3.01 – Stop Serving Customers Like This!
Before marketing technology enabled brands to personalise communications, promotions, and interactions, brand experiences were largely determined by product quality, service friendliness, and fair market value.
Modern Customer Experiences
Today, customer experiences are influenced by these traditional factors and several additional elements:
- Convenience and promptness in meeting needs or resolving issues
- Additional value beyond the products or services offered
- Customisation of pricing and terms
- Personalisation of communications, offers, and promotions
- Alignment with values and social issues
- Involvement in developing future products and experiences
- Emotional fulfilment in each interaction
Another term for experience is involvement, which is fundamental to building customer experiences. Customers want to define how they engage with brands, rather than being forced into one-sided relationships focused solely on sales.
Successful Customer Involvement
Successful customer experiences involve:
- Conversations about their needs, wants, and expectations
- Defining individual goals and overall outcomes
- Setting pricing and contract options
- Selecting products and services they need or don't need
- Personalising promotions and communications
- Developing future product features and ideas
- Creating communities of like-minded individuals
As illustrated, customer experience goes beyond mere transactions. Success for any business depends on delivering emotional fulfilment alongside high-quality products or services.
Developing Customer Experiences
When developing customer experiences, consider how to involve consumers in your brand and values. Focus on helping them make wise, informed decisions, whether or not those decisions lead to choosing your business.
Customer Journey and Touchpoints
Your customer experience parallels the customer journey. Outline the steps from a lead being introduced to your brand to becoming a loyal customer. Each touchpoint along this journey should align with relevant communications, calls to action, content, offers, and incentives. By analysing customer engagement with these touchpoints, you can identify hot, warm, and cold leads, allowing you to allocate resources effectively.
