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What is customer experience?
Customer experience is defined by interactions between a customer and an organisation
throughout their business relationship. An interaction can include awareness, discovery,
cultivation, advocacy, purchases and service. Customer experience is important because a
customer who has a positive experience with a business is more likely to become a repeat and
loyal customer.
In fact, a study by Oracle found that 74% of senior executives believe that customer
experience impacts the willingness of a customer to be a loyal advocate. And the customer
experience statistics don’t stop there. If you want your customers to stay loyal, you have to
invest in their experience. Simply put, happy customers remain loyal.
The happier you are with a brand, the longer you stay with them. And so if you treat your
customers poorly and ignore their customer service emails, then they are more likely to leave.
This is why companies that deliver a superior customer service and experience outperform
their competition.
How is customer experience different from customer service?
In most cases, a customer’s first point of contact with a company is usually through
interacting with an employee (either by visiting a store or by speaking on the phone). This
gives your business an opportunity to deliver excellent customer service.
However, customer service is only one aspect of the entire customer experience.
For example, if you book a vacation on the phone and the person you are speaking with is
friendly and helpful, that’s good customer service. Yet, if your tickets arrive early and the
hotel upgrades your room, then that’s a good customer experience. And like most things in
today’s market place, customer experience has changed, it’s more than person-to-person
service and thanks to technology, companies can connect with their customers in new and
exciting ways.
How important is customer experience?
A business cannot exist without its customers, and this is why companies are focusing on
how to win new customers and perhaps more importantly, retain existing customers.
Customer expectations are rising, and faster than the speed that companies can improve their
customer experience. Customers expect every interaction as the best experience they have
with any company.