Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly
Customer experience is always the number one focus for companies, and for good reason. Brands face global competition and an increasing pressure to cater to the unique identities of each and every one of their customers. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a fortune in hiring individuals, and instead rely on algorithms. We have come very far in AI processes and machine learning, and, while we are nowhere near yet to artificial sentience, the AI that currently exists is perfect for improving customer experience.
How a machine handles your customers, however, isn’t enough. Customers need to be treated well online and in-store, and in order to accomplish this you need to provide them with a seamless experience:
Uniform Aesthetic
To start, your company must have a uniform aesthetic. This means that users should be able to immediately recognize you online, on your social media page, and in store. Choose a strong, striking theme and work with that theme in all areas you appear, both online and in real life. Putting a lot of effort into creating a beautiful website and a unique aesthetic for your social media accounts is great, but you will need to also improve the design and layout in your physical store. Try to surprise your customers in little ways. For instance, you could use custom floor decals to help lead them to where they are going or use them to provide positive messages or fun facts that will help your customers feel great throughout the experience. Such additions can make your store, regardless of industry, seem customer friendly and much more fun. These sorts of branding are what customers are looking for nowadays.
What you have to always remember, of course, is that the overall aesthetic should be similar. You want everything, from your physical store to your online components, to complement each other. Without uniformity, your branding will only confuse people and cause customers to leave because of it.
Cross-Platform Customer Experience
Focusing solely on the online experience is also a huge mistake. Customers want to be treated well, especially when they can put a face to the experience they have. As a result, it is key to create a cross-platform experience for your customer. You could, for instance, allow a customer to go through and save your items online, and request to try them on in store (up to a certain limit).
Ensure your website, app, store and clothing all match with one another. Make sure your channels work with one another; by doing so, your customers will be able to use an app to surf your products while on the go (smartphones, iPads, etc.) while make bigger purchases online via your website. However, for this to happen, you need branding that’s the same across all these platforms.
This experience should be seamless, and simple to navigate. Find new ways for your online components to work in harmony with your physical stores, from customer service to the aesthetic, and you will create a more engaging experience for each and every one of your customers.
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