How Customer Experience Automation Can Improve Business Performance

Customer experience automation is the process of automating touchpoints in the customer journey. This improves the customer experience while also giving your team more time to focus on complex customer cases.
Handsome mid-adult man picking up his package from an electronic parcel locker using his smart phone.

Did you know that 92% of customer relationship management (CRM) leaders say AI and automation have improved customer service response times? Furthermore, 86% of those leaders also agree that AI and automation have helped them scale their operations, with the majority believing those tools are more effective for scaling operations than hiring more customer service representatives. 

What is Customer Experience Automation?

Customer experience automation refers to automating interactions or touchpoints throughout the customer journey. This can be done using tools such as AI, natural language processing (NLP), and automated workflows. Customer experience automation allows organizations to connect with customers in a relevant, timely, and personalized way without extra manual input. 

Why is Customer Experience Automation Important?

Customer experience automation is so important because 99% of service professionals at organizations who use it say that it allows them to focus on individual customers. Furthermore, an average of 90% of professionals in an organization investing in AI and automation say that it has helped reduce service costs. 

Implementing customer experience automation as a regular part of your operations can help you improve business performance by cutting out the time usually needed for routine tasks and reinvesting that time in more complex customer issues, ultimately resulting in a better customer experience

Benefits of Customer Experience Automation

The benefits of customer experience automation include: 

  • Enhanced efficiency
  • Scalability 
  • Improved personalization 
  • Data-driven decision making

Enhanced Efficiency

Customer experience automation can reduce the workload on customer service teams by automating repetitive tasks. This allows them to focus on complex issues that require a human touch. Of the 81% of organizations automating workflow processes, 98% report that reducing errors is a major or minor benefit of customer experience automation. 

Scalability

Customer experience automation systems can handle high columns of interactions simultaneously. This is useful for organizations managing an expanding customer base as their business grows. In fact, 91% of service professionals at organizations using automation have time to take on new projects due to customer experience automation. 

Improved Personalization 

While some may believe that automating certain touchpoints creates a similar, stale experience for every customer, the opposite is true. Over 80% of CRM leaders say that AI and automation make customer communication more personalized. Customer experience automation allows organizations to personalize more interactions based on customer data, creating an experience that is more relevant and memorable to the user. 

Data-Driven Insights

Customer experience automation software can analyze automated interactions to provide insights into common customer preferences, behaviors, and pain points. Organizations that invest in AI and automation report that it has helped them better serve customers. 

The Four Pillars of Customer Experience Automation

The four pillars of customer experience automation, originally developed by Gartner as the four pillars of customer service, represent the most important building blocks of customer experience automation and guide how it can be achieved. The four pillars are: 

  1. Orchestration
  2. Segmentation
  3. Personalization
  4. Automation

1. Orchestration

The first pillar of customer experience of automation is orchestration. Orchestration refers to creating a cohesive and smooth customer journey. You want to ensure that interactions, whether from emails, SMS messages, chatbots, live support, or any other channel, are connected and tested before the user encounters them. 

2. Segmentation

Segmentation in customer experience automation leverages customer data to group customers by behavior, preferences, or demographics. This enables more relevant and targeted communication. 

3. Personalization

Personalized experiences are more than addressing customers by name. Customer experience automation can use customer data to understand purchase history and interests to craft messages that resonate with individual customers. 

4. Automation 

The automation pillar of customer experience automation refers to tactically scheduling, triggering, and handling responses based on customer interactions. This allows your brand to keep up with customer expectations 24/7. 

Who Uses Customer Experience Automation

Various teams can use customer experience automation to accomplish different goals. Regardless of where the CX team may live in your organization, there is a place where customer experience automation can improve your performance. Here are some examples of how different teams can use and benefit from customer experience automation:

  • Marketing teams
  • Sales teams
  • Customer support teams
  • Product teams
  • Operations teams

Marketing Teams

By leveraging customer experience automation, marketing teams can deliver highly personalized campaigns, segment audiences, and engage customers with relevant messaging. Setting up automated journeys, such as welcome emails and post-purchase follow-ups, helps increase engagement and build stronger customer relationships. 

Sales Teams

Through automated, data-driven triggers, sales teams can leverage customer experience automation to interact with leads at the right moments. Using customer experience automation tools throughout the sales process, sales teams can nurture leads more effectively and close deals faster. 

Customer Support Teams

Customer experience automation allows frontline customer support teams to automate responses to common inquiries, route tickets to the right agents, and send proactive updates. This reduces response times and allows support teams to focus on complex issues. 

