Customer journey research can inform your mission-critical decison making process. The customer journey is made up of experiences that a customer goes through when interacting with a company or brand. The assumption is that the more quality experiences a customer has, the more loyal the customer becomes. Is that true? Econsultancy and Adobe’s 2019 Digital Trends report found customer experience to be the dominant trend for 2020. But more than a single experience, the trend considers the customer’s journey. The stronger the customer experience, the more connected the customer feels to a company or brand.
For 65% of consumers, positive customer experiences have more influence on their buying decision than advertising. For 32% of consumers, one poor customer experience is enough for them to walk away from a brand. Based on these statistics, companies cannot afford a bad customer experience. One bad experience is enough to end a consumer’s journey.
Multi-Channel Experiences
A customer’s journey is not one dimensional. Companies interact with their customers online through a website and in a physical store. Customers find a brand through mobile applications and social media. Customers understand that service levels vary according to the channel. What they don’t understand is a lack of consistency. Consumers expect communication to be the same across all channels. They do not want to feel as though they are interacting with separate companies based on the channel. As customers move from one channel to the next, experiences should be as seamless as possible.
IKEA has invested heavily in customer experience. They now offer a home delivery service and a new mobile application, all focused on giving the customer a better experience. That investment is paying off. IKEA annual sales have reached over $40 billion worldwide. Other companies are taking notice. Today, over 65% of companies compete based on customer experience. To compete successfully, companies must be willing to invest in creating positive customer experiences across all channels.
Mobile Applications
A poorly designed mobile application can hurt a brand. So will a website that is not mobile-friendly. You may be surprised at how strongly consumers react to negative online and mobile experiences.
- 57% won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile devices.
- 50% will stop visiting a poorly designed website, even if they like the company.
- 66% of customers are disappointed if a brand they like has a poor mobile application.
- 55% say a frustrating website experience lowers their opinion of the company.
- 52% find that a bad mobile experience makes them less likely to engage with the company.
- Mobile applications and websites are rapidly becoming a foundational piece of a company’s success. Unfortunately, 90% of customers report having a poor experience on mobile devices.
Customer Self-Service
Customer self-service is part of a customer’s journey, or it should be. Consumers expect a company’s website to have a knowledge base, forums, or FAQs that they can access. They use the information to make decisions about which products to buy. If a site does not provide a self-service option, the company may be losing customers without knowing it.
In fact, 70% of customers expect a website to have some self-service option. Almost 73% of customers would rather use a company’s website than any other form of online support. Close to 50% of consumers would prefer self-service as opposed to speaking with a live person.
Customer Journey Research
Based on recent research, companies must focus on the following if they want to give consumers an exceptional customer journey.
- Maintain consistent communications across all channels
- Develop user-friendly websites and mobile applications
- Provide self-service options whenever possible
- As the competitive landscape moves away from products and towards customer experience, companies can no longer ignore the importance of the customer’s journey to their success.
A successful customer journey begins with data about your company and customers. How many customers find your website or mobile application frustrating to use? Why pay to redo your website if your customers just want a self-service option? If you want to ensure cost-effective success, base your decisions on data. Io learn more about customer journey research, contact New Perspectives marketing research. We have the expertise to help you get to know your customers better.