6 Fresh Customer Experience Hacks for 2020

Investment in Customer Experience (CX) is continually growing, as brands strive to offer customers a superior quality of experience. In this article, we turn to six of the world’s leading CX experts to bring you valuable tips and insights.  

It’s no secret that we live in a customer-centric world, where the quality of experience is now as important as the product itself. The world’s leading brands are using superior customer experience (CX)Opens a new window as a lever to establish recall, ensure retention, and obtain referrals.

Last year, Gartner announced Opens a new window that 75% of the 244 organizations it surveyed across the globe increased their spending on CX technology. And this had measurable results. A separate study by ForresterOpens a new window found that 14% of brands (U.S.) saw a significantly improved CX score compared to previous years.

So how can you carry on this momentum in 2020? We looked at key commentators and analysts in this space for six actionable insights.

Learn More: Top 7 Customer Experience (CX) Trends for 2020Opens a new window

6 Ways to Enhance Customer Experiences in 2020

The purchase experience is no longer about a linear attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) funnel. With so many channels in play, from brick-and-mortar to web and mobile, brands need a carefully articulated CX strategy that takes all of these touchpoints into account. Let’s look at what these six experts had to say on this topic.

1. Be transparent about customer data privacy
 

Let’s start with the very basics. Collecting and utilizing customer data is central to an effective CX gameplan, which is why you need to be open about how you segment and target your audience. But this should be approached with a clear, ethical stance.

“Research shows that 79% of consumersOpens a new window are concerned about data security and privacy issues, and multiple surveys have found it to be the biggest cause for concern for consumers, especially as the number and severity of data breaches increases,” saidOpens a new window   Blake Morgan, customer experience futurist, author, and keynote speaker.

“Create a systemized plan for transparency, including regularly updating customers on their security and giving them options to opt-out of data collection,” she recommended.

All websites must give customers the option to choose what data is stored and how it would be used once they have left the site. Regular updates to a brand’s data privacy policy and timely notifications to subscribed customers are also essential.

If you want your customers to trust you, you must secure their #dataOpens a new window by maintaining #complianceOpens a new window with #GDPROpens a new window and/or #CCPAOpens a new window . @patagoniaOpens a new window @McDonaldsOpens a new window https://t.co/Ojf9CYZIiA #DataPrivacyOpens a new window #CybersecurityOpens a new window #DataBreachOpens a new window pic.twitter.com/kcqT0f5kS4Opens a new window

— Blake Morgan (@BlakeMichelleM) January 13, 2020Opens a new window

Blake Morgan’s Tweet About Data Security

2. Make subscriptions a core part of the customer experience
 

Subscriptions are typically a means to acquire new customers for small and emerging brands. It gives you a ready database for targeted communication and engagement. In 2020, every brand should relook at subscriptions as an effective way to retain customers, advised Guy Marion, CEO & co-founder of BrightbackOpens a new window .

“To meet consumer demand, more mainstream brands will experiment with subscriptions,” he saidOpens a new window .

“Consumers aren’t letting up in their preference for convenience; they want easier ways to buy, and that means stores must develop better online experiences and offer subscription options or risk losing revenue. We’ll see big brands like Nike and Ikea continue to experiment and expand innovative subscription offerings,” he also added.

This, he believes, will help to optimize customer retention, which brings us to our next hack.

3. Engage customers across a trifurcated channel model
 

This one applies specifically to B2B companies that work with an extensive network of channel partners to drive CX and sales. According to Forrester, companies should prepare for a trifurcated channel model spread across digital influencers, the traditional transactional channel, and a subscription-based retention channel.

“Creating an ‘influencer channel’ made up of affinity partners, referral agents, affiliates, advocates, ambassadors, and alliances is critical to success in 2020,” saidOpens a new window Jay McBain, principal analyst, Channel Partnerships & Alliances at Forrester.

Brands could also reinforce existing relationships with channel partners, with refreshed co-marketing, co-selling, and co-support programs.

