From colour palettes and logos to mission statements and imagery, a brand should be instantly recognisable and easily distinguishable from competitors.
But did you know customer experience is also an integral component of a brand?
Customer interactions heavily influence trust, loyalty and reputation – and bad CX can quickly have a negative impact on how people perceive an organisation.
Here’s how the customer experience can help or hinder a brand.
Enhance brand perception
Every customer interaction, whether positive or negative, contributes towards overall brand perception.
Perhaps an organisation is renowned for round-the-clock omnichannel communications, making it easy for customers to get support when they need it most. Or maybe it’s the opposite – people are talking on social media about how impossible it is to reach a company due to their lengthy call queues.
Negative customer experience quickly impacts trust and reputation. In fact, 32% of customers would cease doing business with a brand they were previously loyal to after just one bad experience. This makes it essential that customers can access the support they need whenever they need it.
Omnichannel solutions are central to this, giving people the flexibility of 24/7 on-the-go options. It’s a great way to boost customer satisfaction, generate lifetime value and increase the chance of recommendations.
Stand out from competitors
Having an efficient, compassionate customer experience can differentiate a business from its competitors, especially in a competitive market.
And with 50% of customers happy to switch to a competitor after a negative impression, customer loyalty can be easily challenged. So it is essential that customer service is consistently delivering the support people expect – and deserve.
Convenience and personalisation are strong indicators of successful CX, ensuring each customer is treated as an individual and not a statistic. Keep all communications personalised, ensure flexibility through omnichannel options and embed AI automations or self-service solutions to allow people to get help outside of normal working hours.
This also allows organisations to ensure more meaningful interactions with their customers, which reinforces brand reputation.
Evolve with market conditions
Achieving excellent customer service and building a strong brand reputation isn’t a finite achievement. It’s a constantly changing process, repeatedly impacted by internal and external pressures.
This means organisations need to repeatedly review and refine their CX.
One way is to gather customer feedback on what is and isn’t working. Then use that data to make improvements at every touchpoint. Utilising a centralised CRM will also help, identifying trends and pressure points across every channel.
Organisations should also keep up to date with what competitors are doing, as well as wider contextual shifts, such as emerging technologies and best practices. And as contact centres continue to embed AI into their CX, consider the ways this can improve employee efficiencies, call response rates or personalisation for customers.
Ensure a holistic approach
Any changes an organisation makes to its CX can’t just be in response to competitor actions or marketplace shifts. Customer experience always needs to be cohesive with the organisation’s wider brand values and mission statement.
Think of it this way – customer-centric brands report 60% higher profits than competitors who don’t focus on CX. So, if an organisation emphasises the importance of human interaction but then makes a sudden shift towards AI-only communications to mimic a competitor, this will create a conflicting brand image.
Instead, the organisation should consider how AI can be best used to enhance human communication, not replace it.
This consistency should be maintained across all omnichannel options, as well as in other relevant places, such as the organisation’s website, social media, collateral and PR. It will help to establish loyalty and enhance reputation. This in turn attracts and maintains customers.
Discover how CX can enhance your brand
Our customer service support provides bespoke solutions tailored to each organisation, ensuring every decision and action is in line with their existing brand.
Get in touch to discover how we can elevate and enhance your brand’s CX.
