Customer experience (CX) has seen a lot of significant changes in the last few years, but at what cost? With the help of technology businesses now have the ability to engage with customers like never before. While this is a welcome advancement with a wealth of opportunity, there is a risk that if mishandled, it could negatively impact a business’ human connection in customer experience.
It’s important we keep the goal of these technologies in mind when using them – first and foremost, to provide a better experience for the customer.
What do customers need from you?
Customers want to feel understood and valued by your brand. At the time of their deepest frustration they reach out to you for help through digital support – chatbots, raising tickets, emails to a no-reply address and so on.
While these digital customer experience technologies can be more efficient, the customer experience they provide can somewhat lacklustre if not used correctly.
Research has shown that customers tend to be more loyal to a brand where they can relate with another human. So while using bots is fast, it can also contribute to losing customer loyalty.
What this tells us is that; for a positive customer experience, digital technology and human touch must be effectively integrated.
What is the definition of great customer experience?
To deliver great customer experience, it is important you understand everything there is to understand about your customers. By making the entire interaction with your customers digital, even though you’re able to work faster, you make it difficult for the customers to form a real connection with your brand. You might also end up complicating the experience for them since the interaction can only go in the direction of what you’ve programmed digitally.
To deliver a great customer experience in the digital space, you need to; keep the interaction process simple, show that their needs are being understood, deliver what they need, and ensure that if needed they can escalate any issues to a real person.
How to measure customer experience
In most cases, companies use metrics like the Net Promoter Score to determine the quality of their customers’ experience. However, while some believe the NPS is a source of truth, it doesn’t provide the full picture.
Businesses should always take a holistic view of data, including their customer experience. In addition to metrics like the NPS, measure the number of issues you’ve resolved over a set period. By doing this, it will help show whether customers are getting solutions to their issues, or if they are leaving out of frustration.
By looking at the full picture, you’re better equipped to determine customer experience pain points. Once you can identify these issues, you can plan out how to solve the issue for all customers, improving overall customer experience!
Conclusion
Technology is crucial in the efficient performance of your business and can help streamline touchpoints with customers. However it’s critical to integrate these digital technologies with human touch to help improve your customer experience and help your business stand out. You’ll keep your customers happy and loyal to your business, increasing customer lifetime value.
If you would like to improve your customer experiencei nyour business, contact us today!