According to ZenDesk<\/a>, brands that prioritized CX pre-pandemic are already at an advantage. Companies with mature CX strategies are more than six times as likely to exceed customer retention targets than those that haven\u2019t made CX a priority.<\/p>\n Slow movers risk falling even further behind as customer expectations continue to rise<\/a> and brands invest more into the technology and training that enables them to compete on experience.<\/p>\n The real advantage of CX is keeping customers happy so that they keep being customers.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably come across these oft-cited stats:<\/p>\n If an organization cares about its reputation and wants satisfied and loyal customers, they\u2019ll invest in CX.<\/p>\n Good CX not only helps organizations retain customers, but it enables them to leverage their reputation to attract new ones.<\/p>\n But\u2014customers are more impatient than ever. While customers are happy to stick with solutions that work for them, they won\u2019t think twice about jumping ship when they run into trouble. In other words, you need to continuously earn their business. Once they\u2019re gone, it proves difficult to regain their trust and have them return to your product or service. Winning back customers is an expensive effort. If companies don\u2019t stay ahead of the curve, products and businesses will fail.<\/p>\n As a strategy, CX allows organizations to orchestrate the “emotional journey” to guide consumers to the desired outcome.<\/p>\n Focusing on CX means an organization is intentionally designing and defining the emotional journey around their product or service. Having control of the emotional journey allows organizations to make better-informed business decisions.<\/p>\n But you can\u2019t secure a strategic advantage through customer service alone. Instead, your CX game plan needs to start much earlier than you might think. The customer experience begins the moment that a prospect first encounters your brand, whether they visit your website, discover you in their Instagram feed, or receive a cold email from a sales rep. The relationship lasts throughout the entire customer lifecycle\u2014from acquisition to purchase, support, loyalty, and retention.<\/p>\n Put the customer at the center of the entire business strategy\u2014including the messaging the sales team uses, what features developers build into an app, the services your company offers, your marketing strategy, and beyond. Each strategy must come together to create a cohesive experience across every interaction and touchpoint.<\/p>\n The challenge is, customers now interact with brands on multiple channels\u2014engaging with virtual assistants, shopping on social media, visiting a physical store, and more.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In a previous blog post, we mentioned that an omnichannel strategy<\/a> is critical to a company\u2019s growth. It allows brands to cater to different preferences. For example, some people might prefer to get support from a human rep, while others prefer using Facebook Messenger.<\/p>\n Omnichannel customers also spend more than single-channel customers. Ensure this group receives a consistently positive experience\u2014on all channels\u2014so that they keep coming back.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to get caught up in products and profits, but many organizations lose sight of this basic fact: customers generate revenue.<\/p>\n CX impacts all business outcomes. Customers are the main part of a business. No matter how good a product is, it doesn’t matter if there are no customers to consume it.<\/p>\n The challenge is, it can be hard to quantify the returns on your CX investments. KPMG<\/a> points out that economic value is maximized when customer expectations align with experiences. The 2016 report argues that the negative impact of underdelivering can be up to twice as great as exceeding expectations. However, they also point out that investing too heavily in over-delivery can result in unnecessary spending.<\/p>\n The key is figuring out exactly what customers want and investing in the solutions with the greatest impact.<\/p>\n One of the reasons that CX is so important is that understanding what drives value for your customers allows you to create a cohesive business strategy that maximizes profits and boosts retention rates.<\/p>\n In other words, putting the customer first allows organizations to invest in value-added products and services that customers love.<\/p>\n [adinserter name=”CX Book Promo block”]<\/p>\n The benefits of putting customers at the center of every decision and strategy are well-known. But securing a competitive edge isn\u2019t as straightforward as you might think.<\/p>\n Three things must be in place in order to build an effective CX strategy:<\/p>\n Like most modern business strategies, good CX is built on a foundation of good data. Brands now have access to unprecedented amounts of customer data\u2014behavioral insights, communication records, usage data, etc.<\/p>\n Companies wishing to be successful must learn how to use that information to deliver personalized experiences, great service, and product offerings that solve problems or pain points. To achieve this, organizations must truly understand their customer.<\/p>\n Understanding your customers requires you to look at them from multiple angles. For instance, you might review customer feedback against usage analytics to determine whether what your customers say aligns with their actions. Alternatively, analyze app usage patterns to understand how customers use a product. You might also look for themes in feedback across multiple channels to understand how customers feel about your brand.<\/p>\n In the end, it boils down to interpreting data. Disconnected, dirty data is the source of many problems in your CX strategy. If you\u2019re working with incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated information, you risk making decisions that don\u2019t align with your customers. Without the right data, it becomes impossible to create the products\/services\/solutions your customers expect, want, or need. As a result, your business loses money\u2014or worse, fails.<\/p>\n While much of the customer experience is informed by front-line interactions, success is an organization-wide effort. According to Forrester<\/a>, customer experience as a competitive advantage can only be realized through collaboration between specialties.<\/p>\n Developing an understanding of your audience starts with collecting and analyzing data, but you\u2019ll have a hard time putting those insights to work if you don\u2019t have a unified CX strategy in place.<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re just looking at using customer service as a competitive tool, a lot needs to happen behind the scenes to ensure that your sales and service teams get the desired outcome.<\/p>\n CX involves any and all interactions a customer has with a brand and products, employees, services associated with that brand. As such, CX must include the executive team and should feed the strategic initiatives at the company level. And, CX KPIs are valuable for the teams designing the portfolio of services\/products roadmap.<\/p>\n It’s hard to point to one part of the organization that shouldn\u2019t be involved. Certainly, all touchpoints need to help drive journeys forward, but technology needs to not only build but bring innovation into play, finance needs to understand the investment required, HR needs to build the right culture and training, and leadership needs to drive and support the whole process.<\/p>\n According to PWC<\/a>, technology isn\u2019t a final solution\u2014it\u2019s an enabler.<\/p>\n The firm emphasizes that technology must support a specific outcome\u2014whether that\u2019s achieving specific goals for customers, helping employees deliver more human experiences, or enabling teams to create innovative solutions.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to gain a strategic advantage through customer service, you might focus on implementing technologies that empower front-line employees to deliver exceptional experiences.<\/p>\n For example, automation can free up time, eliminating time-consuming tasks so that service representatives can provide personalized support. Predictive analytics can be used to respond to customer expectations as they evolve.<\/p>\n This shift requires new ways of working, a focus on employee experience, and a sophisticated view of human-and-machine relationships.<\/p>\n CX is much more than excellent service and competitive prices. It\u2019s the foundation for building and sustaining a successful brand. But leveraging CX as a competitive advantage depends on great data, a customer-centric culture, and technology that empowers the entire team to deliver a quality experience.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re looking to build an omnichannel retail experience or get a better handle on your data, we\u2019re here to help. 3Pillar Global develops software that increases customer acquisition, retention, and long-term growth. To learn more about our services, contact an expert today<\/a>.<\/p>\n Special thanks to these members of FORCE, 3Pillar’s expert network, for their contributions to this article.<\/strong><\/p>\nGreat Experience = Increased Loyalty<\/h3>\n
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CX Enables Organizations to Control the Entire Customer Journey<\/h3>\n
CX is Directly Linked to Positive Business Outcomes<\/h3>\n
Customer Experience as a Competitive Advantage Starts with Strong Foundation<\/h2>\n
CX is Powered by Data<\/h3>\n
CX Involves the Whole Team<\/h3>\n
CX is Enabled by Technology<\/h3>\n
Final thoughts<\/h2>\n
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Angel Almada<\/a><\/p>\n