How To Achieve a Great and Profitable Customer Experience

In Summary: Among survey respondents, 80 percent claim that Customer Experience (CE) is a top priority. At the same time, most acknowledge their existing CE is somewhat mediocre. Profitable CE strategies are holistic, sustainable and focused on creating competitive differentiation. CE is not a single function but a practical and emotional manifestation of how a company delivers on the promise it makes to its customers, through all encounters, on all channels. A strong customer experience is just as important for B2B companies as B2C. Employees expect the same level of CE from business partners that they expect as customers in their private lives. The reward for successful CE is the development of loyal lifetime advocates for your brand, which may lead to increased revenues, reduced costs, co-development and growth in new markets. CE initiatives pose many challenges because they are transformative undertakings that often require re-structuring of the organization, business processes and policies, and underlying systems. Passionate leadership is a must for CE, but it needs to be combined with specific financial goals and a business case. Two best practices for profitable CE are customer segmentation and focusing on areas to provide relevant, recognizable added value to targeted customer groups. CE should be pegged to business strategy and market position. Great CE is not necessarily expensive CE. Often, getting the customer experience right the first time (via fully functional processes) avoids costly customer service interactions down the road. Request Free!