8 Best Customer Experience Trends To Follow
Cecily Giancaterino
Jun 13, 2023
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18 min read
CRM
Businesses often forget that customer experience (CX) is critical for brand growth. Customer experience refers to customer thoughts and perceptions about your company based on their previous interactions and experiences. This underrated trend is valuable for retaining existing customers, generating more prospects, boosting sales, driving revenue, and more.
Creating positive customer experiences involves paying close attention to day-to-day workflows in your organization. This process extends to customer support, telemarketing, telesales, and other activities. Fine-tuning your workflows will satisfy every customer's requirements and ensure they purchase your products and services in the future.
Later, learn the nine CX trends your brand needs to embrace. But first, discover why customer experience is so important.
Key Takeaways:
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Customer experience (CX) is a critical factor for business success, influencing customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy throughout their journey.
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Stay updated with the latest customer experience trends, such as personalization, omnichannel experiences, self-service options, proactive support, AI-driven automation, and emotional connections.
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Personalization enhances the customer experience by tailoring content, recommendations, and offers based on individual preferences, driving engagement and loyalty.
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Adopt an omnichannel approach to provide a seamless and consistent experience across multiple channels, meeting customers wherever they are and ensuring convenience and brand cohesion.
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Leverage AI-driven automation to streamline interactions, provide instant support, and gather customer insights at scale, improving efficiency and satisfaction.
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Proactively address customer needs by identifying and resolving issues before they become problems, demonstrating care and building trust.
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Emotional connections play a crucial role in customer loyalty and advocacy, so focus on empathizing with customers, understanding their pain points, and delivering exceptional service.
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FiveCRM offers comprehensive CRM solutions that empower businesses to enhance their customer experience strategies through personalization, omnichannel engagement, AI-driven automation, and proactive support.
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Explore the possibilities of FiveCRM's platform by requesting a demo tailored to your business needs, and discover how it can revolutionize the way you engage and delight your customers.
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Embracing customer experience trends and leveraging the right tools can help businesses differentiate themselves, foster long-term relationships, and drive sustainable growth in today's competitive landscape.
Why Should You Invest in Customer Experience?
Positive customer experiences are critical for brand growth. It's that simple. Think about the last time you had a great experience with a company. Perhaps a sales agent went above and beyond to cater to your needs. Maybe a brand gave you a coupon code for a future purchase because your order didn't arrive on time.
Whatever the positive experience, you probably hold that company in high regard. You might have told your friends and family about the excellent customer service you received, left a five-star review online, or posted about that company on your Twitter account. Brands that generate positive experiences see increased loyalty and up to a 16% price bump on products and services.
Now think about a negative experience you've had with a brand. Perhaps that company left you waiting three hours to speak to an agent over the phone about an issue that someone should have resolved in a few minutes. Maybe you never received an order you placed months ago.
Whatever the negative experience, you probably won't purchase a product or service from them again soon. You might also have told your friends or family about the issues you encountered or posted about the problem on social media platforms or other digital channels. Fifty-nine percent of respondents in a survey said they would walk away from a brand after several bad experiences, even if they love that company or one of its products. Seventeen percent will walk away after just one negative experience.
As you can see, a positive experience is crucial to a customer. And that experience starts when a customer first interacts or engages with your brand. Typically, that happens when someone lands on your website for the first time to learn more about your products and services. An easy-to-use, fast, and interactive website with informative landing pages — instead of a slow-loading and difficult-to-navigate one with little information — can define the rest of the customer journey and result in a positive perception of your brand. The customer experience then continues as a customer interacts with your company representatives, engages with you on social media, purchases a product or service, and receives an order in the mail. In other words, a great customer experience doesn't involve one exchange but multiple interactions someone has with your brand.
Now you know the importance of CX, here are the top customer experience trends you need to follow:
1. Personalization
Personalization is one of the top customer experience trends to embrace in your organization. It involves customizing communications and content to offer more targeted and optimized customer interactions.
