Managing the Customer Service Experience

The term customer experience consists of just two words that mean what they say. So far, so simple. But those two words cover a huge range of elements that deserve to be unpacked - especially if you're considering managing and improving the customer experience—a step that every business should consciously take. In the entertainment industry? Crafting unforgettably positive experiences is more important than ever! What do you need to know about customer experience? Here are the basics.

What is Customer Experience?

Before you can begin looking for customer experience solutions, you need to know the elements that contribute to it. While this differs from business to business, it can be broadly described as the sum of all the impressions formed during every single interaction a customer has with your business - including the performance of your products after purchase. To understand the elements of your business that contribute to the customer experience, think of every step a customer may take on their journey with your business. Begin with their arrival at your premises or on your landing page, and take it all the way up to the time when your customers dispose of your product. Will they buy a replacement from you? That depends on how they see your brand, and that in turn depends on their experiences during their journey.

Walk a Mile in Their Moccasins

You may think that you've designed every aspect of your business to please your customers, but are you creating the positive experiences you hoped for? The only way to find out is to put yourself in your customers' shoes. Since you're heavily invested in what you do, you may be more inclined to view customer experience subjectively. Finding out what they really think means tracking their behaviour and discovering their opinions.

Find out What Your Customers are Doing

To a certain extent, doing business online means you have access to more detailed customer behavior data. How did customers find you? What happened after they reached your landing page? How many steps did they have to take in order to find what they wanted, or did they browse around and just give up? Analysing metrics that relate to all these little interactions could help you to streamline the purchasing process. You can adapt this type of thinking to offline businesses too. Either way, your aim is to give customers what they want and to make it easy to do business with you.

Look at What Your Customers are Saying

What are your customers saying about you? What do they like and dislike about your business? They might tell you so directly, but they might also make their feelings known through online reviews and social media. You can also ask them directly, boosting the number of responses by offering a small incentive. Your sales and support teams will often be getting your customer's opinions first-hand. Are there recurring enquiries and problems? How can you make things easier for your customers?

Why You're Going to All This Effort

Acquiring new customers is costly and time consuming. Once you have customers, it's actually cheaper and easier to retain their business than it is to go looking for new customers. All you have to do is to ensure that your offering satisfies them and that the purchase and ownership experience was a pleasant one. At the same time, you need to ensure that someone else isn't offering an even better product and a pleasanter customer journey. The only way to do that is to stay ahead of the curve, offering your customers an unmatchable experience that promotes loyalty, referrals, and increased revenue for your business.