CX now a must for brands to keep customers hooked

Retailers must enhance customer experience (CX) to avoid losing consumers. Genuine feedback, personalization, and understanding behavior are key to success.

How many of us have been hounded at various retail outlets – from value fashion to premium departmental stores to car dealers -- to rate their service experience online by clicking on links? Executives badgering us for such feedback seem unmindful of the annoyance it causes. Some brand stores also spoil your browsing experience by constantly shadowing until you’re sufficiently irritated to walk out without any purchase.

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These are examples of some common retail brand experiences that go wrong. Even in online shopping a bad experience may make you vow never to return to that site. Similarly, unfriendly User Interfaces of some of the streaming platforms ensure that you stick to the efficient OTT brands.

To avert such episodes that miff consumers and push them away, brands are putting in effort to improve customer experience or CX that makes them stand out from competition.

CX is a relatively new domain in India, says Abhijit Avasthi, founder, Sideways Consulting, that claims to be more than an advertising agency resolving growth issues for brands. For research and consulting firm Ipsos, CX is a leading vertical in India and across 90 markets worldwide. “Sectors that are among the largest users of CX across markets are BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), automotive, telco and tech,” says Balaji Pandiaraj, CX Head and executive director at Ipsos India.

Advertising creates awareness, drives customers to the store or an app and leaves them there. “Today brands and consumers have multiple interaction points, where, if you want stickiness, you have to give them a great experience all through,” says Avasthi.

Feedback is indeed critical to shape customer experience. But if it’s forced, it irks them. Balaji Pandiaraj says chasing perfect customer experience scores is commendable but it shouldn’t come at the expense of genuine engagement.

Brands must request customer feedback at moments that are relevant to their experience and not when it’s convenient for data collection. “Avoid overwhelming customers with excessive surveys or intrusive requests,” says Pandiaraj.

CX is critical in an era when too many brands in a category are vying for consumer attention and share of wallet. “Commoditization is a genuine risk and the only way to maintain brand value is to focus on the nuances at each stage of a customer’s interaction with a category. That’s what’s going to make them feel better when compared to other brands in the business,” says Avasthi.

Sideways Consulting has worked with brands like Google Pay and Borosil, among others, to help them in easy onboarding of customers and making their experience seamless. It is also working with a large bank to improve CX for one of its digital products.

CX has become a pressing need as customer acquisition cost is steep and if they drop off in the middle of the journey it is deemed a big loss with the brand.

Clearly, brands cannot afford to fail in adapting to changing customer expectations. “Companies that become too focused on immediate needs, miss the bigger picture of identifying and adapting to emerging trends and shifts in customer preferences,” Pandiaraj says.

Neglecting personalization could also be disastrous. In a digitally driven world, customers anticipate experiences tailored to their individual needs. “Ignoring this expectation and maintaining a one-size-fits-all approach can make customers feel undervalued, pushing them towards competitors who offer a more personalized touch,” says Pandiaraj.

Similarly, failing to deliver on the brand promise during the post-purchase phase, especially if a customer is facing issues, can significantly damage the overall brand perception. “These negative experiences shape customer memories and perceptions, ultimately influencing their future choices and impacting business growth,” adds Pandiaraj.

To create superlative CX, you need a deep understanding of human behaviour as well as design, says Avasthi. “These are the absolute core pillars. You need lived experiences and qualitative studies to work with,” he adds.

CX is what differentiates a brand from a business and a customer from just a buyer, Avasthi says. Investment in CX is no longer optional but a must.