Here’s Why Customer Experience Is Everyone’s Job
Is It Time to Evaluate Who’s Handling Your Customer’s Experience?
If your company approaches the customer journey like many organizations today, you probably leave the bulk of sales and marketing to…well, your sales and marketing teams.
It’s a common mistake countless companies make.
Creating a successful customer experience (CX) is the responsibility of everyone in your organization.
And by that, I mean, quite literally, everyone.
Your Customers Don’t See Silos
Your monthly reports and KPIs may be delineated by department-specific goals: a pipeline for the sales team, email signups for marketing, better response time for customer service…and the list goes on. But your customers? All they see is your brand. And everything that happens with your brand represents the company as a whole.
That means each email, call, conversation, and support ticket is just as critical as the detailed sales demo and carefully crafted digital advertising campaign.
For example, did you know that more than 30% of customers will abandon a brand they love after just one bad experience—or that 40% are turned off by inefficient experiences? It doesn’t matter when they happen or which department is responsible. One single negative interaction can be enough for your company to permanently lose a once-loyal customer.
On the other hand, an astounding 86% of consumers will not only stick with brands that meet their CX expectations but also pay more for a great experience.
From your customers’ perspective, it’s easy to understand why these discrepancies exist.
Remember a time you needed technical support but couldn’t find a self-serve tutorial? How about the afternoon when you spent half an hour on hold, only to repeat the same information to yet another customer representative? Or perhaps it’s one of the most common reasons why you decided to stop spending money with a particular brand—the company just didn’t live up to your expectations.
If even one of these scenarios is playing out within your organization, it could be costing you customers.
When all teams are empowered to anticipate and exceed your customers’ expectations, you build long-term loyalty and trust to create lasting customer relationships.
The Power of Comprehensive Customer Experiences
In contrast to the common customer frustrations mentioned above, consider what happens when all departments are equipped to anticipate and meet customer needs.
Picture this: When you search the knowledge base to address an issue, the exact article you need surfaces in seconds. If you make a call, there’s no need to give detailed explanations to multiple parties. Every interaction leads to a fast resolution. Each new experience builds on the one before.
The difference? An all-encompassing CX strategy.
Successful companies understand that information should flow freely and be readily available to every customer. After all, your customers will never forget how you made them feel. When you not only meet their expectations but also anticipate their unspoken needs, it makes for exceptional experiences—the kind that creates emotional connections with brands.
Where Should You Focus Your CX Efforts Next?
The most successful customer experience strategies tend to:
- Be continually adapted to ensure the human aspect of CX plays a prominent role
- Rely on a CRM system where mission-critical data flows seamlessly across departments to match the customer’s journey
- Incorporate time-aware data for a complete picture of the customer’s journey at any given stage, for use by every mission-critical team
These steps are always important but become especially critical in times of uncertainty.
While your warehousing team may never speak directly with a single customer, they’re still required to verify each product before it’s shipped. Your accounting department may not work on product updates and enhancements, but those employees still need to know how each item is charged and when a billing issue needs to be resolved. Exposure to your brand comes in all shapes and sizes, and the ripple effects of just one negative interaction can have lasting effects across the entire organization.
Your customers’ experiences are in the hands of every department in your organization, from products and accounting to inventory management to technical support, which means it’s more important than ever to invest in teams and eliminate the risk of poor experiences.
Want to hear more? Check out this short video on why this matters:
