A good customer experience is often a way to generate brand loyalty. If a consumer comes in contact with your brand and finds that the interaction has gone beyond expectations, leaving him or her feeling delighted, that consumer is probably more likely to come back.
Customer experience, therefore, is king.
That’s what Voice of the Customer specialist eDigital Research confirmed with the results of their latest consumer research. However, the research indicated that customer loyalty continues to remain low overall in the UK.
Low loyalty across various sectors
In April 2013, eDigital Research conducted research to see what consumers thought about customer experience and loyalty in general. Their findings suggested that loyalty was low for consumers in the UK. Now 18 months later, after investigating the same topics to determine if consumer sentiments have changed, the research shows that loyalty remains consistently low.
There have been slight increases in loyalty in some sectors, though customers still claim they are most loyal to brands in the grocery and supermarket industries, with 55% saying they almost always visit one brand over another. That comes as no surprise, however, as loyalty programmes are very popular in this sector and are successful in encouraging return patrons.
According to the research, other industries that saw a small increase in loyalty include clothing, footwear and accessories, banking and finance, and personal electronic device manufacturers – sectors that converted over a quarter of their customer base into loyal customers.
Exceptional customer experience is essential
The results, though showing a prevailing low loyalty sentiment among UK consumers, also highlight the importance of the customer experience. Consumers indicated that overall experience is more important than loyalty to a brand.
This means that offering a good product at the right price no longer guarantees a return to your brand. The brand experience needs to stand out in the competition, and elevate expectations of what it means to have an ongoing relationship with consumers in order to foster loyalty. Customers can be fickle, and will try another brand if they hear about an exceptional experience. Results show that ‘value for money’, a ‘company that does what you expect it to do’ and ‘how easy a company is to deal with’ are more important to consumers than their loyalty to a brand.
"Our research suggests that the customer experience really is king,” said Derek Eccleston, Commercial Director at eDigital Research. “Although price, customer effort and product still have an important role to play, the overall customer experience is sometimes the only way to set two rival brands apart - our findings show that if one brand offers a better customer experience than another, then customers are likely to switch.”
Listening to the customers
So how do brands work to achieve an ongoing, consistent relationship?
The results of the research show that customers crave personalization and highly value face-to-face contact. In a highly digital and complex world, face-to-face contact isn’t the norm, so staying on top of customer wants and needs in other ways is of utmost importance.
"It really is vital therefore that brands are properly managing their customer experience,” Eccelston said. “It's about listening to what your customers have to say during their experience, actively monitoring results in real-time, and taking action where necessary to ensure that your customer experience is the very best it can be.”