The guide to customer satisfaction
FAQ Part 5 of 7
This is part 5 of our 7-part blog series. In this series, we address frequently asked questions and answers, and you will discover how you can take your customer satisfaction to the next level. In this 7-part blog series, you won't miss a thing about customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction,
net promoter score (NPS), customer effort score (CES), customer journey, reviews, customer experience, and so on.
In part 5 of this series, we answer frequently asked questions about the customer journey. Successful organizations know their customer journey. They know which steps the customer goes through and can "predict" which steps the customer will take.
Let's get started.
In part 5 of this series, we answer frequently asked questions about the customer journey. Successful organizations know their customer journey. They know which steps the customer goes through and can "predict" which steps the customer will take.
Let's get started.
What is the customer journey?
There are countless ways for a (potential) customer to come into contact with your organization: website, social media, newsletter, or, of course, with an employee in the store. In the run-up to the purchase of your product or service, there are moments of contact where things can go right or wrong.
The customer journey is the 'journey' that customers take to purchase a product or service. By mapping out this customer journey, the organization gains a better understanding of customer behavior. By approaching the (purchasing) process from the customer's perspective, your organization gains insight into customer contact. It is a way to better understand customer behavior and improve the experience of new and existing customers.
The customer journey is the 'journey' that customers take to purchase a product or service. By mapping out this customer journey, the organization gains a better understanding of customer behavior. By approaching the (purchasing) process from the customer's perspective, your organization gains insight into customer contact. It is a way to better understand customer behavior and improve the experience of new and existing customers.
How do I map out the customer journey?
How do you map out a customer journey so that your organization can really move forward with the results? That is the key question. First of all, it is important to have a clear idea of what you want to know and why you are using it. Do you want to know what the most important contact moments are from the customer's point of view? How expectations and experiences change? What the drivers for loyalty are? Or where the peak moments and disappointments lie within the current (purchasing) process?
All objectives are, of course, part of the overall 'journey'. But the approach to the research is different if you want to know how a customer orientates themselves towards a product than if the question is how they experienced the purchasing process. You want to focus on the customer journey so that you know what to include in the satisfaction survey. Without a clear goal, every survey will undoubtedly end up in a drawer.
To map out your organization's customer journey, we always recommend working with employees from different departments. Employees are in daily contact with customers and therefore know a lot about customer needs and experiences, whether consciously or unconsciously. Involving employees increases team spirit and teaches them to put themselves in the customer's shoes. By working from the customer's perspective, employees learn what works well and what doesn't, and what is important to the customer. A good starting point is to work with different personas (customer types).
A similar exercise with some of your customers is also possible. Through focus groups or interviews, it becomes clear whether the internal results match the actual customer experience.
All objectives are, of course, part of the overall 'journey'. But the approach to the research is different if you want to know how a customer orientates themselves towards a product than if the question is how they experienced the purchasing process. You want to focus on the customer journey so that you know what to include in the satisfaction survey. Without a clear goal, every survey will undoubtedly end up in a drawer.
To map out your organization's customer journey, we always recommend working with employees from different departments. Employees are in daily contact with customers and therefore know a lot about customer needs and experiences, whether consciously or unconsciously. Involving employees increases team spirit and teaches them to put themselves in the customer's shoes. By working from the customer's perspective, employees learn what works well and what doesn't, and what is important to the customer. A good starting point is to work with different personas (customer types).
A similar exercise with some of your customers is also possible. Through focus groups or interviews, it becomes clear whether the internal results match the actual customer experience.
How do I create the ideal customer experience?
You have mapped out the customer journey. What now? How do I create the ideal customer experience? Organizations tend to want to perfect the entire customer journey. This is unnecessary, expensive, and counterproductive.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes in our fallible thinking that only two contact moments really matter: the peak of the experience and the end. In other words, if you only allow the customer experience to peak, there are no more highlights and the customer experience is actually perceived as 'flat', without any peak moments.
The trick is to develop a memorable customer experience based on this. A memorable customer experience peaks at the right moment and ends with a peak. You create a peak by surprising your customer.
How? Respond to emotions.
Emotions cause customers to behave exponentially more positively than 'satisfied' customers. The more positive the unexpected experience, the greater the enthusiasm. Think of IKEA, where you have to queue at the checkout. This is not a high point to end on. That's why you can buy an ice cream for very little money after paying.
It is therefore important to focus your efforts on the important moments and not try to score a 10 throughout the entire customer journey.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes in our fallible thinking that only two contact moments really matter: the peak of the experience and the end. In other words, if you only allow the customer experience to peak, there are no more highlights and the customer experience is actually perceived as 'flat', without any peak moments.
The trick is to develop a memorable customer experience based on this. A memorable customer experience peaks at the right moment and ends with a peak. You create a peak by surprising your customer.
How? Respond to emotions.
Emotions cause customers to behave exponentially more positively than 'satisfied' customers. The more positive the unexpected experience, the greater the enthusiasm. Think of IKEA, where you have to queue at the checkout. This is not a high point to end on. That's why you can buy an ice cream for very little money after paying.
It is therefore important to focus your efforts on the important moments and not try to score a 10 throughout the entire customer journey.
Getting started
Would you like to know how we can help you map out the customer journey and optimize your customer experience?
Please contact us at service@feeddex.com or call our office at 023 750 57 57.
In part six of the blog series, we address frequently asked questions and answers about reviews.
Please contact us at service@feeddex.com or call our office at 023 750 57 57.
In part six of the blog series, we address frequently asked questions and answers about reviews.