Finally, a new channel based on subscriptions belongs at the heart of your channel model for 2020. McBain recommended reimagining the subscription experience every 30 days to ensure recurring business.

Learn More: Top 20 Customer Experience (CX) Quotes By Leading Industry ExpertsOpens a new window

4. Identify a “suitably hefty” metric to measure CX
 

The right metric can reveal valuable information on the quality of experience, touchpoints where it might become fragmented, and channels that are performing exceptionally well. There are several metrics to choose from (including the five customer experience metrics to prove ROIOpens a new window ), and your selection makes a big difference.

Focus on a metric that captures the highest number of details as recommended by Nadia Cameron,

publisher and editor at CMO Australia.

“A common metric helping bring not just marketing and customer experience functions together, but helping corral entire organizations around the customer is Net Promoter Score (NPS). Of course, many are quick to point out it’s not the actual number, but what’s behind it that’s important.  At Powershop [a U.K.-based utility company], a live feed of NPS responses allows the whole office to watch commentary coming in from customers, providing a base for discussion,” she saidOpens a new window .

Note how the usual static NPS becomes more effective when it is monitored and analyzed in real-time. This is where cutting-edge tech like artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.

5. Combine metrics with AI capabilities to get a more accurate picture
 

AI is now almost a martech staple, with GP Bullhound reporting that “AI is set to revolutionize marketing,”Opens a new window powered by $1 billion invested in Q2 of 2019 alone. This has significant implications for CX.

Marketers can use AI in conjunction with customer data to unlock hidden insights, patterns, and anomalies. It also makes the data more immediate, ensuring that the right action is taken at the right moment.

“Your organization may already have a wealth of valuable data from current CX tools, customer service, sales reps, social media, Net Promoter Scores, and Customer Effort Scores; however, most of this data fails to reveal rich real-time customer insight,” Gloria Omale, PR manager – Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at Gartner, pointed outOpens a new window .

“By using AI technologies, it is possible to categorize, organize and analyze customer data in real-time (whether to analyze the written or spoken word) and ultimately understand customer sentiment,” she added.

Here, it is critical to remember the issue of privacy, which is why hack no.1 in this list is so important.

6. Build a single source of CX truth using martech
 

Omnichannel marketing has definitely made it more challenging to gain a unified view of customer experiences. Service reps are distributed across channels, data comes in silos, and the experience flow could get fragmented when switching between platforms.

Marketers can use rich visualization and intelligent analysis to address this. Consider the new martech category called the customer friendship platform, which aims to create a social media “friend-like” relationship between the brand and its customers.

“Your customers want an experience that is fast and convenient,” said Opens a new window Krisztian Tabori, head of global brand design and co-founder of DixaOpens a new window . “To achieve that, brands are required to use a tool that allows them to communicate with customers on any given channel and see all relevant customer data without leaving the conversation. Essentially – a ‘one-screen wonder.’”

Dixa connects the various CX channels in action to offer superior experiences, no matter which platform the customer is currently using. Here’s what it looks like:

SourceOpens a new window

Dixa’s User Interface

Learn More: How To Improve Customer Experience (CX) – Top 7 Tips for 2020Opens a new window

Wrapping up: Key Takeaways for Marketers

CX is poised to take on exciting new dimensions in 2020. Here are a few takeaways for marketers to remember:

• Make privacy a focal point to avoid non-compliance, loss of trust, or a dent in reputation
• Expand into new channels like subscriptions and digital influencers
• Zero-in on a definitive metric and amplify it with AI
• Keep a razor-sharp eye on the martech landscape, for useful tools like customer friendship platforms
   

There you have it! These six tips from marketing experts provide an interesting perspective on where CX is headed. By embracing the latest technology and continually refining your strategy based on real-time (or near real-time) insights, you can stay a step ahead of customer expectations in 2020.

Do you have a CX #ProTip to add to this list? Tell us on LinkedInOpens a new window , FacebookOpens a new window , or TwitterOpens a new window . We would love for you to contribute!