Product Teams

With customer experience automation, product teams can collect customer feedback, analyze customer usage patterns, and identify pain points in real time. This data-driven approach can help product teams make more informed decisions about future product features and communications.

Operations Teams

Operations teams can use customer experience automation to streamline workflows, automate data collection, and ensure consistent service delivery. From order tracking to post-purchase surveys, customer experience automation tools help operations teams optimize processes and improve efficiency.

How to Use Customer Experience Automation

Here is a quick overview of how to use customer experience automation to improve the customer journey at your organization: 

  1. Map and Examine the Customer Journey
  2. Integrate Data
  3. Create Segments and Triggers
  4. Personalize at Scale
  5. Monitor and Optimize

1. Map and Examine the Customer Journey

If you haven’t already, you must create a customer journey map with a high-level view of the end-to-end customer experience. Once completed, you must identify the touchpoints that can be improved through customer experience automation. These touchpoints could include onboarding, feedback requests, or follow-ups. 

2. Integrate Data

To effectively use customer experience automation tools, you must integrate your customer experience automation platform with your organization’s other systems. This means connecting your customer experience automation platform with CRM systems, marketing automation tools, and any other data sources that provide insights into the customer experience. 

3. Create Segments and Triggers

You can create customer segments based on behaviors, demographics, and other criteria, such as purchase history or engagement level. Customer segments help you organize your customers into meaningful groups for targeted interactions.

Then, you will want to create automated triggers for each segment. Triggers prompt automated responses, such as sending a thank you email after a purchase, offering a discount to customers who haven’t engaged recently, or delivering relevant content after someone attends a webinar. Triggers allow you to respond promptly and deliver the right message at the right moment to increase engagement and conversions. 

Setting up automated workflows in InMoment's XI platform.

4. Personalize at Scale

Once you have this in place, you can fully implement your customer experience automation solution. Customer experience automation allows you to provide a high level of personalization for hundreds or thousands of customers simultaneously. At scale, this will improve your overall satisfaction and customer loyalty

5. Monitor and Optimize

Continuously track the performance of customer experience automation strategies to refine and improve customer interactions over time. You can track this by monitoring pre-selected customer experience metrics to identify trends, understand customer preferences, and detect any drop-offs in the automated journey. 

This data can be used to refine triggers, update personalization parameters, and adjust your customer segments. For example, if a triggered email isn’t generating clicks, it may need more compelling content or a different call-to-action.

Customer Experience Automation Examples

Here are some industry-specific examples of customer experience automation: 

  • E-commerce: Automated cart abandonment emails that include a personalized discount, encouraging customers to complete their purchases.
  • Financial Services: Proactive notifications alert customers to unusual account activity or personalized tips to improve financial wellness.
  • Healthcare: Automated appointment reminders or follow-up messages post-visit, ensuring patients feel cared for and valued.
  • Hospitality: Sending personalized booking confirmations and pre-arrival checklists for a smoother guest experience.

While these examples provide a high-level overview of customer experience automation use cases, it is also important to showcase in-depth examples of organizations using customer experience automation to improve their business. 

Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box struggled to provide personalized customer experiences and solicit accurate guest feedback. After choosing InMoment as their customer experience management solution, they were able to leverage InMoment AI and the XI Platform to automate feedback and pinpoint trends for business decisions, expedite insights across regions, and realize systemwide sales growth. 

Customer Experience Automation Tools

While many organizations provide customer experience automation tools, some of the most popular are: 

1. InMoment

2. HubSpot

3. Salesforce

4. Zendesk

5. Adobe Experience Cloud

1. InMoment

InMoment’s customer experience automation tools are led by award-winning AI that helps organizations handle repetitive tasks, predict customer intent, and generate actionable insights. Advanced analytics features, like sentiment analysis and feedback segmentation, allow brands to uncover deep insights and make impactful, real-time improvements. With intuitive integrations and customizable reporting, this solution is ideal for enterprise organizations looking to improve the customer experience while linking CX efforts to revenue growth. 

2. HubSpot

HubSpot’s customer experience automation solution is directed at frontline customer service teams that want to provide support on multiple channels. HubSpot offers automated workflows and personalized email marketing, which are ideal for engaging customers at every stage of the journey. While HubSpot is effective for smaller to mid-sized businesses aiming to build brand loyalty, its customer experience automation capabilities may require additional customization for large-scale enterprise needs.

3. Salesforce

The Salesforce CRM platform uses customer experience automation to deliver personalized customer experiences and support quality service at scale. With a vast range of integrations and robust data management features, Salesforce is a solid choice for larger organizations seeking an all-encompassing approach to customer experience. However, the platform’s complex setup and maintenance can demand significant resources, especially for companies new to customer experience automation.

