Customer experience (CX) has become one of the most important differentiating factors for a business. The reason lies mainly in the proliferation of a more globalized market , where the client has more options at hand and can afford to be more demanding beyond the product or service.

The problem is that many entrepreneurs take this issue lightly or, what is worse, they assume that their level of service is excellent , when in fact their consumers think the opposite. Another very common difficulty related to this topic is the endless debate about what needs to be improved and the lack of concrete actions to offer the client something that exceeds their expectations.

Do you need to reinvent your customer experience? Here we share five simple, but effective steps to achieve it.

Step 1. Don’t assume you know your customer

As we have said many times in this blog: one of the advantages of having a small business is being close to customers and being able to listen more easily to their problems and needs. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you know everything about them, especially if it’s been a long time since you asked them what they need or if they’re still happy with your business proposition .

Depending on the nature of your business and the communication channels you have, think about an active listening strategy for your target audience (which includes current and potential customers). You can do surveys via email or at your business premises, social listening campaigns, focus group sessions and mystery shopping visits .

Step 2. Put the consumer experience at the center of your strategy

If you want to take firm steps in reinventing your consumer’s journey, this cannot be a secondary strategy in your business . Moreover, it must be part of its mission and of each process carried out in the company (from service on the sales floor to billing).

What do you need to do? In addition to including the customer service strategy in the general strategy of the company, you have to establish who will be responsible for applying it, monitoring it and reporting the results. Likewise, they have to have an active role in the boards of directors, since all areas must do their part to impact the happiness of consumers.

Step 3. Define quality metrics

According to various surveys on the subject, only 6% of business owners believe that their current measurement systems allow them to make smart decisions to improve their customer experience. And the problem is that many of the indicators can be confusing. A clear example is the time that a customer spends browsing a store: if it is prolonged, does it mean that he feels comfortable and that he likes what he sees, or does he have trouble finding what he needs?

Experts recommend focusing on indicators that contextualize the way your customers interact with your products and services , and not so much on those that have to do with the level of commitment to the brand. For example, how easy is the checkout process in the online store? Can customers try the products before buying? Or what percentages of those new customers in the store make a purchase and return?

Step 4. Involves all areas

Overhauling and reinventing the customer experience shouldn’t be the responsibility of a single team, but should integrate the efforts of the entire company. This requires that the plan be communicated, that the role and processes of each department be defined, who will be responsible for monitoring it, and that all efforts be aligned around customer satisfaction.

There is something you should consider: a change of this type needs, in many cases, to modify the organizational culture . It is necessary to rely on motivated employees who are committed to the company’s results, but above all to customer happiness .

Step #5. Reallocate resources

Finally, if you are really convinced of the urgency to reinvent your customer experience, you should review the business budget. Product development, launch campaigns, or public relations typically rank first on the list , while service quality ranks last.

The investment does not have to be high, but it must be analyzed in detail to allocate it to actions that offer tangible results. For example, customers value personalization in communication , issue tracking, and transaction security more than ever . Analyze if your business faces problems in any of those consumer stages… and get to work!