For startups of all types, it can be confusing how to best take stock of and manage the sales process from the customer perspective.
Many outdated ways of thinking have either changed or become obsolete. There’s an increase in companies shifting from thinking about their customers through the lens of a buyer’s journey or traditional sales and marketing funnel.
In the modern age, customers enter in and out of the buying process through hundreds of different channels, from any one of a million different sources, and using any one of three or four different devices.
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The point is that in an increasingly complex ecosystem, it’s much more difficult to define and control a single path for each of your customers. Instead, it’s better to think about the culmination of each individual touchpoint (across channels, sources, devices, etc.) as a single, holistic customer experience (CX).
This infographic, published by Solvvy, breaks down the customer experience into five specific components:
- Perception
- Interaction
- Friction
- Resolution
- Communication
More importantly, it points out how critical it is for startups to understand and shape their customer experience as part of their overall business strategy. Entrepreneurs can establish a strong competitive advantage, even in crowded markets or with well-established incumbent brands, on the basis of a superior customer experience.
This is, of course, a huge opportunity.
According to the graphic, 89 percent of companies expect that the holistic customer experience will be the main basis of competition in the coming years.
But it’s not just business leaders driving the focus on CX. Customers indicate that experience plays a huge role in their purchasing decisions, loyalty and satisfaction.
In particular, it seems that consistency is a top priority for consumers.
In one study, 90 percent of consumers said they expect a consistent customer experience across every platform and device.
But it’s not just a nice-to-have; customers are willing speak with their dollars. Over half of all consumers say they’re willing to pay more for a better experience.
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Take a look at the full infographic:
