 Customer experience management is becoming increasingly important as companies look to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. Here are the top 10 trends in customer experience management for 2023:
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 Many large organizations in response to inflation have been cutting back on customer experience hoping to offset rising costs. Although this might seem like a prudent measure, a short-term reduction of customer experience might ultimately affect long-term revenue.
Examples of cuts to customer experience include longer wait times when seeking customer service, more self-service options instead of human support, or the fact many hotel chains no longer offer daily cleaning. 3 Reasons Businesses Shouldn’t Cut Back on Customer Experience There are always possibilities when considering how to respond to inflation. 1. The Reputation of Your Brand Is Worth More Than Short-term Savings When businesses cut back on customer service, they do so at the expense of their reputation and long-term revenue. Data suggests that consumers who have a positive experience with a company spend 140% more than those who don’t. 2. In the Era of Social Media, Customer Service Is Just As Visible As Price One reason people believe cutting back on customer experience instead of raising prices during inflation is a good measure, is that it affects the customer in a less obvious way. Wrong. In the era of social media when customer satisfaction rules all, data shows that 86% of customers will reconsider buying from a company that has negative online reviews. 2. If You Do Raise Prices, Clearly Explain Why Research shows that the two things people think about after a price increase are the size of the increase and is it fair. During the pandemic, people are experiencing widespread shortages, the prospect of inflation, and rising input costs. On the whole, when people hear that a brand’s price is increasing, it simply confirms their expectations. However, it wouldn’t hurt to write an honest and to-the-point explanation for why prices are being raised.  When it comes to customer experience (CX), you may have noticed things aren’t the way they used to be. Just about everyone has experienced one of the following: Longer lines, longer wait times when calling customer support, canceled flights, shorter business hours, and fewer people at the store who can provide customer support.
Reasons for the current labor shortage include wanting to work from home, competitive wages, early retirements, relocations, switching careers, and other employee concerns driven by the pandemic. While nobody can do anything about inflation and supply-chain issues, here are several ways businesses can still deliver great CX: 3 Ways Businesses Can Still Deliver Great CX 1. Employees Don’t Just Want a Paycheck, They Want a Sense of Fulfillment Obviously, money is important. And while many businesses have been paying higher wages to retain employees, it’s not the reason they stay. Giving your staff a quality employment experience, giving them respect and a feeling their part of a team, can help your business stay fully staffed when employees at other companies feel they may be treated better somewhere else. 2. Personalize CX By Automating Although automation is no substitute for one-on-one human interaction, it can help keep customers happy when there are staff shortages. By sending customers follow-up messages, or personalized emails, your company can keep clients engaged while other staff is working on other projects and interacting with customers face-to-face. 3. Onboarding: Making New-Hire Paperwork Easier As soon as a company hires a suitable candidate, they want them to be able to contribute as soon as possible. Automating training and making paperwork easier to fill out can help businesses save time and money. Through automated onboarding, business managers can even keep track of their employee’s progress so they can know if new recruits are on track and are ready to provide customers with a high standard of service. Automation frees up more time so businesses can focus on directly communicating with customers.  When businesses take on initiatives to be more environmentally responsible they are saying to customers that they hear them and they are taking action. Large swaths of the business community have created corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that include addressing environmental issues.
