By: Jennifer Cameron
Have you ever watched a blockbuster movie that promised non-stop action, a scorching romance, and the good guys coming out on top? And it lived up to the hype?
Of course.
If a preview promises all that action and doesn’t deliver, it’s not going to be a blockbuster, right?
It’s a blending of A-list actors, high-budget sequences, and perfectly placed trailers that create the buzz and bring in viewers. It’s all about marketing, right?
In much the same way, products, services, employees, marketing, customer service – all of that comes together to create the Customer Experience (CX). Every touchpoint from initial brand introduction and relationship cultivation to purchase and beyond is a chance for you to provide the best CX in the business.
What is a Great Customer Experience?
Let’s liken it to the movies again. If people always rush to see a certain director’s films, why is that?
Is it because of the director’s unique viewpoint? The actor or actress in the main role? The supporting roles? The setting or premise of the movie itself? Ticket price?
Or is it the feeling viewers get every time they watch one of his or her films – that feeling viewers always know they’ll be left with?
Well, it’s not just the director, the starring role, the sprinkling of other celebrities, the premise, or that feel-good ending – it’s all the above.
A great customer experience is the same – it keeps your customers coming in to see you, visiting online, and making purchases. And best of all, your happy customers tell their friends. In a sense, you’re the director – and maybe even the star of the show, too. Your employees make up the supporting cast and the premise is an incredible experience. You can ensure customer happiness by giving employees all the resources they need for their role.
But what about ticket price? In the end, do lower prices satisfy customers?
Discounts & Deals vs. Customer Experience
Deep discounts and once-a-season sales are great ways to get your customers at your door, no doubt. But do these sales tactics get those same customers to come back time and again? What role does pricing play?
Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar or an ecommerce brand, discounting products and services provide a means of competing with your rivals. And yes, discounts work – in fact, a vast percentage of consumers say they enjoy buying deals, while around 40% of buyers say they don’t care about the brand, they just want the best deal.
But over 80% of consumers will listen to a friend or relative when it comes to products and services they love.
This price-point business makes consumers quite fickle. Well, of course, the best discount normally catches the most prospects – nearly half of consumers will switch brands for lower prices. BOGO sales can pull in newbies, too – but those stats don’t do much for customer loyalty, though.
But, say, you’re their favorite brand. Offering BOGO or other discounts – especially to consumers who normally buy in bulk anyway – can result in fuller carts. While this is definitely customer loyalty, if you’re earning it through these deep discounts, you’re at the mercy of the choppy pricing seas. If customers find their favorite product elsewhere for less, loyalty doesn’t factor into this equation any longer.
Or does it?
Experience > Price
If you really look at the stats surrounding customer loyalty, there’s an underlying trend of experience over price. Why?
Why do we watch movies? Entertainment, yes. But more importantly, because we want to feel something. At the very base of our purchasing decisions is emotion.
Humans enjoy how brands make them feel, the connections created with a simple purchase, and how a brand’s values match with their own. While we think of ourselves as rational creatures – it’s only human that some level of emotion dictates our choices.
So, the greater emotional connection you build with your customers, the better customer experience they’ll have – and the more you’ll remain top of mind the next time they shop.
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