You can personalize the following:
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Customer service: You can improve CX by personalizing inbound and outbound calls, texts, and emails. Using a customer's first name or customizing interactions based on someone's previous experiences with your brand will create a rapport with customers and make them feel valued by your company.
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Email marketing: Sending personalized communications to customers via email allows you to target specific audiences with the right marketing content. For example, you can send coupon codes and product recommendations based on the distinct needs of a customer rather than generic messages. Sixty-five percent of marketing professionals in the U.S. say that more personalization is the No. 1 approach for improving the effectiveness of email marketing.
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Websites: Personalizing your website could include tailoring product recommendations and content based on customer needs. That could keep customers on your web pages for longer and prevent them from hitting the "back" button on their browsers.
With simple tools, it's now easier than ever to create personalized experiences. For example, email marketing platforms help you include the first name of a customer in the header of an email.
Also use the latest technology to collect information about customer behaviors, purchasing histories, previous interactions, interests, hobbies, and other factors. You can then create a content marketing strategy based on a customer's preferences and requirements.
2. Automated Customer Support
Automating customer support can not only save on labor costs and free up resources for your organization but improve the customer experience. Automation involves reducing human tasks when dealing with customer queries and complaints, allowing customers to receive instant support whenever they like.
While you can't automate all customer queries, investing in self-service options like knowledge bases and FAQ pages can reduce the number of people who contact your call center for problems with your products and services. That can be beneficial if you have a small customer service team that can't handle an influx of calls during busy periods.
Another way to automate customer support is through artificial intelligence (AI). Chatbots are a great example of AI-powered customer support, allowing customers to receive instant service from computer programs that simulate human conversation. Although human customer service agents will still need to handle more complex queries, bots can solve basic and intermediate issues in a quicker timeframe and manage customer expectations. This technology provides consistent, timely, and error-free support, reducing workloads for hard-working customer support reps.
Automating customer support might require an outlay, especially if you want to invest in chatbot technology. But it's one of the best customer experience trends because it allows for a more efficient allocation of queries to human agents and lets you to solve problems when conventional support channels are closed for business.
3. Developing Personal Relationships
As previously mentioned, no automation or AI can replace real human connections with customers. There's nothing like the rapport that develops between a customer and a support agent over the phone or via email. Human interactions can make customers feel like your company cares about them.
Developing personal relationships is one of the most successful customer experience trends. A human-to-human connection can result in a more satisfactory outcome for a customer trying to solve a query and lead to better online feedback. That's why it's essential to give customers the option of escalating an issue if they can't solve it through a chatbot platform and allow people to contact human agents if they don't want to use this technology.
One way to improve the customer experience is to let customers solve queries through a chatbot platform and have a human agent call them back later for a follow-up review call. That can make customers feel like you care about their issues and ensure problems have been dealt with correctly. The latest software tools allow you to schedule direct calls with customers, making this process much easier for agents.
4. Mobile Optimization
Mobile optimization is one of the most important customer experience trends for multiple reasons. Optimizing your mobile website can help:
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Customers access your content on their smartphones and tablets without using their desktop computers.
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Attract customers who only use their mobile devices to access products and services on the internet.
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Improve mobile SEO and help your website appear in a higher position on search engine results pages.
More than seven billion people now own a smartphone of some kind — that's around 90% of the world's population. That's why it's imperative that your website is mobile-friendly and enhances the user's experience no matter which device they use to view your content.
Optimizing your website to improve the customer experience can involve:
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Removing form fields, advertisements, and other website elements that don't display correctly on mobile devices.
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Redesigning website elements for mobile.
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Increasing page-loading speeds for people who access content on mobile.
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Using custom CSS to make mobile websites more responsive.
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Choosing responsive plugins and themes that improve the mobile experience.
5. Reducing Errors and Issues
People live fast-paced lives and don't have the time to deal with errors and other issues. Making mistakes when engaging with customers is no longer acceptable with all the tools available today that collect and analyze customer data.
