triggered by a specific event. Customer service is not required for every consumer, but it is critical for those that do.
Customer Experience vs. Customer Service

To summarize customer experience, it is a term that relates to the complete consumer's experience which includes everything from the first discovery and awareness of a company to initial purchase and post-purchase service, with the goal of repeat purchases. As a result, it involves various touchpoints and necessitates the involvement of multiple departments in order to provide a positive consumer experience. Each consumer journey will be unique, but they will all have multiple interactions with a company.

Companies continually seek to improve CX and ensure consumers don't run into problems by sketching out customer journeys, examining funnel drop-off spots and website analytics, and soliciting consumer feedback. This could include directing consumers to start a consumer support engagement if necessary. It's all about anticipating their demands. CX is all about a company's relationship with its consumers. It is impossible to quantify or attribute to a particular event or interaction. Consumer experience is thus a continuous relationship: if a consumer returns to your company, their CX continues.

To summarize consumer service, is a step in their journey, and it is a part of CX. Consumer service's role is to assist consumers by resolving their problems, thereby improving their entire experience. This often involves only one or two touchpoints and involves the activity of consumer-facing divisions. Some consumers will not require customer service, while others may require multiple interactions during their journey.  The consumer is almost always the one who initiates the process.

When they face an issue, they will contact a company's customer service department using their preferred methods, such as phone, email, social media, or live chat. Customer service relates to a specific incident, such as a consumer seeking assistance or filing a complaint. A number of indicators, such as first-time resolution rate and average reaction time, can be used to assess the engagement as a whole. In this sense, customer service is a discrete, quantified occurrence.

Final Thoughts

Companies may have information about their consumers' purchasing habits, incomes, and other factors used to categorise them, but they have limited information on their consumers' thoughts, emotions, and states of mind as a result of their interactions with products, services, and brands. Consumer satisfaction will be more of a slogan than a realistic aim unless organisations are aware of these subjective experiences and the role that each function plays in moulding them.

Companies need to understand that consumers will stay with you for a long time if they are satisfied with your services and have solid personal relationships with you. Customer experience is about not only ensuring that consumers receive the greatest services but also instilling in them a sense of loyalty.

References

Differences of Customer Experience and Customer Service

Steps to Deliver Excellent Customer Experience

Importance of Exceptional Customer Experience

Examples of Good Customer Experience

Related Posts

Subscribe for more right in your inbox!

Thousands of subscribers cannot be wrong! Get Startup insights right in your inbox. 
We will only use your email to send you insights once a month - no spam!
Subscribe To Our Startup Insights

Written by Pinky

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 9

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join Malaysia’s Top Startup Investors & Corporate Innovation Event
Register for DisruptInvest Summit Now!
Subscribe To Our Startup Insights
© COPYRIGHT NEXEA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRIVACY POLICY. TERMS OF USE.
OUR STARTUP NETWORK
CORPORATE ACCELERATORENTREPRENEURS SUMMIT
ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAMME