What is a Memorable Customer Experience?
A recent study about customer experience programs compares the importance of providing customers with a memorable and meaningful experience, in comparison to a frictionless one.
A memorable customer experience is focused on customer experience design and aims to provide customers with experiences that are meaningful and unique to the brand. It involves leaving customers with profound memories so that they are more likely to remember you, recommend you, and return to you.
The Difference between Memorable and Frictionless Customer Experience
Memorable customer experience is more focused on experience design whereas a frictionless customer experience is focused on improving the delivery of the experience. Companies often have to make the decision on which to focus on, and therefore want to understand which of the two has a larger influence on customer buying decisions: Memorable customer experience or Frictionless customer experience?
Although customers expect a frictionless experience and it is more impactful on customer decisions, it can no longer provide brands with a competitive advantage. It is the memorable experiences that set your brand apart, help you remain competitive, and help you establish a long-term competitive advantage. Therefore, brands should aim to provide customers with a good frictionless experience, and then shift their focus to providing a meaningful and memorable experience.
How to Create a Frictionless Customer Experience
Frictionless customer experience is focused on providing customers with an experience that is focused on optimizing the delivery of the experience.
Here are a few ways in which companies can provide frictionless customer experience
- Map Out Customer Journey
One of the most effective ways to optimize customer experience and provide frictionless customer experience is through customer journey mapping. Use online survey tool to clearly map out your customers’ journey. When you have a clear idea of the different touchpoints, you will understand what customers want and what influences their purchasing decisions. Once you have this information, you can then identify the different ways in which you can meet their expectations.
- Involve the Whole Organization
To provide a truly seamless experience, it is integral that every team and department within the organization is dedicated to this goal. Outlining a customer experience mission statement that informs everyone within the organization of the goal and the strategies that can be used to achieve it.
- Provide an Omnichannel Experience
Customer service can play a huge role in influencing customer experience. To provide a seamless customer service experience, it is essential to provide omnichannel support as it allows customers to reach you on their preferred channels and prevents communication issues caused by siloed channels. While gathering insights too, use survey software that provides multiple channels to reach customers.
Some prominent leaders in providing frictionless customer experience are Uber, Amazon, and Netflix. Netflix, for example, has optimized every customer touchpoint right from when they come in contact with the customer. Their algorithms are developed to serve personalized recommendations to every viewer and they have done their best to remove any friction for the customer, to provide a seamless customer experience that keeps customers wanting more.
How to Create a Memorable Customer Experience
Let’s look at a few ways in which you can create a meaningful and memorable customer experience and elevate different touch points within the customer journey:
- Improve your Messaging and Communications
Changing the way you communicate with your customers can contribute to making the customer experience more memorable. For instance, research shows that repeating what the customer asks for while communicating with them increases their satisfaction levels and their spending (e.g. Let me check how much more it will cost to upgrade your subscription” rather than “Let me look into your query”). Find out what your target audience prefers by conducting surveys using a market research tool.
- Focus on Relationships and Interactions
Build trust and a strong relationship with your customers as this will increase loyalty and will also likely lead to them spreading the word about your brand to others. Take the time to let customers know that you value them, whether it is regarding their feedback or a purchase, ensure that they know you appreciate them. Creating a trusted reputation within the community will also make your company seem more credible, which will make it easier for new potential customers to trust your brand.
- Create a Ritual for your Product
Creating a ritual associated with your product is a great way to provide customers with a memorable experience. This is a strategy that a lot of big companies use. For example, Oreo is known for its popular ‘twist, lick, dunk’ ritual that encourages people to eat Oreo cookies in a specific way. This ritual differentiates Oreos from other cookies in the market, making their brand stand out.
Some prominent leaders in providing memorable customer experience are IKEA and Ritz Carlton. IKEA, for instance, focuses on providing customers with a very immersive experience that makes customers feel at home. They even have a cafeteria and an interactive experience for kids and aim to provide something for everyone. Compared to the average furniture store, most people find their experience at IKEA unique and memorable.
