Competition in the customer experience space just keeps stepping up. There’s a reflexive tendency with some providers to protect their “lowest-cost provider” status. And that will always work – with a certain segment of customers.
But consider this:
A recent PwC report states that 73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions, just behind price and product quality.
We find recognition of this reality from some of the most likely – and less-likely places. In a CNBC interview, Glenn Fogel, CEO, Booking Holdings, asserted:
“A lot of people [have] built their business by giving away the product…in the belief that they’re going to bring in a lot of customers, and then at some point they’ll turn it around and start charging more and making it profitable.”
If you’re looking to add and (hopefully, retain) customers, you get how there’s more to winning the war than price.
This probably comes as no surprise to you, in the era of “customer obsession.” Yet despite the developments in customer technology aimed at improving the customer experience – chatbots, artificial intelligence (AI), etc. – and the different channels we’re communicating with our customers through, PwC research shows the most important factors still come down to making sure we’re delivering on the basics.
Nearly 80% of American consumers say that speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service are the most important elements of a positive customer experience.
Today, we need to be interacting with our customers when and where they need us to – not just how it best suits the business. Failing to do so is risking everything.
This quote has never been truer:
“If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000.” – Jeff Bezos.
Are your current vendors hitting these basic – but fundamental – elements of providing a positive customer experience?
