It is not new that the experience or treatment that a client receives from a brand is the key to creating loyal customers or losing them.
Currently, due to the growth of social networks, e-commerce and the use of mobile devices, many business owners are focusing their efforts on the user experience. However, few mention the customer experience.
What? Are not they the same? No, these concepts are related but they are not the same. Both have the objective of satisfying in the best way the customer’s need to make them return and speak well of the service or product.
What is the user experience?
The user experience or UX is a relatively new concept. It refers to the experience that people receive when interacting with a product or service, which for the purposes of e-commerce stores can be a website, application, etc.
The design of the interface, navigation, ease of learning, design, etc., combine to create a positive or negative user experience. This is an important part of the construction of a website, so it is one of the aspects that every web designer should have in mind.
To know if you are providing a good user experience there are some key indicators that you can analyze such as the abandonment rate, browsing time, error rate, among others.
What is the customer experience?
The customer experience is a more general concept, it is about the experiences that the customer receives from all the channels of the brand and the way in which he feels with them. In other words, it refers to the sum of all the experiences that the client has with a brand.
The general objective of the customer experience is to align business strategies to have satisfied customers.
So that the customer experience can be measured in: how the customer perceives, in general, his experience with the brand, the possibility of continuing to buy and the possibility of speaking positively about the brand with other people.
Some Elements that create the customer experience are:
Customer service
- Advertising
- Sales process
- Product delivery
- Branding
- UX
Therefore, the customer experience covers all the interactions that the customer has with a brand. Instead, the user experience deals with the interaction that people have with the product, in the case of eCommerce, refers to the experience that the customer has when interacting with the website or application. This means that the user experience is part of something more general: the customer experience.
Differences between CX and UX ?
CX has a greater scope: It is an umbrella concept that covers all channels and all products within the same brand, and how the user feels about them.
UX is the customer/user experience with a specific product, such as a website, application or software, it is only part of the big picture of CX. The goal of UX designers, then, is to make sure that the brand designs products that solve the right problem efficiently and pleasantly.
CX must align the commercial strategies with the general experience of the real client, taking into account the happiness of the client.
Bad UX example and good CX
Buy an application on the phone and use it (UX), find the interface confusing and cannot even find the function you want.
In the helpline, you are answered how to access the function you want and give you a discount. The interface of the application was confusing and poorly orchestrated, however, his experience with the other aspects of the application brand, customer service, and the subsequent discount, was excellent.
Example good UX and bad CX
He wants to buy plane tickets. The airline application has a self-explanatory interface, clear navigation and fast loading time, which allows you to find and book the flight in less than 10 minutes (UX)
At the airport, however, he encounters poor service, which ultimately damaged the CX in general. For satisfied customers, you need consistency between UX and CX. Clients interpret all events as the general experience of the brand.
Example: the difference between user experience and customer experience
To understand a little more about its importance and how it can help you have satisfied customers, let’s look at some examples.
Experience with airlines
Let’s see an example that involves an online process and part offline: travel by plane. With the internet, it is easier for the user to compare prices and times to choose the one that best suits their needs. Today more and more people do it this way, according to Google 8 out of 10 people resort to intern to plan their trip.
The airlines have always strived to provide excellent customer experience. However, now more than ever they must compete to offer a better user experience because their website or application is one of the first contacts the customer has with the brand. Let’s see the difference between two Canadian airlines, Air Creebec and Air Inuit; which are directed to a similar market segment.
Let’s start by analyzing the user experience when making the purchase:
Both have simple sites adapted to mobiles and also feature an app which enables users to consult and make reservations easily. However, Air Creebec seems to be doing a better job regarding the user experience.
When starting the reservation and payment process at Air Inuit, they automatically add several amounts to increase the value of the order. For a user, this is uncomfortable, because when you start the search there is a price and when you get to the payment section the price increases more than half. This causes the user to waste time eliminating those hidden charges of “additional benefits “that he does not want.
In contrast, the other airline has a “clean rate”, do not add hidden charges to increase the value of the price. This makes the user have a better shopping experience. To increase the value of the order, Air Creebec has created an email marketing campaign in which days before the flight reminders are sent with calls to action to add extra benefits.
What happens in the experience at the airport? Registration is always chaos, which is why the check-in online is a great relief (especially for people who travel light), with this the travelers avoid the long lines and go directly to the boarding room.
So it has become evident that by paying attention to user experience, one can enhance the customer experience.
Some UX techniques that improve CX:
Do not bury a customer helpline in a place that is hard to find. Communication with your user should be as open and easy as possible.
Remember to give feedback that your comments are being implemented, or at least have been read.
A multi-device experience is always a solid strategy, taking into account that 90% of users complete a single task on more than one device.
For an online store to work well it is not enough to have a nice design and good products for sale. Your customers have to trust you and have it easy to find the products and the way to the box.
Safety first
Online stores use sensitive information from their customers, such as the NIF, the personal address and the number of their credit card. Most users refuse to make purchases in e-commerce that does not convey confidence. The SSL security certificate protects, through data encryption, the personal information that the store manages.
If you still do not have it, the first thing you should do to improve the customer experience of your online store is to implement your SSL security certificate.
Load speed
Internet users are very little patients when surfing the Internet. On average, they only wait two or three seconds for a page to be fully loaded. Unfortunately, electronic stores usually contain a lot of information that can hinder the speed of loading.
It is important that you optimize the images and videos of your online store so that they do not weigh too much. Besides, you can improve the speed by hiring a server that offers you dedicated hosting and enough bandwidth.
Simple Payment Process
The payment process is usually one of the most tedious moments of the purchase. They are among those that most influence negative customer experience. The highest bounce rate occurs at this critical step.
To reduce the abandonment of carts, it is convenient to facilitate the payment process to the maximum. Some of the strategies you can use are: reduce the number of steps by asking for the essential data, create registration forms with auto-save, use help texts in the form fields, as well as offer different methods of payment and shipping.
Navigability on all devices
An online store full of distracting elements and huge texts of gaudy colors does not help at all in the customer experience. Bet on a simple design, with blank spaces and where the important elements stand out from the rest.
On the other hand, keep in mind that purchases made from your mobile phone grow by leaps and bounds. You should not wait to adapt your e-commerce to its use in smartphones and tablets. The usability of an online store does not only consist of having a responsive design. The most advisable thing is to have your app.
Complete product descriptions
Buying in an online store has the disadvantage that the only way to know the characteristics of a product is through the descriptions. So, a very important part of the user experience in an e-commerce is to have full descriptions and zoomed photographs from different angles.
Do not settle for copying the texts of your provider, they may not be sufficiently explanatory. Also, you run the risk of Google penalizing you considering that you have duplicate content.
The most advisable is to write original descriptions and with great detail. The product sheets should contain persuasive and relevant information: explain what benefits your customer will have with that product and specify the materials, dimensions, usage tips, etc.
Clear calls to action
Calls to action or CTA (call to action) must be placed in clearly visible places and framed by a button. In addition, the explanatory text should clarify where the user will be directed when he clicks. In this way guides the customer through the purchase process without confusion.
Conveniently, the steps that your client gives are few and clear. Besides, the user experience in your e-commerce will be even better if you can go back and advance on the way to the box without starting the payment process from scratch. Imagine that you are in the supermarket and you have to empty the shopping cart because you have forgotten a product … In your online store, customers should be able to make changes or inquiries without complications.
