Blog Post | Jun 21, 2022
Customer Experience Marketing: 5 Tips for Your Company
Customer experience marketing is where the entirety of a customer’s interactions with your organization intersects with your marketing strategy. This article defines customer experience marketing, explains why it’s important and offers five tips for implementing it within your organization.
Even just a few years ago, integrated marketers talked in terms of the critical importance of customer service. Today, service isn’t enough—it’s all about the customer experience. Customers are looking for more than a one-off service interaction where they complain or reach out and your brand responds. There’s been a strategic shift to businesses centering their practices around the needs of the customer and the journey they will take.
What and why
Customer experience marketing combines the customer experience with your marketing strategy. It requires rethinking traditional approaches to customer outreach and instead focusing on keeping customer needs at the forefront of all decision making. And there are lots of good reasons to take this approach! Delivering a great customer experience results in increased customer loyalty, lower churn, more referrals, positive customer word of mouth and increased customer value.
#1: Be Customer-first in everything you do
Being customer first means that your entire company culture revolves around customers’ time, needs, comfort, perceptions, etc. This customer-centric approach also means that you meet their expectations from the start, from your website to your products and services. Everything should be built or arranged to meet their needs and facilitate their buying journey from the very first interaction.
#2: Start with your employees
Great customer experience starts with your employees. When they are happy, they will pass that along to your customers. Seek to build a fun and inclusive culture in which employees feel that they are valued, that their opinions matter and that everyone contributes to the customer experience. Motivating your employees to take pride in their work will translate to better customer interactions and results. Consider implementing regular surveys or other methods of feedback to understand the employee experience and where they think improvements can be made for customers.
#3: Educate your customers
One of the most common reasons customers contact companies is to find relevant information about the products or services or products they’re interested in or have purchased. Consider building a learning center or education database where answers to common problems are housed. Provide video, free tools, advice or other resources to allow customers to easily find the information they need. All education materials should resonate with your audience by addressing potential customer pain points and anticipating common questions or needs.
#4: Create emotional connections with employees
You’ve probably discovered for yourself that the most memorable customer experience is one in which you feel an emotional connection to a brand. Customer experience marketing that leads to “moments of magic and delight” will create a bond with customers that increases the likelihood that they’ll continue shopping or working with you.
If you need other good reasons to pursue an emotional engagement with consumers, consider this: Businesses that do so outperform their competitors in sales by 85%; 71% of people will recommend a product or service because they had a great experience; and 65% of consumers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than advertising.
#5: Listen and be responsiveHow can you tell if your customer experience marketing strategy is working? Listen and ask. Listen to conversations on social media and keep up with what your customer service team is working on. Your company needs to engage in these conversations to find out what customers are saying (good and bad) and step in and help where appropriate. Ask customers what they think using chat tools, surveys, follow up emails or phone calls to hear what is needed and determine how best to respond.
What and why
Customer experience marketing combines the customer experience with your marketing strategy. It requires rethinking traditional approaches to customer outreach and instead focusing on keeping customer needs at the forefront of all decision making. And there are lots of good reasons to take this approach! Delivering a great customer experience results in increased customer loyalty, lower churn, more referrals, positive customer word of mouth and increased customer value.
#1: Be Customer-first in everything you do
Being customer first means that your entire company culture revolves around customers’ time, needs, comfort, perceptions, etc. This customer-centric approach also means that you meet their expectations from the start, from your website to your products and services. Everything should be built or arranged to meet their needs and facilitate their buying journey from the very first interaction.
#2: Start with your employees
Great customer experience starts with your employees. When they are happy, they will pass that along to your customers. Seek to build a fun and inclusive culture in which employees feel that they are valued, that their opinions matter and that everyone contributes to the customer experience. Motivating your employees to take pride in their work will translate to better customer interactions and results. Consider implementing regular surveys or other methods of feedback to understand the employee experience and where they think improvements can be made for customers.
#3: Educate your customers
One of the most common reasons customers contact companies is to find relevant information about the products or services or products they’re interested in or have purchased. Consider building a learning center or education database where answers to common problems are housed. Provide video, free tools, advice or other resources to allow customers to easily find the information they need. All education materials should resonate with your audience by addressing potential customer pain points and anticipating common questions or needs.
#4: Create emotional connections with employees
You’ve probably discovered for yourself that the most memorable customer experience is one in which you feel an emotional connection to a brand. Customer experience marketing that leads to “moments of magic and delight” will create a bond with customers that increases the likelihood that they’ll continue shopping or working with you.
If you need other good reasons to pursue an emotional engagement with consumers, consider this: Businesses that do so outperform their competitors in sales by 85%; 71% of people will recommend a product or service because they had a great experience; and 65% of consumers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than advertising.
#5: Listen and be responsive