Customer Experience (CX) is becoming increasingly established. CEOs are recognising that customers today are empowered and that the customer perception of their brand is one of their most valuable assets. Every step of the customer journey needs to give a solid brand image that delivers on all pre-sale promises.
A study in 2016 found that 75% of companies surveyed consider improving CX as their top objective. In 2017 another study found that 89% of organisations claim that CX is critical to their survival and a top strategic priority. However, just under half (49%) of respondents are taking action.
It is likely that we will see a sharper divide between customer experience leaders and laggards over the next couple of years. There are a range of innovative tools available for organisations willing to invest, but what’s more important is understanding how the wider rise of CX will influence your members’ expectations. When an impersonal site such as Amazon can give personalised suggestions, you will need to achieve at least a small level of personalisation to build relationships with your members.
Here are seven ways members may to expect you to improve in 2018 because of the rise of CX and its associated technologies.
1. Become faster
As companies of all sizes are automating their customer service, members are getting increasingly used to speedy service. Will your members stay if your support and renewal processes aren’t efficient enough?
Here are 7 ways our membership software helps you become faster through automation.
2. Provide self-service
It is becoming standard among larger customer focused organisations to provide online self-service. The GetApp 2017 Membership Management Report confirms that members are starting to expect this from membership organisations as well.
3. Give a consistent support experience
When we get in touch with an organisation we often expect the person we speak with to have access to all previous touch points. You need to break down any organisational silos you may have so that the conversation is seamless whenever your team picks up a call from a member.
4. Personalise for efficiency
This ties in with the top point of becoming faster. Personalised communications save your members time since they don’t have to sift through information to find what they want. Personalisation is also key to create relationships with your members, which is important for continued renewals.
Here are 5 ways our software helps you personalise the member experience.
5. Be proactive
Smart technology means that we will get used to our devices and services knowing what we want before we do so ourselves. It is important that you serve up the right content to your members when they need it. For example, let your members know if the card they pay their dues with is about to expire, instead of letting them know later that a payment has failed.
6. Listen more
The key to providing a great member experience is to understand your members. Having more conversations with your members and showing afterwards that you’ve listened will also help to build the relationship. Conversations can be in the form of social media, surveys, focus groups, or just a simple chat on the phone.
7. Understand more
Not everyone will be up for talking with you, but they might still expect you to understand what they want. Good use of analytics on your website and in your member area is critical to understand how your members prefer to engage with you and what kind of content resonates the most.
These seven points reflect how wider member expectations are changing because of CX, but there will be unique nuances that apply to your membership. Augie Ray at Gartner recently wrote this blog post on why you should ignore the fads and put your customer / member at the centre of your own CX strategy.
It might seem like your members are going to expect a lot from you in 2018 but the good news are that there are plenty of solutions out there to help you. If you are looking for a system that can improve your member experience in one place we can certainly help. Our aim is for you to spend less time on admin so you can spend more time on engaging your members.
Our membership software cuts up to 80% of membership administration time and comes with an integrated online community. Get in touch with our team today to get your personalised demo.
By Anna Bjorkman, Marketing Manager at VeryConnect
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