It’s very important to prioritise the relationship you build between your customers and your business. If you have a poor relationship with them, it’s unlikely that they’re going to return to your business or recommend you to other people. That’s why it’s wise to ensure that the experience customers have when interacting with your business is a great one.

There are many ways to improve customer experience. We’ll look at a few different ones in this article so that you can pick the best one for your business. The topics we’ll cover include:

  • What is customer experience?
  • Why is a good customer experience important?
  • Why can I improve customer experience? 
  • How can Countingup help me manage new income?

What is customer experience?

The customer experience, sometimes referred to as CX, is a word for all the interactions a customer has with a company. Here are a few things that are a part of CX:

  • The process of making a purchase
  • Customer service 
  • The quality of your product or service
  • The marketing and advertising materials people receive

As CX can refer to many different things, improving it can seem like a lot of work. You can make it simpler by identifying the parts of your business that customers consistently interact with. 

For instance, your financial planning is unlikely to factor into CX, but your website is a huge part of the customer experience. This means you should make your website with the customer experience in mind.

Everyone has a different definition of what makes for good CX, but you may want to start by making things simple and easy. If people can’t understand your adverts or make purchases on your website quickly, they’re not having a good experience. 

When you’re trying to improve CX, put yourself in the customers’ shoes. If you think something is complicated, your customers will likely agree.

Why is a good customer experience important?

A business cannot exist without its customers, so making sure they’re happy is vital. High-quality CX is important because of the many ways customers can influence your business. They can influence it with their buying decisions, how they talk about your business to friends, how they discuss or share your social media content, and much more. 

The customer experience also has a lot to do with customer loyalty. If your CX is pretty poor, customers won’t feel that they have a relationship with your business. As a result, they will likely shop elsewhere instead of returning to your store. On the other hand, if you have a great CX, customers will come back to shop with you because it’s a positive experience that they enjoy, and will become loyal to your business.

A good customer experience is also vital if you are to beat your competitors. If your local area has a lot of businesses with products similar to yours, it might divert sales away from you. 

Having a superior version of the product or service is one way to ensure you don’t lose too many sales to the competition, but it might not be enough on its own. When you research your competitors, look into the quality of their CX is and how you can make yours better.

How can I improve customer experience?

Identify your customers 

If you’re wondering how to improve customer experience, an excellent first step is to identify who your customers are in the first place. Try to figure out what your target market is — this is the people you think will purchase your product because it either appeals to them or is part of their lifestyle. For instance, the target market for a sportswear brand is likely to be made up of athletes.

Once you’ve identified your target market, you can start changing parts of your CX to better appeal to them. For example, if you know your target market, you can research their interests and then adapt your marketing materials to include those interests. Or you can make it so that the products most popular for your target market are easier to find on your website.

Ask for customer feedback 

One of the best ways to improve customer experience is simply asking customers what they’d like to see. Sales figures and other statistics will give you a reasonably accurate idea of how good your CX is, but asking customers for feedback can provide much more information.

There are a variety of customer feedback techniques you can use, but the more direct ones can be the most informative. Examples include sending surveys to customers with questions about your CX or asking them direct questions through social media.

Embrace technology

Technology can provide some answers on how to improve customer experience. Automation is a recent technology trend that can significantly improve the customer experience. The term refers to the use of software to do jobs that a human would normally do. A lot of jobs that are part of the running of your business can be taken care of by automation, but it can also mean an easier shopping experience for customers.

For instance, Customer Relationship Management software can greatly improve customer experience as it allows you to store lots of customer information, which means you can personalise the service you provide to different individuals. Or you can use chatbots to provide customer service — this is a kind of software that can ask and answer questions, which can help people solve any difficulties they have with your products.

Keeping on top of your income

A high-quality customer experience can enhance the loyalty of existing customers, and loyal customers will shop with you repeatedly. A great customer experience will also attract new business, which means a lot of new income for your company. To stay on top of this income, you may want to try financial management software. An excellent example of this type of software is Countingup.  

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.

Countingup