Excellent customer experience grows by improving every touchpoint over time. Even if some touchpoints are bigger than others. Know your strengths. Listen to your customer. Act on insights. Like all great disciplines, improvement comes with consistent practice.
I apply a paradox or two from tennis to improving touchpoints on the customer journey.
In tennis it’s important to play one point at a time. Meaning, focus on the moment and shake it off if it doesn’t go well. Move onto the next point. What seems contrary is we’re also told that some points are bigger than others. Serve. Advantage. Game Point. Match Point. Championship point.
I was also taught to bring all my shots up to a consistent level. So that I would never be afraid to use any of them. Like the people who expend energy forever running around their backhand to avoid using it. The paradox – use your weapons, know your best shot, and use it to its best advantage. Federer’s serve. Nadal’s power. Ashleigh Barty’s athleticism.
So how can we use this to improve our customer’s experience on their journey with us.
Some touchpoints on the journey are bigger than others
Like tennis they are often the decision points. The points that help build momentum. The points of commitment by the customer. Purchase. Customer onboarding. Upsell and renewal. Advocacy. I know, it sounds like most of them. Make sure that your effort at these touch points meets the moment. Seek customer feedback. Track KPIs at these points. Use the information to decide on improvement strategies.
Have a consistent level of quality to every touchpoint
This doesn’t mean put the same effort into a touchpoint. Or the same costs. It means what you decide to do at a given touchpoint should be of quality. A quality that is consistent with your brand. Fix bad experiences. You can lose customers at what you consider to be a touch point of less importance.
Know your strengths and maximize on them
Do you know what your company and staff do well? Is it your responsiveness? Or your informative videos? Maybe your staff’s empathy? Is it the ease in which the customer can do things? Ask your customers what and how questions as further detail to NPS, CSAT and CES surveys.
When you see trends of what they like about a particular touchpoint, consider how you could do something similar in another one. This can also feed into your consistent level of quality. Or be a deeper version of it. It’s almost like having a consistent level of strength in every touchpoint.
Focus on one touchpoint at a time. One customer at a time.
This is about being present in a touchpoint. Make that touchpoint be the best experience the customer can have with you.
While it’s easy to fall into the McDonald’s “Do you want fries with that” of upselling on every order. Make sure the purpose of the touchpoint is fulfilled before leading them into the next one. Present the next touchpoint only if it fits the flow. For example, maybe that upsell is better attached to the end of onboarding, than to the end of purchase.
Try to read signals as to what is best for the individual customer. If possible create tailored journeys for different customers. Somewhat like a cashier in a store might spend time chatting with one customer who wants more engagement. While a customer in line who just wants to complete the transaction gets quickly served by another.
Finally,
I know a lot to think about. And you might not be able to implement it all at once. Customer experience is a practice rather than a once and done. And like most practices, we get better by doing, learning, and tweaking. One shot at a time.