4. Zendesk

Zendesk excels in customer support automation, providing tools like chatbots, ticket routing, and knowledge bases that streamline responses and improve efficiency. It’s particularly strong in service automation, making it a top choice for businesses prioritizing fast and effective support. While Zendesk is highly valuable for customer support, its customer experience automation capabilities focus more on service interactions than a complete customer journey across marketing and sales.

5. Adobe Experience Cloud

Adobe Experience Cloud logo

Adobe Experience Cloud offers a robust suite of tools for large enterprises aiming to personalize and orchestrate experiences at scale. With powerful analytics, real-time data integration, and content customization options, Adobe is ideal for brands leveraging data to drive engagement. However, Adobe’s features can require advanced technical expertise, and the platform is best suited for larger organizations with dedicated resources for setup and maintenance.

Customer Experience Automation Features to Look For

The performance of a customer experience automation platform will vary depending on your industry and the use cases of customer experience automation in your organization. Regardless, here are some of the most important features to look for in customer experience automation software. 

  • Integrations
  • Call Transcriptions
  • Customer Sentiment Tracking
  • Employee Coaching 
  • Triggered Surveys
  • Automated Alerts 

Integrations

When evaluating a customer experience automation platform, look for a platform that can easily integrate with your existing tech stack. Ensuring that your customer experience automation platform is compatible with CRM systems, marketing automation, and data platforms will ensure a seamless data flow between tools that give teams a unified view of the customer experience. This also makes it easier to automate processes across platforms. 

InMoment’s CX integrations ensure that your team doesn’t miss a beat by letting you connect your CX data with your CRM, marketing, call center, internal collaboration tools, and more to ensure you can collaborate and amplify your CX success across your organization. 

Data sources from different integrations being combined to provide a better customer experience.

Call Transcriptions

Call transcriptions are an important part of customer experience automation platforms. Call transcription features automatically convert a spoken conversation into text, which makes it easier to analyze customer interactions and track issues. Transcriptions also help with compliance, training, and quality assurance by allowing teams to review past conversations and see insights that can influence future customer service. 

InMoment’s conversation analytics software saves teams up to three minutes per call by automatically documenting agent notes, generating call summaries, and more to clarify actions to be taken after spoken conversations. 

InMoment's conversation analytics software generating a conversation summary after a call.

Customer Sentiment Tracking

Customer sentiment tracking uses AI to analyze customer emotions and tones. By identifying positive, neutral, or negative sentiments, customer experience automation tools can help your organization respond appropriately and prioritize interactions that may need immediate attention. 

InMoment’s XI Platform lets you quickly prioritize the most important actions from your unstructured data with real-time customer sentiment measures. This ensures that your most important customer issues are resolved first, helping you identify common sentiment themes or trends within your customer feedback. 

A sentiment analysis dashboard categorizing trending keywords by sentiment.

Employee Coaching

Customer experience automation tools can also help improve employee coaching capabilities by providing feedback and training based on past performance. These tools can analyze customer response patterns and highlight areas for improvement, such as communication skills, adherence to company best practices, and more. 

InMoment lets your managers coach employees with smart recommendations based on customer data. With customized, role-based action plans, managers in your organization can effectively drive improvements.

Smart employee action planning in InMoment's XI Platform.

Triggered Surveys

Triggered surveys are one of the best examples of customer experience automation. Triggered surveys are sent automatically based on specific customer actions such as completing a purchase or ending a support call. These targeted surveys help brands gather timely customer feedback at critical touch points. 

With InMoment’s XI Platform, you can automate event-based workflows that allow you to respond to customer actions as they happen. These workflows can be tailored to specific triggers, such as a recent purchase, a support ticket resolution, or a recently attended event. 

Automated Alerts

Automated alerts notify teams of important events or issues as they happen, such as a high-value customer showing signs of customer churn. These alerts help teams respond proactively to minimize negative customer experiences and improve customer retention. 

InMoment’s XI Platform acts as an always-on analyst by scanning our data and providing you with alerts on any patterns, trends, or anomalies that occur. With this information, you can act quickly on important information related to your customers, products, or services. 

Customer experience automation powered by AI in InMoment's XI Platform.

Set Up Customer Experience Automation With InMoment

InMoment has been recognized as a leader in customer experience automation. Organizations that partner with InMomet realize ROI on their CX investments twice as fast as they would with competitors. To see how the InMoment platform can improve your organization, schedule a demo today!

References 

Salesforce. The Sixth Edition State of Service Report. (https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-service/). Accessed 10/29/2024. 

