Why we became a CX Agency
Why are we a CX Agency? I remember having a really memorable shopping experience, using an online retailer – it was seamless. But was it created by a CX Agency? I have no idea, but it sparked something. For me, it defined great customer experience, it felt genuine. A CX seed had been planted…
My CX Agency story
I had signed up with Cantoo (a great charity check them out) to run a half marathon (ouch!). I decided I needed new runners; I had some Nike Free’s in the past but now they weren’t available in stores. So, I tracked some down online and ordered them from an outlet called Wiggle. On the day of delivery, I was working away at my Agency, and I received a delivery notification. Woohoo, they’d arrived. Later in the day, I received a call from my partner. She explained how the shoebox had arrived but there were no shoes in the box.
The plot thickens! They’d been stolen.
Obviously, I took the law into my own hands and went full ‘Sherlock’, I thought it was the postman but with little proof, the case didn’t stick.
At this point, I hadn’t thought beyond disappointment, CX or Customer Experience hadn’t really come into it.
CX saves the day
I decide to contact Wiggle and see if I could get a discount on a second pair, considering the circumstances. I wasn’t too hopeful as it wasn’t really their fault and I knew I was pushing my luck. Their CX team responded quickly, and with surprisingly good news. “Mr Carter, we’ve sent you a new pair of shoes, sorry for your loss.”
A Raving Fan Was Born
I was so surprised and delighted, I began recommending Wiggle to anyone who would listen. Since then, I have spent a small fortune with that company and sent many others to check them out. They already had great delivery communication and customer experience, but the way they solved this issue took our relationship to the next level.
Cartercarter started life in 2009 as a creative agency that focused on digital. This experience was our CX catalyst. We realised we could use our digital know-how to help organisations deliver exceptional Customer Experiences and for over 10 years we’ve been doing a damn good job of it.
However, you can’t just jump straight into problem-solving. You have to get the basics right.
CX is the key
I firmly believe if an organisation can provide a great CX, by supporting their customers at crucial times and turning unhappy events into positive outcomes, the investment will have a much higher ROI (Return On Investment) than any other they practice.
You can’t deliver great Customer Experiences without customers, so for us, CX starts at the first point of contact – customer acquisition. The acquisition is very important, and must never be underestimated, as any marketer knows getting it right is a delicate balance.
Customer Experience – the basics
Start by giving people basics – what they expect. At its heart, it’s pretty simple, you need to know what you’re providing and deliver it to every customer without exception. You need to do this in a way that works for the customer and your organisation. The three P’s (price, production and process) are key.
If you sell delicious hotcakes, make sure every single customer experiences a delicious hotcake. No exceptions.
All great CX journeys are built on solid foundations. Find your customers and deliver what you have promised. Once that is a smooth process, its time to take your CX to another level.
For a more detailed look at how to get keep and grow customers take a look at our guide to inbound marketing
Levelling Up Your CX
We like to start this process with two essential tools:
Customer personas – Know your customers, who are they, what they like, how do they interact and what gets under their skin.
An aspirational CX journey – This is a plan of how you’re going to successfully engage with customers and it should cover all possible scenarios and outcomes.
Both these are iterative and should be constantly updated as the business evolves. Once mapped, you prioritise key personas and start solving their most pressing CX problems to improve their journey. Then you keep going until you have a customer experience that would turn even the most difficult customer into a die-hard fan.
Get a customer to buy and you make a sale. But, turn that customer into an advocate and they’ll lead to multiple purchases and ongoing revenue.
Perfect Customer Experience
Delivering perfect customer experiences helps business grow, but don’t just take my word for it:
- Companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80%.
- 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.
- 73% of companies with above-average customer experience perform better financially than their competitors.
- 96% of customers say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
- 83% of companies that believe it’s important to make customers happy also experience growing revenue.
- Brands with superior customer experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience.
- 73% of consumers say a good experience is key in influencing their brand loyalties.
- 77% of consumers say inefficient customer experiences detract from their quality of life.
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers.
Cheers guys
James Carter
