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Customer Experience - how to think through and ensure a quality customer experience


⠀ It
’s becoming more and more difficult to attract, satisfy and retain a buyer. Companies that do not pay enough attention to improving customer experience have every chance of losing the competition.

CX-designing is designed to make the customer experience more pleasant at every stage of human-brand interaction. I’ll cover the basic principles of Customer Experience and share tips that can improve your approach.

But first, let's see what CX design is. And we will answer one of the most common questions - how does it differ from UX?

What is CX?


CX abbreviation formed from English. Customer eXperience - customer experience. The term may seem too vague and comprehensive, because in many ways it is.
CX design is responsible for improving this “custom experience”. Let the word “design” not bother you, it is not about pictures and graphics here. In Russian, the correct translation of CX design is to design a successful customer experience. The creation of customer experience and management of customer experience are also quite suitable.

CX-designing is designed to improve the quality of customer interaction with the brand at all stages. For example, if a person sees an advertisement and wants to make a purchase, what conditions must be created so that it runs as smoothly as possible? The responsibilities of the CX manager are to ensure that the client has only positive impressions after any stage - from following the link to receiving the goods. And then the client will want to strengthen their relationship with the brand or advise it to their loved ones.

What is the difference between CX and UX


This is probably the most common question that people ask when they become familiar with the concept of CX design. In a nutshell, User eXperience (UX) works with the product, and CX works with the brand. UX designer is responsible for creating a pleasant user experience in a mobile application, website or in any software that a client encounters. A CX specialist is engaged in all the experience of customer interaction with the brand, that is, its scope is wider and is not limited only to interfaces.



In general, UX is a component of CX.

CX design key principles


Each CX specialist should know the following points:

  • It is important to understand and know the client, even in all channels
  • Customer experience is always subjective, so it should be personalized.
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CX :

  1. You cannot create a quality customer experience without understanding the customer journey (Customer Journey)
  2. Customer experience is not another abstract term that is not related to the company's revenues. On the contrary - sales directly depend on him, he can influence them
  3. CX must be constantly optimized so that you are not outperformed by competitors.

6 components to create quality CX


So, we have learned principles that are very important. Now let's move on to the elements that make up a quality CX design. Test questions will help assess the level of the current CX or prepare for a strategy.

  1. Availability. This element includes the number of channels, their quality and audience relevance. How easy is it for people to find and connect with your brand?
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CX design: 5


Now that we’ve figured out what CX design is and what principles underlie, it's time to move on to creating a strategy. However, we warn you in advance that the CX design strategy will not bring you instant results. Preparation for its creation, implementation and bringing to the result takes time.

As we found out earlier, the basis for improving Customer Experience is the customer’s path. Without proper study, it will be difficult to plan and implement actions to improve customer experience. Therefore, do not rush, pay enough attention to the collection of information. Examine your customers and their actions in the smallest detail, as required by a quality CX design. Now let's move on to tips that will help create a successful strategy.

1. Learn and understand your target audience

First of all, you need to understand who your customers are, what they are. Even if you now have certain views and portraits, do not be afraid to question them and analyze them again. No matter how trite it sounds, people are very unpredictable. The way you see your customers (or want to see) can be very different from the real situation. So get ready to study and be patient.

Create 2-5 portraits of the client in several segments of your target audience. Portraits should include demographic information (gender, age, etc.), client motivation, his pain points, needs and needs. You should know well what your customers want and how exactly they would like to receive it.

An effective way to collect this information is to contact the target audience directly, conduct surveys and observations, analyze all the information collected together with a team of specialists.

2. Formulate a vision CX

“Vision” probably seems to you too vague, not of great practical use. However, one cannot do without it. You need the basic principles that your CX design will build on. They can be compiled based on the values, mission and vision of the brand. The reflection of these elements should be in all communications, in the entire interaction of the brand with the audience. And CX here is no exception.

Answer the questions:
- What impression should a client have in contact with our brand?
- What customer experience do we want to offer based on our mission and values?

