At present, companies are well aware of the importance of working the customer experience. Already there are several studies showing that investing in this discipline brings benefits handsomely. However the difficulty is found when implementing the defined strategy, where, no doubt, the emotional connection is a basic pillar.
Increase sales volume, reduce the dropout rate or increase customer loyalty they are just some of the benefits of working discipline of customer experience. There are 6 steps that will help any company to implement a strategy of customer experience running, managing to improve both the journey of these, such as employee engagement.
Step 1: Listen to your client – Many companies make customer surveys, analyze complaints … but this is really listening to the customer? Do we ask at the right times? How many customers do we ask? What do we do with this information? No unilateral relationship works in real life; Why would it then work between company-client? Do we think that customers owe us loyalty? Companies must be able to offer customers the tools appropriate communication channels so that they can contribute their feedback expressed freely. In addition to conducting satisfaction surveys, it is also important to create direct and face conversations format “focus group”. This tool allows to know what customers think and to measure their actual reaction to the design of a product, packaging, price and message.
Step 2: Draw the customer’s life circle – It is essential to know the full customer experience with us. Without this global vision it will be very difficult to identify processes where it is possible to create these bonds of emotional connection. The main tool that allows us to meet customer behavior in each of the touchpoints with the company, remains the “Customer Journey Map”. Thanks to the visual map of the customer experience it is possible to clearly identify if the interactions are positive or negative and therefore, work on each of them independently. In a few words, knowing the customer’s life circle will know their true history with us.
Step 3: Co-Designed, Co-Innovated and Communicates – The objective of this phase is to solve problems and satisfy the needs of customers. If there is a department that knows the consumer, that is the customer service department. CO-promoting design incorporating individuals and teams who deal directly with it, will allow more accurate and precise solutions. One of the tools that will help us innovate in extracting ideas is the Visual Thinking. His method based on collaborative thinking through simplicity of design, can identify simple solutions to complex problems. It is important to always work under a collaborative perspective. In addition to getting better results will allow us to make communication much more sincere and fluid.
Step 4: Connect emotionally with your client and your team … – After the previous phases of listening, understanding the behavior and visual thinking, we can connect emotionally applying behavioral methods. This requires that the client computer learn to breathe, and how to meet this challenge is providing it with training and motivation. So, our employees know at all times what is the path and strategy marked by the company’s customer experience, making it is they who put it up. An example is the methodology Customer Insight, which identifies each client with a certain color, which in turn marks us how to speak, try and connect to it depending on your attitude and the good times or bad where he is. In short, this tool allows us to go a step further to empathize with each client, allowing the much sought emotional connection that creates a strong and memorable relationship.
Step 5: Transforms interactions emotions – </ strong> One of the most important phases of the process is the design and implementation of customer experience in direct contact with the brand. We refer when interacting face to face is performed by employees who act as messengers thereof. Mark clearly has in his hands the ability to fascinate the customer, for example, through the vendor himself or agent if it is the point of sale or by the technical service that goes to the address in the installation, maintenance or resolution of a incidence, to a certain service. It is what is identified as “WOW experiences”, that is, situations that make the difference between a normal service experience and a memorable one. Such simple and economic gestures for companies as offering a kind treatment or a great knowledge of the product / service, can be the trigger of this kind of experiences.
But there is no doubt that to reinforce these positive experiences it is essential for the client to perform easily, quickly and comfortably. And for this, point 1 (listening) will help us to ask tactical questions, while through the Customer Journey (point 2) we can identify the precise moments where to do them to improve. All without forgetting that this gradual knowledge that allows us to know exactly what happens, will be reinforced with CO (point 3 – CO-designed, CO-Innovated and COmmunicates) step.
Step 6: Analyze and audit to improve results – It is important to understand that the implementation of these phases requires feedback that allows you to track and know the progress of the objectives. And not only is the analysis itself important, but when and at what time we should give it more importance. If we think of a person who has used public transportation or bought a Smartphone, when did we ask for your satisfaction ?: Just when exiting the bus or store? Or is it better to do a week after having enjoyed the service of purchase? A tool that is especially effective in monitoring projects where innovation, flexibility and productivity are critical, is scrum. Scrum can work collaboratively with highly productive equipment to achieve the best possible result, prioritizing interactions and fulfillment of expectations by the customer.
Find the emotional connection with the client in internal processes.
Processes exchange of views and experiences from within companies, are proving crucial to obtaining results that translate into real “emotional connection” with customers. Operationalization phase (stand to work) which involved processes, people and technology is the Achilles heel of companies. Design and provide flexible and collaborative environments where the teams themselves are the ones leading the change is the way for all organizations seeking customer experience. Establish learning methods to make it happen enable you to get the emotional connection with consumers today.
