Customer Experience (CX) refers to the entirety of the experiences a customer/buyer has with a company.
A positive customer experience is very important for companies, as it binds customers to the brand, the product or the company in the long term. Accordingly, customer needs must be recognized and met by the company. This is achieved through Customer Experience Management (CEM or CXM).
By focusing on the customer, it encompasses all processes and actions to meet the customer’s needs. With an effective Customer Experience Management, the relationship with the customer can be strengthened by positive experiences, which makes the customer more willing to buy more products.
The customer experience can be optimized at various points in the customer journey, for example:
- Customer service (e.g. in case of complaints or questions about the product)
- Quality of the products or the service
- Product reviews
- Contact (numerous ways to contact the company for the customer)
- Sales process
- Product delivery
- User experience on the product level
- and much more
The difference between customer experience and user experience
User Experience (UX) refers to the experience of a customer with a specific information or product, i.e. a single touchpoint. This could be, for example, the website of a company.
The Customer Experience (CX) describes the overall experience a customer has with a company or product. This refers to several touchpoints with the company – for example, from loading the website to completing the purchase.
Customer and user experience do not always have to be consistent. For example, a customer may have problems with a product, but then be pleased with the friendly customer service that helps immediately. In the same way, a positive user experience (e.g. a good product) can lead to a negative customer experience through poor customer service.
In order to satisfy customers in the long run, CX and UX have to be brought in line. After all, even the best user experience cannot satisfy customers if they have a negative experience with a company.