CX, also known as customer experience, is one of the essential elements of a business. Yes, it’s just as important as the products and services you provide. That’s because if you provide a bad experience to customers, guess what: they won’t be back.
This is bad news. Statistics suggest a business has a 60%-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, whereas it only has a 5%-20% chance of selling to a new prospect.
Now that it has been established just how important retaining customers is, it’s time to put a plan into action to keep them around. Of course, a strong CX strategy will also help other areas of your business – more on that below.
The main elements of a CX strategy
If you want your CX strategy to be a success, it’s essential you focus your energy and resources in the right places. In general, there are three main elements that you should focus on with your plan:
- Generate an appropriate emotional response: Customers have emotions when they make purchases from a business, and these emotions can differ depending on the type of industry. It’s essential for you to take into account their feelings and respond appropriately. For instance, your interactions with a customer could be done in negative circumstances, like if you operated a funeral home. In this case, empathy is a suitable response.
- Create an easy experience: When a customer is seeking assistance, the last thing they want to do is jump through hoops until they receive a response. The CX has to be streamlined, where customers only need to use minimal effort to find what they’re looking for while receiving maximum impact in the process.
- Efficient at problem-solving: If you want a customer to feel satisfied, it is imperative you provide an efficient CX that delivers a satisfactory resolution. You never want a customer to get back in touch because the initial solution didn’t solve their issue. Although, if that does happen, see if you can adapt or implement a new service to curtail the problem. In fact, SaaS businesses are already a step ahead in the right direction. Because of the nature of the SaaS niche, customer experience evolved and is now often complemented by a customer success approach and team. The focus then moves beyond fostering good experiences and towards ensuring that customers get the best value out of the product or service
The main advantages of a CX strategy
Now that you know what to focus on with your CX strategy, it’s time to explore the benefits you can receive. Here’s a quick list of some of the main advantages:
- Increased customer loyalty: Make no mistake: if you supply an exceptional customer experience, people will remain loyal to your brand. Even if the competition offers the same products and services at a reduced price, customers will often appreciate the extra value your CX delivers.
- Increased acquisitions: What happens when you have loyal customers? They spread the word about your business to their friends and family. Never underestimate this aspect. 92% of customers say they trust recommendations over any other form of advertising. Plus, the better your reputation is, the more newcomers will trust your business.
- A reduction in expenses: When you understand your customers better – which is what CX will inevitably deliver – there’s less guesswork required about what they desire. As a result, you can slash your marketing budget and save on expenses.