3. Make a map of the customer path - Customer Journey Map The

map will help to visualize all the stages that the client goes through in contact with your brand. Take a portrait of the client, indicate his motivation and needs, list all the ways that he will go from the first acquaintance to the acquisition of the product.
The points of interaction can be determined using a universal formula of five elements:

  • Attracting Attention - How Customers Find Out About You
  • Interest - how the customer has an interest in your product
  • Contact - how a potential buyer behaves when starting to interact with a brand
  • Impression - what emotions, what “aftertaste” remains with the client after contact with the brand
  • Involvement - how you will engage the client in further relationships, transition to the next stage of interaction, up to the target result (transaction) or its repetition

Using these elements, you can look at the process through the eyes of the client, understand what pain points he has at each stage, how to close them.



4. Create an emotional connection.

People value brands that show a “human” attitude to their customers. If the client sees that he is being treated as a person, and not just as a faceless source of profit, then he will continue to interact with great pleasure and will be ready to spend more money.

Now buyers want from services and goods not only high quality, but also an appropriate attitude. They are ready to give their money only to those who value and respect them. Therefore, the creation of an emotional connection is so important. Your relationship should be more than just buy-sell. If you do not give this to the client, he will find another company. Once you have a good understanding of your audience, creating a lasting emotional connection will be much easier. You will know what your customers want and will be able to provide it to them.

5. Track customer reviews and value their opinion
No one will tell you what needs to be changed in the customer experience better than the customers themselves. Keep track of what they write and say about your service or products, how easy or difficult it is for them to make a purchase, if prices are clear, is it convenient to pay for orders, etc.
It is not necessary to wait for negative reviews, ask customers yourself. Place questionnaires at different stages of interaction, send questions by e-mail, ask them in social networks or call by phone. Just do not be intrusive, so that the client does not consider that you spend his time unnecessarily in your favor.

Ask questions from a position of customer care - you want to improve the service and are open to suggestions and wishes. Do not forget to ask what the client likes, and not just concentrate on the negative. Encourage customers for feedback - offer special conditions, discounts and other pleasant bonuses.

5 qualities that a true pro should have in creating the best customer experience


1. Customer-oriented approach.

Let the term “customer” not confuse you. For a successful CX manager, it is important to mean by the client not only those people who already buy something, but also everyone who somehow interacts with the brand. Both current and potential customers matter. That is, it is important to concentrate specifically on the target audience, to put it at the forefront.

A competent CX specialist should first of all think about the needs and requirements of Central Asia, since all his activities are aimed at satisfying them as much as possible and leaving a good impression. Therefore, he should direct his strength and attention to the study and understanding of the client, at some points even put himself in his place, be able to look at the process of interaction with the brand through his eyes. It is absolutely necessary to divide the audience into segments, create portraits of clients and study them separately, personalizing the approach for each.

2. The ability to look beyond the product

Unlike UX design, a CX designer must look beyond the boundaries of simple usability of a website or mobile application. He controls all points of contact with the brand and the company, all elements of interaction - from marketing to the delivery service. Therefore, an additional advantage is knowledge in all these areas.

3. Skills for solving complex and non-obvious problems

Working with client experience includes problems that require a non-standard approach and high competence. You will hardly encounter simple problems with obvious solutions. All tasks will require attention, time, the ability to understand and get to the truth.

4. The ability to work with data

A customer experience specialist should be well versed in large volumes of sometimes conflicting data, be able to analyze and draw conclusions. All your own assumptions will have to be verified and backed up with reliable data. There is often no place for risk and trying to guess what the client will like more. Even minor changes made at random can harm and leave a negative impression on many people.

5. Continuing training

You must understand that user behavior tends to change very quickly. New channels for influencing customers appear. Yesterday, your potential customers asked friends for recommendations, and today they trust anonymous reviews on otzovik sites. New progressive methods of studying the buyer and his experience in using the product appear. You should always remember this and not hope that having studied the client’s path once, you will be able to work with him according to the well-known scheme for infinitely long time.

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