We have been hearing this mantra for a while now — that social, mobile, big data and content are the future of marketing. However, what makes a great experience for a customer is the blend of all four.
An evolved customer experience is the future of marketing — the link between a positive employee and a satisfied customer. And you can achieve this outcome by empowering employees with enabling technology.
Personalisation is the key
Customers always associate companies with their experiences, good or bad. For example, if the dinner I order through Swiggy (a food ordering and delivery company) shows up ice-cold, as Swiggy’s customer service agent cannot get the restaurant to send out hot food immediately, I will not only blame the restaurant but Swiggy as well. But so far, I have only had great experiences with the company.
We live in a digital world where customers want things I-want-this-done-five-minutes-ago kind of fast. They want to track deliveries, get instant customer support from their smartphone or laptop, and other such quick fixes. And the good news is that new age businesses are able to deliver such services on demand.
But the question here is, does yours?
When it comes to cracking customer behaviour, it’s not just about instant gratification. Companies often miss an important piece of puzzle. Customers want an experience that exceeds the traditional approach. A decent one-time transaction does not cut it. They want a personalised experience, every step of the way. And they won’t stick with you unless you make a sincere effort to know them. Which means companies must collect insightful customer data and make it accessible to everyone in the company, so they can deliver a great customer experience every time.
Customer experience
The days of exasperating call transfers to multiple customer service agents are long gone. Today, consumers can interact real-time with companies and customer care through apps and live chats. This is one of the fastest ways to engage with them.
Technology is what enables a consistent and positive customer engagement, by keeping consumers in the forefront and improving retention.
Online flogging
In today’s connected world, a company usually bears the brunt of a dissatisfied customer’s ire in the modern court of public opinion — social media. Customers who have had a bad experience not only tell their closest friends about it, but also take to social media to openly flog a company for its faulty product or service.
If you don’t provide easily accessible interfaces to customers, such as live chats or a customer service portal, brands stand to lose out to companies that invest in such customer-centric features.
A winning experience is about optimising and improving a customer’s journey at every point of contact. It takes everyone, from the sales ninjas, analysts, and strategists to the content team and customer service agents, to champion a transformative customer experience.
Every other person in your organisation must be tasked with ensuring that every interaction with a customer is engaging and satisfying. That is how you will win over and retain customers.