Did you know that only 10% of consumers strongly agree that companies deliver exceptional customer experience? As such, it’s no longer a secret that brands who want to keep growing need to deliver when it comes to their customer experience. A good customer experience strategy has positive outcomes for increased loyalty and retention.
But, it’s not just about retention. Customer experience and acquisition are also intertwined. Great experiences drive better customer acquisition performance and the winning brands make sure that customer experience is amazing from the very first touchpoint with their brand. Keep reading for an intro to what customer experience is and how it contributes significantly to customer acquisition.
What is Customer Experience?
If someone asks you the last time you had an incredible experience as a customer, it wouldn’t be difficult to point out. You can remember how you felt. Chances are you were happy and satisfied. Similarly, when asked about poor customer experience, you can think of a scenario within seconds. You can remember exactly how you felt angry, and frustrated.
Customer experience is the impression or perception a customer has of a brand. The impression can be good or bad, depending on a customer’s expectations. Everything an organization does, including the products it sells, its messaging, sales process, and after-sales process affects the overall customer experience. When you get it right. It can be a powerful driver of growth for your brand. Exceptional customer experience is personalized, timely, memorable, and consistent.
Why does Customer Experience Matter?
Customer experience is vital in the current digital age. Customers have more options than ever before. They can switch brands easily and have the power to influence others. If you can’t offer customers a great experience that matches or exceeds their expectations, they will switch to your competitors.
A positive customer experience ensures the sustained growth of your enterprise. It gives rise to customers who are loyal to your brand, evangelize your offerings, and refer friends. Consequently, you increase revenue and earn new customers. Companies that prioritize customer experience report 5.7 times more revenue than those that lag behind in customer experience.
Other benefits of customer experience include:
- Better customer satisfaction
- Increased customer conversion rates
- Reduced marketing spend and customer acquisition costs
- Improve customer retention and loyalty
- Enhanced brand credibility
What is Customer Acquisition?
Customer Experience and Acquisition: How Do They Relate?
Positive customer experience means that you spend less on acquiring new customers. Your current customers help you attract new customers by evangelizing to them. They even refer their family and friends to your business.
It also costs a lot less to retain customers than acquire new ones. Better customer experience helps you keep customers. You are assured of repeat business and get an opportunity to cross-sell. One study even shows that boosting customer retention by 5%, increases profits by 25-95%.
A great experience makes customers happy and satisfied. 90% of happy customers have a high probability of purchasing again. Also, 77% of customers share a positive experience with personal contacts and review sites. This means more business for your enterprise as your reputation grows in a positive way.
Poor customer experience is detrimental to your business. You not only lose customers but also get a reputation for poor service. Many customers abandon a brand when they have a poor experience. Research shows that 63% of consumers move to another company after having a poor online experience. According to Forbes, the US loses $1.6 trillion from customers switching brands because of poor service.
Customer experience doesn’t have to be complicated. Consumers want convenient and personalized experiences with brands. That’s the way to make them buy from you. Acquia reports that 90% of consumers want a convenient experience when interacting with brands online. And 80% of consumers want greater personalization. Why? Because personalization shows a brand understands who they are as individuals and can cater to their needs.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is based on the concept that listening to customers can help you better meet their needs and appeal to them. It aims at building relationships with customers through conversations and making the buying experience seamless.
Many people assume that conversational marketing only takes place in live chat or on websites. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Conversational marketing can be most effective when you engage customers on the websites and apps they already spend their time.
Facebook Messenger and Conversational Display Ads are both great examples. Facebook Messenger automation can connect you with a huge audience on social media and deliver a seamless customer experience from ad click to conversion to re-engagement. Conversational Display Ads take the power of conversational marketing and combine it with the reach of display. It provides better customer experiences right within a display ad unit. Your brand can engage customers in conversation right on the websites and apps they love. In the end, it’s all about businesses leveraging different platforms to reach new customers and prospects. Chatbots offer a lucrative opportunity for organizations to engage customers and start conversations.
Benefits of Conversational Marketing
Fortunately, conversational marketing can help streamline your marketing funnel and offer a far better customer experience. It helps you build effective ad campaigns based on declared customer data given to you in conversation rather than relying on anonymous demographic data in your website analytics. You can offer customers the right content every time and can connect with them at their highest moment of intent.
Here are more benefits of conversational marketing:
- Increases customer engagement
- Develops customer loyalty
- Grows your customer base
- Shortens the sales cycle
- Increases revenue
- Offers a competitive advantage over rivals.
Bottom Line
Nowadays, companies are no longer competing based on products and services. They are competing based on customer experience, with every business striving to offer exceptional experiences to customers. Positive customer experience is beneficial because it promotes loyalty, increases customer satisfaction, improves customer retention, and boosts sales. Also, great experiences attract customers to your business.