HubSpot. 2024 Annual State of Service Trends Report. (https://offers.hubspot.com/state-of-customer-service). Accessed 10/29/2024.

Conversational Surveys: A Game-Changer in Feedback Collection

Conversational surveys are surveys designed to feel like a natural conversation rather than traditional survey questionnaires. With advanced AI, it enables an interactive approach to gathering more detailed customer feedback beyond the standard response of good, bad, or okay.
Survey Design

Conversational surveys are revolutionizing how businesses gather customer feedback by creating engaging, personalized interactions that resonate with all age groups, from Gen Z to Gen X. These dynamic surveys adapt their follow-up questions based on responses, enhancing engagement and encouraging more comprehensive survey participation. 

This innovative approach not only improves customer experience but also yields richer, actionable insights that empower businesses to refine their strategies. Discover how Conversational AI can transform your customer feedback process and help your business thrive.

What are Conversational Surveys?

Conversational surveys represent a modern approach to collecting customer feedback, transforming the experience from a static questionnaire into a dynamic conversation. These surveys use Conversational AI to mimic natural human dialogue, making the feedback process more interactive and engaging for respondents.

InMoment survey utilizing Active Listening to get more actionable customer feedback

With InMoment’s customer feedback software, respondents are 2.4x times more likely to leave actionable verbatim feedback. A higher engagement level can help you find areas where improvements will greatly impact CX. As a result, businesses can see a quicker ROI on customer experience.

How Do Conversational Surveys Differ from Traditional Surveys?

Traditional surveys typically follow a rigid format. Respondents must go through a set order of questions, regardless of their responses. This impersonal approach can lead to high drop-off rates and often results in incomplete or superficial responses. 

In contrast, conversational surveys are designed to feel more like a two-way interaction. Using chat interfaces or conversational AI, these surveys adjust their questions based on the respondent’s previous answers. 

This creates a more personalized and engaging experience. Conversational surveys encourage respondents to provide more detailed feedback. They also make the process feel more natural and less stressful.

Our conversational AI helps respondents 24% more likely to share valuable insights into their intentions. This opens more pre-emptive opportunities for engagement. By fostering a natural, open dialogue, it enables businesses to anticipate customer needs and respond proactively, strengthening connections and driving impactful customer interactions.

How are Conversational Surveys Beneficial for Businesses?

Conversational surveys offer several key benefits for businesses looking to elevate their customer experience:

  • Higher-Quality Feedback Collection: Conversational surveys talk to customers in a more natural way. This approach can collect up to 5x more actionable data compared to traditional methods. The flexibility of these surveys allows them to dive deeper into customer sentiments and uncover valuable insights that might otherwise be missed.
  • Faster Issue Resolution: With features like InMoment’s Rapid Resolution Engine, conversational surveys can identify and address customer issues in real-time, often before they escalate. This proactive approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also reduces the volume of inquiries reaching your support team.
  • Enhanced Customer Experience and Satisfaction: By offering a more personalized and engaging feedback process, conversational surveys help foster stronger connections with customers. This, in turn, boosts loyalty and encourages repeat business.
  • Lower Support Costs: Channel deflection through conversational surveys means fewer issues escalate to costly customer service interactions. This efficiency translates to significant cost savings for businesses.

Our conversational survey has proven highly beneficial for our clients, with respondents leaving 70% more words in their feedback. Additionally, feedback related to customer effort increased by 17%. This gives your team a clear view of friction points along the customer journey. These added details provide richer insights, empowering your teams to take more personalized and impactful actions that truly resonate with customers.

How Do Conversational Surveys Work?

Conversational surveys work by utilizing advanced AI technologies to create a more interactive and responsive feedback experience. Tools like InMoment’s Active Listening AI engage with respondents in real time, prompting them with follow-up questions based on their initial answers. This approach not only keeps the conversation going but also ensures that the feedback gathered is detailed and contextually rich.

As customers provide feedback, the Rapid Resolution Engine analyzes their responses and identifies any underlying issues. It then offers immediate solutions, such as a helpful tutorial or video, directly within the survey. This seamless integration of feedback collection and problem-solving helps businesses elevate customer experience by addressing concerns before they become larger issues. Learn how the features of Active Listening and Rapid Response can elevate the customer experience.

Conversational survey

Examples of Conversational Surveys

Conversational surveys can take many forms, depending on the context in which they are used. For example:

  • Chat Surveys: These surveys use a chat interface to interact with customers. They might appear in the survey question itself, as a chat window on a website, or within an app, where the customer can provide feedback in a conversational style.
  • SMS Surveys: Similar to chat surveys, SMS surveys engage customers through text messages, asking questions, and collecting responses in real-time.
  • In-App Feedback: Embedded within mobile apps, these surveys can pop up at key moments in the customer journey, such as after completing a purchase or using a new feature, to gather immediate feedback.

