Customer service has long been a cornerstone of business success and, in a way, this is never going to change. What has changed is the way we think and talk about the experiences customers have with the companies they choose to patronize. This comprehensive and dynamic perspective is what makes the field of customer experience a more effective approach than a straightforward focus on the delivery of service. Customer experience (CX) encompasses many nuances of interactions between companies and company representatives and their customers. Data gathered through analytics can help business leaders develop improved experiences for their customers but sometimes strong, lasting results can seem elusive. Personalization is an excellent way to rethink the cultivation of experience for customers. Furthermore, a more personalized approach can help various departments finally achieve CX goals that have not been met by using other strategies.
A Closer Look at Personalization
Personalized customer experience speaks directly to the way that customers behave when they interact with your company. The way that this personalized experience is delivered to customers naturally varies from one company to another but certain commonalities exist. For instance, customer feedback is often solicited with the help of messaging that reflects the particulars of a customer’s recent past behavior.
This high degree of personalization is made possible through careful tracking and record-keeping systems. Data collection is can be a very neglected part of CX development even though this information provides direct insight into customer activity, including emerging patterns of behavior.
In short, personalization can accomplish a few key outcomes, including:
- Generating prompt customer response to requests for feedback
- Driving the submission of reviews and ratings
- Initiating personal contact following a customer’s experience with a brand or product
As these examples will show, the effort put into personalization can have very positive benefits for a company seeking CX improvement.
Personalized Customer Feedback
After a transaction has been completed, customers can be sent a feedback form. Personalized data can be used to inquire about specific products or services purchased by the customer; other specifics about the transaction, such as on-time delivery, can also be used in the messaging of these feedback forms.
Responsive Thank You Notes
Thank you notes can also be personalized with the same details that make feedback forms stand out. In fact, certain systems even allow the display of different responses based on feedback from input; for instance, customers can be thanked for purchasing a service contract and receive information regarding the date of the first scheduled engagement. Highly positive feedback can trigger a screen or note encouraging customers to leave a review online. This is a good way to increase the number of reviews left for a company or service because customers are at their most engaged at this moment in the experience cycle.
Initiating Personalized Follow-Up
Certain customer responses lead naturally to follow-up from a customer service agent or other company representative. This contact is perhaps most commonly associated with dissatisfactory customer experiences but this can follow many different kinds of feedback. Agents can confirm contracted service scheduling and other matters with this personalized contact.
Personalization is a natural way to improve CX outcomes and meet goals identified with CX experts within your organization.
This blog was first published on LinkedIn.
