{"id":45841,"date":"2022-12-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/uncategorized\/is-your-customer-journey-aligned-with-brand-expectations\/"},"modified":"2023-10-27T18:26:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T18:26:05","slug":"is-your-customer-journey-aligned-with-brand-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-experience\/is-your-customer-journey-aligned-with-brand-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Is Your Customer Journey Aligned with Brand Expectations?"},"content":{"rendered":"This week, we feature an article by Nick Bandy, Chief Marketing Officer at LiveVox<\/a>, an omnichannel platform that helps brands seamlessly communicate with their customers. He shares how you can align your customer’s journey with their brand expectations.<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe customer journey is essential to any company’s success. And in today\u2019s digital age, customer service is now more important than ever before. So how can you make sure that your customer journey is aligned with your brand expectations? And more importantly, how can you ensure that it’s not costing you sales? We explore these questions and offer some tips on how to improve your customer journey.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

What do customers expect from contact centers?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\nIn order to provide an excellent customer experience, it’s important that your customer journey is aligned with <\/span>customer expectations<\/span><\/a>. But what exactly do customers expect from your contact center? And how can you make sure that your customer journey meets or exceeds those expectations?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCustomers want to be able to reach a live person when they need assistance. They also want their issue to be resolved quickly and efficiently. And, perhaps most importantly, they want to feel like they’re valued as a customer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThere are a few key ways to ensure that your customer journey meets or exceeds customer expectations. First, make sure that your contact center is easily accessible and that customers can reach a live person when they need assistance. Second, make sure that your customer service reps are properly trained to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. And third, make sure that you’re showing your customers that you value their business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

What are brand expectations?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\nWe know that your customer journey should be aligned with your brand’s expectations. But what exactly are brand expectations? Brand expectations are the standards that your customers expect you to meet. They’re based on your brand’s promise, and they’re influenced by customer perceptions of your brand.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n45% of consumers say they\u2019d be less likely to purchase or not purchase at all if the experience a <\/span>brand<\/span><\/a> provides is different from their perceived ideals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSome examples of brand expectations include providing excellent customer service, having a well-designed website, and offering high-quality products or services. It’s important to note that brand expectations can vary depending on your industry, your customer base, and other factors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

How to align your customer journey with brand expectations<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\nThere are a few key ways to ensure that your customer journey is aligned with brand expectations.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Get clear on what your brand promise is\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Regularly measure customer perceptions of your brand<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Consistently work to improve the customer experience<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Focus on matching your fulfillment journey to your client’s buying behavior\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\nWhen a client or customer interacts with your business, the information given to them by an agent or self-service channel needs to align with their expectations. This seems obvious but let’s look at a financial services use case:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLet’s say you work in the financial services industry and your company advertises to current customers who actively use your mobile app and potential customers that interact with your digital content. The ad highlights how easy it is to open a checking account with your institution.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA customer interacts with the ad, so an agent contacts them to give them more information. The customer responds by saying they want to open a checking account with your institution and asks for the next steps. The agent then tells them that they need to visit a local branch or complete the process via mail. At this point, you’ve most likely lost this customer. They feel misguided and dissatisfied with the interaction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe majority of consumers won’t respond well to a misaligned buying journey because they want a clear, digital-first approach to receiving services and products.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe takeaway? If your customer journey isn’t aligned with customer expectations, you could be losing money every month.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nOne way to align these two things is by providing <\/span>omnichannel engagement<\/span><\/a> or employing a contact center CRM.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

    What is omnichannel engagement?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\nOmnichannel engagement is the practice of providing customer service and support across multiple channels. This could include phone, email, live chat, social media, and more. The goal of omnichannel engagement is to provide a consistent experience for customers no matter how they choose to reach out.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA study by Aspect Software found that companies that adopt <\/span>omnichannel strategies<\/span><\/a> achieve 91% greater year-over-year customer retention rates compared to companies that don\u2019t.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat is a contact center CRM?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA contact center CRM is a customer relationship management system that’s designed specifically for contact centers. An effective contact center CRM will help you keep track of customer interactions, automate processes, and improve the customer experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSome of the benefits of using a contact center CRM include:\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n