Today’s marketplace grows more competitive every day. To maintain and grow their share of the target market, brands must focus more on improving customer experience rather than just competitive pricing. In fact, more brands than ever before are choosing to become customer-centric, developing a companywide philosophy that focuses primarily on the customer.
Understanding the customer is, of course, a critical step in improving the customer experience but brands must also understand the customer experience as well. They must also understand what consumers perceive as a negative customer experience. When you consider that just over 50% of customers who have just one negative experience with one company will then choose to do business with a competitor, improving customer experience becomes increasingly important.
What is the customer experience?
The customer experience encompasses every single touchpoint consumer experience with your brand. It can start with the discovery of your website and end with a purchase.
Along the customer journey, however, there are many other touch points that can cause the customer to abandon your brand due to a negative experience. It is up to you to provide a positive experience at each touchpoint, so you can further propel the customer along the journey, ultimately ending with a sales conversion and a new loyal customer.
For example, suppose a customer walks into a store and has difficulty locating a product. To further compound the issue, suppose the person can’t find any customer service personnel to help either. This isn’t a great experience, and it may cause the customer to think twice before coming back.
On the other hand, suppose a customer enters your store and is greeted in a friendly manner. While browsing products, the customer is helped by knowledgeable sales associates, find it easy to locate the desired item in a well-lit, organized establishment, and makes a purchase from a cheery cashier. That would certainly equate to a positive customer experience.
The same concept applies to online e-tailers; a well-organized and informative website will perform much better in sales conversions than a website that is poorly designed and lacking information.
Essentially, improving the customer experience is everything. In fact, nearly 65% of consumers consider the customer experience to be more important than the cost of a product or service and over 85% would be willing to pay more for a product or service if they have a positive customer experience.
That said, improving customer experience can lead to an increase in sales revenue while choosing not to focus on being customer-centric can result in a poor return on investment. Additionally, improving customer experience in a competitive marketplace can mean the difference between growing your customer base and losing customers to other brands.
How can improving customer experience boost revenue?
Savvy marketers are already highly focused on improving customer experience, or CX. The reason is simple: Happy, satisfied customers will remain loyal, repeat customers. Over the years, the customer wants, needs and expectations have changed drastically. Consumers today expect a positive experience from the brands they choose to do business with wether they are shopping in a brick and mortar space or online.
Delivering positive CX results in an increase in brand loyalty and brand recognition. A loyal customer base will also greatly assist in your marketing efforts, with the potential to grow your customer base even more. Believe it or not, American consumers post more positive reviews than negative ones on social media platforms and reviewer websites.
And since consumers often take customer reviews into consideration before making a purchase, it certainly helps to build upon your positive reviews. As these reviews and your improved customer experience convert more customers, you’ll not only increase your revenue but also save money on marketing, since gaining new customers can cost seven times more than maintaining your current customers.
A positive customer experience helps differentiate your brand from competitors
Chances are you’ve got plenty of competitors in the local and national marketplace. Delivering an exceptional customer experience can make all the difference and help you stand out from the competition. Consider everything you do for your customers, and consider what the competition is doing. Is there something you could do better?
Read your reviews and study the feedback from exchanges over social media platforms. Doing so can give you great insight into how well consumers perceive your brand.
The customer experience should excel in every part of the customer journey
As mentioned earlier, there are several touchpoints a consumer will come across when interacting with your brand. Whether it’s looking for information on your website, engaging with your brand’s Twitter page, or interacting with a customer service representative, every touchpoint should focus on making sure your brand is delivering great CX.
Put simply, make the customer as happy as you can, and this will result in a strong ROI. Whether you are serving customers in a brick-and-mortar location or catering to their needs via an online e-commerce site, you must be sure to put the customer first, at the forefront of all your marketing efforts.
Today’s ever-advancing technology affords many opportunities to provide enhanced experiences for consumers that not only meet and exceed their expectations but also help you surpass the competition’s efforts.
Subscription box payment processing
One way many brands fail to meet consumer expectations is with payment options. Today’s consumers expect to be able to pay for goods and services in a variety of ways. That’s why partnering with a merchantA business that accepts credit cards for goods or services. account that works for you is an optimal solution, especially for subscription businesses.
There’s no point in paying extra to accept electronic payments simply because the big-box processors offer flat-rate pricing. Additionally, you may be sacrificing security, since payment processing that occurs through marketplaces and aggregators with limited e-commerce expertise can expose your business to significant risks.
Many brands that offer subscription services partner with NMA. As a subscription box processorA large data center that processes credit card transactions and settles funds to merchants. A processor connects to the merchant on behalf of an acquirer via a gateway or POS system to process payments electronically. Processors edit and format messages and switch to bankcard networks. They provide files for clearing and settlement and other value-added services.... with vast expertise in the merchantA business that accepts credit cards for goods or services. services and credit card processing industry, NMA offers a unique solution for businesses to help them save more money while providing complimentary statement analysis and custom pricing to meet their needs.
Get started with subscription box payment processing and benefit from:
- Low fees with top-tier service and support.
- One stop for cost savings.
- In-house risk and underwriting.
- Enhanced fraud prevention solutions.
- And more.
At NMA, We Work For You™. Because we consider you our customer, we want to provide you with the most positive customer experience possible, so that you can do the same for your customers.