What is customer experience, what are its pillars and importance

Table of Contents

A customer experience is, undeniably, a decisive factor for public loyalty. In the dynamic and relentless scenario of the current market, the importance of promoting a solid and humane relationship with the consumer is evident.

Faced with the high degree of competition between companies, the advantage belongs to those who present the best communication strategies with the customer, enabling the creation of a strong bond between them. In this sense, the technological tools of online service, together with a well-aligned management and team, represent the great differentials to provide an effective result in the customer experience.

In this article, we'll detail everything about customer experience, so you can implement best practices in your company and leverage your brand positioning. Let's go?

What is customer experience?

We can define the concept of customer experience (also called CX, or Customer Experience) as the entire contact process between the customer and the brand along the stages of the sales funnel.

This means that the experience begins even before the first direct contact between the consumer and the company: everything starts when the user comes across some specific content about the brand and engages with it – either commenting or sharing a post on the Internet or commenting with friends.

If this first moment is promising, things will flow naturally, with the customer looking for the company and, later, actually buying it. The strategy continues in post-sales, with the company available to the customer, in favor of improvement in experience and the strengthening of this relationship.

The importance of the customer experience

Nowadays, the customer expects even more from companies than just good prices or marketing actions: he needs to feel special. And it is through this understanding that an important part of consumer loyalty takes place.

Working on the experience from the first contact offers, potentially, a great attraction for the customer to maintain the predilection for a certain brand, reluctant to exchange the product or service offered by the competition.

In fact, it is estimated that about 86% of the public is in favor of paying more for a more pleasant experience – which is extremely favorable to the generation of added value for any company in such a position.

The 6 fundamental pillars of the customer experience

For a customer experience strategy to be implemented effectively in your business, it is necessary to ingrain some fundamental concepts in the company's culture even before defining the tactics and service techniques to be used. These concepts were consolidated in the form of six essential pillars for the application of a solid CX policy. Are they:

  1.  Personalization of service

First, it is necessary to understand that a personalized and standardized is the key to an exemplary customer experience. The individualization of the experience makes it possible to observe the particularities of each client, in order to meet their specific demands.

In practice, not knowing the client's background is among the main service errors committed by companies. Therefore, the organization attentive to this pillar already starts the race for the public's preference, one step ahead of the others.

2. Integrity and trust

A customer without confidence in your company, convinced that the brand is only concerned with making money, will certainly leave you.

To establish a trusting relationship, transparency, integrity and the demonstration of a sincere interest in answering the client's questions are essential elements. 

Finally, it is worth remembering that the public is increasingly critical of their consumption habits. Today, companies are charged for their position on issues such as sustainability, diversity, inclusion and responsibility on socially sensitive issues.

3- Exceeding expectations

Faced with the growing competitiveness of the market, the reality that reveals itself is challenging: more than meeting expectations, it is necessary to exceed them.

In this sense, it is essential to monitor changes in the behavior of customers, competitors and the market, in addition to investing in solutions capable of offering quick responses to the public.

4- Troubleshooting

This pillar understands that each and every process within a company is subject to potential problems – therefore, the company that has the best problem-solving mechanisms comes out ahead.

Although a considerable part of the public is not willing to give a second chance to a company that offered a bad first experience, sometimes this is possible: in these cases, admitting the fault and listening to the customer is of great value to understand and combat the problem. error source.

Be attentive to the voice of your audience, and develop the best tools to avoid the recurrence of problems and rebuild your relationship with your clientele.

5- Reduction of the customer's time and efforts

In an increasingly fast-paced society, it's no surprise that a quick and simple purchasing process is among customers' highest priorities.

In practice, the customer's time and effort represent invaluable assets. Don't waste them: reduce bureaucracy as much as possible and simplify the necessary steps to complete the purchase and sale with an agile and accurate service system.

6- Empathy

The concept of empathy is increasingly present in all sectors of society, and it could not be different in the business world. It is simply impossible to establish a quality customer experience without first establishing a company focused on the art of putting yourself in the other person's shoes.

By understanding the needs and particularities of each client and, thus, improving and humanize the service, your entire audience will feel welcomed and treated with priority and respect.

Customers who feel valued will always return, and not only that: they will share that impression with everyone whenever they can, attracting new prospects to their business.

⚠️ Also check out these related articles 👇

➡️ Learn how to do online service at home office
➡️ Discover the 10 tips on how to implement online service on WhatsApp
➡️ Online service on WordPress: discover the best plugins

Examples of successful companies offering a differentiated customer experience

There is no shortage of examples of large companies that have gained prominence in the market for understanding the importance of customer experience. Below are some of the most notable examples:

Disney

Active for 99 years, the biggest entertainment giant in the world has conquered the memories and hearts of people of all ages, cultures and social classes with works full of magic and enchantment.

In all its vehicles, the strategy of Disney is totally based on the customer's experience: reproducing fantastic scenarios in the real world, providing a playful, immersive and easily identifiable experience.

Slack

O Slack is an internal communication platform for companies. When using it, the user has access to a digital environment that has the main tools necessary for the optimization of work.

The company understands that a 24-hour service offered by real people is essential for the practical solution of customer problems and for the strengthening of their relationship with the brand. As a result, we have one of the most enviable customer service systems on the market.

Netflix

A pioneer in large-scale data analysis, the data giant streaming invests heavily in a customer experience based on a high level of personalization. Its algorithm is capable of putting together a grid that is fully compatible with the customer's preferences, based on the type of content they consume.

As if that weren't enough, the Netflix has been using Big Data analysis in order to anticipate trends and launch new programs in line with public behavior.

Magazine Luiza

The largest digital retail platform in Brazil has consumer centralization as its main strategy. Allied to large companies specializing in customer service, Magalu has invested in highly optimized tools, capable of promoting an accelerated and efficient support service process

Nubank

The actions of Nubank are currently the most valuable among digital banks in Latin America. This position, impressive for such a young company, is largely due to its customer experience policy.

To give you an idea, Nubank has a team dedicated specifically to understanding customer needs and finding quick and effective solutions to their problems.

Amazon

We end the list with one of the greatest examples of customer experience on the market. The strategy of Amazon is strongly focused on offering the best digital service on the market; and for investing in differentiated initiatives, such as offering access to the streaming platform itself, in addition to the possibility of free shipping for customers.

Indeed, Amazon has established its own culture with strong customer experience principles that govern the entire way its operations are conducted.

Now that you understand all the value that can be added to your business through a good customer experience strategy, we invite you to continue our conversation with the exclusive article that we have prepared with a complete guide on the use of ready-made phrases for your customer service system. Click here to check

Leave a comment

Start your free trial today!

Try our digital signature tool for free.
The first 5 documents
are free!

Share this article

Do you want to stay informed?

Subscribe to our blog

Related articles