We discuss how business owners can create a trackable, engaging customer experience from start to finish

One of the greatest challenges many small business owners face is continuing to control the experience their customers have as their company grows.

Soon, customers begin finding their business via a wide range of pathways, whether it’s a Google advertisement, a mobile search, or walking into a brick and mortar location.

As customer acquisition increases, entrepreneurs are tasked with having to monitor greater amounts of traffic, ensuring that each potential buyer experiences a smooth, unobstructed journey from beginning to end.

And the stats show that this responsibility is becoming a major concern.

In fact, just 13 percent of businesses have the ability to orchestrate customer journeys at scale, while 63 percent of brands say they’re unable to take immediate action on available customer data.

For businesses that can’t afford to face setbacks when it comes to acquiring customers and securing conversions, statistics like these can be particularly alarming.

So, how can business owners overcome these stats and gain control of their customer journey?

We’ve compiled our top strategies for your benefit. Let’s get started!

HERE ARE 3 WAYS BUSINESSES CAN BETTER MANAGE THE EXPERIENCES THEIR CUSTOMERS HAVE:

1. DETERMINE RESPONSIBILITY

At every stage of your customer’s journey, there should be someone within your organization who is responsible for addressing issues and concerns. Whether a customer is looking for a refund after purchase or is having trouble completing online payment, they should be able to quickly and conveniently receive support.

Are there some situations where customer inquiries should be passed on to management? Should you separate online customer service requests from in-person ones? What is your company’s process for responding to customer complaints?

All of these things have to be carefully considered, and there should be a process in place for each potential outcome.

The more aware your employees are of who is responsible for what, and which processes should be followed in each circumstance, the more capable they will be of resolving customer issues in a timely, accommodating manner.

1. SET CLEAR KPIs

Without having a plan in place for measuring how well (or not-so-well) your business is doing with respect to customer experience, how can you possibly tweak your process to be more efficient?

Setting attainable, prioritized KPIs is the only way to ensure that your customer service initiatives are working and that your sales funnel is efficient from point-of-contact to final purchase.

Some examples of important customer journey metrics include:

• Cart abandonment rate
• Average resolution time
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer churn rate
• Customer effect score
• Waiting times

And more.

These metrics will give you an in-depth understanding of how users are interacting with your brand, what roadblocks they are running into (if any), and what gaps exist in the experience you are providing to customers.

1. MAKE RESPONSIVENESS A TOP PRIORITY

In today’s world, customers expect immediate solutions. This is especially true for internet-based businesses but also applies to traditional brands as well.

This is largely due to the fact that smartphones and the rapid evolution of the world wide web have made it easy for people to find the information they want when they want it.

Hence the demand for responsiveness.

If your website takes too long to load, or customers have to listen to an extensive phone menu list of options before being able to connect to a customer service representative, the likelihood of that customer going elsewhere increases dramatically.

In fact, 61 percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing, and 40 percent of customers switch brands or services because a competitor offers better customer support.

This goes to show that ensuring your customers receive timely, empathetic support when they are experiencing issues is crucial. Additionally, your systems have to be functioning properly. If your site is slow, or customers are frequently left on hold for long periods of time during phone conversations, your customer journey will still suffer – even if you are resolving issues when they do get through.

With improved response times, reduced waiting times, and exceptional customer service, however, you can generate impressive results.

Remember, 79 percent of shoppers who are dissatisfied with site performance say they’re less likely to purchase from the same site again.

And page load speed can hurt website conversions by as much as 20 percent.

It’s all about optimizing your customer journey map so that these hindrances can be avoided. Once you’ve conquered these tweaks, you’ll be amazed by the increase in revenue your business can experience.

RESOURCES

There are also plenty of tools available to help businesses who are looking to enhance their customer journey.

A few that we recommend include:

• These tools that can help you boost conversion rates
• These user experience tips and tricks
• And these tips for reducing customer response times

Business people with a telephone headset