Discover the advantages of customer experience, why does it matter now, how other companies are doing out there in implementing it along with a success story!
To those who are less familiar with the term “Customer Experience”, it can be summarised as the main discipline which enables you to run your organisation by taking your customer view point and expectations as the main drivers to organise and deliver your services.
Why is it a powerful approach?
By going into your customers’ shoes, you are able to understand and identify in real situations: what pleases your customers, which obstacles they bump into when they interact with your company or brand and therefore understand better what could be improved to keep their custom while still attracting new customers.
Why considering this approach now?
The technology landscape has drastically changed over the last five years and as a consequence, people’s behaviour and expectations in terms of services have evolved at the same time. Without expressing any political preferences and if we make a parallel with the famous quote from JFK: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country”, I would say the following in our context:
“Ask not what your services and technology could do for your customers, ask how your customers could influence the services and technology that you offer.”
We have now shifted away from the Digital Age where customers could have instant access to information on a global scale from various sources and supports such as: laptops, tablets and smartphones. We have now entered the Customer Age where empowered customers expect to truly engage and be served by the brands they shop
with and like, on multiple channels and supports without discontinuity. To name just a few interaction channels and tools which are now helping to provide this experience and bridge the gap between the online and physical world, we have: click-to-chat, virtual agents, digital interactive billboards, QR codes etc.
As a consequence, businesses can no longer afford to operate in silos with a fragmented view on the customer's interactions. That is because this very same customer will at least expect you to know when and what his last purchase with you was and he will want to know in real time the status of his request or complaint from the channel of his choice.
These are just examples of the new price tag of his loyalty. And a well-coordinated customer experience strategy company-wide can provide you with the right ammunition to match and exceed your customers’ expectations while sustaining the growth of your organisation.
How other companies are doing out there?
Many companies worldwide have already taken the leap and started enjoying the benefits of it. An interesting survey published by Forrester Research in 2013* was showing over a 6 year period (2007 to 2012) how customer experience leading companies saw their share value increasing by 43% in average versus S&P 500 index companies who witnessed a 14,5% average increase. Those who have not invested in customer experience saw their share value plummeting by 33,9% in average during that same period of time.
But I would like to conclude by drawing your attention on a very good example of how customer experience was successfully orchestrated in a renowned hospital of Luxembourg. Yes, it is also important to note that customer experience applies to any industry as long as you have a provider and a customer.
I could witness first-hand how they would prepare a mother and father-to-be with the birth process including:
Providing information on both paper and digital format months before the event
Showing the premises with a physical and online virtual tour
Introducing the medical team
Offering classes
Sending reminders before key appointments
Indicating the best route to take to avoid traffic on the D-Day
Providing a close follow-up before and after the birth
All of these were provided in a seamless approach with predictable steps during the entire journey. Now, that is what we call Customer Experience!
*The Business Impact of Customer Experience – Forrester Research