In a customer experience article written by Shep Hyken recently stated that 89% of companies compete primarily on the basis of customer experience – up from 36% in 2010 but 80% of companies believe they deliver “WOW Experiences”

What is customer experience?
Customer experience (CX) can be defined as the sum of the interactions between a customer and a business over the period of their relationship. A positive customer experience creates repeat and loyal customers. Companies that invest in building positive customer experience tend to achieve higher customer satisfaction rates, reduced customer churn and, in-turn, improved business revenues. When research was done by American Express it revealed that 60% of customers will pay more for better customer experience. This means pricing isn’t as big of a concern as the experience.

How do you build customer relationships?
Reaching out to customers on a daily basis by replying to their comments, answering their questions, or engaging them with interesting posts are great ways to build a rapport. Customers expect responses promptly. When brands fail to do so, it can cripple their reputation and future business.

Brands that engage effectively with customers gain a follower base much more rapidly. These followers will turn into a brand’s loyal advocates and help in the publicity of the brand through positive word-of-mouth.

Social Media
Businesses can use social media to help build and increase their customer base, enhance their brand image, and provide an exceptional customer experience. Yet, despite several benefits, social media, if not managed appropriately, can definitely be damaging for brands.

A great entrepreneur, Jeff Bezos said:

“If you make customers unhappy n the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.”

This quote sums up the powers of negative word-of-mouth over the internet. The speed at which negative feedback travels is very fast and businesses must remember this. Customer’s negative feedback on social media will damage the reputation of a business very quickly.

If you want repeat business give WOW!customer experiences so your customers remember you-in a good way! If you make a mistake, as we all do, just address and resolve the problem immediately. If you need a Fresh Perspective on your customer experiences contact Debbie Hart at The Hart Experience 602.717.3271 Debbie@thehartexperience.com www.thehartexperience.com

A Referring Customer is a Happy Customer!!