Consumer behaviours and expectations are constantly shifting and evolving. Your customer experience strategy needs to adapt to keep up. If you're not looking to commit to a full CX transformation programme at this time, there are still a number of ways in which you can revitalise your CX strategies.

1. Listen to Your Customers

Customer are more willing than ever to provide feedback and it is your job to listen. This simple act not only resonates with customers but can also ultimately improve the quality of your products and services. Doing the opposite can quickly signal your brand as untrustworthy.

Simply listening, however, is not enough. You also need to be empathetic. If customers don't feel you're striving to understand their needs, they'll seek out someone who does.

You also need to take action and respond to customer feedback. Monitor review sites and social platforms and reply to comments. Show gratitude for positive comments and put customer support in contact with people who leave negative feedback.

Timeliness Is Key

If it's true that customers are willing to engage with brands, it's equally true they expect timely responses. This means your support teams need to acknowledge their comments within 24 hours. Even if there isn't a clear plan of action for resolving a negative experience, letting them know you're aware of the issue is step one. You'll prove you're proactive and willing to act, and that's crucial in maintaining, or even improving, customer loyalty.

2. Create Consistency Across All Channels

It's important that brands interact with customers across a variety of channels, including social media, live chat, and more. But your interaction will work at cross purposes if it's not consistent. Mixed messages only confuse customers.

Employees also suffer when internal and external messages don't align. For instance, if you tell set a customer expectation that someone will respond to their question within 24 hours, but employees think they must respond within 48 hours, you're setting your team up to fail. Review your processes and ensure your messaging is the same for all intended audiences.

Consistent Branding

In the same vein, you need consistent branding in how you deliver your messages - from the tone of voice to use of colours in your visual elements. Consistency in these factors help establish trust. Customers who understand who you are and what you do ultimately feel safer in your hands. But don’t beat your customers over the head with your brand. Create something that people like and enjoy working with, and which gives people the opportunity for self-expression as part of the brand experience.

3. Personalise The Experience

When you want to improve the customer experience, perhaps the most important step you can take is sending perfectly-tailored messages. 88% of B2B buyers expect a personalised experience. This can include sending tailored messages and offering incentives based on what you know about an individual customer's interest in your company.

Start by segmenting your customers. Use automation to divide up subscribers to your email marketing list according to their preferences, industry or job role. In addition, you can implement geotargeting to send messages to customers in specific regions.

You can also using marketing automation to track customer interactions on your platform to enhance you segmentation. Customers expect this capability and understand that tracking is used to enhance their online experience and make appropriate suggestions.

4. Automate the Purchase Process

The days of meeting face-to-face with customers and trying to persuade them to choose your brand are all but gone. According to Gartner 80% of B2B sales interactions will happen over digital channels by 2025. Decision-makers really want self-service options that streamline the purchase process. Anything else can stall the relationship you're trying to build and deter customers from your brand. 

Keep in mind that buyers increasingly look for convenience. In the digital world, this means the capability to complete such tasks as:

•      Booking appointments with you using automated website features

•      Replacing in-office meetings with video conferences

•      Providing feedback to AI-powered chatbots

A More Proactive Experience

Likewise, customers want answers at their fingertips. They want to explore the products and services you offer when it's convenient for them, whether that's during their lunch hour or at home after their family has gone to bed.

This means you should develop case studies, walkthrough videos, and support content to offer on demand. Self-service options can therefore ensure a positive customer experience by:

•      Quickly expanding customer knowledge

•      Seamlessly showcasing your brand's features

•      Providing instant gratification

5. Provide Post-Purchase Support

Most companies are so focused on making a sale that they forget to offer truly satisfying post-purchase support. This can encompass a variety of elements. 

This be as simple as following up 30 days after the purchase date to ensure increased customer satisfaction. Many companies send personalised emails that ask short and concise questions. The key here is using the customer's name and specifically mentioning the purchased product or service. 

It could also mean developing dedicated product care and how-to content. For example, a full onboarding programme to guide a new user through getting started with their investment. Linking this information to your initial 'thank you for purchasing' email is a savvy approach. 

Replenishment emails can likewise be used to send remind customers when they need to reorder items. These can be highly effective because they are both timely and relevant to customers' needs.

6. Implement a Loyalty Rewards Program

A loyalty rewards program can have a significant impact on how customers perceive your brand. Data shows four out of five people are more likely to support a brand that provides incentives.

Why is this element so important to the customer experience? Most buying decisions are emotionally charged, so it's important to appeal to decision-makers' touchy-feely side.

Loyalty benefits surprise and please those who shop with you. Anytime you grant a reward to a loyal customer they feel validated and valued. This builds a bond that connects consumers with your brand.

