The Value of a Customer Experience Strategy

Customer Experience (CX) can be summed up as all interactions a person has with a business. This includes advertising, the sales process, product delivery, customer services, and much more.

The definition of Customer Experience has morphed and broadened its meaning from when it was first designed. At first, CX was relegated as an afterthought as post-purchase customer satisfaction. Now, the term Customer Experience can be related to any touchpoint with a brand, even before a prospect becomes a customer.

The term Customer Experience was made famous in the 1920s by psychologists such as George Gallup, known as the developer of public polling. In 1935, the Gallup Poll was first used to track people’s sentiment about specific issues. I’m sure cavepeople had some type of CX strategy when selling and trading fish, rocks, or materials for a fire. Customer Experience needs to be measured unless you can surmise how a customer feels about your organization; it needs to be quantified and measured over time. Knowledge is power in life and in business.

According to Salesforce, 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations.

CX is the lifeblood of any business; customers need to think positively about the experience you are offering to keep them coming back. Most can handle a one-time negative experience with a business to get the product they want, but that is not how you grow a business. Poor customer experience is easy to spot, but what about exemplarity uses of Customer Experience?

CX Crème de la crèm

You can’t mention Customer Experience without mentioning Chik-fil-A.

What makes the international chicken chain stand out is the employee interaction which makes the experience second-to-none. All Chil-fil-A employees are trained to say “my pleasure” instead of the traditional “thank you,” prioritizing eye contact and smiling, placing flowers on the tables, and awarding free food.

Chik-fil-A’s intentional training program pays dividends in customer satisfaction. The chain has won the American Customer Satisfaction Index top restaurant for the last four years.

In 2016, Chik-fil-A rolled out the Cell Phone Coop, where it enticed customers to place their cell phones off for the duration of the meal to win a free ice cream cone. Here, Chik-fil-A shows a deep understanding of customer experience by giving them a place to build genuine relationships and memories, which, in turn, will make them want to come back.

They are doing something right as Chik-fil-A does $4,000,000 annually per store, which is higher than Subway, Starbucks, and McDonald’s combined!

Chik-fil-A COO, Dan Cathy, says, “Little things can make a big difference. Think about the toilet paper in a fancy hotel, and how it’s always folded up for you there on the roll. It’s always such a pleasant surprise when you see that. Build your own repertoire of little surprises.” 

Going Above and Beyond

Ritz-Carlton is a high-end hotel chain is known for its exemplary CX. Their platform is based on their self-named Gold Standard, which wins them customer satisfaction awards year after year. The late Steve Jobs was so won over by the experience he had at a Ritz-Carlton, he sent all of this store managers to Ritz’s hospitality training, which focuses on anticipating guests’ needs.

It can be said, aspire to be the Ritz-Carlton of your industry.  ?

Just this month, Zappos launched a program named Customer Service for Anything as a way to help during the global Coronavirus Pandemic. This not only built affinity and truth to the Zappos brand but also was a part of their Customer Experience that was not directly involved with their product or buying process in any way. Rachel Murch, Sr. Manager for Strategic Insights, said people called about finding groceries, just because they were lonely, and even helped a doctor find 300 Pulse Oximeters. Good job, Zappos!

CX in 2020 and beyond

Keeping customers satisfied is more difficult than ever.

In the past, CX was when a person read a catalog or entered into a department store. Now, it is an always-on proposition that requires data-driven experiences on-demand.

A new term, User Experience (UX), is part of CX but only relates to digital experiences.  Optimal digital UX requires emerging technologies to meet consumers’ expectations in an increasingly digital world. To achieve this, firms use real-time data, machine learning, and AI to create optimal experiences and offers to increase purchase propensity and satisfaction.

“Customer interactions have moved beyond keyboards and mice. “We have entered a world where natural language interfaces, image recognition, gestures, and virtual immersion—including augmented and virtual reality—are redefining the rules of engagement.” - Scott Likens, partner at IT consulting firm PwC Likens. 

The right action at the right time driven by hyperconnected, seemly networks that deliver personalization and contextualization in a timely manner. 

Take Dominos, for example; they have the technology and ability to create a seamless CX by knowing what type of pizza you ordered last and offer to reorder with a voice command or a single tap of a button. Dominoes has gone so far as to create a Pie Pass system that allows customers to skip in-store lines, including a welcome board that speeds up the customer delivery process upon entering a store.

Delta, United, and American Airlines have the ability to offer real-time updates on baggage, boarding, and flights through integrated sensors and systems. Notifications of these items directly to mobile devices or wearable devices to alter travelers the precise time to move to baggage claim. This is all achieved without a user having to lift a finger to put a bag down and enter data.

The correct message is pushed at the correct time, creating a value-add to the consumer resulting in a great offline/online customer experience.  This part of CX needs to be tested frequently as to not move into the creepy zone, as I’ve once heard it said, “Cool, but not creepy,” is the optimal experience.

How to Achieve Your Optimate Customer Experience strategy

The main principle steps include:

• Understanding your customer
• Implement a CX strategy that includes online & offline touchpoints that build trust and affinity toward your brand.
• Measurement & tracking

Erynn Szewczyk, Lead User Experience Designer at Cigna, puts it this way: “CX is about putting the customer at the center of your entire business model. It’s about anticipating what that customer’s true needs are, not just what they want.”

We, as humans, long for experiences: positive, repeatable, enjoyable experiences. CX needs to be top of mind and prioritized in every industry.