What is CX (Customer Experience)?

CX (Customer Experience) refers to the value and evaluation of a product or service from the customer's perspective. Customer interactions with businesses occur across several key stages: "awareness," "consideration," "purchase," and "use." CX represents the cumulative evaluation of these touchpoints, essentially encompassing the entire series of customer experiences.

An effective way to understand CX is through consumer surveys, which gather customer feedback. Businesses can collect feedback at each CX touchpoint by conducting surveys, quantifying the customer experience, and gaining a measurable understanding of CX.

The Significance of CX for Businesses

By understanding the value of CX for their products and services through research, businesses can utilize this insight to improve various initiatives and optimize their strategies.
 

• Identifying Customer Needs and Expectations

Gaining a clear understanding of customer needs and expectations highlights the key areas where products or services can be improved. This enables businesses to allocate resources and budgets effectively, allowing for timely and efficient implementation of improvement actions.

• Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Research results help identify which aspects customers are satisfied with and where expectations fall short. Using this data to develop concrete improvement measures can enhance customer satisfaction.

• Enhancing Customer Loyalty

Customers who feel attached to or trust in a company or brand tend to remain loyal, regularly purchasing products or using services, thereby contributing to the company’s profitability. Additionally, they may recommend the brand to other potential customers through word of mouth or social media.

Through surveys, businesses can understand what aspects of the brands—such as product design, after-sales service, or in-store customer interactions—appeal to their customers. This insight empowers the development of strategies to strengthen customer loyalty.

• Differentiating Your Business from Competitors

Survey results can reveal a company’s strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors. By addressing areas of weakness and emphasizing unique strengths in marketing strategies, businesses can create a competitive edge and stand out from their rivals.

Methods for CX Research

There are various methods for measuring Customer Experience. Choosing the right approach, tailored to the target audience, key questions, company size, and budget enables a more profound understanding of customers.

Standard Methods for CX Research

• Surveys: A basic method for directly collecting feedback and opinions from customers.
• Interviews: A conversational approach to explore customers' deeper emotions and motivations.
• Mystery Shopping: A technique to discreetly evaluate the quality of stores or services.
• Usability Testing: A method to assess the ease of use of websites or apps.

Among these, surveys are the most common approach. In recent years, online surveys have become particularly popular with the widespread adoption of the Internet.

Then what should businesses prioritize in CX Research?
There are two key points to consider:

1. Understanding What Customers Value

It is essential to identify what customers find valuable. There may be discrepancies between the satisfaction points a business assumes and what actually satisfies customers. To address this, adopting a "customer-centric" perspective is critical. Misalignment in perspectives can erode customer trust and lead to dissatisfaction with the company.

2. Focusing on Both the Overall Experience and Individual Touchpoints

For example, while customers might appreciate excellent in-store service, they could feel dissatisfied with post-purchase support, such as call center interactions or packaging after a product repair.
When working on CX improvements, it’s crucial to view the interactions between the company and its customers as an ongoing "journey" and ensure the company delivers a consistent CX throughout the entire process.

Leverage Online Surveys

To better understand CX, conducting customer surveys and implementing the PDCA cycle quickly is adequate. However, traditional tools like paper or email surveys can be costly, require significant effort to compile results, and take time for analysis.

Online surveys, on the other hand, allow for the collection of survey results at a lower cost and in a shorter time. They are one of the most practical methods for initially gathering a wide range of consumer opinions.

At GMO Research & AI, we offer solutions such as Quick Survey, which enables businesses to create and distribute surveys to local consumers, collecting essential data in as little as one business day. Additionally, our Custom Survey solution leverages one of the largest consumer networks in the Asia-Pacific region to gather targeted data and deliver analytical reports promptly.

Harness the power of online surveys to guide your business toward success!

Leverage Online Surveys: From Understanding Customer Needs to Generating New Initiatives