Great customer service and customer experience can set your business apart in a crowded market. Learning how to improve customer experience is key to building loyalty, earning trust, and driving long-term growth.

Some business owners and operators assume that customer experience and customer service are the same thing, but they are not. Businesses seeking to enhance their reputation and foster customer loyalty must comprehend the distinction between customer experience and customer service and recognize how improving both can lead to increased profits and growth.

What Is Customer Experience?

Customer experience (CX) encompasses every touchpoint a customer has with a business. Every visit to your store or restaurant adds to their collective experience. Customer experience affects customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand reputation. Customers who have a good experience are more likely to return than those who didn’t. For some people, a single bad experience is enough to deter them from choosing a particular store or restaurant next time.

Customer experience also affects the profits of your store or restaurant. One study found that 58% of customers would pay more for a better customer experience. Another study, in the Harvard Business Review, found that customers who had the best experiences spent 140% more than those who had the poorest experiences.

Customer Experience Vs. Service

Customer service is a single interaction, while customer experience is a broader concept. In other words, customer service is one aspect of customer experience.

For example, the interaction a customer has with a cashier on their first trip to your store is a chance to provide excellent customer service. This same customer’s entire journey from learning about your store to deciding to go there, parking, entering, and shopping on each trip is all part of the customer experience. Both are important, but as consumer expectations and behaviors are shifting, there has been an increased focus on customer experience rather than only customer service.

Enhancing customer experience goes beyond front-end interactions; it includes efficient back-end operations. Discover how ICL’s CashSimple® solution simplifies cash management to streamline your business processes and improve overall service delivery.

What Makes A Great Customer Experience?

Before learning how to improve the customer experience, it’s essential to understand what it entails. The key elements of a great customer experience are:

  • Personalization: Customers who get a personalized experience are much more likely to make unplanned purchases.
  • Efficiency: Modern customers are less patient and expect fast service, compared to previous generations.
  • Ease of use: Integrating technology and streamlining the shopping or dining experience is appealing to customers’ desire for convenience.
  • Transparency: Customers want clear and honest information about products, services, and prices as well as the company’s values.
  • Friendliness: A good CX makes customers feel welcomed and valued.

As your business grows and evolves, the customer experience should as well. The best customer experience for your store or restaurant will be unique based on your products and services, space, brand, and other factors.

How Negative Customer Experience Impacts A Business

Research shows that 86% of consumers will leave a brand they were previously loyal to after only two poor experiences. It can happen that fast. That’s why customer experience is so crucial for your business’s success.

The consequences of poor customer experience include:

  • Loss of trust
  • Negative reviews
  • Decreased revenue

Want to learn how poor customer experiences can contribute to business failure? Discover the top reasons why restaurants fail and how to avoid them.

a customer leaving a review on their customer experience at a business

5 Ways To Improve Customer Experience

Want to know how to improve customer experience but not sure where to begin? Below are five actionable strategies businesses can use to elevate customer experience. Each one addresses common pain points that businesses may face and how to overcome them. It’s important to take the time to analyze a business’s current customer experience and try to identify areas for improvement. Then, it can choose and scale the solutions that make sense for its business needs to curate a personalized customer experience strategy.

Streamline Checkout And Payment Processes

Simplifying payment and checkout is one of the most popular ways of enhancing customer experience. Secure and quick transactions create a seamless experience for the customer. Consider self-checkout stations to leave workers available to help shoppers and answer questions. Make sure your point of sale (POS) system offers slide, insert, and tap-to-pay options for maximum versatility.

Train Staff To Prioritize Customer Service

Well-trained, empathetic staff contribute to a great customer experience. To enhance customer experience, consider ongoing training programs and focus on empowering frontline employees to go out of their way to provide the best possible customer service. Establish consistent communication practices and protocols for common customer concerns and questions.

