Customer experience: definition, interests and challenges

Customer experience refers to all the emotions and feelings experienced by a customer when interacting with a company, from product discovery to after-sales service.

This experience results from the overall perception of the efficiency of the company's services, the quality of its products, and the ease of the purchasing process. It encompasses every point of contact between brand and consumer, whether digital, physical or human.

A positive customer experience is often synonymous with loyalty and recommendation, while a negative experience can lead to a loss of trust and erosion of the company's image.

What are the 6 pillars of customer experience?

The customer experience rests on six fundamental pillars that contribute to its success. The first is effort, which seeks to reduce complexity and friction during interactions. Emotion follows, targeting emotional attachment to the brand.

Expectations, the third pillar, focuses on the brand promise and customer predictions. Control focuses on the customer's ability to personalize the experience. The fifth pillar, trust, relates to credibility and reliability.

Finally, resolution focuses on a company's ability to solve problems effectively.

What is a good customer experience?

A good customer experience is characterized by several factors, where the consumer feels understood, appreciated and important. It requires a fluid user journey, with personalized and relevant interactions at every stage.

A good customer experience also means responsive, friendly customer support, quality products that meet or exceed expectations, and clear, transparent communication.

Successful companies in this field are those who listen carefully to customer feedback and are constantly looking for ways to improve and exceed customer expectations.

How important is the customer experience?

• A differentiating factor: In a saturated market, it's often the customer experience that sets a company apart from its competitors, more than the product itself.
• Loyalty and retention: Satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal to the brand and make repeat purchases.
• Reputation and word-of-mouth: A positive experience leads to personal recommendations, broadening the customer base.

How do you create a good customer experience?

To create a good customer experience, start by mapping the customer journey to identify friction points and improve interaction at every stage.

Set up a customer feedback system, such as satisfaction surveys and social network monitoring, to collect and analyze feedback in real time. 

Personalize communication and offers, thanks in particular to PIM (Product Information Management), a tool that centralizes and manages product information consistently across all sales channels.

Also invest in team training to ensure quality interactions, and make sure the whole organization is customer-focused for consistency at all levels.

The link between PIM and customer experience

A PIM, for Product Information Management, is a system that facilitates the centralized management of product information across all distribution channels.

Quable PIM, by helping to structure, enrich and disseminate consistent, accurate product information, becomes an indisputable asset to the customer experience. A PIM ensures the quality and consistency of the data presented to customers, key factors in a good shopping experience. 

Consistent product information helps build trust, reduce returns and improve customer satisfaction.

What's more, PIM enables brands and manufacturers to respond rapidly to market developments and consumer expectations, through efficient, synchronized updating of product information across all channels, essential for delivering an optimal customer experience in the omnichannel age.

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