Customer Experience in Business
what to know and how to design a positive CX customer experience in online marketing.

Customer experience in business is a comprehensive process encompassing the customer’s overall experience with a brand in the digital environment, from first contact through the purchasing process to after-sales service. This process is shaped by the quality of customer service, usability and accessibility of interfaces, personalization, quality of products and services, price, consistency of message, sales process, engagement and relationship building, responsiveness to feedback, and innovation.

What is customer experience?

The customer experience in online marketing is the entire customer experience of interacting with a brand in a digital environment. This includes all aspects of interacting with a company online, such as website navigation, social media comments, the online purchase process, service through online channels, and the overall experience of using mobile apps and other digital tools. These experiences shape brand perception and influence purchase decisions and customer loyalty to the company.

What influences a positive experience?

positive user experience is influenced by many factors, including:

Quality of Service: Prompt, helpful and friendly service is very important. Customers appreciate easy access to help and quick resolution of problems.
Usability and Accessibility: Intuitive and easy-to-use websites, applications and other user interfaces. Accessibility for people with different needs also affects perceptions of the organization.
Personalized Experiences: Tailoring products, offers and communications to individual consumer needs and preferences.
Product or Service Quality: High-quality products or services that meet or exceed the expectations of the target audience.
Price and Value: Offering products and services that are worth the price. Good value for money is often a factor in the purchasing decision.
Brand Consistency: Providing a consistent experience across all channels and touchpoints, including social media, websites, stationary stores and communications.
Sales Process: An easy and seamless process, including a clear payment process, delivery options and return policy.
Engagement and Relationship Building: Building long-term relationships with users through regular communication, loyalty programs and understanding their needs.
Responsiveness to Feedback: Listening to and responding to feedback, both positive and negative, showing that the company cares about customer satisfaction.
Innovation: Constantly improving products, services through innovation and adapting to changing market needs.

What does customer service include in Internet marketing?

Customer service in Internet marketing is the process of providing support and assistance to users through forms of communication such as email, live chat, social media, online forums, and help centers. The goal is to provide quick and efficient assistance, solve problems, and provide information about products and services.

For online support, companies often use automation, such as chatbots, to provide immediate answers to common questions. At the same time, for more complex inquiries, they offer the option of contacting support staff. Collecting and analyzing user feedback is also an important aspect, allowing them to continuously improve their customer service, services, and products and tailor their offerings to their expectations.

What is customer experience management?

Customer Experience Management (CEM or CXM) is the process of managing and optimizing the experience at every touchpoint with a company. The goal of CEM is to ensure a positive experience, which translates into increased retention, satisfaction, and ultimately increased business value.

The process involves collecting buyer experience data, analyzing that data, and then using the resulting information to improve products, services, and interactions. CEM focuses on understanding needs and tailoring all aspects of a company’s operations, from marketing and sales to after-sales service, to meet those needs. Implementing effective oversight of these processes requires involvement at all levels of the organization and often uses technology to analyze data and automate processes.

What is the goal of CX management?

The goal of customer experience (CX) management in online marketing is to build positive, consistent, and satisfying experiences for customers in the digital environment. The pursuit of this goal is aimed at increasing consumer retention, improving consumer engagement, and driving business development by driving revenue growth for the company.

In the online environment, CX focuses on optimizing all touchpoints, such as websites, social media, mobile apps, and email communications. The idea is to make every interaction intuitive, and enjoyable, and provide value, which translates into positive impressions and builds lasting relationships. Effective implementation of CX in an online strategy requires continuous monitoring and analysis of audience behavior, as well as flexible adaptation of strategies and actions to their changing needs.

How does customer experience affect ecommerce sales?

The customer experience has a direct impact on e-commerce sales. Positive impressions lead to increased loyalty, repeat purchases, and referrals, which directly result in increased sales. Positive impressions on an e-commerce site prompt people to make a purchase and return in the future.

On the other hand, negative experiences can result in a loss of interest, negative reviews, and fewer sales. Problems such as difficult site navigation, long loading times, a complicated purchase process, a lack of support, or unfulfilled product expectations can quickly discourage visitors.

