Article
Is customer experience relevant in tough economic times?
Certain trends lead to the growth in customer experience attention and investment.
June 23, 2009
"Is customer experience relevant right now" — this question is raised in every organization as we go into a difficult financial year. For many the answer is an unequivocal "NO." Price is all that matters, the critics says. Forget the experience, customers are looking for the lowest price and will sacrifice everything else to obtain it.
Why did we start with customer experience to begin with? Why was it relevant prior to these challenging economic times? Certain trends lead to the growth in customer experience attention and investment.
1. Commoditization of products and services - core products and services were perceived as commodities and organizations were seeking new ways to innovate their value proposition and to differentiate.
2. Intense competition - competitors were catching up with your value proposition and you needed to move the needle to even be at the game, let alone win it.
3. Customer impatience - customers developed a more refined taste and demanded more for their money. They want to make sure that you earn every dollar through greater value.
4. Solve the complete problem - we often realized that the customers face greater challenges than what our products and services can satisfy. We expanded our experience to address those greater needs.
5. Attitude matters - customers demanded that we treat them like human beings and respect them. They wanted to do business with people and not with bureaucrats.
6. Not for granted - customers refused to be taken for granted and wanted to be provided with fresh value.
7. Personalize and customize - customers wanted a solution that fits their needs. They refuse to fit themselves to the company's product or business model.
A careful review of the above reasons for customer experience discloses a harsh reality. They are all relevant in difficult economic times. None of them have changed. Customers did not give up on any one of these requirements. In fact they will most likely be more intensely demanding of those customer experiences. We face a world where customers are more price-sensitive but they are not compromising their demands. We must deliver on the customer experience promise if we want to stand out in an overcrowded market and get a chance to differentiate.
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Abandoning customer experience efforts in these economic times is a risky endeavor. Aside from reducing value and not being able to defend a product preference, it sends another critical message to customers. All the customer loyalty equity that was built through years of investment will be placed in jeopardy. It is in difficult times that all relationships are being tested and customer relationships are no different. If your customer will see you skimming on the customer experience now they will understand that you were not sincere and honest. They will understand that your commitment to the relationship was shallow and not long term in mind. As such they will apply the same logic and seek the cheaper price.
I always held the position that companies who rescued their value by minimizing investment in customer experience are accelerating the commoditization of their own products. The hard truths that led you in the first place to commit to customer experience did not change. If anything, they intensified. Your customers need more reason to select you and continue to do business with you.
Lior Arussy is the president of Strativity Group and the author of several books. His new book is Excellence Every Day: Make the Daily Choice-Inspire Your Employees and Amaze Your Customers (Information Today, 2008).
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