4 customer experience elements that are musts for your strategy

Imagine this: Four individuals sit down in a conference room to build a customer experience (CX) strategy.

The first one starts and says, “Let’s begin by considering ways to engage our audience.”

The second shakes their head and says, “No. Converting leads is where we should focus our attention.”

The third interrupts to point out that fulfilling expectations is the most important part of any strategy.

The fourth sits quietly—ignoring the others—while jotting down notes on how to best nurture previous customers.

Which strategist is right?

They all are.

An exceptional customer experience doesn’t happen at once. Good CX is an ongoing, iterative journey of many moments rather than a singular one. We all know this in theory. Yet Gartner found that “Over 70% of CX leaders struggle to design projects that increase customer loyalty and achieve results.”

Where does this struggle come from? It could be the sheer number of choices that the modern consumer has, or perhaps it’s the speed at which customers now expect to communicate with brands. While both may be true, the real answer is the simplest—neglecting the basics.

In this blog post, we’ll look at four elements of good CX strategies to fine-tune customer engagement at each level.

1. Ensure customers have a positive engagement at all touchpoints

When you think of positivity, you might be thinking of the light, all-smiling approach of a salesperson. But positive CX means so much more; evaluate every touchpoint with the customer to ensure their experience goes smoothly.

Positive customer experiences include well-targeted marketing campaigns so that right from the start they see that your brand aligns with their needs. It means having a simplified buying path, such that the customer was delighted with “how easy that was.” It means multi-device deliverability so leads never feel frustrated navigating your website on their phone or tablet. It means providing self-service options and chatbots so customers can easily answer their questions without the pressure of talking to a salesperson.

2. Fulfill customer expectations

Customer expectations have grown as the move to digital marketing has taken hold. Your audience is likely more empowered than ever before to be vocal about what they like—and don’t like. Whatever promise you make to your customers needs to be fulfilled.

But how do you determine their expectations? Ask them! Post questions on social media to learn about their preferences. Offer discounts or other promos in exchange for completing surveys. It also helps to research the competition, as that is the landscape on which their expectations will be built.

Once you have a good sense of how to fulfill customer needs, put that in your marketing copy. Make it part of your brand, not only for sales purposes, but for helping keep everyone on your team aligned with that mission.

3. Identify CX pain points

Turning leads into cheerleaders for your brand requires more than fulfilling customer expectations; you have to exceed them. Consider the pain points in the customer journey and what you can do to alleviate them.

For example, a company offers a hardware product that requires some setup. Getting an unfamiliar technology working isn’t something most people look forward to. By investing time and energy into making the installation process seamless and easy, the company has an opportunity to exceed expectations and create delighted customers.

Some other pain points where you can improve your customer experience are shipping, returns, sizing, and previewing features. Useful tools for addressing pain points include concierge services, free or same-day shipping, 3D product previews, and easy access to information about upgrades, drivers, and product dimensions.

4. Remember that great CX is everyone’s responsibility

Contrary to popular belief, marketing and sales aren’t solely responsible for producing an exceptional customer experience strategy. Because CX software is becoming more robust about everything it measures, every team within your business can benefit.

Whether your customer service department needs data on prior issues or the folks in finance have to reconcile budgets, the more seamless the process, the better. When considering this, it’s important to look for a CX solution that’s truly an organizational adoption. When everyone contributes to the experience, everyone wins.

Learn more about how Oracle Advertising and CX can help you build a complete view of your customer and make every interaction matter.