We will get a good customer experience when the initiatives that our company implements when offering its product or service work. If users do not perceive these actions as positive and end up dissatisfied, companies risk seeing their reputation destroyed, among other things because of the spread of complaints through social networks. It is therefore of vital importance to know how to seduce the target audience, meet the expectations generated and obtain a favourable verdict when interacting with them. It is also essential to exploit the differentiating elements we have at our disposal, promoting "that something" that makes the consumer feel unique.

But do you know exactly how to make them fall in love?

To begin with, it is essential to understand the concept of "Customer Touchpoints (TP)", i.e. the "touchpoints" that the customer has with a brand considering all the channels at their disposal: from a marquee ad, the website, social media, a call received, a generalist online shop, physical shops, a postal mail, a service person, an email or SMS, etc. Each of these points represents a valuable opportunity to interact with users, listening to what they say and using the feedback generated in order to optimise their journey from first impression to final purchase, or more importantly, post-purchase, which is the stage at which we build loyalty and gain evangelists.

It should be borne in mind that companies should devote more effort to designing and providing an experience in line with what we want to offer and coherent in all areas, including those internal departments that do not have direct contact with the customer but with the culture of the company, which is projected outwards and ends up being perceived by the different targets.

It is therefore essential to correctly identify the "Customer touchpoints" that we are going to require in our strategy . If we want to achieve this, we must base ourselves on the 5 stages that customers go through when they relate to a brand:

  1. Awareness. In this first step, those involved recognise the existence of the firm, although they do not yet consider the possibility of buying. The points of contact at this stage could be external advertising, public relations and specialised publications.

 

  1. Consideration. This is the second step, in which the possibility of getting hold of the product is considered. Landing pages, webinars and free trials are some of the points of contact that we could include in this section.

 

  1. Purchase. Here the customer has taken the step and decided to purchase the product or service. Contact points would include shops, branches, e-commerce websites, or even telephone.

 

  1. Utilisation. This is the stage where the buyer experiences the product or service directly. Some of the touch points we include in this phase are personalised attention and social networks, or for example in the case of automobiles, the network of official workshops.

 

  1. Loyalty. The relationship between the brand and the consumer begins to grow, and a stage of loyalty is reached. Touch points at this stage include newsletters, blogs and loyalty programmes.

 

What next?

 

From this outline we could then make a "short list" of all the places and times through which the customer can come into contact with us. Once identified, we must determine whether they were able to achieve their objectives and tasks efficiently, we could even create a first version of the "Customer Journey", where these points of contact are identified, the possible "pain points" where special attention must be paid to the experience delivered, and the results that must be obtained for each itinerary. The best way to measure this is through constant feedback, asking the right people the right questions at the right time, which allows us to learn quickly about problems and unmet needs, resolve questions and concerns in real time, and improve overall business results. Gathering feedback across multiple TPs enables us to know where action is needed, and also when changes are not necessary.

 

The objective? To seduce our target more precisely by appealing to their real needs.

One of the examples we have recently discovered is AkBank, a Turkish bank that has turned its portal into a self-service channel that offers video-based briefings, putting a human face on interactions with users. It also responds to around 2,000 messages on Twitter and Facebook every month, which is a great way to improve the customer experience, enhance customer care and get relevant information on what path decisions should take in the future. The use of these channels to interact with customers is increasingly common in the banking sector, although still rare. Akbank concluded that it should use these channels after a study revealed that a growing number of consumers were choosing to conduct online transactions via smartphones, as half of the population in Turkey is between 13 and 24 years old and is mainly registered on Facebook. Thanks to this, Akbank Contact Center receives consistently high ratings, with 85% positive reviews.