Why Customer Experience Is Today's Business Benchmark, And How Tech Is Helping
Not too long ago, businesses just assumed that the highest bang for the buck product is the best. And to some extent, it is. But there’s a new term in town: customer experience. Customer experience matters more and more these days, but what exactly is it?
Recently the Harvard Business Review looked into that very question. They pointed out that customer experience was more than just about the times when the client engages with your company. It’s about the whole experience that they have with you, from start to finish. It’s about the relationship that customers feel that they build with you, rather than just their experience with the product. And it’s how they feel about all the multiple touch points with you over time.
It’s important to note that businesses are still learning what great customer experience means. New technologies, like social media, have changed the way businesses interact. But that doesn’t mean that the companies themselves have learned how to take advantage of these new techs completely. So what’s the latest thinking on improving the customer experience? How can businesses do better when it comes to customer experience? Let’s find out.
Tech Has Made Listening Easier
The fact that customers are able to communicate with businesses so easily makes your job a little easier. Now you really can provide each client with a bespoke interaction that meets their needs. Customers can get in touch via chat boxes on your site, Twitter, Facebook and the rest. And you can find out what they’re thinking through simple polls or surveys.
Tech Is Making Payment Better
Payments have always been a sticking point for companies. But with the rise of mobile credit card processing, it looks as if this friction is about to go away. We’ve seen some pretty cool changes in how people check out their carts recently. The technology now exists, in the form of NFC payment methods, to allow companies to avoid all the usual checkout hassle. This is making the payment experience as seamless as, say, loading items into the cart. Fundamentally, this means that early adopters will be able to do more business. Their customers will be more likely to go through with their orders.
Tech Is Making Managing Data Easier
Businesses are like big hubs for lots of incoming data. Companies need to track data on customers, their inventories, and their sales performance. For most businesses, all this data is sitting out in the ether. It’s not been integrated into a meaningful whole. As a result, businesses are missing out on crucial insights into their processes and how they can make themselves better. Data management is currently experiencing something of a boom. Businesses are starting to realize they can use data to make their operations better. Data can be used to reduce waste, target the right customers and track expenses. Data can also be mined to find new product opportunities in unexpected places. All of this data can then be used to improve business intelligence, ultimately aiding the customer.
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