The most amazing event of my life?
This is, so far, undoubtedly the birth of my son.
The whole experience did something strange to me.
I can precisely remember the hours leading up to his birth.
How we woke up, drove to the hospital, the conversations we had.
I even remember the smell of the early morning when we walked outside.
I can describe the events from minute to minute.
In other words, beautiful experiences leave deep traces in our memory.
Conversely, this also applies the other way around: a nasty, unpleasant experience lingers just as tenaciously.
And this is precisely where the strength and significance of a good customer experience lies.
People that have a very good experience with a brand or company will joyfully reflect on this.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
But what exactly defines this experience?
Experiences are based on emotions.
Now the birth of a child is usually a positive experience for most people.
But they are also experiences that depend much more on the person undergoing them.
A fine example of this is music.
This significance is an important aspect for companies.
It means you should tailor the customer experience to the individual.
These customers are not merely walking purses ensuring turnover, they are people of flesh and blood.
Each with his or her own taste, preferences, habits, and behaviors.
Ample brands use a transaction/process approach for this.
But this method does not address the customersfeelingsabout the transaction.
It would thus be good for companies to change their measuring method.
It is not the final transaction that determines customer satisfaction, but the feeling that customers are left with.
Only then can you expose the improvement areas in the customer experience.
The day before departure we realized, however, that my son was not on my ticket.
After waiting for a long time, I was informed that I needed the ticket number.
Which I did not have readily available.
Was my experience with the airline company a successful one?
Not in my eyes, even though the ultimate goal was achieved.
After all, the objective was achieved.
But in reality, they might have lost a future customer.
A great example of this is LeanCuisines marketing campaign,#WeighThis.
The core of the campaign was a wall full of scales at New Yorks Central Station.
The scales did not indicate weight, but were covered in written messages.
The campaign was an ideal example of experiential marketing.
But those who really want to touch their customers heart, should know this customer well.
To do so, brands have in recent years sought their solution mainly in technology and digitalization.
Everything has to be smart and we frantically seek a technological solution for each business issue.
Data was, according to most experts, the new golden egg.
Those with the most data at hand would almost automatically gain the upper hand.
This hunger for data now often thwarts progress.
Sure, data can greatly contribute to sharpening individual customer preferences.
Data islands
Nonetheless, the result in practice often proves problematic.
Constantly adding new tools and solutions leads to data islands.
Because of this fragmentation, it is anything but obvious to effectively use this data in a meaningful manner.
Not to mention trying to distil a satisfying customer experience from this mountain of data.
It can be done far more easily.
This single source of truth approach prevents obscure data spaghetti.
Creative thinking is much more important than purchasing the newest smart solution.
The idea is just as ingenious as it is technologically simple.
The first group points their phone towards what they would like to see at that moment.
It is time for a new paradigm.
Data and technology are not the starting point, and never have been either.
Technology is a tool, not the departure point.
Because those that give a little TLC to customers will receive TLC in return.
He is a modern marketer with a passion for digital, innovation and everything related to customer experience.
