How do you deliver customer experience?

How do you deliver customer experience?

Despite its name, traditional customer service is company-focused rather than customer-focused. Over the course of history, customer service has often been viewed as a necessary cost of doing business with little regard for how long a customer had to wait on the phone for assistance (while listening to an endless loop of recorded messages or mind-numbingly bad elevator music) than how much each interaction cost the firm.

Progressive companies embrace customer experience over customer service. They want each customer’s interaction with their organization to be a positive one that keeps them coming back for more and sharing their delight with friends and family.

Here are five ways your company can transition from customer service and deliver customer experience:

1. Understand the current experience

To change your focus and deliver customer experience, start by examining every touchpoint your customers have with your company. What is it really like for them to interact with your company today? Make it easy for customers to provide honest feedback.

2. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes

When designing the updated experience, understand what your customer needs. What are they trying to accomplish? What’s currently more difficult than it should be? Let obvious pain points, empathy, and a deep understanding of the current experience guide the identification and prioritization of improvements that let you deliver customer experience.

3. Be consistent

Ensure that every interaction your customers have with your company fully aligns with your brand promise and is as painless as possible for them. Companies who design the buyer’s journey with reliable high-quality consistency deliver customer experience.

4. Leverage technology

Customers increasingly expect to receive outstanding support across multiple channels, like phone, chat, SMS, social media, and other channels of communication. So one important way to deliver customer experience is by offering omnichannel customer service. This allows customers to get assistance from your business across multiple channels, receive a consistent experience in each channel, and be able to move seamlessly across channels during their customer journey.

5. Never stop improving

To continue to deliver customer experience, your company must regularly review, refine, and improve it going forward. One way to do this is by establishing a customer experience management (CEM) program. Savvy businesses recognize the value of delivering an exceptional customer experience, which can lead to higher revenue and loyalty, and lower churn.