Say you use a drip campaign as part of your email marketing strategy that considers the preferences and needs of a particular customer. Now say you contact that customer about a product or service experience that doesn't match those preferences. There's a high chance you will annoy the customer and lose out on lead generation opportunities.
That's why reducing errors and issues is one of the top customer experience trends. Teaching your support team to use the correct information and follow the right procedures when engaging with customers will decrease mistakes and result in more positive experiences.
Again, the latest software tools can help you out here. The best platforms manage customer data and improve the accuracy of the information provided to people interested in your offerings.
6. Improve Self-Sufficiency
As mentioned earlier, self-service options like knowledge bases and FAQs can automate customer support workflows. However, self-service also improves CX because it provides a level of convenience that loyal customers have come to expect from brands like yours.
Sometimes, a customer might have a query that doesn't justify a phone call to your contact center. They can quickly check your website for the required information and solve their issue in a few seconds. By equipping customers with self-service options, you are helping them help themselves.
Some of the most popular self-service features that improve the digital customer experience and customer engagement include:
7. Multichannel Support
Multichannel support is one of the most recent customer experience trends, and it can change the way your customers engage with your brand. Not long ago, phone calls were the only way customers could contact many brands about a problem. Solely relying on this communication method will no longer cut it in today's age.
Multichannel support involves providing multiple communication methods for customers, also known as omnichannel communication. These methods include:
Investing in multichannel support enables customers to contact your brand using their preferred method, which can improve the customer experience. Being forced to email a company about an issue because there are no other communication options available can infuriate customers and cause them to take their business elsewhere. Enhancing support through several channels and not limiting customers to one method will also generate more insights into how customers interact and engage with your brand.
One of the most recent communication methods customers expect brands to offer is social media. When using this channel, reply to all concerns and complaints appropriately and leave customers with a professional impression of your company.
8. Caring for the Community
Customers love value-conscious brands that have a purpose apart from selling products and services. If you support a good cause or local community project, tell your customers about it in email newsletters and social media posts! That can change customer perceptions about your brand and result in more positive customer experiences.
Caring for the community is one of the most effective customer experience trends because it shows customers your brand has a heart. That can increase customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and customer trust.
You might care passionately about issues like sustainability, poverty, or representation in the workplace. Whatever cause you champion, you can develop more personal relationships with customers by sharing your values with the world.
9. Using a CRM System
Perhaps no other software tool can improve the customer experience better than a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Using CRM is one of the most lucrative customer experience trends because it allows you to collect information that improves customer service strategies and builds relationships with the people interested in your products and services.
A CRM system serves multiple functions:
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Customer support staff can use CRM to input and update information about customers for more effective communications. Doing so can help staff garner more knowledge about customers when engaging with them over the phone, by email, or via live chat. A CRM tool collects customer names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, purchasing habits, interests, previous touchpoints with support staff, and other data.
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The best CRMs can streamline processes, resulting in better customer experience outcomes. For example, contact center agents can update customer profiles when someone calls in to complain about an order that didn't arrive on time. By analyzing CRM trends, you can identify whether late orders are a recurrent problem and contact your warehouse or shipping company about the issue. That prevents the problem from worsening, which can jeopardize your brand's reputation.
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Analytical CRMs generate powerful data insights, predictive analytics, and KPIs about customers that help you make better decisions about your organization. For example, you can learn which customers are most likely to purchase products and services from your online store or which customers are dissatisfied with your offerings. Knowing this information can improve workflows and optimize the customer experience.
Final Word About Customer Experience Trends
The customer experience trends listed prove the importance of CX for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. Changing customer thoughts and perceptions of your company can increase revenue, generate better online feedback, and grow your business.
How FiveCRM Helps Improve Customer Experience
FiveCRM is the only CRM platform for telemarketers. It can improve customer experience in your call center in the following ways:
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FiveCRM improves sales efficiency for outbound calls by managing callbacks, streamlining workflows, and automating dialing sets to reduce call transition times. That can help agents provide better experiences to customers over the phone.
