What Is CX Strategy?

Before developing a streamlined, companywide CX strategy, it’s important to understand the difference between customer service and customer experience, as well as the benefits of CX and the cost of neglect.

Benefits of a CX strategy

There is immense value in controlling the narrative lens through which current and prospective customers view your brand. By taking a holistic approach to the customer experience, brands can control the methods by which customers engage with your brand, rather than leaving it up to the chance of a customer contacting you after something has gone wrong. This strategy also empowers brands to connect with customers on a deeper level; when the customer views your brand as a resource through which to make important purchase decisions rather than simply a means to an end, it builds greater trust in your brand and can even increase the overall spend per customer. The heightened level of connection and engagement with customers also increases the trackability of interactions with your brand and the success of your marketing initiatives.

The calculated results of a successful CX strategy are more than enough to constitute the transition from customer service to customer experience. In fact, 95% of consumers who rate a company’s CX as “very good” are likely to recommend the company, and 94% are likely to repurchase. With this in mind, effective customer experience goes beyond the power to satisfy current customers and extends to creating recurring customer loyalty and bringing in new customers by recommendation. 

The Cost of CX Neglect

While an effective CX strategy can drive significant positive results, neglecting the customer experience also has its own costs. A recent NewVoiceMedia study showed that businesses are losing $75 billion per year as a result of poor customer experience. Why such a large number? A study by Simplr revealed just how unforgiving customers can be after enduring a bad customer service experience. For example, 50% of customers said they were likely to tell a friend or post on social media about a bad customer experience, and 55% expressed they are likely to leave a negative review. While these effects are substantial and measurable, 40% said they would go so far as to stop shopping with a brand altogether after bad customer experience; a customer silently walking away is a harder number to quantify but is strong evidence that customer experience neglect can have immediate and detrimental effects on conversion rates, customer loyalty, and brand perception.

How to Achieve CX Efficiency 

The only truly effective way to implement a thorough and comprehensive CX strategy is to create one that is fully integrated through inter-and intra-departmental cooperation. The culture of customer experience should be baked into the entire company’s DNA.