Do you know what makes great customer experiences memorable?
Many believe that it is people delivering the service. Others feel it is a deep understanding of customer wants, needs, and expectations. Some value trust and consistency.
While these are accurate, they do not capture all aspects of a great customer experience.
Just as there are five senses in the human body, there are five dimensions of customer experience. All are equally important, interrelated and operate in synchronicity to produce the maximum impact.
Ecosystem
This foundational element refers to the culture and systems of the organization that provide the experience. Without the right people and systems in place, customer experience cannot be created, delivered, nor sustained.
Delivery
The communication required between different departments, suppliers, and/or distributors to ensure that the delivery of the product or service is properly executed to delight customers.
Empathy
This is the heart of customer experience and addresses the feelings and expectations of the customers receiving services and the people providing them. If the human element of customer experience is not considered, the experience becomes meaningless.
Pathways
These are the transitions between touchpoints of a customer experience. Pathways lead the customer smoothly along their journey with your company, and relieve their anxiety while increasing their customer retention and loyalty.
Touchpoints
These are the points of customer interaction, combining the science of the design of services and the art of their delivery. Touchpoints are critical because they are the opportunities for direct connection to your customers as well as for gathering invaluable customer feedback.
It is important to understand that not every service experience requires all the five dimensions to be equally applied. However, it is important that all the dimensions are considered in the design and delivery of the customer experience to ensure that customers’ expectations are met or exceeded in ways that set you apart from the competition.
In two weeks, we will begin exploring each of the five dimensions of customer experience in detail, with specific examples that illustrate their benefit to businesses, their employees, and most importantly to their customers.
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About the Author
James Grieve is a Certified Management Consultant and partner in Nucleus Strategies, a Kelowna-based consulting firm that specializes in working with businesses in a variety of industries to design great service experiences that delight customers and improve business performance. He can be reached at 778.214.6010, or james@nucleus-strategies.com.
A version of this post was first published here. Read more from James on Customer Experience:
The Difference between Customer Service and Customer Experience
