The term customer experience has become a marketing focus among small and large companies in all types of industries. It’s a concept that encompasses the impression the customer gets of a company through all the interactions they have. This includes every type of contact: website activity, use of the product or service, interactions with customer-oriented staff, and even advertising on social media.
Focusing on customer experience is now considered a requirement to be able to compete in the market and keep customer satisfaction high. The number one advice for startups is to do their best to prioritize and continuously improve their customer experience as it will also give them an advantage over their competitors.
An increasing number of businesses have started to realize the importance of good customer satisfaction, but not as many are aware of how the customer experience affects the overall picture of a company.
Improving CX is a long and complicated process that requires a focus on interactions and communication with the customer base. Below, we’ll dive into the best ways of delivering extraordinary experiences and helping startup businesses grow and thrive.
Use Customer Experience Management Platforms
But, what is customer experience management and how can it help your startup? CXM is a system for marketing strategy and technology that focuses on the customer’s commitment, satisfaction, and experience when interacting with your brand.
One of the first steps you should take when growing your business is to be able to listen to direct and indirect sources of customer feedback and perform automated actions on the collected feedback. Luckily, there are great customer experience platforms that are intuitive and user-friendly and that allow you to offer outstanding customer experiences.
They can help you get a holistic customer experience to generate both operational and experimental data, integrate this web data with the tools to collect, understand, and action customer feedback along with the ability to analyze data and monitor trends in a single integrated solution.
Increase Social Media Presence
Social media is a vital part of today’s modern business operations. By showing your satisfied customers on your social media accounts, you open doors that attract new customers because reviews are still a very important factor in increasing your following on social media.
Most customers will be quick to say that a good customer experience has a big impact on their loyalty and social media gives you a golden opportunity to get the most out of it.
Continue to maximize the value of your customer service by developing flawless content strategies to take advantage of the opportunities generated through your satisfied customers’ experiences. This will help you to both attract and engage your target audience.
Embrace an Omnichannel Mindset
If you can still only handle customer communication in one channel, it’s time to switch to an omnichannel approach. Create a system that allows customers to contact you via any channel for support. Get rid of scattered workflows and tools to streamline work. Find out if a customer has sent an email, tweet, or instant chat message. In this way, you avoid information being collected in the wrong places and this will allow you to provide customers with better service.
Communicate Clearly
All direct communication with your users is a vital part of the customer experience. This includes customer service. Each interaction is an opportunity to engage the customer and have them leave the conversation with a good impression of your company.
To ensure that the customer leaves these interactions with positive feelings about your brand, you should ensure that your customer support service has a welcoming tone of communication and that they provide customers with the resources needed to quickly and efficiently solve problems and answer questions.
Read: A Startup’s Guide to Building a Positive Working Environment
Be Proactive and Reward Loyalty
Some customers contact support as soon as they encounter a problem or have a question, but some are reluctant to do so. Instead of waiting for customers to contact you, work proactively and seek ways to invite customers to contact your support team if they get stuck, or contact them directly to find out what they think and feel. Ask questions or listen to complaints and be ready to address them.
Also, when working to increase engagement and loyalty, don’t forget to reward customers. Find ways to offer incentives, in the form of special offers, exclusive resources, or newsletters. Your most committed customers will then continue to use the product and recommend your business to their friends.
Read: Startup Checklist for a Law Firm
Final Thoughts
Customer expectations, especially for startups, are higher than ever. As customers become more empowered, the need for excellent customer experiences increases too. With the abovementioned tips, your startup will be able to provide extraordinary experiences and build a positive impact of customer loyalty, high retention, and increased profit.