Recent findings* show that around 52% of customers will switch to a competitor after a single unsatisfactory customer experience. It’s a powerful reminder that customer experience strategy isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential to your company’s longevity and success.
A great customer experience strategy will give your business a competitive advantage in your industry. If you intentionally set out to make every customer touchpoint a positive experience, your customers will respond with their loyalty and advocacy.
Read on to find out how CX and a competitive advantage go hand in hand, and how even small businesses can benefit from a customer experience strategy to stay ahead.
For CX consultancy that gets results, speak to Think Wow today.
*source: Zendesk
What does it mean to have the ‘competitive advantage’?
A competitive advantage is excelling in certain areas and overtaking your competitors. It’s perhaps the most fundamental element to commercial success – convincing the customer to choose one business over another.
The most successful businesses create a competitive advantage based on their unique mix of product, value, service, and customer experience. If these unique selling points are articulated well, they become a valuable, non-replicable asset that helps a business stand out.
A positive customer experience is directly linked to competitive advantage
If you are trying to grow a business, then differentiation from other companies is essential. After all, if you can’t articulate why your product/service is different and worth choosing over your nearest competitor, then how can you expect customers to?
When you set out to define your USPs, it can be tempting to focus on the tangible aspects of your service offering. But never underestimate the importance of customer experience strategy in building a distinct and successful brand, no matter the size of your business.
Today, customers expect more: they want to feel valued, supported, and understood at every stage of the customer journey. To quote another pertinent stat: 73% of customers say customer experience is their number one priority when choosing a company*. That’s why CX strategy is one of the most critical drivers of success.
*source PwC
The benefits of great CX
It can be hard to put a pound and pence value on brand reputation, as it’s based largely on perception.
But, when you truly put customer experience at the heart of your business, the rewards become more tangible – more new customers, greater upsell opportunities, and the kind of customer retention rates your competitors can only dream of. Now, those are the kind of metrics that can easily be aligned to what’s happening on the bottom line.
For those who love a list, here’s what creating an exceptional customer experience can achieve for your business:
- Attract the right kind of customers: People who share your company’s values and are proud to choose you.
- Improved retention: Customer loyalty leads to lower marketing costs and increased lifetime value.
- Advocacy: The holy grail of marketing: happy customers spread the word (for free!) and drive more new business.
- More pricing flexibility: Satisfied customers are willing to pay more, helping you to compete in terms of value, not just price.
- Upsell opportunities: Satisfied customers are also far more open to additional services or upgrades.
- Happier employees: Yep – when processes work properly and ‘complaints’ are viewed as an opportunity, it makes for a much happier employee experience.
Competing with bigger brands
If you’re running a small start-up, winning business from larger, established brands can feel daunting. But it’s important to nip any insecurity in the bud and not panic. Size isn’t everything in business, and you can certainly compete.
With great CX, you can capture the attention of your dream customers. Small businesses win big contracts every day, and as long as you have the processes and customer service in place to deliver on your promises, there’s nothing stopping you.
At Think Wow, we would go as far as to say that your small size is actually a huge selling point.
While established brands benefit from trust and loyalty, reputation is fragile: it can be ruined faster than built. Rapidly growing companies often lack the processes to keep up with customer demands and can feel distant. Also, the bigger the brand, the higher customer expectations are – when those aren’t met, disappointment hits harder.
So embracing your small size and turning it into a customer advantage can be a powerful way to stand out.
Compare this to Michelle from The Beautie Lounge…
Of course, there are benefits to being an established brand. If you’ve built your brand in the right way, with a trusted reputation, your customers won’t always research you before they book. Y
ou might be able to weather storms a little better, dining out on previous successes with your customers inherently trusting you, not checking up on reviews and missing out on the dire warnings of other consumers. That will work in the short term whilst you fix any customer experience issues or until your negative reputation catches you up.
At best, it will buy you time. The reality is that a reputation can be ruined faster than it is built.
The bigger and better known you are, the higher customer expectations on the service or experience you provide. If you become known for an excellent experience, but don’t meet your customers’ expectations, the level of disappointment your customer will feel is often more intense.
How to start building your CX strategy for competitive advantage
Here are some practical ways to enhance customer experience and win more loyal customers as a small business.
Don’t pretend to be something you aren’t
Don’t feel tempted to ‘act bigger’ or more established than you really are. Needless to say, if you pretend you’re something you’re not, it could damage your reputation if it comes out that you haven’t been honest and upfront. Proudly celebrate your size – emphasise close relationships with clients and the personalised service you are able to offer.
Show up online and let your customers see the real you
Do you prefer to buy from someone you know? People like to buy from people, especially in the digital age. Get on digital channels like LinkedIn and let your network get to know you.
It may not be necessary to post on multiple channels – find out where your target audience are and show up consistently. That way your customers will get to form a bond with your brand. It doesn’t have to be sunshine and success every day – be honest and share your ups and downs – you’ll be amazed at how your following will grow.
Keep things simple and lean on your values as you grow
Large companies have large teams, and it can be hard to ensure each employee is fully bought into its shared values and mission. A brand is only as strong as its representatives, and CX becomes inconsistent if its people are pulling in different directions.
If you work alone or have a small team, it’s far easier to ensure everyone is aligned and on message. As your team grows, pay careful consideration to how you communicate your values internally. Teams with a shared sense of purpose have much more successful customer interactions.
Make customer experience your biggest competitive advantage
You don’t have to spend lots to get customer experience right; it’s just a case of observing, asking and acting. Walk through every touchpoint in your customer’s shoes and note where the pain points are. Study your culture to determine how customer-centric it is. Ask for customer feedback. And most importantly, use your findings wisely.
Make it a personal and distinctive experience
The best thing about being a small business is that you know each of your customers well. You worked hard to find them, and you are probably the one who talks most to them – that’s an incredible asset and not one most large companies can easily replicate.
Use technology and customer data to enhance CX
Even as a very small business, don’t dismiss the role of technology, data, and even AI in shaping the customer experience. You don’t need a huge budget or a dedicated IT team, and sometimes free, simple tools can help you get ahead.
Practical, low-cost tools make this achievable: use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to collect feedback on customer needs. Try scheduling apps such as Calendly to take away the back-and-forth and make booking effortless. And chat tools like WhatsApp Business make it easy to remain accessible.
Before adopting any new tool, always ask yourself one question: “Will this genuinely help my customer?” If the answer is yes, then even the smallest investment in technology can help you create a competitive advantage.
Think Wow can help you gain a competitive advantage with CX
At Think Wow, we help companies big and small to gain a deep understanding of their customers and significantly improve their customer experience.
If you want to:
- Stay ahead of other businesses
- Improve customer acquisition
- Identify weak points in the customer lifecycle
- Deliver exceptional experiences that leave your customers feeling WOWed!
then our customer experience consultants can help. Please contact us today to get started.
Frequently asked questions – how to achieve competitive advantage through customer experience
Is word of mouth still powerful?
You bet. Today’s word of mouth might exist mainly online, but it’s still one of the most trusted forms of referral. Real accounts from loyal customers is authentic marketing money just can’t buy.
How can customer experience influence a brand’s reputation?
Any business owner who’s dealt with the fallout of a negative online review can answer this question. CX is inextricably linked to reputation. Positive experiences create trust, referrals, attract new customers, and improve retention. Just one or a handful of poor experiences, on the other hand, can damage your brand faster than any competitor can.
Check out these other blog posts on CX:
