Having worked in a product-based organization for more than half a decade, I heard a lot about CX and how it varies for every customer and brand.
Of course, I didn’t know then, what I know now of customer experience.
What do I know, you ask?
This blog answers precisely that, and just why brands are talking so much about CX these days.
What is Customer Experience (CX)?
To explain it simply, customer experience is your customer’s overall reaction to every and all interactions with your brand.
They signed up for your product trial, was it easy for them? Great. Their experience at this touchpoint has been good. They landed at your live chat, no one attended to them on time? Oh no, their experience is hampered.
And so on, and so forth.
Now, if you really get my example and explanation, you’d know that customer experience does not happen at a single point in time or interaction. It happens throughout their journey with your brand, no matter how long it takes.
CX is a continuous process.
This means that you have to keep working on improving your interactions and consequently customer experience, always and forever (unlike a modern relationship, lol).
But then, is customer experience different from customer service? Well, yes.
Customer experience vs customer service
When we talk about customer service, it usually refers to the act of providing your customers with solutions to their problems. Your customers reach out for support, to get their queries resolved or to even help them understand your product better.
Now, the medium and the approach to customer service could be unique to each brand; but the overall purpose of the activity sticks.
In short, customer service is one instance of the entire customer journey; and customer experience on the other hand, defines all the interactions of a customer with you.
Good customer service drives good CX.
You can understand customer service better in this blog.
Is Customer Experience Important?
Considering the fact that customer experience needs soooo much effort and time, not to mention resources, should brands actually focus on it?
Is it important?
It absolutely is. Here’s why.
1. Boosts customer retention and loyalty
Good CX is what makes customers stick to you.
They look forward to your interactions because of memorable experiences in the past (like we all do), and that makes them come back for more, and better.
With great customer experience comes an even greater responsibility to exceed it time and again.
Of course, retained customers have higher chances of turning into brand loyalists, and later advocates.
Tip: Check out the best customer retention strategies you can implement.
2. Improves revenue
Now, the longer your customers use your product, the more revenue you will earn from them.
You keep delivering good experiences across the board, and they will keep paying for it (until the end of time?).
Companies can increase their revenue by 5-10% by improving their customer experience strategy[1].
Not to mention, happy customers bring in more new customers. Win-win, ain’t it?
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3. Increases upselling & cross-selling opportunities
Happy customers give you the motivation to upsell from time to time when you expand your offerings.
Since they know how competent your products and team can be, it’s easier for them to trust you and sign up for more. In addition, you can open early-bird access for existing customers, which could help you gain useful feedback.
You also get an opportunity to cross-sell to their referrals because you look beyond “closing” a sale.
Tip: Pitching your new products to existing customers can prove effortless as compared to that with prospective customers.
If you are confused between cross-selling and upselling, like I WAS, this blog can help you out.
4. Enhances brand positioning
Let me make it simple to understand.
Good customer experience -> Happy customers -> Positive reviews and word of mouth -> Better positioning in the market
You strive to do better in every interaction your customers have. And they tend to remember that experience, for a good reason.
5. CX helps in marketing
A good part of designing customer experience consists of observing and analysing customer behavior, patterns, preferences and gathering personal information that builds a buyer persona.
This data enables you to devise better marketing strategies, run targeted campaigns, and generate more leads.
Moreover, you can leverage the reviews your customers have left to curate case studies and implement a user-generated content marketing campaign.
6. Improves your CLTV
CLTV, or ‘Customer Lifetime Value’ is defined as the value or the amount of money a customer earns for a business as long as they are consuming their services.
Say, if a customer pays you a monthly subscription of US $ 100, and sticks with you for two years (24 months), then their CLTV would be (100 x 24) = US $ 2400.
Now, the longer a customer stays with you, the higher their CLTV is. And how can you retain them?
C’mon, you know the answer.
Yes, with good customer experience.
Consumers are willing to pay as much as 20% more for exceptional CX[2].
7. Sets you apart from competitors
Remember, every customer is looking for value for their money, and customer experience is one thing which will deliver that value.
In fact, 43% of consumers would pay more for greater convenience and 42% for a friendly and welcoming service[3].
Your products and services might become identical to your competitors’, sooner or later. BUT your customer experience is what will set you apart from them.
It will define your brand, and enable you to make wise decisions about business growth.
8. Bad customer experiences cost reputation & money
We all know the impact good customer experience leaves. But we can’t miss what bad experiences can do too.
Dissatisfied customers will typically tell 9-15 people about their experience[4].
And that will not only impact on your brand reputation, but will also hinder new customer sign-ups; and thereby revenue.
You and I know quite well that humans remember negative experiences more than positive ones. And, one bad experience can result in badmouthing, and even customer churn often.
32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand after one bad experience[5].
Reality check, isn’t it?
FAQs
How important is CX for business?
The most. As it serves the foundation of your business and is related to customers.
Why is CX important for sales?
Sales is all about engaging with customers and the experience you provide them. The better the experience, the higher the sales number.
What is important for Customer experience?
Listening skill is important to build trust and enhance your customer’s experience.
Best customer experience blog?
Conclusion
Customer experience is like a tree. You plant a seed in the first interaction, then keep watering and fertilizing it in following interactions to reap it into a sapling and then a plant.
You need to give reasons to your customers to come back for more. Customer experience does exactly that.
Just how we are adapting to a healthy lifestyle, and not just a diet, brands have to embrace customer experience as a lifestyle, as a philosophy to conduct business, rather than a chore.
And once you implement a CX strategy, you have these CX metrics to measure how it fares.
What do you think CX does for a brand? Leave your opinion in the comments below.