The Partial Case For A Customer Experience Designer.

The customer is arguably the lifeblood of every business as, ​without them, a product or service is basically useless and worthless. Even though this is the world’s worst kept secret, too many people still fail to consider the consumer as an important piece of the puzzle and therefore do not take extra time to craft experiences that wow the consumers.

It’s very easy to wonder all day long why dozens of people run to a brand that seemingly sells overrated products without actually acknowledging what the main reason might be. Humans, at whatever level, want to be treated as important entities and not something you just make use of whenever you need to. So it is only normal for people to gravitate towards places that treat them like royalty.

According to the​ ​Harvard Business Review, it costs anywhere from 5 to 25 times more money to acquire a new customer than to keep existing ones happy. It is hard enough for brands to find customers in the first place but they don’t go on to learn how to keep the result of all their hardwork happy and comfortable.

In today’s world, brands have become an extension of consumer’s lives and this has increased expectations on the consumer side. Increased expectations means consumers are now more picky and selective than ever, making it even more difficult for brands to tie down customers. This is however a solvable problem and the solution is not something you need a crystal ball to see.

Loyalty Programs

Many years ago, some people thought that offering discounts on future purchases was going to be enough to keep a customer for as long as possible. This probably worked for a while but the fact is that, as long as the fundamentals are missing, no dangling of the carrot can make the donkey forever remain on​ the path you have designed. Customers won’t continue to come back if they’re not having a good enough experience. These days, “good enough” is not even good enough anymore. The experience has to be amazing or nothing.

Consumers have become emotional. We need stories and ideas we can relate to. We need love and care. We need to see that you’re putting in that extra effort and considering different things before coming to a conclusion instead of just shoving things down our throats.

According to Lee Resource, 91 percent of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with the brand again. This can easily add up to billions of dollars in lost revenues and can easily kill any company no matter what their product or service is about. It looks to me like brands have a very big problem on their hands.

Maybe the “Customer Experience Designer” should be a real job afterall. Maybe.