The Best Examples Of Customer Experience Strategy

Consumers are increasingly aware of the types of companies they engage with and demand more from their daily interactions with companies.

To be competitive as a business, a solid customer experience strategy is no longer considered “nice to have” – it’s a basic requirement for customer retention.

Today’s customers are technologically savvy and rely heavily on social media, search engines, and review forums throughout their consumer journey. Monitoring and engaging with customers across multiple channels makes managing the customer experience more challenging than ever.

However, by listening to customers and understanding their needs and expectations, businesses can create a seamless and positive customer experience that builds loyalty and advocacy.

In this article, we break down what customer experience strategy is and provide some best-in-class customer experience strategy examples.

What Is Customer Experience Strategy?

Organisations today are under pressure to create amazing customer experiences. This has led to the rise of customer experience (CX) strategy as a key business discipline. But what exactly is CX strategy?

A customer experience strategy is a company's plan for managing all interactions with its customers throughout the customer lifecycle.

The goal of a customer experience strategy is to create a positive, seamless, and consistent experience for customers at every touchpoint, in order to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.

Most CX strategies are guided by a customer experience roadmap, which outlines the specific initiatives and steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the desired customer experience.

Why Is Customer Experience Strategy Important?

A good customer experience strategy is critical to reducing customer churn. A survey conducted by PWC found that 32% of new and current customers would stop doing business with a brand after just one negative experience, despite previous positive interactions.

In fact, a recent Zendesk survey further supported the importance of CX after finding found that an average of 66% of consumers ended their relationship with a business due to unsatisfactory customer service.

Not only does CX strategy reduce customer churn, but it increases customer lifetime value. Consumers can spend up to 140% more after a positive customer experience, compared to those who had a negative one.

If reducing customer churn and improving customer lifetime value isn't a compelling enough argument for CX, then what about increased revenue? An astounding 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.

Staggeringly, customer-centric businesses were found to be 60% more profitable than businesses that didn't focus on CX.

What Does A Great Customer Experience Look Like?

In order to create a great customer experience strategy, businesses need to focus on CX best practices.

• Effective communication - The first step to fostering a positive customer experience is effective communication. To understand the customer's needs and wants, and communicate effectively in order to meet those needs. It's important to be responsive to customer inquiries and requests. Customers should feel like they are being heard and that their concerns are being addressed.
• Timely Response - Customers place great value on their time and want concerns dealt with quickly. In fact, 90% of consumers prefer their support questions to be answered in 10 minutes or less.
• Omnichannel - From in-store to email, customers want to connect with companies via their preferred channel of communication. Over 35% of customers expect to be able to contact the same customer service representative in any channel. Implementing a consistent omnichannel experience can improves customer engagement and satisfaction.
• Having the human touch - Customers want to feel heard in real-time, in fact over 80% of users say chatbots should always offer an option to transfer to a live agent. While 68% of customers say the service representative plays a role in creating a positive customer experience.
• Rectifying issues promptly - Customer churn can be reduced by 67% if companies succeed in solving customer issues within the first interaction and satisfy customer expectations.

What Are The Best Examples Of Customer Experience Strategy?

The best customer service strategy examples deliver a seamless, positive customer journey at every touchpoint.

This means designing cohesive customer experiences that are intuitive and easy to navigate. Every customer interaction should be designed with the customer's needs in mind, and every touchpoint should work together to create a positive overall experience.

We've done a quick round-up below with 4 examples of companies with best-in-class customer experience.

Example 1 - Gucci - Turning a crisis into an opportunity to drive deeper digital engagement.

Gucci has always committed to putting the customer experience first, often touting customer comfort as the cornerstone of the Gucci experience.

As with many luxury brands, Gucci was hit with a challenge to maintain that customer experience when Covid-19 drove the closure of duty-free and retail stores.

Gucci reacted to declining sales by implementing a best-in-class customer experience strategy that delivered consistent quality customer service and support across an omnichannel environment.

Gucci did this through multiple innovations in their online channels, including distance shopping, where customers were able to connect with a personal Gucci advisor in real-time. Alongside the implementation of distance shopping services, Gucci introduced premium shipping services and online aftercare support.

The results: E-commerce revenue grew from 6% of total retail sales to 13% in H1 2020, and was up 70% in 2019. Gucci posted record revenue of €9,731 million in 2021, with growth across e-commerce accounting for 16% of total revenue.

Key takeaway: Delivering a consistent omnichannel experience can provide new avenues for growth, despite challenging market environments.

Example 2 - Uber led with customer experience to revolutionize the taxi market

For customer experience die-hards, Uber's innovative ride-sharing app is the ultimate customer service strategy example.

In the initial stages of development Uber went through a detailed process of understanding every pain point a customer experiences hailing a cab. From waiting times, and availability, to payment and navigation Uber committed to solving them all in one handy app.

To ensure the ride-sharing exchange was a positive experience for the customer from end-to-end, Uber also went through the process of trying to solve many of the challenges drivers faced. The app supported driver safety, improved payment management, and cash flow and enabled drivers to work flexibly.

Perhaps the ultimate pièce-de-résistance is the built-in feedback system of the app that allows drivers and customers to continually rate the experience and provide feedback. Any less-than-positive experience can be quickly followed up on and resolved by dedicated customer service teams.

The results: In 12 years Uber has completely changed the ride-share market. Reporting over 93 million active monthly customers, with over 63% of their US customer base using Uber exclusively.

Key takeaway: Resolve customer pain points and streamline the customer journey and you'll retain loyal customers.

Example 3 - PayPal speeds up transactions and customer advocacy

In 2013 PayPal decided to implement its Customer First strategy. This included a detailed review of pain points through internal research and direct customer feedback.

They encouraged the c-suite to spend a week on the front lines at customer service centers listening to direct feedback, and implemented new guidelines to ensure all new hires followed the same process.

This led to a review of customer pain points that they identified for improvement. They improved security, and transaction time, improved UI design to simplify payments, and revised their holds policy.

The result: As a result by the end of 2013 they resolved half of the identified customer pain points, and saw customer complaints reduce by 40 million versus the year prior. Ultimately improving their customer satisfaction, with 86% of customers saying they would recommend Paypal.

Key takeaway: Being a customer-centric brand that rectifies issues promptly improves satisfaction and creates brand advocates.

Example 4 - Farfetch uses layered retail and data to personalize post-purchase communication.

Farfetch uses a layered retail app, which uses customer data to streamline the shopper experience. By understanding a customer's purchase history and preferences, Farfetch is able to send highly relevant and targeted communications that create a personalized experience for the customer.

Customers' accounts provide retail assistants with wish list data as well as previous purchases so they can pull relevant purchase recommendations for customers based on insights. They are also able to manage inventory and use customer insights to order products for customers planning an in-store visit.

This not only improves customer satisfaction but also drives repeat purchases and increased customer lifetime value.

The result: Up to 35 percent of the in-store sales are done from stock that is not in the store. The data from the app allows the sales associate to tell the story of a product. Consumers want to buy it without trying on, streamlining the purchase and inventory processes.

Key takeout: Understanding customer wants and responding with valuable insights can drive trade up and improve customer satisfaction.

Great Customer Experience Is The First Step To Success

As the customer service strategy examples illustrate, creating a great CX is critical to business success. By improving customer retention, loyalty and revenue, businesses can ensure their long-term viability. To learn more about how to improve your customer experience, book a demo with one of our experts today.