If the idea of a creating an astonishing “customer experience” is too daunting or sounds frivolous to you, then I have a question. When was the last time you heard someone rave about something “average”?

Brands should be focused on delivering a consistent, cross-channel customer experience at all levels of their organization. In this 24/7 connected digital world, any lackluster customer experience has the potential to do damage to a company’s reputation and their bottom line.

Read how marketers are finding that improving a customer experience from merely average to something that “wows” the consumer can lead to a 30 to 50 % increase in measures such as likelihood to renew or to buy another product.

In the U.S., poor customer services costs businesses $41 billion annually. [4] This statistic makes sense when you understand customer behavior.

• 89% of consumers stopped doing business with a company following a poor customer experience [5]
• 59% of 25-34 year-olds share poor customer experiences online [4] and
• 95% of consumers talk about poor customer service experiences with other people. [6]

Even if a poor experience doesn’t go viral, it’s still bad for business as consumers tend to trust word of mouth from a friend or family member above all else, especially above advertising.

The American Express 2014 Global Customer Service Barometer demonstrated that 42% of consumers would try doing business with a new company as a result of positive word of mouth from friends and family. [6]  And Millennials spend nearly 18 hours a day consuming media, which is mostly user-generated content created by peers. [7]

More here  about how important a great customer experience is to your bottom line. 

The Total Customer Experience

All aspects of customer interaction with your product and service should be considered when creating a thoughtful customer experience. This includes the training, design and management of your –

• Customer service call center
• Email campaigns
• Web Chat services
• Website design
• Face-to-Face (in store or in branch) experience
• Social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc)
• And Mobile channels -apps, text message

A well-designed customer experience will help build a deeper understanding of customer intent—what he/she wants, why she takes or doesn’t take certain actions and will –

• Decrease customer churn
• Increase customer satisfaction
• Drive additional sales
• Deepen engagement – on social media and face to face
• Address competitive threats

Smart brands that are staying on top of technology are also considering how to deliver a great customer experience in real time, that is a peak moments of customer interest, when they are on your website, in your store, visiting a branch and technology can help find them with location based targeting.

For gym and studio owners, take a look at Class Pass

For hoteliers, check out JetSetter

Salon & Spas can fill their books with LookBooker

Makers of natural beauty products will want a listing on the Good Guide

We help brands design amazing customer experiences. Send us an email at m.johnson@themarketcouncil.com to schedule a session to talk about your biggest marketing challenges.