Our customer’s experience has the ability to make or break our brands. In fact, without winning elements of customer experience your brand will not be able to create that connective tissue to customers. In today’s marketplace, it’s not enough to have a winning product but experiences that inspire and make our customers’ lives easier have a greater staying power. Customers are demanding experiences that are meaningfully tailored to them.

It’s imperative that you get to know your customers, not just who they are on paper but also what are their pains, wants, needs, desires even before they realize it. Experiences that keep our customers engaged is mostly due to brands truly understanding and listening to their customers.

What exactly are the elements that create a positive experience for your customers?

1. Personalization

Customers want experiences that connect with them. It needs to have some sort of meaning for them. Whether it’s saving them time, making their lives easier or even automating a decision, it needs to be relevant.

2. Meeting Customer Expectations

Our customers have set expectations when it comes to brand loyalty. When a customer first meets a new brand they are asking themselves two critical questions. One can I trust this brand? Two can I respect this brand? In their minds, they have already decided what they would like to experience with a certain brand.

3. Addressing Conflicts

Conflicts will arise, not every customer will love your brand. In today’s e-comm society a bad review can quickly ruin a brand. It can also have the ability to boost a brand to the next level as we’ve seen countless times with Influencer marketing. When it comes to conflict you must address it right away, don’t let that angry customer simmer and stew. You also want to make sure that if the conflict is on an online platform that you utilize the 2 message rule. First apologizing and second asking the customer if they’d be willing to continue the conversation offline.

4. Building Rapport

Relationships are the key to retaining customers, that is why so many brands are carefully curating their social media experiences with their customers. When you build a strong rapport with your customers or tribe you increase brand loyalty. You'll also be able to get honest feedback about your brand.

5. Creating Seamless Experiences

Experience both online and offline has to maintain some fluidity and flexibility that creates a cohesive experience for customers. It’s also the way in which customers will remember your brand. It allows them to quickly pull your brand from memory.

6. Brand Trust

Customers want to know that they can trust the brands that they are using. They want to know that brands are transparent, honest, and have their well-being in mind. Trust is also another crucial component for brand loyalty. Once the trust is broken it is very difficult to mend or even get back.