Here are the trends to focus on when building a successful customer experience.

Staying ahead of emerging customer experience trends is a vital part of creating and executing a successful strategy.

Here are 5 trends to focus on right now:

Omnichannel experiences.
Businesses with the most effective omnichannel experiences maintain 89% of their customers, opposed to 33% retention for companies with weak omnichannel customer experience.
The phrase “the customer is always right” has never been more important. Omnichannel is all about providing clients with the capabilities they demand when experiencing your brand online – if a customer started their interaction with your brand on social media, this experience would continue as the customer moves onto your mobile app and website.
It’s essential to understand that customers are now in charge and meet their expectations; they expect to have a unified experience across various online channels – simultaneously. They want to be able to speak to you on multiple channels when it suits them.

Here are some ways for you to offer a seamless omnichannel experience for your customer:

Create a strategy that embraces an omnichannel approach
Optimise your website for mobile devices
Create a mobile app
Personalise the customer experience at every step possible.
Use platforms like Salesforce or Pardot to ensure a personalised and comprehensive eCommerce experience with end-to-end online processes.
Be consistent and present across multiple social media platforms and communication portals.

Hyper-personalised experiences.
Customers are increasingly expecting a personalised experience – Recent Salesforce Research found that 76% of customers now report that it’s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere — changing from brand to brand to find an experience that meets their expectations.
Today’s buyers want organisations to treat them as unique individuals and know their personal preferences and purchase history.

According to Accenture research, 75% of customers admit being more likely to buy from a company that:

Recognises them by their name.
Knows their purchase history.
Recommends products based on their past purchases.

Without a complete CRM, you are missing out on an opportunity to treat your customers as individuals. And without collecting the history of how your business interacts with them, it’s unlikely to provide them with a unique experience that will keep them coming back. With a CRM system, you obtain relevant customer data by assessing their requests, product and support enquiries. Create targeted messages to match your customer’s unique choices, creating a much more personalised experience.

Convenience.
In 2021 being intentionally convenient will become your competitive weapon. All you have to do is look at what Uber and Lyft did to the taxi industry, what Amazon did to retail, and what Netflix did to Blockbuster.
Your Consumers have suddenly become accustomed to having whatever they want, whenever they want it. Using customer data, marketing channels, machine learning/AI and other devices, your business can frequently seek new and innovative ways to develop convenience for anyone engaging with your brand. Creating a manageable level of comfort will cement your reputation and increase customer confidence and loyalty.
Look at how your touchpoints represent the various interactions a customer has with your business, regardless of channel — digital, email, phone, or in-person. What are the friction points, and how can you improve the interaction. Customers will pay more for convenience. They will choose to do more business with the people and companies that make their lives easier. Incorporate AI: The self-service options on a website that answer customers’ frequently asked questions is faster than calling technical support

Double down on self-service.
Self-service allows you to provide online support to your buyers without needing a one-on-one interaction. Invest in creating a knowledge base or FAQ section that provides answers and walkthroughs to the most common issues your customers face. If you’re an eCommerce brand, you can also make it easier for your customers to do things like repeating their orders or process refunds without having to speak to anyone.