The customer experience is not a top priority for many companies in the Caribbean. Yet it is at the core of the success of many companies such as Netflix, Disney and Uber. Understanding and improving the customer experience is one of the best ways for companies to see an improvement in many of their long term and short term goals.
Here are some standard tips for companies to implement and consider in order to improve the customer experience in the Caribbean:
1. Know Your Customer
The first step to improving the customer experience is understanding the customer experience. This may seem like a dreaded process. However, it can significantly highlight the areas where customers are having issues, especially those that the company is not seeing. This can be done by customer journey mapping which can be outsourced however small and medium businesses can also conduct similar research by having conversations directly with their customers and conducting surveys to gain data on the business and customer relations.
Customer mapping tracks the entire customer experience. From the time they see an ad to the time they get their online order delivered. Even within the workplace or storefront, it will analyze their experience before they interact with the company, for example, their experience in the car park. It covers all the bases to get a full picture of the process for the customer and what areas can be improved to make the process as seamless as possible.
2. Invest in Solutions
From that data, companies will be able to identify the areas that they need to improve. The data will likely reveal areas that may need to digitize, areas that need enhancing and more. From there is the need to find the solutions that fit within the companies budget that can solve the issues or improve them.
Most important, however, is that the solutions are effective and consistent. This leads us to the next point.
3. Consistency
Once a solution has been found and after a trial period where the results are successful, it is important that Caribbean companies keep these policies, practices or solutions consistent for the customer. This is particularly important in retaining customers. For example, a company that needs customers to submit documents may find a simpler solution for customers to upload these documents online. That process is likely very convenient and contactless for the customer. Therefore the company should ensure that this a continuous option for current and new customers. Abruptly asking them to come in and deliver documents will disrupt their typically simple process. This may seem very obvious yet it still occurs with many regional companies.
As the saying goes, consistency is key.
This blog is based on a discussion from a First Atlantic Commerce Live show with Samantha Conyers of EXCO. You can catch the video here.
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