What are the customer experience KPIs?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Customer Experience are metrics that help companies assess how effective the processes responsible for user experience are. Here are some examples of them:

Satisfaction (CSAT): Measures direct satisfaction with a specific product, or service.
Loyalty (NPS – Net Promoter Score): An assessment of the likelihood with which buyers will recommend a company to others.
Customer Retention (Customer Retention Rate): The percentage of buyers who stay with a company for a specified period of time.
Departures (Churn Rate): The percentage of people who stop using the company’s services over a given period.
Average Resolution Time (Average Resolution Time): The average time it takes to resolve a problem or inquiry.
First-Contact Resolution Effectiveness (First Contact Resolution Rate): Percentage of problems resolved on first contact.

What is the difference between customer experience and customer journey?

The customer experience and journey are two related but different concepts. Experience refers to the overall impressions and emotions associated with a brand throughout the interaction, covering all points of contact and aspects of the relationship with the company. It is a broad term that includes the customer’s overall perception, based on all of their experiences, overall impressions, and emotions associated with the company.

The customer journey, on the other hand, is a more specific concept, describing the sequence of stages and touchpoints a customer goes through in their journey with a brand, from initial interest to purchase and continued loyalty. It is a process that maps a user’s specific steps, including their actions, decisions, and motivations at each stage and the specific paths that lead to those experiences.

How to implement online customer experience management in business?

Implementing Customer Experience Management (CXM) in an enterprise, especially in an online context, requires a strategic approach and a focus on several areas:

Starting with Resourcing and Analyzing the Existing Situation: The first step is to audit current marketing activities and conduct surveys. It is important to identify what resources are already in place, including technology, analytical tools, teams, and budgets. It’s also important to understand your organization’s current touchpoints and experiences at each stage.
Create a CX strategy: Based on the data collected, develop a strategy that addresses the company’s business goals and customer needs. This strategy should determine what experiences you want to deliver to users at different stages of their journey, what channels will be used, and what changes are needed in processes and organizational structures.
Implementing the strategy: Implementing the strategy requires integrating activities across company departments such as sales, service, and IT. This may include the implementation of new technologies, employee training, and changes in customer service and communication processes. It is important here to ensure consistency of experience across all channels.
Measure and Optimize: The final step is to monitor the effects of the implemented strategy and continuously improve it. KPIs such as the satisfaction score (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), retention, or conversion should be measured regularly. Based on this data, necessary adjustments can be made to the strategy, processes, and marketing activities.

What does the CX strategy include?

The customer experience (CX) strategy in the online context involves planning and implementing activities to improve the consumer experience in the online environment. The essential elements of such a strategy are:

Understanding the Target Group: Collecting and analyzing data on online needs, preferences, and behaviors. Using analytics tools to track events on the website, social media, and other online channels (e.g., Google Analytics).
Journey Mapping: Identify all contact contacts in the online environment and analyze the paths users take. Understanding how an audience moves from awareness to consideration and purchase to post-sales service.
Design: Creating intuitive, engaging, and personalized online experiences. This includes website design, mobile apps, social media content, and email marketing strategies.
Consistency and Integration: ensuring that all channels and touchpoints are consistent and integrated with each other so that the buyer receives a unified experience regardless of the channel used.
Responsiveness and Adaptation: Responding quickly to feedback and adapting strategies based on changing preferences. This includes responding to comments and feedback, monitoring social media, and continuously improving the online experience.
Technology and Tools: Using the right technology and tools to support the strategy, such as CRM systems, automation tools, chatbots, and analytics tools.
Performance Measurement and Optimization: Regular surveys and measuring the effectiveness of activities through KPIs and metrics such as NPS, CSAT, conversion rate, time spent on site, and others.

How long does it take to build a positive online customer experience?

The process of building a good online customer experience is continuous and has no set duration. It is a long-term initiative that requires constant commitment and adaptation to changing needs and technology trends.

The initial phase of needs analysis and strategy planning can take several weeks to several months. Then, implementing changes, such as implementing new technologies, designing user interfaces and streamlining communication channels, can take several months to a year or longer, depending on the complexity and scope of the project. Once implemented, it is important to continuously monitor and adjust strategies, which is a never-ending process as digital preferences and technologies are constantly evolving. Therefore, building the positive experience that online customers can experience is considered an integral part of a company’s ongoing development and growth.

