From Touchpoints to Trust: Mastering the Customer Experience

A great product can win attention, but a great experience can win loyalty. When analyzing the customer experience, it’s natural to assume that it begins and ends with service representatives, however, that isn’t always the case. The whole experience is shaped in all aspects of the business, not just the product. From the packaging, to the website, to the customer service. Companies that don’t focus on all its moving parts face the risk of losing out on customer loyalty, regardless of how stellar their product actually is.

Image Credit: Luis Gonzalez-Zuniga

Understanding the Customer Experience

• Moving Parts: The customer experience isn’t a responsibility exclusive to the customer service department. The marketing, the product, the operations, sometimes even the finance influences the experience. A cohesive brand strategy can assist in crafting a better customer experience and retaining loyalty.

• Expectations & Realities: Customer satisfaction is influenced by whether or not their expectations are met or exceeded. Overpromising brands that fail to deliver can negatively taint their reputation. Making sure to deliver on promises, and sometimes over deliver, can better assist in make the customer happy.

• Dissect Everything: Surveys can tell you if a customer is satisfied, but they hardly reveal why. Breaking down your business model, making sure to track current relationships alongside past and future ones can give your more insight into how to please your audience.

Experienced in the Customer Experience

Take Apple as a prime example of how the customer experience is curated correctly. Apple has long understood that the customer experience is a result of all of its moving parts. From the packaging of the iPhone, to the color of the phones, the simple yet innovative design of IOS, the customer service at the Apple Store, the educational campaigns and promotions, Apple makes sure that every possible interaction they have with their customers leaves a lasting impact. This attention to detail explains why Apple has such a loyal following.

Takeaways

The customer experience can be a true competitive advantage. Understanding how to satisfy your customers and build on their loyalty can differentiate a good brand from a great one.