Businesses are looking at ways to cut down on pollution caused by manufacturing processes and by methods of delivering products. All of which signals to your client base that sustainability is one of its core values. Customers and Employees Support Green Initiatives Businesses are establishing green initiatives because customers are demanding it. When it comes to environmental responsibility, there are companies at either end of the spectrum. Some, like Amazon, choose profit and convenience over sustainability. But they are allowing customers to split large orders into fewer shipments. Other companies are leading the way when it comes to sustainability. They’re doing things like launching product lines made from upcycled materials, campaigns in which they place themselves above their competitors. For example, Patagonia has cut its energy usage by using waterless dyeing to create its line of products. They’re bucking the trend of fast fashion and even offering customers the ability to reuse and repair clothes through a campaign they call the “Worn Wear” program. But it's not just big companies that are attempting to make an impact. Smaller businesses can show they're doing their part by doing something as simple as changing the packaging they use. They’re using biodegradable packing tape, poly mailers, and compostable food-safe paper. Brands That Support Their Customers’ Values Gain Their Trust Companies that offer their clientele different choices will earn their trust. As more consumers want to make sustainable choices, businesses are doing things like offering them the choice to have their products shipped in a more environmentally sustainable way. Customers can be given the choice to opt-in to eco-friendly deliveries, and they are given information about the environmental impact of each mode of delivery. They can then choose delivery modes that minimize speed and maximize consolidation. Customers can then be charged less for products and services because it’s costing the company less. As companies look for ways to provide better customer service, sustainability should be part of that service.  In the post-pandemic economy, where consumers’ behaviors and expectations have dramatically shifted, in addition to being motivated by a host of social issues, big companies are being forced to rethink how they serve their customers and how they connect with them.Companies looking to be more “customer-centric” can employ the following methods:
3 Methods for Changing Your Company’s Customer-Experience (CX) Model 1. Setting Goals That Reflect the Brand Promise By simply making a schedule of 3 to 4 workshops centered around establishing a new approach to customer experience (CX), companies should be able to instill a new direction in their employees and at the same time lay down a list of benchmarks for achieving the associated financial performance metrics. 2. Personalize Customer Interaction Customers today want more personalized interactions with businesses. Each customer’s experience should be personalized based on what your company knows about the customer. Here are a few tips on strengthening the personalization of your brand:
The “omnichannel” experience addresses the fact that customers are now interacting with big companies in several different ways, on a laptop, through a phone app, and at physical locations. The customer experience should feel the same no matter if you are online or interacting with a store clerk. The way employees treat customers should feel the same regardless of platform (computer or phone and app), which also means brand design, aesthetically and functionally, should feel the same online and at physical locations.  Knowing what to do when you get a bad online review is important for any brand/business.
You could get a bad review on Google My Business page, Facebook Business page, Yelp, and you start to panic. The review is out there for everyone to see. It’s easy to get discouraged when this happens, but don’t get in your head about it. Almost every business is going to deal with a bad review online. So when you are in a state of despair remember:
There are vicious reviews that are completely untrue. If this is the case, you may be able to get the review taken down. Google has a policy that forbids fake reviews. See if the platform the reviews is on has a policy like that. Then there are the reviews that are 100 percent accurate and bring up reasons why future customers should be concerned. In this case you need to be honest with yourself. Take ownership of your mistakes and do whatever it takes to make things better. Once you’ve taken constructive action to make a positive change, respond to this review, thanking them for the feedback. Tell them that you have since taken care of the situation. Here are some general guidelines for dealing with bad online reviews:
 Airbnb and customer experience is an important topic for anyone who hosts an Airbnb.
The age of customer service is over. Today, it’s all about the customer experience. Customers have certain expectations when it comes to the quality of any services provided. When you are an Airbnb host, you want your guests to have a stay that is memorable. Guests expect outstanding service and genuine care from the beginning to the end of their stay. In this article, you’ll learn some basic tips to give your guests the best customer experience possible when staying at your Airbnb. Trust is a MustYou don’t want to go into any situation with an attitude of distrust. By showing your guests that you believe they will treat your place respectfully, you create a warm atmosphere. They are actually more likely to take care of your place when they feel like you trust them. It’s imperative that you take into consideration your guests' privacy and respect it. Don’t barge in unexpectedly at any given moment to “make sure” they are respecting your place. Give them fair notice if you want to come by. Be mindful of how you word any rules that you have laid out for guests. For instance instead of saying “Don’t let food sit out overnight in the kitchen”, you could say “Remember to put any leftover food in the refrigerator at night”. This little shift actually makes a big difference. Be Thoughtful Your guest may have an allergy to nuts or just seasonal allergies in general. If you leave a bowl of peanuts on the counter as a welcoming gesture for guests, you may want to switch to chocolate candies. If it’s seasonal allergies, you could make sure you don’t have a bunch of flower plants around the house. Communication is KeyBeing transparent is important when dealing with your guests. Make them aware of any information you would want to know about if you were their guest. If there is construction going on right outside the bedroom window every morning it is best to tell them upfront. The 3 pillars of Airbnb customer experience are trust, thoughtfulness, and communication.  A customer-centric approach to sales is essential in the world we live in today. The market trends are always fluctuating, and consumer behavior is extremely unpredictable.
