What You Need to Know About Customer Experience
Fun fact: Customer experience is one of the primary reasons DAMN GOOD is consulting-focused. You see, branding and marketing agencies generally focus on everything leading up to a sale or conversion, but in truth, this is only the beginning of a customer’s relationship with a brand. Everything that goes into it, from the marketing that initiated it to the buying experience and all that comes after is part of a brand’s customer experience (CX).
And it happens to be the single most important aspect of a brand. Like, period.
Sailing the Sea of Sameness
Today’s industries are increasingly competitive, which offers consumers more choices than ever, as well as unprecedented ease in finding enterprises wanting to compete for their business.
However, what almost inevitably results from thickening competition is monotony. Brands tend to compete in an imitative manner, with brand managers trying to replicate whatever competitors do that seems to work. As you can expect, when everyone follows everyone else, it usually results in a morass of uniformity. All brands end up looking and sounding essentially the same.
This is anathema for consumers.
Consumers don’t necessarily know much about an industry or category. They only know what they want or need from a product or service. When there is little distinction between their choices, consumers have to base their choices on little distinctions.
Time for a Hypothetical
When all brands appear the same, customer experience is the supreme differentiator. In fact, in industries that have little apparent differentiation, it’s even better for consumers because they have to focus upon their experience as customers, and are able to form their opinions of a brand based upon CX, rather than imaging or messaging.
Consider a scenario in which you have to find the best product out of a group of 10. Say they all work the same way, with the same features and durability/longevity. Chances are, you won’t be able to determine which product was technically “the best,” but you can certainly determine which seller you prefer to buy from based on your experience, or the experiences of others in dealing with each product brand.
This is, in a nutshell, the point of focusing on CX. In most circumstances, consumers don’t really have the time to spend carefully evaluating different brands before making a decision to purchase. Generally, branding and marketing will help push them in the direction of a particular brand, BUT it is not enough by itself.
Winning the CX Game
Having the most attractive and appealing brand on the market can help, but it is no guarantee to consumers that the product or service will meet their expectations. On the other hand, a brand that offers customers an amazing buying, ownership, and service experience may very well find success even with poor branding.
What is most telling is the fact that consumers will almost always choose a better CX over a better product or service. CX is a brand value that tends to trump all other brand values, much in the same way that price does.
When consumers can’t try out options until they find their ideal CX, they may rely upon referrals or reviews to point them in the right direction. So while an ascendant brand may succeed in the short term with poor or weak CX, that success will almost certainly fade amongst an onslaught of competition.
There is always a brand out there willing to try harder. You should make certain that your brand does.
CX is Everything
Customer service is important for any brand, but it is still just an aspect of a brand’s customer experience. When DAMN GOOD advises clients, we examine the entire buying cycle, from marketing to maintenance, in order to determine ways in which a brand can enhance its customer experience.
Since meeting or exceeding consumer expectations is fundamental to improving consumer experience, we endeavor to align marketing and advertising messages with the actual brand experience. Perhaps the product or service quality itself can be upgraded, or perhaps the client simply needs to position their brand to highlight those aspects that deliver a better consumer experience than competitors.
In other words, since every aspect of a brand contributes to CX, it is important to experience your brand the way consumers do, and honestly reckon how it compares with competitors.
Mirror Failure
Unfortunately, this can be extremely difficult for brands to do. Even when an enterprise has a very solid idea of who its target market is and what their expectations are, it can be as challenging to evaluate your own brand’s CX as it is to make fun of yourself.
Additionally, it can be tough for brands to see ways in which they can improve their CX. This is the “forest through the trees” problem, in which clients are simply too close to their offerings to see where better solutions can be found.
DAMN GOOD gives clients an invaluable 3rd-party perspective that can address every facet of their customer experience picture. We explore the marketing and advertising that lures them to the brand, the shopping or purchasing experience that connects them, and the follow-up and customer maintenance that makes them want to remain customers and recommend friends and colleagues to join them.
It always helps when clients can see themselves as customers.
What is YOUR CX?
Regardless of the state of your brand or marketing, it’s essential for every brand to give careful consideration to the kind of experience they provide for their customers. The future of your brand may depend upon it.