Leverage Technology For Faster Service

Businesses can use tools like POS systems, self-service kiosks, and automated responses to reduce wait times and enhance convenience. In our digital world, customers are expecting high-quality technology tools in their shopping and dining experiences. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can be used to see customers’ previous purchase history and offer them the option to repurchase the same order. This is a personalized experience that most customers will really appreciate.

Personalize Interactions And Offers

Customers highly value personalization. Don’t be afraid to try innovative ideas to improve customer experience. A sure way to impress a returning customer is to address them by name and recommend relevant products based on their previous purchases. Another great strategy is sending a handwritten note. CRM systems can assist in tracking customers’ previous interactions, allowing you to quickly reference them before personalizing their experience.

Gather And Act On Customer Feedback

Want to know how to enhance customer experience? Try asking loyal customers! Businesses can build brand loyalty by showing customers that their opinions matter. Give customers the opportunity to give feedback and see that the feedback is addressed. Consider gathering feedback through surveys, reviews, or suggestion boxes. This data can also help guide a business’s customer experience management strategy.

To see how evolving service expectations are shaping customer experience in real time, explore the latest restaurant industry trends and c-store trends.

an employee providing good customer service to give the customer a good experience

How To Improve Customer Service

Zooming in on good customer service is beneficial for many businesses. A HubSpot survey reports that consumers are willing to pay 68% more for brands with excellent customer service. Also, improving customer service leads to a better customer experience overall because customer service is a part of the experience. Remember that an assessment of your company will help identify specific needs.

So, how can you improve customer service? While customer service is generally thought to be reactive, such as when checking out, proactive customer service is key to building loyalty. The scalable strategies below can help improve customer service for a store or restaurant.

Respond Quickly And Resolve Issues Efficiently

Faster response time is one of the best ways to improve customer service. Customers in today’s fast-paced world appreciate prompt responses to customer inquiries or complaints. Leverage AI, response templates, and multiple channels of communication to build a prompt, responsive support system.

Empower Employees With The Right Tools And Training

Access to information and training enables staff to better serve customers. Take the time to develop a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) and training program. Train employees on how to use the company’s digital tools, including its CRM, cash management software, and internal communication software.

Offer Consistent Service Across All Touchpoints

Consistency matters, whether online, in-store, or on the phone. In addition to SOPs, map the customer journey and identify all potential touchpoints. Train new staff on how to handle each touchpoint and provide refresher training sessions throughout the year to help employees maintain quality across multiple platforms and departments.

Use Data To Anticipate Customer Needs

Data analytics can help predict what customers want or need next. Use a CRM and social media monitoring software to track customer purchase history, interests, and other key data. You can also collect feedback directly from customers through surveys and feedback forms. Once you have enough data, you can improve customer service even more with personalized recommendations or targeted messaging.

Excellent customer service lays the foundation for long-term growth. Learn how to scale your business effectively by building on strong service practices.

How Better Cash Management Can Improve Customer Experience

Efficient cash management isn’t just good for your bottom line. It also directly enhances the customer experience. By reducing manual errors and minimizing cash handling delays, your staff can serve customers faster and more accurately. Streamlined processes lead to shorter wait times, improved transaction security, and greater trust in your operations.

When customers see that your business runs smoothly and securely, their confidence grows, and so does their loyalty. From a convenience standpoint, optimized cash flow frees up employees to focus on customer service instead of backend tasks. For businesses looking to upgrade their cash handling operations, ICL’s unique cash management solution delivers the speed, security, and simplicity modern store operations should expect.

Diagram of How Cash Management with ICL Works

See How ICL’s CashSimple® Cash Management Solution Makes Your Operation More Efficient

Customer expectations are rising. To ensure your business thrives, you must rise to the occasion. Improving customer experience can increase profits and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty to promote long-term stability.

ICL’s CashSimple® is a modern solution to improve cash security and control without provisional credit. Our solution automates key processes and reduces operational risk for multi-location businesses. This increases efficiency and frees up time for employees to focus on providing a good customer experience. Schedule a demo to see the results ICL can deliver.