Brand loyalty begins with customer experience

Whether you are a local start-up trying to attract your first customers, or an established multi-national firm developing a new retention strategy, you want to make a positive impact on how customers feel about your brand. And with more and more customers shifting to digital platforms in the wake of the pandemic, CX is now more important than ever.

Positive customer experience can help drive your business and build your brand. 80% of customers say “their experience” with a brand is the biggest influence on brand loyalty¹, and ultimately on profitability.

Consider this from the Zendesk 2020 CX Trends Report²:

1. 75% of customers are willing to spend more with companies that give them a good customer experience.
2. 50% of customers will switch to a competitor after one bad experience.
3. As many as 80% of customers switch after more than one bad experience.

It’s clear that a few bad experiences with a brand, even if not horrible, can translate into lost dollars. Research shows that $1.6 trillion is lost every year in the U.S. because of poor customer service.³

Business strategist John A. Goodman wrote in Customer Experience 3.0: High Profit Strategies in the Age of Techno Service⁴ that each bad customer experience disintegrates business loyalty.

“The rule-of-thumb average for problem impact (negative customer experience) is a 20% decline in loyalty,” he shares. “This means that for every five customers with a negative experience, your company will probably lose one customer.”

A good customer experience strategy can get you on the right track. Here are some tips to help.

4 tips to maximize customer experience

1. Provide repeated opportunities for customers to share their feedback – like a Net Promoter Score system.
2. Don’t skimp on post sales follow-up. Ensure consistent post-sales service long after closing the sale leads to repeat customers.
3. Enable a positive post-sales experience with shipping insurance that can help regain customer confidence in the wake of a shipping mishap. UPS Capital offers several options that meet businesses where they are – whether it is a single shipment with InsureShield™ OnDemand or full policy quoting through the InsureShield™ InstaQuote application, you can get covered. There’s even have an app for Shopify^® shippers and APIs for those willing to integrate with their business systems.
4. Provide an omni-channel experience so that you meet customers where and how they like to transact.

Customer experience transcends every touch point of the buying journey. Make sure your business is set up to support a positive CX at every step.

Check out Part 1 of our eCommerce CX series and see the recently emerging customer experience trends.

About the Author

Boyd Marler is a digital program manager for UPS Capital who develops programs tailored to small businesses. His goal is to help SMBs reclaim their time and become more profitable through well-crafted insurance solutions.

Sources:

1. Canto.
2. Zendesk 2020 CX Trends. “How to Understand the Customer Experience,” 3/16/2021.
3. Emplifi. “Top 40 Customer Experience Statistics to Know in 2021.”
4. Goodman, John A. Customer Experience 3.0: High Profit Strategies in the Age of Techno Service. AMACOM, 2014, Pg. 56.