CX Is Your
Worst Best Friend
Insights from Base Camp / Alexsa Young, Dir. Marketing
Have you ever had a WORST friend? Yes, you heard me right.
A WORST friend.
This is the friend you need to have around for formalities, but they are only there because they HAVE to be. And there is nothing about this friend that truly makes you better, or makes those around you better.
Now, I’m willing to bet you probably have had a BEST friend.
And you know a best friend when you see them! This is the friend that is there because they WANT to be. They are loyal, they go above and beyond, and they want to make your day brighter and better. This is the friend that is there to greatly improve your outlook and help you strive for success.
But could the same person be both? It’s often hard to invest time into a “worst” friend because you question if the outcome is worth the effort. But if you turned your worst friend into your best friend, do you think the fruits of your effort could impact you both positively? And could that impact go beyond just your friendship? How far could that vibe spread?
Client experience is just this… the worst best friend your business will ever have.
It’s the worst because it’s no small task.
Developing unique, genuine, thoughtful, personalized, and consistent levels of client experience starts from the inside out and requires quite a bit of energy and effort. It requires building well-thought-out strategies to map out the experience of each client at both the 10-thousand-foot level and the foundational level. And to look at this experience from all sides of your business. It requires thinking outside the box and never looking back. It requires a commitment of time and dedication, particularly on the front-end of development.
It’s also the worst because CX is the modern battlefield.
As advisors keep pushing the boundaries of extraordinary experiences, clients continue to have higher and higher expectations. You have to keep innovating and personalizing to keep up with a moving target, but so is your competition. In fact, more than two-thirds of companies now compete primarily on the basis of customer experience. In the financial services space, where many services and experiences are the same across the board, CX truly is the modern battlefield.
So why would I bother? Because CX is the ultimate best friend.
It’s the best because it’s proven to have the most impact.
According to Harvard Business Review, “those that have successfully mastered the art of personalization for their customers reduce their acquisition costs by as much as 50%, lift revenues by up to 15% and increase marketing-spend efficiency by as much as 30%.” Moreover, according to Qualtrics Total Economic Impact study, “companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80%.”
And it’s still the best because the impact spreads.
Client experience has a profound impact on client loyalty and their interest in referring to you. In fact, 73% of consumers say a good experience is key in influencing their loyalties. Loyal customers are also four times more likely to refer a friend to the company.
Additionally, simply upgrading your internal processes helps to streamline the work and leaves more time for relationship building. When you improve your back office, it spreads to the experience for the client, and then spreads to the next, and the next.
