The 6 C-Factors and Customer Experience Management
Center the customer and optimize its “experience”. You hear that everywhere at the moment. We often talk about the Customer Journey, the Customer Touchpoints, the Customer Lifecycle – but what exactly is all this? And what does Customer Experience Management (also CEM or CXM) actually mean?
1. Customer Centricity
At the beginning is the Customer Centricity:
The conscious decision to put the customer at the centre. This means that you are not looking for the customer who likes the product. Instead, they want to create the product that the desired customer likes. So you ask about the wishes and needs of the customer – from the product to the delivery.
The basis is to ask how the entire purchase process from the first contact to the handover of the service can be made as pleasant and courteous as possible for the customer. And how to convince him to make another purchase after that.
Questions about the needs and wishes of the customer:
- What does the product have to be able to do?
- What should it look like?
- What does the customer want to pay for it?
- How does he want to pay?
- Where does the customer need conviction?
- What information does he need?
- Etc.
2. Customer Persona
The Customer Persona serves as a help here. Once you’ve started to ask about your customer’s wishes, you quickly realize that it’s not that easy to get over them. The Customer Persona embodies a potential customer. Collecting data is used to determine the characteristics that potential customers bring with them. This can be done, among other things, by tracking data on behaviour on websites or through targeted customer surveys.
In the Customer Persona, we call the customer “Klaus”, one now defines a typical representative of this target group. Because you have a very accurate idea of “Klaus” – age, occupation, goals, etc. – it is much easier to identify your needs and adapt business processes to them.
This is “Klaus”
3. Customer Touchpoints
While one now deals with “Klaus” and thinks about how to make him happy, the question arises where to get in contact with him in the first place. These contact points are the Customer Touchpoints. These can be very different and are becoming more and more versatile today.
The contact usually goes far beyond customer service and websites. Social media channels, newsletters (CRM in marketing) or industry forums must provide the same positive experiences for “Klaus”. A negative impression is sufficient to prevent his purchase decision or to weaken his brand loyalty.
4. Customer Journey: The Customer Journey
The Customer Journey describes “Klaus” travel as a customer (What exactly is a customer journey?). It starts with the first time he becomes aware of the product. From then on, it may take a while for him to decide to buy.
And in the meantime, there can be many contacts. It is important to be aware of this and to provide him with positive experiences throughout, so that he does not interrupt his journey.
5. Customer Lifecycle
Even if “Klaus” has made his purchase, his journey can continue. This refers to the customer lifecycle. If you continue to provide him with relevant content and services (CRM for Service & IT), not only the brand remains in his head: his positive experience is solidified, his trust will be strengthened and “Klaus” will be less inclined to engage with another brand.
In the end, this also increases the Customer Lifetime Value, “Klaus” business customer value for the company.
6. Customer Experience
With knowledge of “Klaus” desires and needs, touchpoints, its journey and the lifecycle, the company can now focus on ensuring or even surpassing “Klaus” satisfaction in all respects. This can be done via content relevant to “Klaus” on the website, social media or in the newsletter (CRM in marketing).
At the same time, the business processes should be optimized in such a way that everything for “Klaus” is as simple and fast as possible and no frustration arises.
Customer Experience Management
In Customer Experience Management (CXM), whether in the B2B or B2C(What are the differences between B2B & B2C?), all these points are of great importance. Above all, however, it is particularly important to coordinate them, so that an interlocking process arises in which “Klaus” satisfaction is focused at all times.
Companies such as Amazon already show that CXM pays off, but also some studies: for example, the current study by the Temkin Group on CXM’s return on investment in 2018. There, 10,000 households were asked about their experiences with 318 companies from 14 industries.
The evaluations show that the relationship between customer experience and repurchase rate is very high. Similarly, according to the study, investments pay off directly. Depending on the sector, sales growth over three years ranges from around 50 to almost doubling for software companies.