You are not Just a Business; You are an Experience

Imagine this. You’ve finished with a long day of work. You are driving home late, and it starts raining. You are exhausted, and the last thing you want to do is have to go to the grocery store in the rain to buy food to cook for dinner that night. Of course, you could go to a fast-food restaurant, but then again, you don’t want to wait in the drive-through, and you are also in the mood for something fancy. You want to relax, curl up on the couch with a movie, and have your food delivered to you. Now you can. With just a simple download of an app on your smart device or computer, you can order food from hundreds of local restaurants from the comfort of your home, and the food will be delivered straight to you. And food delivery apps are just one of the many new kinds of businesses disrupting the consumer market with their strong focus on customer experience.

Good customer service has always been an essential aspect of creating a successful business. But there are crucial differences between companies that focus on good customer services and companies that want to create a good customer experience. An experienced business makes it their mission to ensure that their customers positively associate with their brand by ensuring that every encounter an individual has with the brand is tailored to their preferences.

Take Uber, for example. Human beings have been utilizing driving services for decades, but unlike taxis or buses, Uber has tailored their driving services to optimize its customers’ experience while riding in the car. Uber customers can choose the size of the vehicle they wish to ride in. They can choose to ride alone or to carpool. They can choose the time that they want to be picked up. And most Uber drivers offer water to their passengers, allow them to select the music played in the car, and even offer passengers snacks and gum. Uber rides range from basic cars to luxury vehicles. Customers can pay for the service, rate the drive, and tip their driver all through an app on their phone. Uber’s strong focus on creating the most rewarding ride for their customers has proven a successful business model, as Uber services are now more popular than any other driving service. Any business in the 21st century that hopes to garner success must embrace the growing desire for individualized customer experience. Studying customers’ habits and maintaining positive and open relationships with customers will help businesses understand the direction the customers want the brand to go.