How to Analyze Data from Conversational AI Surveys?

Conversational surveys are a powerful tool for gathering richer, more insightful customer feedback. Here are a few key steps to analyze conversational survey data effectively to enable your business to drive meaningful improvements in customer experience:

  1. Organize and Structure Responses: Start by categorizing responses based on topics, sentiments, and themes. Use natural language processing (NLP) tools or text analysis software to automate some of this categorization, grouping feedback by intent, emotion, or keywords.
  2. Sentiment Analysis: Apply sentiment analysis to determine the tone (positive, negative, or neutral) of responses. This step can help identify areas where customers are either satisfied or frustrated, allowing teams to prioritize areas for improvement.
  3. Thematic Analysis: Identify recurring themes, such as product features, service issues, or general experience. Text analytics can cluster feedback into topics, providing an overview of common areas customers mention. With conversational surveys, this might include tracking how often intent-driven words or phrases appear.
  4. Intent Analysis: Intent analysis goes beyond sentiment by identifying the purpose behind responses. For instance, customers may express a desire to buy, get support, or provide feedback. Recognizing these intents helps businesses identify pre-emptive engagement opportunities.
  5. Generate Actionable Insights: Use dashboards and reporting tools to transform raw data into visual summaries, allowing CX teams to quickly identify actionable insights. Regular reports that highlight emerging trends or urgent issues keep stakeholders informed and aligned.

However, with a surge of detailed responses, CX managers and teams face the challenge of efficiently analyzing it all. Depending on the volume, it can take weeks or even months to sift through feedback, delaying critical improvements that enhance customer satisfaction and demonstrate ROI. This bottleneck can slow your team’s ability to deliver impactful results, affecting overall business outcomes.

Empower your CX team to focus on implementing impactful strategies instead of getting bogged down in time-consuming analysis. That’s where InMoment’s text analytics solutions come in. With our advanced software, you can uncover rich insights in minutes rather than weeks. Our text analytics models identify 54% more topics, enabling your team to discover improvement opportunities with remarkable scale and precision.

How to select the right conversation survey solution?

Choosing the right conversational survey solution involves several key considerations:

  • Customization: Ensure the solution allows you to tailor surveys to reflect your brand’s voice and meet the specific needs of your audience.
  • Integration: The solution should easily integrate with your existing platforms, such as CRM systems, to streamline feedback collection and analysis.
  • AI Capabilities: Look for advanced AI features like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, which can enhance the quality of insights gathered from your surveys.
  • Data Security & Compliance: It’s crucial to choose a solution that keeps your data secure and complies with local regulations, especially if you operate in multiple regions.

InMoment’s Conversational Surveys are available to all existing customers at no extra cost. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager to start leveraging this powerful tool. If you’re new to InMoment, schedule a demo. With InMoment’s Conversational Surveys, you’ll collect richer insights, resolve issues faster, and boost customer satisfaction—all while enhancing your bottom line.

Why New FTC Policies on Reviews and Ratings Matter for Your Business

In today’s digital-first marketplace, consumers rely heavily on online reviews and ratings when making purchasing decisions. Trust in these reviews is paramount, and a single misleading or deceptive review can jeopardize that trust.
Group of business people working together

Recognizing the crucial role online reviews play, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently announced stronger regulations to combat deceptive practices involving reviews and endorsements. These rules, which recently took effect, are designed to ensure transparency, fairness, and trust in online reviews, making it more important than ever for businesses to comply.

It’s essential for businesses to understand the FTC’s guidelines and why adhering to them is not only a legal obligation but also a pathway to building sustainable trust and customer loyalty.

The FTC’s Updated Regulations on Reviews and Endorsements

In August 2024, the FTC finalized new rules targeting fake reviews, deceptive endorsements, and manipulation of customer feedback. These rules prohibit a range of activities including:

  1. Fake or False Reviews: Businesses are banned from creating or disseminating reviews that misrepresent the reviewer’s identity, such as AI-generated reviews or testimonials from individuals who did not actually use the product​. For example, companies cannot post fake positive reviews or purchase them from third parties.
  2. Incentivized Reviews: Offering compensation or incentives for positive reviews or specific sentiments is illegal. Even offering incentives for a neutral or negative review, if the intent is to sway sentiment, is also prohibited.
  3. Insider Reviews: Reviews from employees or company insiders must include clear and conspicuous disclosures of their relationship to the business. This ensures that consumers understand the potential bias in such reviews.
  4. Review Suppression: Companies are not allowed to suppress negative reviews, whether through threats, legal action, or by selectively displaying only favorable reviews on their platforms​.
  5. Manipulating Social Media Indicators: Purchasing fake social media likes, followers, or views to falsely inflate a company’s reputation is also prohibited.

