Strategic customer experience management
A customer's decision to purchase a product/service or to revisit a point of sale or service center is marked by the quality of their experience, which is the moment of truth. A company can invest millions in building a brand, in promoting a new product, but if the moment of truth is not satisfactory, the invested resources will have been wasted.
Many companies measure customer satisfaction and manage improvements based on the aspects that caused dissatisfaction or did not meet the organization's stated objective, but they learn little about their customers' thoughts and emotions in the moments of truth.
Proper experience management, regardless of the sector or type of customers the company has, must take into account the following key principles:
- Identify and map all the points or moments of contact that your product or service has with the customer, and define the variables that are critical at each point. It is also key to understand the role of each moment of truth and the type of link it generates from the needs and expectations of customers.
Is a phone call to place an order the right time to inform and offer the customer the company's entire line of new products? Most likely, the customer does not have the time or the attention necessary to assimilate so much information, and what was initially done with a positive purpose (communicating news) generates a negative impact (angry customer because he feels that he is "wasting his time").
- Diagnose the quality of your customers' current experience and determine those variables that most impact the experience. at each point. An organization's resources are limited, so it is key to determine the aspects that are most relevant to building a satisfactory experience.
- Develop an experience management strategy for each touch point in line with customer expectations and brand positioning.The experience in the use of a product or service can have a greater influence on the perception of a brand than an advertising campaign.
- Align and coordinate the different parts of the organization that impact the customer experience.This is critical to translate the strategy from paper to reality. Is there an awareness within the organization of the importance of the customer experience concept to the business? Is there a clear motivation to embark on the journey of experience management?
- Finally, develop a model to periodically monitor the customer's experience.