In a world where the balance has flipped from brand to customer, a positive customer experience is vital for business success. Never before have customers had so much power brought about by the access to information that the web brings. With customers becoming increasingly savvy, they now have the ability choose between competing companies that offer varying levels of customer service.
What is B2B customer experience, and why does it matter?
We should start by defining what we mean and why B2B Customer Experience is so important and should be at the centre of all we do. At its core the science of Customer Experience (often abbreviated to CX) management is the practice of first designing and then reacting to customer interactions for the purpose of meeting or ideally exceeding customer expectations. In this way we optimise customer satisfaction, their loyalty and ultimately increase advocacy.
Here are our top six reasons why customer experience is so important to any business:
1. Increased customer satisfaction
A report by McKinsey in 2014 found that companies focused on maximising satisfaction, with regard to the end to end customer journey, have the potential to increase customer satisfaction by 20%. More recent reports have supported if not increased this figure as customer expectations raise.
Essentially, in order to improve customer satisfaction, focus should be on the whole, end to end, customer experience. The report suggests that it is no longer good enough to focus on individual interactions with customers. These must now be seen in a context or in broader terms.
One of the benefit of this approach is that in addition to being able to optimise the individual customer ‘moments’, the experience becomes more consistent across all interaction points and channels.
The goal then is to create a consistent customer experience across all touch points that meets or exceeds the expected standards. At each and every touch point, you’ll ensure that the promise of a positive experience is delivered and that the customer can experience a certain level of superior service: whether it is from sales, customer service, accounts or support.
2. Repeat custom
55% of customers now trust companies less than they used to. (HubSpot Research) Scratch the surface and what you find is that loyalty has to be earned and can never be taken for granted!
As we’ve already said customers believe there are plenty of available alternatives, given the competitive environment, and they perceive the switching costs to be too small to affect them.
Focusing on the customer experience can help alleviate these issues. When executed properly, customer experience will be a point of differentiation from competitors. Creating an experience that truly impresses customers and exceeds expectations ensures that they will want to continue doing business with you.
A superior customer experience becomes a unique and valued offering for the consumer, who recognises they may not have the same experience with a competitor and does not want to take that risk by switching.
Investing in increasing customer loyalty will still yield positive results. Genuine customer loyalty is built through great customer experiences that exceed expectations, not through bribery.
3. Increased advocacy and referrals
Customer advocacy and referrals play a crucial role in inbound marketing. Referred customers not only cost less to acquire but also have higher potential for retention and loyalty, as indicated by research from Wharton School of Business, which found that referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value than non-referred ones.
Referees are often quick to purchase and less demanding customers because they already understand and trust your business.
When customers have a great experience, they love talking about it. It not only makes them feel good but also reinforces their own purchase decisions. By exceeding customer expectations and going above and beyond average customer service, you have the opportunity to create an experience that customers will remember and share for years to come.
Uber and Dropbox are prime examples of companies that leveraged exceptional customer experiences to make a lasting impact.
Uber revolutionized transportation with convenient ride-hailing, transparency, seamless payments, and personalized service. Customers were thrilled with the ease and convenience, leading to increased advocacy and referrals.
Dropbox simplified file storage and sharing with an intuitive interface, collaboration features, reliability, security, and excellent customer support. Users appreciated the seamless experience, resulting in positive recommendations and referrals.
These companies disrupted their industries by delivering outstanding customer experiences that exceeded expectations and addressed pain points. Their success showcases the power of exceptional customer experiences in driving advocacy and business growth.
4. Reduced customer churn
Reducing customer churn is essential for maintaining a thriving business. To achieve this, it's important to develop a comprehensive customer experience strategy that addresses areas where the customer experience may fall short. Here's a conciser overview of the process:
-
Gather Insights: Understand customer preferences through market research, surveys, and feedback.
-
Customer Journey Mapping: Visualise the end-to-end customer experience to identify pain points.
-
Identify Gaps: Analyse insights and compare them with desired standards to pinpoint areas that need improvement.
-
Develop Improvement Strategies: Implement process enhancements, training, and communication improvements.
-
Measure and Monitor: Use KPIs like customer satisfaction, NPS, and retention rate to track progress.
By focusing on improving customer service in these areas and maintaining a consistent approach throughout the entire customer journey, you can set high expectations and proactively identify any future areas that may fall below these standards. This proactive approach helps minimise churn and enhances overall customer satisfaction.
Our marketing maturity assessment tool can help evaluate your companies marketing capabilities. By following these steps and leveraging the assessment, you can find ways to enhance your customer experience strategy for reduced churn and business growth.
5. Competitive advantage over competitors
Forrester and others suggest that in the future “customer experience is your only source of sustainable competitive advantage.”
A competitive advantage is huge for all businesses operating in today’s environment. We all have a large number of competitors that offer very similar products and services. There is a risk that we are moving toward a world where every service-based industry will be a commodity.
The customer experience therefore offers the perfect platform for differentiation. Instead of a customer comparing and basing purchase decisions solely on price, they will also factor their experience. Business will find it increasing difficult to compete purely on price alone.
6. Increased sales and revenue
There is ample evidence that customers will buy more and spend more with businesses that provide them with a great customer experience.
When it comes to measuring return on investment and seeing monetary results from investing in the customer experience, these statistics provide evidence of the value.
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers.
- Brands with superior customer experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience.
- 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.
Customers are asking and expect better experience. They show you they care with their wallet as well as their mouths. Customer Experience is no longer a fad, it’s the norm.
There is already significant evidence that organisations that can execute the best customer experience, will yield the biggest rewards. Those who can leverage technology to engage customers and create experiences that impress and exceed expectations will be the ones who win new business and see their market share grow.
Learn more about improving your customer retention by reading our article on 7 Steps to Improve Your Customer Retention.