The FTC has made it clear that violating these rules could lead to steep penalties, including fines of up to $51,744 per violation​. But for companies, the real damage can go beyond financial penalties—violations can severely erode customer trust and damage long-term brand reputation.

Why Trust in Reviews Matters More Than Ever

At its core, the purpose of reviews and ratings is to create trust between businesses and potential customers. Even the SEO benefits of high ratings and review volume only exist because search engines like Google see value in prioritizing businesses that have established this positive relationship. 

In fact, Google recently announced it would impose restrictions on businesses that engage in fake engagement. Consumers depend on these reviews to provide an honest reflection of the product or service they are considering and when this trust is violated, it has ripple effects that can go far beyond a single purchase decision.

While the monetary fines imposed by the FTC are significant, the long-term damage to customer relationships and brand loyalty is much more alarming. Violating customer trust can take years to recover from, if at all. But in an era where reviews and ratings impact the bottom line so significantly, what is a business to do if its online reviews are not up to par?

The Struggle for Positive Reviews is Real—But Deception Isn’t the Solution

Businesses often struggle to gather a substantial number of positive reviews. Human nature dictates that consumers are often motivated to leave a review after an extreme experience. Regrettably, the threshold for an extreme experience tends to be highly positive or moderately negative. This means that businesses might feel that their current reviews don’t accurately reflect the quality of their products or services, as many satisfied customers do not leave reviews.

It’s understandable that businesses might feel tempted to manipulate reviews to offset the negative ones or to create a more favorable impression. But violating the FTC’s rules is not the solution.

The Ethical, Sustainable Path to Positive Reviews

Step 1 – Ask for Reviews: Instead of resorting to fake or incentivized reviews, businesses should focus on proactive engagement with customers to encourage honest feedback. There are tools available that allow businesses to easily solicit reviews from their broader base of customers. By making it easier for satisfied customers to leave feedback, businesses can ensure that their review profiles more accurately reflect their true service levels. Research shows that just by asking for reviews a business can improve their star rating.

Step 2 – Respond to Reviews: 94% of consumers say that a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business, but 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews. The truth is that negative experiences reflected in reviews sometimes happen for valid and entirely explainable reasons. Respond to reviews to provide the necessary context and empathy. And because 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week, it’s important for businesses to respond in a timely manner. 

Step 3: Leverage the Voice of the Customer to Improve your Product: Reviews provide businesses with deeper insights into their business, helping identify what they’re doing well and where they might improve—even at the individual location level- as well as feedback left for their top competitors. Collecting customer feedback allows businesses to address concerns, improve their services, and naturally generate more positive feedback from satisfied customers.

Beyond public reviews, businesses can directly survey their customers as well as monitoring social media to capture broader Voice of the Customer (VOC) elements. By combining these methods, companies can address pain points before they even surface in public reviews, ensuring a more proactive and holistic approach to customer satisfaction.

Conclusion: Ethical Reviews Are the Path to Long-Term Success

In a landscape where consumers are increasingly reliant on online reviews, businesses that prioritize transparency and authenticity will ultimately succeed. Violating FTC rules on fake or incentivized reviews may offer short-term gains, but the long-term consequences—both financial and reputational—are far more damaging.

For businesses, the key to gathering positive reviews is not manipulation but engagement. With the right tools, companies can ethically and effectively manage their online reputation. By fostering genuine customer satisfaction, businesses can ensure that their reviews reflect the high quality of their services—without the need for deception.

As the FTC continues to crack down on deceptive practices, businesses have a clear choice: embrace transparency and ethical practices or risk facing severe penalties. The smart choice is clear, and with the right approach, it doesn’t have to be an onerous task.

References 

The Verge. Google Maps is cracking down on fake reviews (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24254882/google-maps-removing-fake-business-reviews-warning-message). Accessed 10/31/24. 

National Strategic Group. Why Would They Write That?! The Psychology of Customer Reviews (https://www.nationalstrategic.com/why-would-they-write-that-the-psychology-of-customer-reviews/#:~:text=Surprising%20Consumer%20Behavior,to%20sound%20smarter). Accessed 10/31/24.

Customer Experience in Insurance: Strategies to Boost Customer Satisfaction

With growing competition and customer expectations in insurance, providing positive experiences is more important than ever before. Insurance providers should invest in personalization, digital solutions, and agent-customer interactions to satisfy and retain customers.
A man and a woman looking over an insurance policy packet together.

