The future of customer experience (CX) changes every day as new technologies and new demands emerge. There’s no doubt that enterprises are under pressure to meet customers where they are and support them on increasingly longer buying journeys. The task is difficult, but the reward is significant: 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, according to research by PwC.
As enterprises seek to better understand and satisfy their customers, innovations like the customer experience center are taking center stage. A customer experience center is a virtual, physical, or hybrid space where groups of high-value customers and stakeholders are invited to learn more about a brand and share their insights in turn. The future of the customer experience center is just one example of how CX best practices are changing and accelerating. In this blog we’re taking a look at where CX has been, why it needs to be improved, and what trends you need to be aware of to seize the competitive advantage.
What Are the Three Main Components of Customer Experience?
Historically, the three main components of customer experience have been considered discovery, engagement, and delivery.
- Discovery: This component is related to how customers find your brand and the first impression they receive in that moment. This isn’t just about knowing which channels to market on, but also sending the right message to stick in the buyer’s mind for all the right reasons.
- Engagement: This component relates to customers during and after their decision to purchase. Before they buy, they need to have ample information about the product or service to feel confident in their decision. And after a customer has made a purchase, the company needs to engage them to retain their loyalty, encourage additional transactions, and secure referrals or positive reviews.
- Delivery: This component relates to how the product or service is shipped, deployed, or provided–whatever makes sense for your deliverable. How the customer receives their value from the product, both initially and ongoing, is another part of this component.
Many companies only think of customer experience up to the point of making the sale, and no further. Don’t forget the experience of your existing, loyal customers is just as important to the long-term health and growth of the business.
Why Should We Improve CX?
The call to improve customer experiences has been making headlines for years connected to the idea of profitability. As we shared in the intro, the vast majority of consumers will pay more money for a better experience. Customer retention, customer satisfaction, and opportunities for upselling and cross-selling are all compelling reasons to improve your customer experience.
But did you know that improving the customer experience might also improve the employee experience, and vice versa? Happier customers means a better work environment for your sales team, customer experience and service representatives. Knowing customers love the product or services also drives satisfaction for your product developers, software engineers, technicians, and more. In turn, happy employees provide customers with great experiences, and the cycle just repeats itself.
Starting and encouraging the cycle of happy employees creating happy customers is where an innovation like the customer experience center can play a surprising role. A customer experience center gives participants a chance to get to know your brand outside the marketing messages and sound bytes they might find online or in the news. But this immersive experience doesn’t have to be limited to your consumers. Employees can also participate in a center with programming and information targeted at them. This is a chance for them to share their feedback about what they hear and see, and leave feeling better about the company.
What Is the Future of Customer Experience After 2023?
The future of customer experience requires that enterprises differentiate themselves from the competition, without making the customer (or employees) feel like a commodity. Surprisingly, you can help people feel less like a commodity through more automation. Just as one example, technology like chatbots can give customers the immediate responsiveness they expect on digital platforms without keeping employees working around the clock.
Another aspect of the future of customer experience is that enterprises must become better listeners and more thoughtful actors. This requires new channels of communication for getting to know customers and their expectations. In one podcast about customer experience trends in 2023, McKinsey company partners talked about how simple customer surveys and feedback forms are no longer enough to get a true pulse on the real customer experience. Deploying a customer experience center is an excellent investment for enterprises to demonstrate their full commitment to the best CX possible.
What Does the Future of CX Look Like? Alleo Can Help You Map the Landscape.
All the debates about “what is the future of CX” have landed experts in agreement: any growth your enterprise achieves through CX will be the result of a customer-centered approach that is experience-led. You can no longer expect customers to come to you and take whatever they get. Instead, you need to uncover what they think of your offering or plans, what they need next, and learn it all while providing an experience that makes them feel valued, welcomed, and included in the story.
To meet the future in advance, you need a customer experience center driven by Alleo. Our software is the backbone to a successful customer experience center that provides collaborative equity for both virtual and in-person participants. Using Alleo is so engaging, fun, and productive that deploying our product is a win for your customer experience in and of itself. What we help you do after that just adds to the benefits. If you’re ready to get more of a visual about what we mean, check out our Instagram, or contact us today to get a personalized demo that aligns with your needs and questions.
