Improving customer experience can be a daunting task, given how complex customer experience can present itself to be. When a professional is asked how improvements may be made in this aspect, they will often flinch, because most models and explanations of customer experience are quite convoluted and confusing.
What does customer experience actually entail? When you break it down to its simplest, least convoluted elements? Basically, customer experience is the sum of all aspects of a customer’s interaction with a company and the company’s product. This differentiates from user experience (in the non digital context) because it also involves how they first become aware of the company and service or product, their research of the product/service and comparison with competitors, use of the product or service, and any interaction with customer service or support during or following these.
So, when you look at what the idea really is when you boil it down, the prospect of working out ways for improving customer experience still aren’t as easy as waving a magic wand, but it certainly becomes more feasible and approachable, doesn’t it? So, what are some ways to do this? Let’s take a quick look.
#1 – Proactivity for Researchers
This one’s kind of a given frankly, but the sheer amount of people who don’t take this point seriously truly astounds me. The first stage of a customer experience is all about awareness of a product or service, and then researching it. Most models show the interconnectivity of research through third party sites and possibly views of competitor websites etc. There’s nothing wrong with third party research sources, but it’s a great idea to be proactive and provide as much possible research material from your own site as possible.
This includes publishing lots of white papers, customer testimonials, documentation of features, and of course, a solid comparison with multiple competitors that outlines their virtues and flaws in comparison to your own. Do note that it’s tempting to use a smear campaign against competitors, but equal honesty here will work in your favor.
#2 – Multi-Channel Support and Self Service
We’re going to jump ahead to the customer service and support phase for a moment just to cover this important aspect right now. Customer service and support, as we’ve pointed out, has a lot of room for improvement, by how it works today. Offloading some of the support and service to social networks, help desks and other structures improves convenience for those with affinities to this over telephones, and reduces the bottleneck to service.
Self service goes a long way to contribute to this too, as well as giving your company an appearance of do-it-yourself convenience and modernity.
#3 – Intuitive Storefronts
This one’s overlooked a lot for customer experience, often relegated to product management alone, but it counts here, too. Having easy to navigate and understand storefronts, especially in the increasingly digital commerce world, will greatly improve customer experience, because it makes it much easier for them to have a quick and convenient shopping experience.
It’s very common for companies to lose business due to storefronts being difficult or inconvenient.
Improving customer experience is pretty straightforward, when you look at the various facets that it applies to, which may surprise you are pretty much every customer-based aspect of your business, as you can see.
