Our world moves faster every day. With online shopping, curbside pickup, and a slew of other time-saving options literally at our fingertips, customer expectations are at an all-time high. And they will continue to rise as the advent of new technology makes faster, more efficient service possible. Focusing on customer experience is more important now than ever before.
Consumers now expect a personalized buying experience that is quick and painless every time they interact with your business. That means creating a first-rate customer experience should be a top priority if you want to compete in this fast-paced world.
The Essence of the Customer Experience
Creating a top-notch customer experience goes well beyond great customer service. Customer experience (or CX) includes all of the interactions and experiences your customer has with your business throughout their buying journey, from their first impression of your company or product to becoming a long-time customer.
A customer who has a positive experience throughout their journey will be much more likely to become a repeat customer. In other words, if you want loyalty from your customers, you have to invest in their experience. Not convinced? The numbers speak for themselves:
- 84% of customers said they would go out of their way to spend more money with a company that offers great customer service
- 51% of customers will switch brands after one or two bad experiences
That, coupled with the fact that customers like to tell their friends and family about the great experiences they have with a brand, means that CX should—now more than ever—remain a key investment for your company.
Personalize Your Service
Today’s consumers value personalized customer service and attention. Customer loyalty is built with emotional attachment: customers remember how they feel when they use your product or service, and that determines whether they will return or not. Now more than ever, radically personal customer service gives consumers what they want most—connection, speed, and confidence in their purchase. It’s at the heart of how brands and consumers develop lifelong relationships.
77% of consumers recommend a brand to friends and family if they provide a more personalized experience, and more than half would recommend the company on social media or review sites.
Personalized service creates an emotional connection between your company and your customer, and emotions are what shape customer decisions. Customers today expect a high level of personalization and transparency from the brands they purchase from, not to mention a great shopping experience and clear communication during the delivery or pickup process.
Keep it Quick and Simple
Customers don’t want to jump through hoops to purchase your product or service, and they don’t want to wait. We are in the NOW economy, with customers looking for efficient ordering and superior service.
Two minutes may be one of the most important blocks of time that everyone in this industry should heed over the next decade. Why? Because two minutes makes the difference between a customer’s satisfaction or disappointment when picking their orders up curbside. Two minutes will determine whether a customer decides to make repeat visits to the same business or to consider the competition instead. It is the difference between losing a customer and quadrupling the chance they will order again.
Customers who wait less than 2 minutes to receive their order are 4 times more likely to reorder in the future than those who wait 10 minutes.
While customers are more patient and content right now with curbside solutions that were quickly thrown together for the pandemic, they will NOT feel that way once they return to a busier lifestyle after COVID. Seamless last mile solutions that allow the customer to pull up, grab and go will be expected.
Listen to Customer Feedback
Your business can’t exist without your customers. Just as in any relationship, listening is key, so it is vital to capture customer feedback, preferably right after their purchase. If you aren’t listening to your customers, they will feel it, and they won’t stick around.
Plus, using that feedback to learn what your customers do and don’t like will give you new opportunities to create an even better customer experience going forward. And if you’re not continually upscaling your CX, sooner or later your competitors will pass you up and your customers will leave.
Glympse Can Help You Improve Your Customer Experience
Glympse offers you tools to improve CX and keep customers connected to your business. Whether you need a curbside pickup solution, a system for customers to track when their service techs will arrive, or help with last mile delivery of your products, Glympse will prove a valuable resource to both your company and your customers.
Glympse improves last mile delivery communication, helping you enhance customer service and receive nearly immediate feedback from your customers. With the option to ask for feedback right after delivery, pickup, or service completion, you get fast insight into your customer’s experience so you can quickly address any concerns or service hiccups that occur.
