Customer experience is unique to every business. There are things you know about your customers and your offering that nobody else does, and that's what makes your business great. Therefore it is difficult to offer broad advice for customer experience design that is applicable in 100% of cases. That said, we believe that the following 5 Laws of Customer Experience should be followed in at least 99.9% of cases:
The discovery phase of your customer journey is the most important part. This refers to how a customer finds you, why they find you, and how quickly they work out that you have what they are looking for. I’m not just talking about SEO and paid ads. So many businesses make the mistake of not presenting their value proposition front and centre on their landing pages. While you’re at it, make sure that you’re presenting the BENEFITS of your product or service, not just the FEATURES. People don’t want the process you’re selling, they want the end result. Remember this.
Whether it’s post-sale or pre-sale, customer service needs to be as close to rapid fire as possible, and available across all channels. Make sure people can find the information they’re looking for with as little hassle as possible and they will become customers for life. You can use automation to take the manual work out of this process without losing the personal touch.
This should go without saying, but customers hate being misled or lied to. When ecommerce and digital marketing was first starting to establish itself, it came with an in-flux of tacky gimmicks and tricks to get people to convert against their better judgement. Modern customers are much more privy to these sorts of tricks now. Fake reviews, photoshop, clickbait headlines. Everybody knows what clickbait is and we can’t stand it, right? Don’t be a click-baiter.
Let me guess - you want your customers to think your are trustworthy, offer great service and the best value on the market, as declared in your beautifully written mission statement.
Those things are all great, everybody wants that. But every one of your competitors is declaring the same thing!
When showing your value offer to your customers, your mantra should be: Show Don’t Tell
If your business is committed to trust, show it with images of your employees or videos of your process. These things will instinctively embed trust in your customers.
If your business has the cheapest rates on the market, show it on your pricing page.
If your business has excellent customer service, show it with your customer support options or your client testimonials.
In all facets of your business, over-deliver. This is how you will build loyalty with your customers, make sure they keep returning to your services, and refer you to others. There is an abundance of choice for the modern, savvy customer, yet not all choices are equal. In a time where so many businesses under-deliver with their services and content, you can stick out from the crowd by being relentless with providing value. Constantly find ways to solve problems for your customers and give answers to them at no extra cost. I promise you, they will love you for it.
