User Experience (UX) and Customer Experience (CX) both share insight into a person’s relationship with a company or brand. It is no wonder that the terms are often used interchangeably. However, the two are slightly different, and understanding this difference will allow us to plan and execute UX and CX strategies effectively.
Very simply put, UX is focused on a singular interaction with a brand, while CX is a cumulation of multiple UXs to provide us with an understanding of the overall relationship and impression a person has with a brand over time.
3 Levels of Experience
UX and CX are best understood by looking at the levels in which they play. A person’s experience with a brand is usually observed at three levels: the interaction level, the journey level and the relationship level.
Interaction Level - UX
At the interaction level, we are looking into the experience a person has completing a task using a single device or channel. Once the task is complete, the interaction is complete. This is the level at which UX features, as we are looking at a single interaction with a brand.
Examples: - Completing a form on a website
- Making an in-store purchase
- Talking to a customer service representative over the phone to get more information
Why is building good UX important?
As a brand, it is common sense to want every interaction with our customers to be a positive one. But it’s not just about the sentiment, it actually helps the business drive profitability. Every interaction allows the customer to progress in their journey to accomplish a goal. One interaction alone could make or break this journey, and possibly affect business results.
How do we build good UX?
While there are many things that go into building great UX, we can condense these into 5 key elements. We want every interaction a user has with our brand to be,
Adoptable: Is it easy to pick up and start using immediately? Is it easy to learn? Is it intuitive?
Usable: Is it easy to use? Is it easy to complete the task? Does it work well? Is it reliable?
Valuable: Is it useful? Does it help the user accomplish a goal? Is it effective?
Efficient: Is it fast? Can the user complete the task in a reasonable amount of time?
Desirable: Is it so easy/fast/simple/fun/engaging that the user would want to use it again?
Journey Level
The customer journey is the entire process that a person has to go through to accomplish a goal or a desired end result (e.g. buying a new pair of shoes, dining at a restaurant etc.) This is often multi-channel or multi-device, and usually takes more than a single interaction or session.
Example: A journey might begin with a person receiving an ad for an Amex credit card. They use the website link on the ad to access the Amex credit card page. They click on the apply button and, mid-way through the application process, find that they need to upload some documents such as bank statements for verification. They exit the application form and gather the necessary documentation over the next couple of days. They return to the Amex website and navigate to the credit card application page and complete the application. They then receive an email saying that their application is pending approval. Two days later, they are notified via email that their application is approved and that they will receive their card in the mail in 7 business days. The card arrives in the mail 4 days later with instructions on how to activate the card. The user downloads the Amex app, registers their information and activates the credit card. The card is now ready for use. End of journey.
Relationship Level - CX
Think of this as the overall impression a person has of a brand as a result of all interactions and journeys a person has had with it. It is a holistic view of a person’s experience with the brand. This is also aptly referred to as the ‘lifetime experience' a person has with an organisation. The relationship level is where CX comes into play as it is the culmination of all user experiences (UX) that makes up the overall customer experience.
Do note that CX is not purely the sum of its individual parts (i.e. each UX). We need to ensure that all interactions with all aspects of our brand, from internal departments to external communications, work in harmony. The entirety of our operation needs to leave our customers feeling satisfied, heard, appreciated and empowered. There needs to be a sense of consistency and flow across the board to achieve this.
Why is CX important?
The customer experience is the lasting impression a person has of your brand. A positive CX can generate brand loyalty, brand advocacy, and brand growth. By increasing customer satisfaction, you are likely to retain more of them. You could generate repeated sales from your existing customers. You might even gain new customers from referrals that contribute to your bottom line. This creates a competitive advantage for your business.
How do we improve CX?
There are a number of CX strategies out there, but in going through them you might find some recurring themes. Here are 7 key practices you can adopt to improve your overall CX,
Customer Centricity: Always have your customer at the centre of all your designs. At the end of the day, everything you do is to help the customers accomplish their goals and leave feeling happy and satisfied.
Feedback: It is crucial to consistently receive and actually take action on feedback from customers. Feedback is gold in the UX and CX space as your customers are literally telling you what they need and how you can improve. Approach feedback with empathy and look at ways that you can use this information to optimise your designs.
Journey Mapping: Journey mapping is the practice of laying out the most common paths a customer takes or the work that a customer does to accomplish a goal. Journey mapping allows us to understand every interaction along the way, and the flow from one interaction to another. This gives us the opportunity to make the journey as simple and seamless as possible.
Personalise: Personalising is slightly different from customer centricity in that it is more about customising the experience to specific people. This could include things like referencing a user’s name and bringing up a snapshot of their activity for ease of navigation, or providing custom solutions for various tasks. This will make your customers feel special and makes their lives easier when they need to complete a task.
Be Responsive: It is important for a brand to respond to customers quickly. Leaving customers waiting too long for an answer will make them feel less valued. This can often leave a lasting negative impression and shake the trust of your customers, especially when the situation is dire (e.g. credit card customer stranded abroad).
Company Culture: Everything mentioned above must be ingrained in the company culture. This builds genuine customer experiences. If the internal practices of an organisation are different from customer facing interactions, customers will pick up on the difference. It often comes off as artificial and forced. Brands have to value their employees and empower them to represent the brand in a way that reflects its values. This requires training and a management style that exemplifies the values of the company.
Measurement Framework: There is no way to determine how a brand is performing at a relationship level without some level of research and measurement. A measurement framework allows you to consider all elements of research that are required, the frequency of research that is required, and a formula for quantifying your CX score at any given time to understand areas for improvement and the urgency and scale of any action required.
Learn more about UX and CX!
Nielsen Norman Group is a leader in Research-Based User Experience and has a whole library of information and articles that go into the details of CX and UX. You can enroll for their courses and conferences if you intend to specialise in this field.
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