Did you know that one negative experience is enough for 50% of customers to switch to a competitor? This is especially true in insurance, where customers have diverse preferences and a growing demand for personalized services. There are several best practices, trends, and challenges you need to consider to deliver an exceptional customer experience in insurance.

What is Customer Experience in Insurance?

Customer experience (CX) in insurance refers to the overall journey customers go through when purchasing a policy from an insurance provider. Customers are increasingly demanding faster, more accurate, and personalized experiences. These expectations stem from a need for both efficient digital solutions and the human touch of in-person interactions.

As a result, CX is now a major differentiator in the hyper-competitive insurance industry. Corporations like Amazon and Google are also entering the space, making it more difficult for incumbents to stand out. Insurance companies that can successfully provide seamless experiences will likely come out on top with a base of satisfied and loyal customers.

There are various types of customer experiences in the insurance sector. Here’s a quick breakdown of customer expectations by category:

  • Health insurance customer experience:
    Customers expect easy access to healthcare networks. They expect fast claims processing and personalized health management. Clear communication and self-service tools are crucial to their satisfaction.
  • Life insurance customer experience:
    Life insurance customers need clear, simple communication about policy terms. They expect personalized financial advice and a smooth application process to build trust.
  • Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance experience:
    P&C customers want fast claims resolution and easy-to-understand policies. They also appreciate risk management tools like home protection services and real-time alerts.
  • Auto insurance customer experience:
    Auto insurance customers value personalized offers based on driving habits. They want fast claims handling and easy-to-use mobile apps to manage policies.
  • Commercial insurance customer experience:
    Commercial clients need customized solutions for their specific industry risks. They expect expert advice, dedicated support, and flexible policies.
  • Home insurance customer experience:
    Home insurance customers want clear coverage options and quick claims processing. They appreciate proactive communication on potential risks like weather hazards. 

Importance of Customer Experience in Insurance

A 2023 McKinsey survey of over 8,500 North American insurance customers suggests that CX initiatives are crucial to revenue growth and employee satisfaction.

Here are a few key reasons why it’s important for companies to embrace a customer-centric approach:

  • It enhances customer retention and loyalty. A positive customer experience fosters trust and satisfaction. It makes policyholders more likely to stay with an insurer long-term. Customers who feel valued are more inclined to renew policies and become loyal brand advocates.
  • It improves customer satisfaction across all touchpoints. Quick, transparent, and efficient services reduce frustration and improve the customer journey. By leveraging digital solutions and user-friendly interfaces, insurers can enhance customer satisfaction at every touchpoint.
  • It gives insurance brands a leg-up on the competition. In an industry where products are often similar across providers, customer experience can be a key differentiator. Insurers who offer exceptional experiences can stand out in the marketplace and continue attracting new clients to maintain their competitive edge.
  • It boosts the insurer’s brand reputation. A strong focus on customer experience goes a long way toward improving a company’s public image. Satisfied customers are more likely to share positive reviews and recommend the company to peers. As a result, good customer experiences enhance an insurer’s brand reputation management efforts.
  • It enhances operational efficiency. Investing in CX initiatives spells internal benefits for the insurance providers themselves. For instance, by utilizing chatbots to quickly respond to customer complaints, companies can save hours’ worth of time that can be invested into building rich customer relationships.

Insurance Customer Experience Statistics 

The following statistics highlight modern customer expectations and opportunities that insurers can leverage to meet their business objectives:

  1. CX leaders in the insurance industry outperformed their competitors in total shareholder return (TSR) by 20% for life insurers and 65% for property & casualty (P&C) insurers between 2017 and 2022. (McKinsey & Company)
  2. Approximately one in six customers report that insurers don’t follow up with them after an initial discussion. (McKinsey & Company)
  3. Virtual assistants are in use by only 16% of insurers, but 38% of consumers find value in AI-based communication. (Mendix)
  4. Human agents and advisers remain the highest-rated channel for customer satisfaction, with 20% of customers willing to switch insurers if their adviser left. (McKinsey & Company)
  5. 49% of customers believe a human advisor is more trustworthy in filing a claim than an automated service or a chatbot. (Mendix)
  6. 50% of five-star ratings from insurance customers highlighted that a “positive or empathetic adjuster attitude and handling approach” is important to their satisfaction. (Hi Marley)
  7. A successful customer-centric approach results in a 20% boost in employee satisfaction for insurance companies. (McKinsey & Company)

How to Improve Customer Experience in Insurance?

