Customer experience refers to the value that customers experience, including things other than material and monetary values.
Managing and improving the customer experience is a key differentiator for companies.
This time, let’s take a look at what customer experience is, how to implement customer experience management, and points to improve customer experience in B2B.
What is customer experience?
Let’s take a look at the meaning, importance, and benefits of Customer Experience (CX).
●Customer experience refers to the value experienced by customers, including things other than material and monetary ones.
Customer experience is the value that customers experience.
The value that customers experience includes the physical value of the product or service itself, as well as the monetary value such as its price and the revenue it generates.
However, in the case of customer experience, all values other than material and monetary values are included.
Customer experience refers to the various customer experiences at every stage of your product or service, from promotions before they buy, to consideration of purchase, to actual purchase, and post-purchase support. Masu.
Customer experience management refers to efforts to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy by providing a customer experience that meets or exceeds customer expectations.
●Types of customer experience
Specifically, customer experience can be categorized into the following five types:
1. SENCE (sensory value)
The first aspect of customer experience is sensory value.
In the case of a store, things that appeal to the human senses include a comfortable layout, interior design, background music, and scents.
2. FEEL (emotional value)
The second aspect of customer experience is emotional value.
It appeals to the emotions of customers through direct customer interaction such as customer service.
3. THINK (creative/cognitive value)
Creative and cognitive value are also important in customer experience.
For example, by using products equipped with the latest technology, we can stimulate customers’ intellectual curiosity and spirit of inquiry.
4. ACT (Value to Physical and Lifestyle Change)
An important element of customer experience is the perceived convenience and comfort that comes from using a product or service, and the value that comes from changes in lifestyle.
5. RELATE (value for sense of belonging)
The value of belonging to a group is also an element of customer experience.
A typical example is an artist’s fan club.
●Customer experience is a key differentiator
In today’s world, where cheap products can be mass-produced and it is difficult to compete solely on the material and monetary value of products, customer experience has become an important differentiating factor.
By effectively managing a customer experience that appeals to the customer’s psychology and senses, you can gain a competitive advantage.
●Benefits of improving customer experience
Improving customer experience has the following benefits:
- Increased favorability towards the brand
-
Increase
customer loyalty
and gain repeat customers
- We can expect a ripple effect from word of mouth.
- Can reduce the risk of switching brands
How to implement customer experience management
Let’s take a look at how to implement customer experience management.
●Create a mission statement
When introducing customer experience management, it is important to create a mission statement that clearly expresses “what kind of initiatives will you take as a company and what kind of value will you create?”
By instilling a mission statement among employees, the entire company can work together to increase its value.
It also provides opportunities for customers to use your products and services.
●Create a customer profile
Delivering a great customer experience requires a deep understanding of your customers.
In order to deeply understand your customers, it is important to create a solid customer profile and continuously maintain and manage it.
The key to creating a customer profile is to incorporate as much data as possible, including not only demographic attributes such as age and gender, but also social media, videos, and location information.
●Set numerical goals
Customer experience is a value that is difficult to see, so it is important to clearly quantify it and set goals.
It is also essential to check whether the implemented measures were effective after implementing them.
Points to improve customer experience in BtoB
As we introduce customer experience management, let’s take a look at the key points to improve customer experience in B2B.
●Identifying the “moment of truth”
In BtoB, there are more points of contact between companies and customers than in BtoC, and business negotiations typically last for a long time.
Therefore, it is important to determine which of the many customer contact points corresponds to the “moment of truth.”
Moments of truth are moments that are particularly important for customers to judge the value of a company.
Specifically, in customer support, documentation explaining how to use the product and handling returns, in sales, relationships with the management of customer companies, and in marketing, product demo videos are considered to be moments of truth.
● Emphasis on customer’s subjective evaluation
Customer experience is not about “enhancing hospitality” in customer service.
After all, it is a subjective evaluation by the customer.
It is important to always prioritize “Do customers feel valued?” rather than relying on the company’s self-satisfaction when implementing measures.
●Do not fall into partial optimization measures
Customer experience is different from “customer satisfaction.”
Even if each department improves customer satisfaction on its own, that alone will not improve the customer experience.
Customer experience is the customer’s experiences and impressions throughout the entire process, from purchase to usage and after-sales service.
It is important to plan and implement measures for total optimization rather than partial optimization.
summary
◆Customer experience refers to the value that customers experience, including things other than material and monetary ones.
◆Customer experience is a key differentiating factor
◆When introducing customer experience management, first create a mission statement.
◆In customer experience management in BtoB, it is important to identify the “moment of truth”