So you’ve moved your face-to-face business to an e-commerce store. Congratulations! Well done on taking the first step in adjusting to our ever-changing world. Hopefully, you were able to find a good graphic design company to help you along the way.

So now what? Where are the customers at? You normally have reliable foot traffic and customers love your product! Why aren’t they purchasing your products online?

It could be something to do with your end-to-end customer experience.

Huh? My what now?

What is end-to-end customer experience?
It might be worth asking a local creative agency.

Customer experience encompasses all the interactions and perceptions (on and offline) between your customer and your brand, including how you treat them. It affects their purchasing behaviours, and can build positive or negative feelings that drive their loyalty (or disloyalty). In a nutshell, if your customer digs you and feels their relationship with you is a positive one, they’ll continue to buy what you offer, and if they really dig you, they’ll recommend you to their friends.

The end-to-end part is the CRUCIAL bit, and is often where businesses fall down. It means ensuring your customer has warm feelings towards your business at all stages of their experience, from your professional logo design, to your first meeting, the courting process (where they get to know you, and research your business), to their first purchase—your creative packaging design solutions—and beyond. This is something that great creative design agencies will help you achieve (hi!). The experience should not stop once they have paid and walked out the (virtual) door.
 

What’s the difference between end-to-end customer experience and customer journey?

The term ‘customer journey’ is often thrown in, right beside customer experience. So let’s quickly look at the differences here.

The customer journey is what your customers do. The customer experience is how they feel.

For example, a customer searches for a t-shirt online, they make a purchase and then start wearing it the next day. This is the customer journey.

Finding a website that is easy to use, social media that is engaging, being pleasantly surprised by overnight shipping, opening a clever, bespoke packaging design to reveal a hand written thank-you note, followed up weeks later by an email sharing how part of your purchase is being donated to charity.

That is end-to-end customer experience.

Why is customer experience so important now?

A Walker study found that by the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator.

Those who’ve reached the gold standard of customer experience (think companies like Ikea or Netflix) consistently gain new customers, see increases in conversion rates and average spend whilst simultaneously fostering loyalty and brand advocacy. Which, as we all know, is vital to survival in our current business environment (or anytime really).

Now more than ever, it is important to ensure your end-to-end customer experience is a priority for your business. The market is fiercely competitive, with several businesses fighting over the same customer. So it’s no shock that many businesses choose to invest in local brand design companies to help them develop human-centred experiences specific to their customers.

How will your product or service stand out in the sea of same-same but different? By ensuring your customers feel valued and appreciated throughout the entire customer journey, extending well beyond the purchase phase, that’s how.

How do I improve my end-to-end customer experience?

It’s all about building and maintaining relationships. You don’t neglect a new friend after you meet them for the first time, do you? You get to know them by following up and making an effort to see them. You communicate with them, and you might even show them you care by giving them something that will make them feel special.

Same goes for your customers.

Get to know them! In order for them to like you, you need to understand them, and use this information to deliver personalised touchpoints across the customer journey.

Once you know them, take a look at how you communicate with them. Do you provide a consistent experience across all channels, both online and offline? For example, are your custom packaging designs consistent with your professional brand design, and your online experience? Not sure? Might be worth reaching out to your local experts, like a brand design agency in Brisbane (or your city choice (we’re biassed)), for a chat.

Personalise, personalise, personalise!

As much as you can, offer a personalised product or service. It could be as simple as slipping a handwritten note in with a delivery, targeting your social media ads to certain products or services you know your customer will enjoy, or sending a monthly email with personalised content addressed directly to them.

Or get a bit more tricky and use tools such as automated tagging and scoring to learn more about your customers’ behaviour on your website. Learn what kind of services or products they prefer, those who like a deal, or specific times of the year they are more likely to purchase. You can then use this very personalised information to deliver EDMs that speak to their needs.

Not quite sure how or where to start? It’s worth having a chat with a local expert, like a brand design agency in Brisbane (oh hey, that’s us).

Focus on experience, not product.

Research from Salesforce in 2019 revealed that 84% of customers stated that a business’ experience is as important as its products. In fact, predictions show this trend will reach a 100% parity between experience and product quality within the next three years.

So, start thinking about how you can make purchasing from your business an experience they won’t forget.

For example, if you're in retail, consider engaging creative packaging design companies to help you develop creative packaging solutions for your products. Make receiving and opening your product an experience for your customer, one they will want to share and experience again. If your business is service-based, offer complimentary ‘value-adding’ tools, such as guides, how to’s, or case studies. Or, if you’re in hospo, consider striking up a conversation with your customers, or offering them small ‘tasters’ from the kitchen to tantalise their taste buds while they wait in line (at a safe distance) for their ISO takeaway.

Whatever it is, make it an experience.

 

 

Now more than ever, customers have more choice and more power. You have to be on the front foot (Daniel san), actively seeking to understand and acknowledge your customers’ needs, to ensure their interactions with you, throughout your entire journey together, is reflective of your brand and leaves them feeling great (mate).

If you don’t, you’ll be giving your competitors the best gift you can—your customers.