Talking about customer experience means talking about disciplines that converge to the extent that most of a company's processes have the ultimate goal of satisfying demand. Without a market, there is no company, and this is a fact that cannot be disguised or concealed in any way. In a highly competitive environment, anything less than creating an experience based on excellence is a passport to failure, a safe conduct for our customers to explore other corporate horizons that better meet their needs.
The renowned consulting firm Gartner recently published a ten-point guide to customer experience, which it explores in depth in one of its thinkcasts or company podcasts. We believe it is appropriate to bring this guide to the Spanish-speaking market, as reported by one of the leading digital magazines in the sector: Customer Experience Matters (CXM).
1. Listen to customers continuously: because that should be the basis of the omnichannel craze. Being present on all possible channels and establishing all possible communication bridges is not only a tactic to enable the company's messages, but above all to be able to capture constant information from our customers: their complaints and suggestions, their recommendations, and their needs. If omnichannel is only used for promotion and self-promotion, it is utilizing a minimal part of its potential. In other words, it is being underutilized.
2. Continuous monitoring of customer feedback: in addition to the above, no one better than our customers can provide us with insights into where we are failing and where we can improve. They are the ones with the needs we want to meet, and our vision of success will depend on our ability to monitor, measure, and plan based on what they tell us.
3. Act proactively to anticipate needs: active and systematic listening can help us not only to correct our activity, but also to establish heat maps on the possibilities of exploiting new services or products, either as innovation or as an expansion of our own portfolio.
4. Building empathy in corporate processes and policies: Unlike the commercial tactics of yesteryear, which focused on selling to customers' pain points, the latest approaches aim to identify scenarios where a company can empathize with its customers. It's not about "hitting them where it hurts," but rather accompanying them in what they "enjoy."
5. Respect customer privacy: an increasingly necessary point, which is directly linked to ad hoc legislation in most of the most developed economies. There is virtually unlimited technological capacity to exploit customer data, but customers will increasingly value and appreciate it more if we do so not only with their acceptance, but with their express and unequivocal consent.
6. Sharing knowledge internally with customers: another of the old dogmas of doing business is falling by the wayside, whereby we protect our values with a vengeance to prevent espionage by competitors. Customers in the digital age want to be part of our storytelling, build with us, move forward alongside their goods and services provider, become loyal, and be ambassadors for our offering both inside and outside the company.
7. Motivate employees to remain committed: in other words, what do employees say, think, and feel when they talk about your company? If the honest answers you can give are mostly negative, you should seriously consider whether you really want to compete in the market. Customers already take it for granted that employees are not going to speak ill of their company, but if they feel a real connection, you probably have one of the most powerful purchasing factors in your hands.
8. Act systematically to improve the customer experience: this point can be considered a summary of the previous ones, and a vital projection. The customer experience is not a goal that is achieved and leaves the future resolved; it is a constant journey in which the reward is not to relax thinking that everything has already been done.
9. Take responsibility for improving the customer experience: in addition to the above, customers must feel that the company, led by its management, takes responsibility for what works and also for what does not work. Mistakes must have tangible, visible, and "experiential" consequences. Similarly, successes must be part of the company's culture in its relationship with customers.
10. Adapting to customer demands and needs in real time: finally, given that we are talking about a constantly evolving discipline, there is a growing demand for each customer to feel that they are receiving an appropriate response at every stage of their relationship with the company, acting with the confidence that, whatever their needs, concerns, or desire for involvement, the company will be alert to establishing the appropriate synergies.
A set of guidelines that are easy to apply: the price of not following them is a loss of competitiveness.
Photo by Jonathan Francisca on Unsplash
