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Setting your business apart from the competition in today’s multichannel world entails more than just having the correct items or services. Successful businesses understand that providing engaging and pleasant customer experiences is critical to gaining new customers and retaining existing ones.
While nearly everybody believes that creating an outstanding customer experience is critical, many businesses frequently focus on individual components such as customer service or customer satisfaction measurements rather than the overall experience. These terms are frequently used interchangeably, but they are completely separate components of how businesses connect with their customers, and understanding and defining each is critical to success.
Customer service vs. customer care
While both customer care and customer service involve individual interactions, customer care emphasises one-on-one interaction. Customer service extends beyond the problem or issue to include actually listening to the customer and, in many cases, recognising the emotional need underlying the problem’s resolution. Customer service interactions, on the other hand, are one-time support interactions a customer has with your firm regarding a product or service.
Because of their importance in the customer journey, customer care and customer service are frequently confused with customer experience. It’s also important for your bottom line. According to Accenture’s recent study, bad customer service costs US companies more than $1.6 trillion in customer switching to a competitor.
That also implies that the inverse is true, and if consumers are treated with exceptional care, it may be a cause to remain loyal. However, it will not happen overnight.
Exceeding client expectations
A Senior Director of Learning and Development at one of our home ware retailers, highlighted how they empower their associates to create unique customer experiences through its Axonify learning platform. “Customer service is simple,” he said. “When a consumer walks in, you greet them with ‘Hi!’ and ‘Can I assist you to achieve what you want.’ But by pushing it to the next level, to that level of caring and genuine assistance—that is where empowerment comes in.” By demonstrating real concern and care for a customer and their dilemmas, not only assists them in finding the right solution but also produces a memorable experience.
Delivering exceptional customer service and care, whether online or in-store, comes down to who is doing it—your frontline personnel. Frontline personnel determine a client’s impressions and happiness, from answering product questions to ringing up a sale or helping to transport a hefty purchase to a customer’s vehicle, it all adds to create the right customer experience.
The customer experience journey
When you hear the term “customer experience,” you may recall a time when you had excellent service. However, customer experience is more than just a single transaction; it is the complete lifetime experience a client has with your organisation.
Customer experience is best thought of as a journey. It starts with a customer’s first exposure to your brand, whether through advertising, your website, or your actual store. Once a buyer is aware of your brand, every interaction influences how they see you and, ultimately, influences their purchase decision. The consumer experience differs between online and in-store buying, but the end aim is the same—deliver customer delight and encourage repeat visits. Branding, email and social media communication, as well as reviews and suggestions, are all frequent parts of in-store and online consumer experiences.
After checkout, the design experience continues. In an online age, having easy-to-access support and return information, as well as following up with customer satisfaction surveys or next-purchase discounts, are critical parts of a well-designed post-purchase customer experience. Because your frontline workers can communicate one-on-one with a consumer, in-store customer experiences have a more obvious, impact. Providing your employees with the knowledge they need to assist consumers is vital, but they must also be empowered with the skills, education, and freedom to do what is right for the customer in order to provide a memorable experience.
Impacting the bottom line
How critical is a client’s satisfaction to your bottom line? In a word, extremely. According to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer study, 88% of customers polled believe that a company’s customer experience is just as important as its products and services.
The effect of providing excellent customer service can be seen in your revenue. According to a 2021 McKinsey study, a one-point improvement in a 1-to-10 score such as NPS customer satisfaction can result in a 3% boost in sales, while a Gallup poll found that organisations with an engaged staff outperform competitors by up to 147%.
It also has mutual benefits because providing an excellent customer experience can enhance employee engagement, by up to 20% in companies that actively try to improve their client experience.
Improving the staff experience benefits the customer experience as well, which can lead to increased sales as one-time customers become lifelong brand ambassadors. The key to keeping a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded sector is to provide your staff with the necessary tools and resources so they know how to give the greatest possible customer experience and customer service.
For more information on how we can help you and your teams improve Customer Experience, please visit our Problems we Solve page here, or contact us on any of the following details:
