In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the customer experience, as companies have come to realize that it plays a vital role in customer retention and loyalty. As such, there are many customer experience trends to keep an eye on.

To create a positive customer experience, focus on creating seamless customer journeys and ensure that every touch point is memorable and satisfying.

When done right, the customer experience can be a powerful tool to drive growth and success.

How do you get to that point? We explain that in this blog.

The growth of the customer experience

The customer experience is the perception the customer has of their interactions with a company.

Every contact a customer has with a company leaves an impression, whether positive, negative, or neutral.

The customer’s cumulative experience with your company determines their relationship with your company.

Traditionally, the customer experience has been determined by the customer service department. But the customer experience today extends much further. It includes every interaction a customer has with a company, from initial awareness to post-purchase follow-up.

As the customer experience landscape continues to evolve, companies are realizing the importance of providing a seamless, integrated customer experience across all touchpoints. By doing so, they can create deeper relationships with their customers and build brand loyalty.

The increasing role of customer experience in achieving business objectives

Traditionally, customer service was seen as a staff function, while marketing and sales departments were responsible for generating new customers and meeting business goals.

However, in today’s market conditions, the customer experience has become critical to achieving business goals.

A recent Salesforce survey found that about 66% of customers are willing to pay more for an excellent customer experience.

And PWC research shows that 63% share more information with a company that offers a good customer experience.

In addition, it is six times harder for companies to attract new customers than to retain their existing customers.

This demonstrates the importance of providing a positive customer experience, as only then will customers remain loyal to a company and continue to use their services or products.

The importance of customer experience in the digital world

The growth of digitization has had a major impact on the customer experience. Businesses have an online presence, and customers expect to receive a seamless, personalized experience when they interact with a company.

Customers have access to an infinite amount of information and choices, so it is up to companies to differentiate themselves with an excellent customer experience.

For example, a recent survey found that 84% of customers say personal attention is an important factor in their decision whether to continue working with a company.

This shows that although the customer experience is becoming more digital, there is still a role for personal attention and human interaction.

By understanding and leveraging our customer experience trends, companies can create a positive customer experience that will set them apart from the competition.

How can you improve your customer experience?

The customer experience is the interaction a customer has with a company over the total customer journey.

It is important to know what touchpoints there are in the customer journey and how to improve them.

Here are some tips:

• Make sure you know who your target audience is: only by understanding your target audience can you meet their needs. Create personas of your ideal customer and try to find out what their motives, needs and barriers are.
• Identify the touchpoints in the customer journey: make a list of all the touchpoints your customers have with your business, from initial contact to follow-up. Make sure each point goes smoothly and that a consistent message is conveyed.
• Make sure your customer experience is“wow”: try to create unique and unforgettable experiences that customers will not soon forget. This will keep them coming back and recommending you to others.
• Everyone is different and expects different service. One customer may prefer to contact you via WhatsApp, while another still likes to pick up the phone. With omnichannel software, you can be reached on your customer’s preferred channel, without having to make any concessions.
• Make sure you optimize your processes and that your agents don’t have to constantly switch from platform to platform. Steam-connect, for example, helps you keep track of all your customer contact in one screen.
• Keep up to date with the latest customer experience trends. The world is constantly changing and you want to stay ahead of your competition.

With these tips, you can improve your customer experience, making it easier to achieve business goals. Investing in the customer experience is critical to the success of any business!

Examples of good and bad customer experiences

To give you a better understanding of how customer experience works, we have included some examples of good and bad customer experiences below.

This allows you to better understand what customers expect, and how to improve their experience.

Examples of a good customer experience:

1. A company that responds quickly to questions or problems
2. A company that is easy to reach
3. A company that is honest about its products or services
4. A company that provides clear information
5. A business with a website that is easy to navigate
6. A company with a website that is easy to use
7. A company that helps customers solve problems
8. A company that is customer focused
9. A company that delivers fast
10. A company that provides simple and clear instructions

Examples of a bad customer experience:

1. A company that is slow to respond to questions or problems
2. A company that is difficult to reach
3. A company that is not honest about its products or services
4. A company that provides unclear information
5. A company with a website that is difficult to navigate
6. A company with a website that is difficult to use
7. A company that doesn’t help customers solve problems
8. A company that is not customer focused
9. A company that delivers slowly
10. A company that gives difficult and unclear instructions

11 customer experience trends for 2023 and beyond

A lot is going to change in the customer experience in the next few years. Here are our predictions in terms of customer experience trends:

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a major role in the customer experience in the future. It will help companies better understand what customers want and personalize their experience.

AI can also enable automation and self-service, helping customers more quickly and solving problems more easily.

This will ensure that customers stay with your company longer and are more loyal to your brand.

2. Chatbots

Chatbots should not be missing from the list of customer experience trends. They can automatically perform many tasks, such as answering questions and solving problems.

This will make customer service faster and problems easier to solve.

Chatbots will also help generate leads and upsell products or services.

3. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) will also play a major role in the customer experience in the future. It can help companies better communicate with their customers and provide them with a better experience.

For example, AR can be used to provide product demonstrations, or instructions on how to use a product in a fun and interactive way.

This will ensure that customers stay with your company longer and are more loyal to your brand.

4. Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the fastest growing customer experience trends and can help companies understand their customers even better and provide them with a unique experience.

For example, VR can be used to demonstrate a product or service, or to explain a business process.

This will make customers more loyal to your brand.

5. E-commerce

E-commerce is revolutionizing the way companies sell and customers buy. It makes it easier than ever for businesses to sell online, and it gives customers more control over their purchasing decisions.

E-commerce will allow companies to deliver faster, and it will allow customers to be more satisfied with their purchases.

This trend will also help companies learn more about consumer behavior, which can provide insight into how to improve the customer experience.

As this trend grows, it will have a profound impact on the way businesses operate and the way consumers store.

6. Social Media

In a world where customer experience is everything, social media has become an essential tool for companies that want to provide their customers with the best possible experience.

By keeping up with customer experience trends on social media, you’ll ensure that you’re always ahead of the curve and providing your customers with the latest and greatest customer service.

In addition, social media provides a great platform for resolving customer service issues. If a customer has a problem with a product or service, they can reach out to the company via social media and have their problem solved quickly and efficiently.

This level of customer service is sure to create loyal customers who are eager to talk positively about your business to their friends and followers.

7. Big Data

Big data has the power to not only understand what customers want, but also provide them with a personalized experience.

This way, companies can keep their patients or customers happy and keep them coming back for more.

For example, a hospital can use big data to track a patient’s symptoms and medical history, and then design a personalized treatment plan for that patient.

Or a store could use big data to track a customer’s purchase history and then offer them discounts on items they are likely to be interested in.

This way you create a more personalized experience for your customers, which can lead to greater satisfaction and loyalty.

8. Cloud Computing

In today’s fast-paced world, customers expect companies to deliver their products and services quickly and efficiently.

To meet that demand, more and more companies are starting to use cloud computing, which is why we include it in the list of customer experience trends…

Cloud computing can help companies deliver faster by providing access to scalable resources and reducing delivery times.

In addition, cloud computing also helps reduce costs, making it more affordable for companies to meet the needs of their customers.

9. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is also going to leave its mark on customer service. By 2025, it is estimated that there will be nearly 75 billion connected devices worldwide, and many of them will be customer-facing.

That means companies will have to find ways to use those devices to improve the customer experience.

In today’s digital world, customers expect companies to provide a seamless, personalized experience. They also want companies to be proactive in solving their problems.

IoT can help companies meet these expectations. By using IoT, companies can collect data on customer behavior and preferences. This data can then be used to improve customer service.

For example, if a customer has problems with a product, IoT can be used to send alerts to customer service. This way, the problem can be solved quickly and efficiently. As a result, the customer will have a positive experience with your company and be more likely to remain loyal to your brand.

10. Blockchain

As the world becomes increasingly digital, companies are looking for ways to keep up with the times and provide faster, more efficient service.

Blockchain is a promising technology. By using blockchain, companies can streamline operations and reduce costs, while also providing a better experience for their customers.

Suppose a customer orders a product from your company. With blockchain, you could track the product from the moment it leaves the warehouse until it arrives at the customer’s doorstep.

This would allow you to provide updates and fix any problems along the way, leading to a much happier customer.

In addition, blockchain can also be used to speed up transactions and settlements, further reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses work. Those who embrace these customer experience trends early will be well positioned to reap the benefits and stay ahead of the competition.

11. Omnichannel customer experience.

Another important trend we will see in the future is the omnichannel customer experience. This means that companies will no longer use only digital channels to communicate with their customers, but also physical channels.

This will ensure that customers have a consistent and seamless experience when interacting with a company, regardless of where they do so.

To achieve this, companies will need to integrate their channels, and automate their processes. This will ensure that customers have a better experience, and stay with the company longer.

The future of customer experiences

Customers are expecting more and more from companies, and customer experience will therefore play an increasingly important role in the business world.

Companies that do not invest in creating a positive customer experience will fall behind their competitors.

Customers will no longer remain loyal to companies if they are not satisfied with their experience, so it is crucial that companies invest in improving the customer experience.

Customer experience trends such as personalization, automation and data-driven decision making will increasingly influence the customer experience, and companies that capitalize on them will make a difference.

Companies looking to strengthen their existing customer loyalty and attract new customers will need to focus on creating a positive customer experience.

You do this by understanding and influencing the customer journey and adapting quickly to changing needs.

In the future, customers will increasingly expect their experience to be perfect.

Conclusion: 10 customer experience trends

The customer experience has become crucial for companies that want to be successful.

Companies need to invest in improving the customer experience, because only then will they be able to strengthen their existing customer loyalty and attract new customers.

Customers are expecting more and more from companies, and customer experience will therefore play an increasingly important role in the business world.

The above customer experience trends will have a major impact on the customer experience in the future.

Companies that follow these trends will be able to better communicate with their customers, provide them with a better experience, and stay with them longer.

If you want to know how you can make sure your business is on board with these trends, contact us! We are happy to help you.