Wikipedia defines customer experience as “a totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral consumer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages.”

A brand’s customer experience is one of the driving factors that influence how customers interact with your brand and patronize your services.

Emergency telephone answering service ‘CallCare’ carried out a survey for their eBook #CXInsights: How businesses can earn and retain loyalty from their customers. The survey involved customer service advisors and call center agents in the UK to help determine the influences that impact the success or failure of customer experience. 

Some key factors and ways businesses can improve on them are highlighted below:

Demographics

An important factor when shaping a brand’s customer experience is the demographic. What kind of customers are you serving and how are you meeting their special needs? There is no denying that we are in the age of technology, one thing business owners need to remain aware of is that not all your customers will be very conversant with the latest tech. The survey revealed that 88% of the respondents observe that customers within the age bracket of 18-40 are easier to deal with compared to customers aged 57 and above, of which only 4% of total respondents recorded that they found the older age group easy to attend to. Putting measures in place to make sure older customers also experience exceptional service despite their technical shortcomings will go a long way in enhancing your customer experience.

Industry

Depending on the industry in which your business operates, customer call times differ. In the survey, it was gathered that 17% of respondents observe that the financial service sector usually takes longer call times due to the security checks and delicate nature of financial transactions. It is therefore important to put measures in place to sustain an efficient and concise process despite the nature of your industry.

Language

In today, your business’s awareness of gender inclusivity language is paramount to a successful customer experience. This is especially prevalent with younger customers within the ages of 18 – 24 as 70% of customers in this age bracket are fully aware of gender-specific pronouns. Brands and businesses should avoid making the mistake of using gender-specific pronouns without prior confirmation from said customers. This will go a long way in making all your customers feel accepted and seen.

Scams

As we operate in this digital age, fraudsters are also on the rise. It is no surprise that a lot of customers are hesitant about the authenticity of customer engagement calls. 59% of respondents have witnessed more customers questioning their intent as a result of this rise in spam calls. Some good practices your business should introduce to sustain confidence from your customers include: 2FA, call back service, website information, security questions, etc. 

In summary, businesses can use the following tips to improve their customer experience:

• Understand your customers’ needs
• Rethink your objectives
• Empower your employees
• Automate your processes to reduce waiting times
• Reduce customer efforts by making your processes as convenient as possible

Taking all these factors into consideration will without a doubt boost your overall customer experience for the better. 

Some of the positive impacts of a good customer experience include:

• Increased customer loyalty
• Increased customer acquisition
• Business growth
• Reduced marketing costs
• Improved employee productivity and motivation
• Improved brand reputation

To conclude, the importance of functional and intentional customer experience cannot be over emphasized. It is the key to the success of any brand and business.