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Manage up to 999 databases and get unlimited data storage to scale your call center operations. Improving data management in this way will allow you to focus on customer experiences rather than worrying about storage and other tasks.
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Specialized marketing and performance tools monitor performance in your organization and capture more sales leads. Use these tools to improve performance outcomes and provide customers with the experiences they deserve.
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FiveCRM's lead scoring tool helps you focus on the most lucrative leads in your sales pipeline. Agents can then generate more leads and provide positive customer experiences for increased sales.
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Improve account management by tracking and generating real-time data about departmental performance and use metrics to increase sales growth. Better performance across your organization can result in better customer experiences and improve customer retention and other initiatives.
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FiveCRM provides you with a single source of truth for customer data, allowing you to identify trends that can lead to negative customer experiences.
Other FiveCRM features include power dialing, previous dialing, call recording, data privacy, enhanced security, consolidated reports, and a native app builder.
FiveCRM will improve your customer experience strategy when engaging customers over the phone. Email hello@fivecrm.com for a demo, or get FiveCRM now.
FAQs
Q: What is customer experience (CX), and why is it important for businesses?
A: Customer experience refers to the overall interaction and perception a customer has with a company throughout their entire journey. It encompasses every touchpoint and plays a crucial role in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. By prioritizing CX, businesses can differentiate themselves, foster long-term relationships, and drive sustainable growth.
Q: What are some key customer experience trends to follow?
A: Several customer experience trends are shaping the business landscape. These include personalization, omnichannel experiences, self-service options, proactive customer support, AI-driven automation, and the emphasis on emotional connections. Staying updated with these trends can help businesses adapt, meet evolving customer expectations, and gain a competitive edge.
Q: How can personalization enhance the customer experience?
A: Personalization tailors experiences to individual customers based on their preferences, behaviors, and needs. By leveraging customer data, businesses can deliver relevant content, product recommendations, and personalized offers. This level of customization makes customers feel valued, increases engagement, and drives higher satisfaction and loyalty.
Q: What is an omnichannel customer experience, and why is it crucial?
A: An omnichannel customer experience provides a seamless and consistent experience across multiple channels, such as in-store, website, mobile app, social media, and more. It allows customers to switch between channels effortlessly while maintaining continuity. Adopting an omnichannel approach enables businesses to meet customers wherever they are, ensuring convenience and a cohesive brand experience.
Q: How can AI-driven automation improve the customer experience?
A: AI-driven automation empowers businesses to streamline and personalize customer interactions at scale. Through chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated processes, AI can provide instant support, gather customer insights, and deliver relevant information. This enhances efficiency, reduces wait times, and improves overall satisfaction by meeting customer needs quickly and effectively.
Q: How does proactive customer support contribute to a better customer experience?
A: Proactive customer support involves identifying and addressing customer issues before they become problems. By monitoring customer behavior, businesses can anticipate needs, provide proactive assistance, and resolve issues promptly. This approach demonstrates care, builds trust, and creates positive experiences, ultimately fostering stronger customer relationships.
Q: What role does emotional connection play in customer experience?
A: Emotional connections are key drivers of customer loyalty and advocacy. Businesses that create positive emotional experiences by empathizing with customers, understanding their pain points, and delivering exceptional service build strong emotional bonds. These connections foster customer loyalty, increase brand affinity, and fuel positive word-of-mouth referrals.
Q: How can FiveCRM help businesses enhance their customer experience?
A: FiveCRM offers a comprehensive CRM platform that enables businesses to optimize their customer experience strategies. With robust features for personalization, omnichannel engagement, AI-driven automation, and proactive support, FiveCRM empowers businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint. By leveraging their advanced tools, businesses can build lasting customer relationships and drive growth.
Q: How can I get started with FiveCRM to improve my customer experience? A: Getting started with FiveCRM is easy. Visit their website to explore their CRM solutions and learn more about their customer experience capabilities. You can request a demo to see how their platform can be tailored to your business needs. Unlock the potential of enhanced customer experiences by partnering with FiveCRM and revolutionizing the way you engage and delight your customers.
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