Customer experience (CX) has become a
significant factor for customers and businesses to consider when making a
purchase decision. As the century comes to a closure, more organisations have
redirected their investments to innovations related to customer experience.
According to a study
by Walter, price will be overtaken by customer experience as a critical
brand differentiator by 2020. While that may sound like a trend to watch in the
future, a significant number of customers today are loyal to brands based on
customer experience and not price. There are numerous reasons why customer
experience has overtaken price as a factor. Here is an outline of some of these
reasons.
Customer Expectations
Over the years, technology has allowed businesses to gain access to a wealth of
information about their customers. As a result, customers expect that
businesses will monitor their purchase trends and meet their expectations.
Failure to meet customer expectations has made it relatively easy for customers
to switch loyalties. According to research
by Flavio, over 89% of customers are willing to switch their loyalty to a
competitor on having a bad customer experience. In other words, customers are
more concerned about customer service more than they are about a product and
its price.
More Companies Have Become CX Pace Setters
According to a study by
Gartner, most IT leaders and companies have found CX to be a sustainable
source of competitive differentiation. More organisations such as Netflix,
Amazon, and Spotify have become standard-bearers as far as customer experience
is concerned. This has made more businesses to shift from their traditional
service-based differentiation to customer experience. It is essential to note
that CX is not only for digitally native companies, but it is also an essential
part for all types of businesses looking to establish a lasting relationship
with their customers.
Customers Dictate Customer Experience
Today, customers are more informed and knowledgeable about brands, CX, and
products than they used to decades ago. Customers are no longer making impulse
purchases. Instead, most customers have their purchase decision premeditated
before they go shopping. Customers expect that businesses understand their
purchase needs and that they will get a personalised experience while shopping.
For example, offering customers both same-day delivery and next day delivery
leaves them satisfied throughout their buying experience.
Customer Retention
Price has been a significant brand differentiator for a couple of decades. Over
time, however, businesses have realised that affordable prices will not retain
a customer. Instead, customers will continue purchasing a product on the basis
of the experience they get while buying the product. Following this trend, over
42% of businesses have invested in CX for purposes of customer retention. This
is according to a study by Genesys.
Offering your customers a good experience alongside excellent after-sale
services such as timely deliveries will not only help you retain existing
customers, but it will also attract more customers to your business. Always
consider giving your customers a worthy experience each time they make a
purchase from your business.
