Experiences shape the way we live and interact — from the services we engage with, to the way we travel, to the products we purchase. Positive customer experiences have become deeply intertwined with technology.
Online chatbots have taken over the majority of customer service inquiries. A greater emphasis has been placed on customer self-service options, allowing customers to handle simple tasks independently without waiting on hold forever. And social media has become one of the most effective ways for businesses to connect with their customers.
The world of customer service has changed significantly in the past two years, especially in fitness, wellness, and beauty. But there is no need to panic. Here are the six best tips to help you master the art of creating the best customer experience in 2022.
1. Be responsive to customer needs
The goal here is to create an experience that's not just memorable but also enjoyable for your customers. If you can do that, then you're on your way to building lasting relationships with them, creating brand loyalty, and ultimately becoming a market leader in your niche.
For example, suppose you are running a yoga studio and notice that customers are always leaving the studio with empty water bottles. In that case, you may consider installing a purified water dispenser near the locker rooms.
You are the only yoga studio in town that offers free, fresh, cold water to refill their water bottles during a workout and keep them hydrated. This small investment goes a long way and creates a differentiator between you and your competition. A customer is more likely to return to your yoga studio.
An overall better customer experience helps with retention and word-of-mouth marketing. Soon these happy, hydrated customers will be ecstatic to share their go-to yoga spot with their friends.
2. Understand customer behavior and map the customer journey
The customer is always right when it comes to their own experience with your brand.
So when you decide to revamp your customer experience strategy in 2022, look at how customers are interacting with your brand and adapt to align with what they are looking for in the future.
For example, wellness professionals, including nutritionists and other lifestyle coaches, have significantly shifted from in-person meetings to virtual meetings over the past two years.
In the wellness industry, it is crucial to adapt to the changing times and continue to offer virtual live streaming sessions even after returning to a more "normal" time post-pandemic. Humans are creatures of habit and will continue to purchase products or services that make their lives easier.
Next, let's take a look at why the customer journey is so important. A "customer journey" is the sum of all interactions someone has with your company over time.
By mapping out the customer journey, you can determine how customers truly feel about your brand and if any bottlenecks are preventing repeat customers.
It is important to remember that the customer journey doesn't stop after someone purchases your product or service. After their initial purchase, interactions with your customer should not be left to the wayside and are an essential part of the customer journey.
3. Design a simple, mobile-friendly website with intuitive navigation
In this digital era, you must provide a fast and frictionless online experience for your customers. When designing your website, follow these best practices:
- Keep design elements consistent throughout your site
- Use clear and concise language
- Optimize your website to be mobile-friendly
- Comply with data privacy laws
Creating a memorable customer experience on your website often requires collecting user data, especially cookies.
Website owners usually use cookies to enhance the user experience, such as remembering shopping cart items. However, sometimes websites are filled with more shady cookies, such as advertising cookies that track users all over the internet.
Loading your website with this powerful tracking technology may be tempting, but you should be careful. Because of this type of ability and technology, numerous laws worldwide were passed to regulate the use of cookies on your website.
Understandably, keeping up with cookie use legislation, tracking cookie usage, informing users about it, and getting their consent can undoubtedly be challenging, especially for smaller businesses. You should consider using something like a cookie consent manager that automatically does that work for you, relieving the burden and logistical headache.
This landing page from StuDocu shows a clear example of a cookie consent banner. It states the importance of collecting cookies for users.
The more intuitive your site is, the easier it'll be for customers to find what they need and make purchases quickly and easily without getting frustrated.
4. Provide self-help and automation tools
You're probably thinking, "Well, that sounds like a lot of work!" But fear not: there's no need to reinvent the wheel.
All you have to do is leverage existing tools that can provide value to your customers through your website or mobile app.
If you are an ecommerce store selling beauty or wellness products, your clients might want to see how your product looks in different settings. To do so, you can use a background changer to showcase your product in a different environment.
Or, if you are a service-based company, you can incorporate software that allows for easy, no-fuss online bookings.
Customers are always looking for instant answers. If they have to wait a long time or can't find what they are looking for, they will go elsewhere.
5. Engage customers on social media channels
It's time to meet your customers where they are. And that means giving them multiple options for getting in touch with you.
Offering multiple contact methods can result in higher satisfaction ratings from current and future customers alike, improving retention and decreasing churn.
Social media is a simple way for customers to ask questions and voice concerns while giving your team the chance to showcase your brand values and personality.
Be sure that any content you post is relatable, positive, and representative of what your company offers.
Content is also a great way to have meaningful conversations with your customers. You can discover what they like, what they don't like, and what they value most through comments and interactions.
6. Measure and analyze customer experience metrics
Finally, you need to measure and analyze customer experience (CX) metrics to understand how to improve CX fully.
Consider using an alternative HR management method to help you save time on essential administration tasks. Now you have more time to focus on analyzing customer satisfaction surveys to generate meaningful CX metrics.
Segment your data for additional insights into specific customer types, experiences, touchpoints, and channels. You may find your high-value customers have different needs than your low-value ones. Or that the quality of service is vital in one region but not in another.
Leverage CX data collected through forums and surveys to help you improve retention rates and revenue growth. The data should point you to the exact spot of the customer journey where you are falling short.
Wrapping Up
It turns out that the best way to build a regular customer base is to understand your customers' needs and then provide them with the best possible customer experience.
To create memorable customer experiences, you have to think through the different touchpoints that each customer has with your business — from the first time they hear about you to the first time they interact with you and beyond.
By thinking through these customers' entire journey, you'll create experiences tailored to them. The personalized experience will be worth talking about to their friends and family.
Guillaume Deschamps is a content marketing manager at Wordable.