7. Deliver Outstanding Customer Service

This probably sounds redundant - everyone knows great customer service equals a great customer experience, right? But many companies miss the mark and develop corporate-focused service rather than client-focused. 

The difference between the two approaches is tangible; customer-centric brands enjoy 60% higher profits than companies that lack this crucial element.

Happy customers not only provide repeat sales, they also speak positively to others about your brand. And digital tools can be used just as easily to ramp up satisfaction as they can to track consumer behaviours. Here are some examples:

•      Connect with customers in real-time using live chat

•      Record and upload webinars that address common technical issues

•      Alert customers to special events using text or email

8. Train Your Customer-Facing Teams

These are the first people to interact with customers who create a lasting impression of your brand. To ensure they optimise all client conversations, you need processes to direct them on dealing with common scenarios. 

For instance, provide dialogue to manage a customer's first time contacting your business, concerns about delivery, and routine product questions.

But processes are meaningless if staff don't have strong foundations in CX and understand their role in delivering it. Sales, support, and marketing team members need ongoing training to ensure they have both proper product knowledge and soft skills.

Product Knowledge

Team members need to thoroughly understand your brand, business and the products/services you offer. This is the core of their interactions with customers, and a lack of knowledge will translate to a frustrating experience.

Intensive customer experience training can arm your team members with the knowledge necessary to:

•      Recognise customer needs and find solutions

•      Build customer confidence by providing accurate and transparent information

•      Effectively manage customer concerns and turn them into opportunities instead of obstacles

Soft Skills

Customer interactions also require effective communication skills. For this reason, your team need both patience and empathy. Also, encourage front-facing employees to personalise their conversations. Everyone is busy, but a more empathetic approach can humanise your brand.

9. Give Weight to Social Proof

Humans are social creatures and take their cues from others. To understand this from a business perspective, imagine walking by two restaurants: one busy, the other not. Social proof suggests you'll go to the busy restaurant because it's reasonable to assume they serve good food.

You can pepper social proof throughout the customer experience and heightened your prospects' confidence. Encourage clients to leave star ratings, testimonials, and reviews on your website and social media pages. Have a process for capturing positive client experiences that will make useful case studies.

Social proof sends the message that because some people have found a solution to their problem in your products/services, others will, too.

10. Clarify Your Brand Messaging

Earlier we talked about consistency in your brand aesthetic. Here, we're going to discuss the need for brand clarity.

To illustrate what we mean, consider Coca-Cola. People across the globe know what this brand is and what it represents. Their brand message is crystal clear.

What does this have to do with improving the customer experience?

Consumers need to know why your brand matters. If they don't understand this, they won't trust you. Alternatively, their perception of your service could be off. When people purchase for the wrong reasons, they'll feel deceived or let down. Here are a few tips to ensure your message is on point:

•      Plainly state the services or products your company offers

•      Craft short messages focused on customer pain points, not profits

•      Tell stories that help customers relate to your brand

Your content marketing strategy can help to build a sophisticated understanding of your brand. Content will help people to find you, and it provides an opportunity to provide more depth and more ‘ways in’ to your brand expression. Thinking through your brand messages and delivering against a content calendar which explores and elaborates upon them will build your reputation and your business.

11. Map the Customer Journey

This tool allows you to see how customers interact with your brand. It forces you to step outside of what you think the customer experience is and instead frames the reality. Gaining this insight allows you to optimise every touchpoint and meet client expectations in a more fulfilling way.

As you map each phase of the customer journey - and remember to include every interaction, regardless of how trivial it may seem - you can see where you consistently fall short. You can also identify where you alienate prospects and customers. Addressing these shortcomings will be tough but will also allow you to connect disjointed service moments that cause friction.

Invaluable Information

If you're thinking you don't know where to start with mapping the customer journey, this may be a sign you don't know your customers. This is a chance to sit down and consider how your marketing efforts align with your intended audience.

Are you sending the right messages? Do you understand how your products/services can benefit consumers? Answering these questions will provide greater knowledge of those you sell to.

12. Take Advantage of Technology

We mentioned marketing automation and chatbots earlier but need to expand upon this concept. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can substantially enhance the level of customer care you provide. They can help you to create a 24-7 customer experience, nurture relationships, increase relevance, reduce friction and frustration and help to provide quality support .

Chatbots and marketing automation can also free up your human team members to handle engagement and more complex conversations. Providing this two-tiered level of support ensures customers receive the attention they need at all levels. Those who need to escalate can, and those who do not will quickly receive answers and then move forward.

The customer experience shouldn’t start with a sale in mind or end once one has been achieved. Instead, it requires nurturing, personalised communications, and easy access to relevant, targeted information. For more ways to improve the customer experience, contact 1827 Marketing today.