Customer experience covers all the interactions a customer has with an organisation, for the entirety of their relationship with that organisation.

While customer experience covers all the interactions a customer has with an organisation, customer service is just one part of that whole customer journey.

A good customer experience is one where has a seamless interaction, where the expectations are met. A good customer experience may be one that encompasses elements of being easy, fast, personable, informative, empathetic, proactive, empowering and transparent, just to name a few.

Bad customer experiences occur when a business or organisation fails to meet a customer’s expectations. There are a multitude of reasons this may occur but some may include frustration with automated systems, long wait times, being transferred multiple times, unfriendly or negative responses and attitudes of staff, a lack of empathy from staff, not providing enough information or relevant information, having to repeat information multiple times, and the list goes on.

Ensuring a customer’s needs are central to every interaction they may have throughout their journey with your business is fundamental to ensuring a good customer experience.

The way customers feel about a business or organisation is directly related to loyalty, retention, reputation and attracting new customers. Companies who prioritise and invest in Customer Experience have a competitive advantage over those who don’t. It is too easy to find an alternative, and just one bad experience is often enough for a customer to want to switch, which these days is extremely easy to do.