Businesses have come to realise that a strong and impactful customer experience can hold a lot of weight in the minds of customers. It can be the difference that carries a brand in hard times, as proven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses that have created and maintained an excellent CX journey have managed to keep afloat during these hard times, and some are even thriving. However, more often than not, businesses make costly mistakes that negatively affect the experience they designed.
“CX matters. In fact, it’s basically going to surpass price and product as the main brand differentiator. A good CX builds brand affinity. A great CX enables a long-term, deep relationship between brand and consumer. An incredible CX establishes brand loyalty and evangelism,” said Garin Hobbs, director of deal strategy at Iterable.
Here are a few mistakes that brands should avoid when creating a holistic CX practice, according to Hobbs.
Failing to Recognise that EX Translates to CX
There is a relatively new buzzword floating around the CX sphere. Said buzzword is the employee experience (EX). Employees that are happy and engaged tend to translate to happy and loyal customers, and there is a direct correlation between employee experience and customer experience. Research by consultancies such as Gallup have revealed that engaged employees are more productive and mentally present in their tasks, and are more focused and aware of the needs of customers.
Only Making Use of Specific Channels
The customer journey involves many different channels of interaction. When creating a CX strategy, businesses need to think in terms of a 360-degree experience that covers the entire CX, from start, to finish, to post transaction care. CX strategies need to be omnichannel and the customer journey has to remain consistent throughout.
Goutham Gandhi, founder of Futuristic Labs, refers to this consistency, and said, “While designing a holistic experience, it is crucial to deliver value to the customer at every step. Don’t just promote the product mindlessly in the awareness stage — refer your customer to articles that help them understand the need for the product. Make it easy for them to understand the product. Provide demos, in-person trials, simple descriptions indicating how to use the product, etc. Continue these value additions throughout the value chain.”
Thinking That All Customers Are “Just Like Us”
Every customer is different. Even within the same demographic or target market; each individual will have slightly different experiences and expectations. It is vital to remember the way that customers see the product or solution, as well as the methodologies that they use to interact with your business. Always keep in mind that the customers may not see things the same way the business sees it.
Additionally, leaders need to recognise that diversity often comes up even among the same or similar customers. Hobbs referred to these differences when he said that “All customers are not created equal, meaning that CX measurement efforts should focus on the most valuable customers.”
There are still plenty more mistakes and challenges out there when it comes to developing an excellent customer experience. Companies must identify and navigate around these issues to ensure that the entire customer journey is a positive one that leaves the customer satisfied and makes them want to continue to interact with the business.
