5 Ways to Enhance the Customer Experience

A lot of effort goes into acquiring new customers – new business is the catalyst of a thriving organization, but retaining customers is the lifeblood. To retain customers, you must find ways to make their experience incredible, far more than what they signed up for and something they would do again and again. Often times, organizations’ efforts to make customers happy stop at just a good product or service, but in today’s environment, you have to do better than that. You must delight them and be incredibly intentional about their experience post-purchase. Here are some tips to creating a program that does just that.

1. Social Delight

Social media is one of the easiest, smartest and most tangible ways to delight customers. While there’s a lot of talk about doing this, there isn’t a ton of insight on how to make sure you’re doing it right.

When crafting your social strategy, make sure you’re creating content geared toward those who have already made a purchase. Yes, you want to prompt them to continue to buy from you, but you also want to make sure they know they’re valued and are getting a nod from you on social. You may not always have a current customer persona – i.e. “Customer Cathy,” but make sure there is intentionality in pursuing current customers via marketing efforts. It takes less to keep a customer than to go out and find another one.

2. Thank Yous When Possible

From the customer’s perspective, receiving recognition and gratitude from a vendor that you’ve done business with is a satisfying experience. Think about it: have you ever gotten an email thanking you for being a customer? What about a tailored blog post, letter or even a video from a company’s leadership team? It speaks volumes to customers when they are thanked, simply for being a customer. Try this out, but be thoughtful and make your goal to foster a feeling of appreciation among your customers.

3. Statistics

One of the best ways to delight your customers is to let them know you’re doing a great job and/or that your products and services are reputable. Your metrics shouldn’t just be for internal purposes or used as a sales tool – they can also be used to show current customers that they made the right choice by deciding to work with your company. Be proactive about letting your current customers in on relevant wins, successes and interesting data points.

Be careful, though, that this doesn’t come across as upselling. This is where your messaging should differ from when you’re speaking to potential customers. Hammer home that you’re updating them on company success, not using it as an opportunity to try and sell them more.  This also will arm your evangelists with ammo to go out and spread the word about your product or service.

4. Add Value – After the Purchase

Create an incredible customer experience by offering more than what was explicitly agreed upon – go above and beyond the products and services you sell. If you sell gym memberships, check in with your customers each month and consider offering new classes for members or sending out a members-only t-shirt. As mentioned previously, make sure you’re speaking to your current customers in your ongoing marketing efforts. Don’t let your communication with them stop at the purchase stage, be an authoritative source of information after the purchase, be a leader for your customers and make their experience incredible.

5. Exclusivity

Being a customer should have its perks. Offering customers exclusive opportunities and experiences is something that can set you apart from your competitors. Whether it’s exclusive content, exclusive offers or even an invite to a customer Christmas party, offer them something that they wouldn’t get otherwise. Potential customers shouldn’t be the only ones who receive offers. Give customers something to get excited about post purchase. This will allow you to stay “shiny” and will also create evangelists for your brand.

Remember that the customer experience doesn’t just apply to retail – it’s present in any service industry. For healthcare, enhance the patient experience. In higher education, enhance the student experience. When planning your digital marketing strategy for 2016, ensure customer experience is part of it! At Pyxl, we work with many different companies, across industries, to develop custom digital marketing strategies that close customers and create brand evangelists. Looking for help with your own strategy? Not sure where to start? Contact us today – we’d love to help!

Updated: Apr 13, 2022