So, when companies are spending like never before, why are customers experiencing a worse situation? One of the reasons is that there isn't any single organizational perspective for customer experience. A world-class experience for one organization might be something completely different for other. Organizational perspective for customer experience varies based on what the organization aims to achieve. 

The key element of top customer experiences is that the companies aid customers in achieving what they aspire in a manner that is relevant, scalable and consistent with a company's brand promise. What's even more crucial is that they help to solve the actual problems that customers encounter, without technology taking priority over them.

What makes exceptional customer experiences unique?

Customer experience depends more on customers' perception and their feelings than any actions an organization performs. Customers expect their interactions to be relevant, coherent, and human.

Successful organizations apply the following three key principles.

Removing friction at every stage of the experience

Customers do not go through predefined stages while interacting with organizations. They face various barriers that they need to overcome to achieve their goals. Therefore, the most successful organizations identify these barriers and offer solutions.

To solve a problem, an organization should be aware of the true challenge its customers are facing. A pharmaceutical company assumed that physicians did not order enough diagnostic tests, which resulted in a reduced number of patients receiving a new biomarker-directed therapy. Later, the pharmaceutical company realized that the true issue here was not a decreased frequency of orders but rather difficulties in interpreting results received via a PDF document.

Thus, organizations cannot deliver quality customer experiences if they do not correctly assess the nature of a problem. Successful CX leaders always analyze barriers and find effective solutions.

Real-time customer journey rebuilding

Traditional approaches to customer’s journey were built on predictable experiences. Customers' needs constantly change, and advanced companies can track changes in real-time and offer personalized experiences in response to these changes. Customer data is never stagnant; therefore, organizations need to consider this fact and become ready for constant changes in the needs of customers. Moreover, organizations should stop thinking about how to structure customers' journeys. Customers guide themselves along the way; therefore, the company should only assist them throughout their journeys.

For example, Eli Lilly has implemented a new initiative called LillyDirect. The solution connects various sites, patient and physician assistance programs, and other touchpoints in a unified experience ecosystem. Representatives and service teams gain access to the same data that is available to patients and physicians, thus enabling organizations to enhance CX. The initiative demonstrates how organizations can use customer insights, digital capabilities, and healthcare consulting firms making strategies to create more connected and meaningful engagement experiences.

Some common aspects of the most successful customer experience include systemwide memory, defined roles in the digital and human channels and alignment of CX solutions. Every interaction can turn into an opportunity to make customers move toward their objectives. Organizations that succeed at this are always ready to assist, guide and support customers wherever they are.

Most organizations are not lacking relevant data; they just do not know what to do with it. CX leaders use AI and first-party data to enhance customers' experiences and personalize their interactions with customers in real-time.

Knowing the heart of customer experience in humans

Not every interaction implies customers' problems and influences customers' behavior. The most memorable experiences involve humans. Being human does not imply including a human in all interactions; it only means understanding customers and their needs and responding to them appropriately.

Customers do not wish to be tracked; therefore, personalized messages that they might think are intrusive could negatively impact their trust toward the organization. Interactions that are timely and appropriate will make customers appreciate the company and its products/services.

There are cases when a human experience involves not selling something to the customer but addressing his or her needs. If you try to convince a person to purchase something at the wrong moment, you will harm your business relationship with customers. However, if you find the right time and method to interact with customers, you will create positive relations with customers and increase their trust toward your brand. Organizations that provide high-quality customer experiences never forget that a human stands behind each customer and interaction with a brand.

How to build a world-class customer experience? 

Creating exceptional customer experiences requires more than good intentions. With the help of customer experience consulting companies, organizations must build the capabilities necessary to deliver these experiences consistently.

Make customer experience a priority business-wide

In some organizations, customer experience is seen as everybody's job. In others, this may mean that the responsibility does not clearly belong to any single person or department. Ensure that customer experience leadership has the exposure and executive support required to ensure customer experience aligns with overall business strategy. 

Build a richer understanding of customers and their needs

Most organizations are not challenged by data collection-but by how to synthesize it. Understanding each customer enables organizations to identify what will resonate for that customer at a specific point in time, facilitating customer interactions at key moments. 

Address the right problems at the right time

Customer needs and challenges are constantly shifting. In response, CX leaders not only foster the insight, vigilance and infrastructure to understand, predict and address relevant problems but they tackle the right problems at the right time. 

With greater investment in AI, personalization and digital engagement functionalities, it is no longer solely the quality of technology that will drive customer experience. The organizations that deliver good customer experience are ones that first look at what problems their customers really need help with and design their customer experiences in an effort to overcome those challenges. Providing impactful experiences entails more than creating frictionless interactions throughout various channels. It also involves understanding evolving customer needs, dynamically adjusting journeys and making sure that each interaction seems genuine and human. Whether you want to help customers navigate ambiguity, provide individualized support, or just respond with genuine empathy at the right time, your goal should be to make it effortless for customers to achieve their desired outcomes.

Author Bio

The author works in healthcare consulting, customer experience, commercial strategy and digital innovation. The author's work involves helping organizations gain a better insight of how the customer's demands are changing, developing ways to engage and generate long-term value and trust with an exceptional experience.