What role does CRM play in online brand experience management?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) plays an important role in online brand experience processes, enabling companies to collect, analyze, and use customer data to personalize the customer experience. CRM systems provide valuable information about preferences, behaviors, and purchase history to create more tailored and effective online interactions.

With CRM, companies can segment their contact base, tailoring communications and offers to specific groups. The tool also makes it possible to track customer behavior, from the initial contact through the purchase process to after-sales service. Effective use of CRM in online processes contributes to increasing satisfaction, building trust and ultimately increasing sales.

What role does email marketing play?

Email marketing plays an important role in customer communication strategy, being an effective tool for building relationships, promoting products and services, and engaging recipients. It is a direct communication channel that enables personalization and segmentation, resulting in higher effectiveness and better tailoring of content to the needs and interests of the audience.

The first function of email communication is to build and maintain relationships with customers. Sending valuable content on a regular basis, such as information about conferences, webinars, and promotions, newsletters, tips, product updates, discounts or special offers, helps keep the brand in the minds of recipients and builds trust. The second important function is to promote products and services. Email allows you to target personalized offers to select audience segments, which increases the likelihood of conversions. In addition, emailing is a tool for analyzing audience behavior, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns through metrics such as open, click-through and conversion rates, allowing you to plan future activities more effectively.

How to optimize the B2B experience?

To optimize the B2B experience, you need to put the customer at the center. This process requires understanding the specific needs and decision-making processes of B2B customers and tailoring strategies and activities to them. The focus should be on building long-term relationships by providing valuable solutions and support, as well as personalizing the experience based on detailed analysis of customer data. It is also important to ensure consistency and quality customer contact with the company across all communication channels, from the website to social media to direct contact. Regularly collecting and analyzing customer feedback and continuously adapting and improving offerings and processes are essential to continuously improving the B2B experience.

What is the omnichannel customer experience?

omnichannel customer experience is about providing a consistent and integrated experience across all channels and touchpoints with the brand. The goal is to enable customers to move seamlessly between different channels, such as desktop stores, websites, social media, mobile apps, customer service centers, and others, while maintaining a continuous and consistent experience.

In an omnichannel strategy, the foundation is an understanding that customers can start their journey in one channel and end it in another. For example, a person may start by browsing products on a mobile app, continue the buying process on a website, and then pick up a product in a stationary store. At each of these points, the experience should be consistent and tailored to the audience.

Implementing an omnichannel strategy requires integrating customer data, systems and processes across the organization. This makes it possible to track customer interactions across channels and deliver personalized, consistent experiences. An effective omnichannel strategy contributes to increasing consumer satisfaction, building loyalty and increasing business value.

What is the role of customer experience in service design?

In service design, customer experience influences the entire design process. The goal is to create services that are not only functional but also provide a positive customer experience, responding to their needs.

The process begins with a deep understanding of consumers, their behavior, and their motivations, which is achieved through ethnographic research, interviews, and customer journey mapping. Then, based on this information, services are designed from the consumer’s perspective, ensuring a consistent experience across channels and touchpoints. Service design is also an iterative process, involving prototyping, testing, and refining services based on feedback, allowing for continuous improvement of the customer experience and adaptation of services to changing preferences.

Key Takeaways

Customer experience is a fundamental element in online strategy, encompassing the consumer’s overall experience with an online brand, from initial contact to after-sales service.
Positive impressions are shaped by many factors, including quality of service, personalization, usability of interfaces, product/service quality, price, brand consistency, purchase process, engagement and responsive feedback.
Experience management (CEM/CXM) is an ongoing process that requires management commitment.
Consistency and integration across all channels is important in an omnichannel strategy.
Service design focuses on designing services from the perspective of the recipient, ensuring consistency of experience and continuous improvement based on feedback.
CRM and email are important tools for personalization and effective behavioral analysis.
Building a positive online experience is a long-term process, requiring constant commitment and adaptation to changing customer needs and market trends.

Customer Experience in Business what to know and how to design a positive CX customer experience in online marketing.