Why do businesses these days have such short lifespans compared to those of previous decades?
Because businesses have shifted their focus to creating viral marketing campaigns rather than creating reasons for customers to come back for repeat usage.
Because let us talk about the ground reality of operating a business: if you have to hunt for or create new customers every month, and yet you are not growing your customer base or revenue any further significantly, you don’t have a real business, you have a churning machine.
A Forbes article republished post-COVID cites CX futurist Blake Morgan, who notes that 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in revenue. It also states that customers are likely to spend 140% more after a positive experience than those who report negative experiences.
Today, how often is it to come across a brand with sensational marketing that tempts you to try them, only to realize that they aren’t worth the money? Three to four years down the line, the brand disappears silently, nowhere to be found!
Now compare that with businesses from the previous generation - brands that you can recall at the tip of your tongue, not because you saw them in an advertisement, but because they are present in your home and you have used them enough times to remember them.
Businesses that were built a decade ago, or even generations earlier, continue to thrive today because they understood a fundamental truth of business: customers are not merely meant to be acquired but retained and given reasons to return.
The focus has now shifted on creating a product, making it go viral, and continuously spending money to acquire new customers, over and over again. Then comes the next funding round, followed by more funding, and the cycle continues. Since when did we stop celebrating real profitability and exceptional service and started celebrating funding rounds? Since when has this become an evidence that the product or the service is great for us consumers?
In today’s world, we are spoilt with too many choices and too many options: for every product we use, every service we opt for, and the many apps that make our lives convenient. But even today, we keep going back to that one brand. Despite all the options, it is still ridiculously easy to choose one brand consistently over another. But seldom do we pay attention to what helps us make that choice. The answer is “Experience”.
The experience associated with the purchase, that one incident when things went south, and how it was handled by their team.
The impact of a well-designed sales or customer experience can be so strong, customers can close their eyes and instantly recall the emotion tied to buying your product, their experience with getting an issue resolved, or even their worst registration process for a service. And that feeling alone can drive their decision for their next purchase.
Often subconsciously, consumers are now noticing how appreciated and valued they feel every single time they interact with your brand. And it is simpler than you think; it is not about spending bucks and bucks on creating sensory experiences or high aesthetic value. It is as simple as this: when a problem arises, show up for your customers consistently and properly. Reduce their effort and their frustration. That is what they truly value, not the “nth” feature on your application that you have just added.
If you are making your customer go through nine automated prompts from a chatbot until they are furious and already regretting the decision to choose you, you are losing. For every four good experiences, one bad one holds the power to break your reputation and destroy your brand’s credibility. It also enables one person to influence ten others’ decision to never choose your brand.
Businesses investing in customer experience are saving on acquisition costs, as customer churn is reduced and more people stay loyal to their brand. In fact, American consumers are willing to pay 17% more to purchase from a company with a reputation for great customer service- source Forbes. Customers are the ones keeping companies running, yet they are still being treated as an afterthought. That makes for a highly unsustainable business, one that risks disappearing within five years.
The future belongs to the companies that, along with their products and services, are also creating processes and frameworks that keep their customers at the heart of their brand. So, here’s a question for all business owners to consider- Are we truly investing enough in customer experience, or are we still treating it as a nice-to-have?
