Given the cut-throat competition in the B2B space, delivering a great customer experience that thoroughly satisfies the customer is more important than ever before. It’s perhaps the best competitive advantage a company can have. But there are customer experience examples that can inspire us all to improve our game.
World-class service providers that focus heavily on the customer experience are coming out on top. Today’s consumers tend to remember the experience and the service associated with it more than the price.
Below, we discuss what to emphasize while developing a relevant customer experience strategy. Further, you will see some of the best customer experience companies and what sets them apart. Here’s a sneak peek at those companies:
- Amazon
- Apple
- Netflix
- JetBlue
- Uber
What is a great customer experience?
Developing a good customer experience strategy has everything to do with how you address your clients. First impressions count and that old adage is certainly true when thinking about the customer experience.
Your perspective and approach to interacting with customers profoundly impact the first impression a potential customer walks away with. Fortunately, delivering world-class customer experience isn’t as difficult as many believe.
These three simple tactics can make all the difference in the world:
- Seamless internal communication: You might have extensive, high-quality resources and innovative ideas. However, if you don’t couple those with consistent, open internal communication, you won’t work well as a team. Some people won’t be on the same page or understand the same objectives.
- Fast delivery and response times: Yes, customers can get impatient at times. What do you do then? You use it as a learning opportunity. Staffers should be trained on the importance of rapid response and product or service delivery times. Be sure to stress that they should never compromise quality for speed. The slower you are when interacting with customers, the more likely they are to leave you for a competitor.
- Exceptional customer support: Give your customer reps the best training and knowledge possible. Make them experts in your product or service. Focus on improving your first contact response rate and always ask for feedback. Customer feedback can act as your roadmap for improvement.
Today’s consumers have higher expectations. In order to meet those heightened expectations, you must be mindful of their needs, pain points, goals, etc. You need to know exactly who they are and what they need based on the data available to you.
Businesses displaying great customer experience examples
Let us now look at five businesses that lead the pack in terms of delivering stellar customer experience. These customer experience examples will motivate you to strive for better results.
Amazon
Millions of consumers around the world have ordered items from Amazon! It’s easy to see why Amazon is considered a customer experience leader. But what truly deserves applause is the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction.
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon
So what sets them apart? And how did they manage to become one of the largest companies in the world in a few decades? The answer is simple – they know the Four Ps of marketing and apply them when applicable.
Those four Ps are place, promotion, price, and product. Simply put, this equates to doing the right things at the right times. Further, their exceptional knowledge base, forums, and excellent email and phone support speak volumes. Not just that, they offer a 24/7 Twitter help channel that’s available in multiple languages.
Apple
Apple is another good example of great customer service. Aside from its stylish and sought-after devices, Apple is probably best known for its in-store customer service. It all happens at the Genius Bar, where Apple experts meet with you one-on-one to discuss how to set up or fix your device. In the words of the late, great Steve Jobs:
“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology — not the other way around.”
– Steve Jobs, Co-Founder and former CEO, Apple
Apple employees follow that philosophy religiously and go out of their way to ensure customers leave satisfied. But what makes Apple’s customer experience so great?
Most of their products come with 90-day phone support. That support is offered in every country where the company officially does business.
Netflix
Netflix offers another example of great customer service with its online video streaming platform. Since its inception, the company has grown exponentially year-over-year. Netflix’s service is so impeccable that the company essentially eliminated an entire industry singlehandedly: video rental stores.
Providing an outstanding example of great customer experience, the company relies on AI and machine learning to keep customers engaged. By leveraging personalized video suggestions based on users’ past viewing patterns, Netflix dominates its market.
The main advantage of video streaming platforms is that you can watch your favorite shows without being interrupted by commercial breaks. The possibility to download movies or episodes from your favorite series to watch later, when there is no internet connection, is also a big plus. Take a glimpse into the mindset of Netflix’s decision-makers:
“…technology has been the story of human progress from as long back as we know. In 100 years people will look back on now and say, ‘That was the Internet Age.’ And computers will be seen as a mere ingredient to the Internet Age.”
– Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix
Suggestions improve as you watch and you will find yourself hooked on Netflix in no time. While there is a difference between customer success and customer experience, the company is skilled at delivering both.
JetBlue
JetBlue delivers multichannel customer support: it offers phone support, email support, a searchable knowledge base, SMS text updates, and a smartphone app. The company ensures its service maintains a human touch.
This is especially true on social media–the company responds to comments within minutes, pointing customers to pages that can help them, and responding with emoticons and GIFs to any questions customers might have.
“JetBlue Airways is dedicated to bringing humanity back to air travel. We strive to make every part of your experience as simple and as pleasant as possible.”
– Robin Hayes, CEO, JetBlue Airways
The team goes above and beyond in order to satisfy its customers. Empathy and cooperation are core values that trigger positive customer reactions. They truly follow the mantra that the customer is always right. Follow JetBlue’s business model and you’ll reduce customer churn to a minimum and boost revenue in no time.
Uber
Uber is one of the best examples of a company that delivers world-class customer experience. Why? Uber identified all the challenges people face while hailing a cab and they eliminated them one by one.
“What we maybe should’ve realized sooner was that we are running a political campaign and the candidate is Uber. And this political race is happening in every major city in the world. And because this isn’t about democracy, this is about a product, you can’t win 51 to 49. You have to win 98 to 2.”
– Travis Kalanick, CEO, Uber
Moreover, enabling ratings for both users and drivers is a way of ensuring that their services will always meet their clients’ and partners’ expectations.
You may also like:
How to Upgrade the Experience from Customer Service to Customer Success? – Secrets to a great upgrading experience are revealed here.
How to Improve Customer Experience Through Digital Transformation? – How does customer experience go hand-in-hand with the digital world, find out here?
Stanley Deepak is an accomplished sales and marketing professional with 15+ years of experience. He loves tech products and book reading. He writes on philosophy and culture on LinkedIn.
Published August 06, 2020, Updated August 21, 2024