Customer Experience is a Sum of Quality Interactions

Tuesday, Jun 28th 2022
woman showing man information from her tablet in an office setting

One of my favorite things to do when I was analyst was to attend and participate in end-user conferences. Conferences allowed me to see my research theories in real-time. Were marketers really purchasing this software product? What was the biggest challenge for mobile communications in financial? Speaking to participants I got to get answers straight from the source. However, I would also hear things that would send a chill down my analyst spine. Such phrases as “we have a mobile app, it’s good enough” or “I don’t need to connect my print and web experiences” were uttered more than you would think.

In order to win-over consumers today, showing up to a channel is not enough. According to a survey by Google Insights 69% out of 5,398 online consumers agree that the quality, timing, or relevance of a company’s message influences their perception of a brand. This means managing a series of key interactions within the customer journey. Google Insights breaks these interactions into several categories:

  • Be there: “Being there” doesn’t just mean that you are on the right channel for the consumer. It means you are able to provide answers at the right stage/time within the buyer’s journey. Companies need to have optimized omni-channel communications when consumers are in the research, “how-to” (how to use service/product), and the purchase phases of their journeys.
  • Be useful: It’s no longer enough to provide information on the product or service your company may offer. Instead consumers are looking for the companies they work with to keep them informed. For example, Unilever discovered its customers were struggling to find good hair information and created the YouTube channel called, All Things Hair. The channel helped to engage consumers but serves as an important hair care reference.
  • Be quick: Mobile adoption has caused a phenomenon among consumers - they expect and want immediacy in customer communications. Companies not only have to have a mobile strategy but they also need to facilitate the customer journey at lighting speed. To accomplish this, companies need to think about how they can eliminate steps in digital channels, anticipate the next step in the journey, and how best to optimize the channel. You can have the best mobile site in the world but if takes 10 minutes to load, you’ve probably lost your customer at minute 1…make sure your content is optimized!
  • Connect the dots: While mobile is becoming a more critical channel, it is important that both online and offline interactions with a consumer are quality. It’s imperative that messaging, branding, and even the call center or in store experience weaves into the previous interaction. Strategy for the customer experience must be built across teams, channels, and screens making sure the consumer has the best experience possible.

The result of all interactions means two things for an organization:

First, they are no longer dealing with a linear buyer’s journey, and second, that the customer experience is more complex than ever before. Building a communication strategy that offers context and quality is key to winning over today’s consumers. It also means when you meet an analyst at your next conference you can talk about your innovation not your struggle. 

 

Photo credit: YouTube: All Things Hair YouTube channel