The only thing you can be sure of is that the art of the sale is much different than it used to be. It doesn’t matter what it is you sell — doing things the old-fashioned way just won’t cut it. In this article, you’ll learn about what customer-centric selling is and why it’s beneficial. Customer-Centric SellingA customer-centric approach involves advertising a product with the intent of it being more personal with customers. This approach focuses on addressing your customer's needs, listening intently, asking specific questions of what they expect, and creating a rapport. You are most likely to succeed in business when your goal is creating long-lasting, meaningful relationships with your customers and showing them you care. The Benefits of a Customer-Centric ApproachYou get a clear idea of what your customers need with a customer-centric approach. Make sure you are spending time researching the specific wants of your customers. This will change your product pitch from the old-fashioned “we’re better than everyone else” way. Instead, you can provide valuable information about how you offer solutions to the specific needs of your customers. Your customers have priorities. Knowing these priorities will allow you to align your strategies, products, and offerings with them. One of the biggest benefits of a customer-centric approach is the edge you’ll have over your competitors. When you address the needs of your customer using their own language, you are more likely to create stronger relationships with them. This is how you create a great customer experience. This will set you apart from your competitors, and your customers will take notice. A customer-centric approach is truly a win-win scenario.  The customer journey may seem very simple — you provide a service or offer a product and your customers buy it.
However, when you take a closer look, you’ll see how complex the customer journey has become. A Customer Journey MapA customer journey map is a visual story of how your customers interact with your brand on all of your touchpoints. Customers interact with brands via email, social media, live chat, etc. Here’s an example: A millennial first interacts with your brand via social media. At that point, they look at your website on their smartphone. Then lastly, they purchase your product or service on a laptop or desktop computer. When you have a visual representation of the customer journey, you are less likely to have customers slip through the cracks. The Benefits of Creating a Customer Journey Map A customer journey map gives you a strategic approach to understanding the expectations of your customers. When you create a customer journey map, you enhance the customer experience. Personalization is critical to the modern customer experience. The majority of consumers flat out declare they are more likely to go with a brand when they feel like that brand is treating them like a human (not a number). When you create a customer journey map, you can get a clear idea of what a customer expects from your brand. Then you can compare that to what a customer gets. You can also get a better idea of the variance in buyer personas as they proceed from prospect to conversion by way of the buying funnel. Another benefit is that you create a methodical sequence of the journey of your customer. However, the greatest benefit is simply getting to know your customers better.  In a time when customers can choose from more goods and services than ever before, making sure customers trust your product should be a top priority, one that can be achieved through transparency.
Even though businesses are aware that customers want transparency, they fear that giving them too much information might reflect badly on the company and they might lose potential customers. But experienced professionals will tell you that transparency will not only attract new customers but will help you retain the trust of your current clientele. 4 Benefits of Customer Transparency 1. Transparency Improves the Quality of Goods and Services Transparency fuels feelings of importance. When businesses are open with customers about their processes, employees are driven to get their orders right and resolve problems effectively. Wanting to do their jobs better gives employees a sense of pride in their work. 2. Transparency Can Unify a Business When employees and management are committed to transparency there is less hiding and backbiting which can destroy morale and divide your company. If a business is honest with its customers, the employees and upper management are more likely to open with each other. 3. Transparency Builds Strong Relationships Between Employees and Customers When employees are transparent with their customers, they feel they can trust the company employees represent. Because customers have access to the how and why of your business, you’ll experience less backlash from your clients meaning having to spend less time on damage control. 4. Being Consistently Open With Customers Will Ensure Their Loyalty Once you’ve secured a purchase from a customer who feels they know what your company is all about you’re halfway there. But to continue to have their loyalty and thus their business, you’ll need to continue to be transparent. If at any point they feel you are being less than honest they will take their purchasing power elsewhere. |
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