Personalization, multi-channel journeys, and customer convenience are key to improving CX in insurance. Here are some strategies for enhancing customer retention and loyalty:

1. Ensure an Omnichannel Customer Journey

Customers are no longer comfortable restricting themselves to a single interaction channel. They expect a consistent experience from their insurance provider wherever they are.

For example, let’s say a customer interacts with an agent via email for the first time. Later, they pick up the phone to have a direct conversation to discuss the issue further. They expect the company to have a record of their communication so far to ensure minimal delay.

This expectation stems from a need for convenience. Customers want to interact in various ways and expect smooth transitions between channels. The takeaway for insurers is to invest in multiple communication channels. Each channel should be reliable, safe, and easy to use.

Another good practice is to synchronize customer data across these channels. Building an omnichannel customer experience makes the process smooth for customers as they don’t have to repeat information or stick to one channel.

InMoment is the premier solution for insurance providers looking to build an omnichannel customer experience. The InMoment platform is built to help you monitor and analyze data from multiple sources such as reviews, calls, and survey responses. 

Overview of channel interactions in InMoment's XI Platform.

2. Deliver Personalized Experiences

Personalization is a cornerstone of exceptional customer experience in the modern age. In fact, it’s one of the most impactful applications for collecting customer feedback. The insights into individual behavior and expectations help businesses tailor their services accordingly. For example, insurers can provide specific risk assessments based on customer profiles.

InMoment’s XI Platform can help by collecting data from every channel and organizing it into one central location to gain a complete understanding of the customer, which allows you to deliver a more personalized experience.

This approach makes customers feel valued and heard. Therefore, personalization makes them more likely to stay loyal to you.

3. Invest in Digital Channels

Customers are increasingly keen on digital interactions. Apps and websites simplify a range of tasks, from purchasing policies to submitting claims. Unfortunately, insurers still struggle to provide quality digital experiences. Over 30% of customers express dissatisfaction with the digital channels available.

One of the best ways for insurance companies to stand out is to invest in reliable, secure, and efficient digital channels. Features such as instant quotes, real-time support, and eForms help provide a smooth customer experience.

4. Train Employees

    While digital channels are important, in-person experiences still matter, especially for complex inquiries. 53% of customers want an in-person interaction before purchasing an insurance product.

    Leveraging the human touch is important for insurance companies to strengthen customer relationships. Training your staff to be empathetic, knowledgeable, and efficient can go a long way. It can greatly enhance customer satisfaction during critical touchpoints across the customer journey.

    Also, it’s important to ensure consistent service from frontline staff across all your physical locations. Inconsistent customer experiences result in mixed reviews, which makes it difficult to attract prospects.

    5. Simplify Products

    Purchasing insurance products can be an intimidating process. By simplifying your offerings, you make it easier for customers to make informed decisions. Simplified products and clear communication also increase transparency. This enhances customer trust in your brand and makes it more likely that you get positive reviews.

    6. Educate Customers on Risk Prevention

    Educational content on risk prevention and management can help customers make informed decisions. It encourages good daily habits, like safe driving and staying healthy, to minimize relevant insurance costs. By educating customers, you also establish yourself as a reliable authority and strengthen your relationship with them.

    7. Make Documents Mobile-Friendly

    Customers expect smooth access to important information on their smartphones. This helps them make decisions or seek support on the go. Mobile-friendly documents enable this convenience by offering accessible and readable content on customers’ devices.

    8. Leverage AI & Chatbots

    Chatbots enable customers to find quick answers to their questions without having to wait for a human agent. 

    For example, a chatbot can guide customers through the claims filing process after a car accident. It would start by requesting relevant details, such as the accident date and type of damage. After processing the information, the chatbot can leverage its knowledge base to suggest next steps and personalized advice.

    The self-service enabled by chatbots can help your business by reducing support costs. It helps improve customer satisfaction by cutting down on wait times and increasing efficiency.

    9. Offer Flexible Policy Options

    Flexible policy options allow customers to customize their coverage and only pay for the insurance they need. Many customers appreciate the ability to tailor aspects of their policy, like coverage limits and deductible amounts. Therefore, by introducing flexibility, you can make your offerings accessible and improve customer convenience. 

    A wider range of options also helps you attract more customers from different financial backgrounds. Existing customers are also more likely to be loyal to a business that adapts to their needs.

    10. Prioritize Data Security

    The sensitive nature of the information in insurance transactions makes data security crucial. Customers need an assurance that you will protect their data from misuse or information breaches.

    Investing in measures like encryption and secure data storage will help you better protect customer privacy. Your commitment to security will also improve your brand credibility by making it easier for customers to trust you.

    Insurance Customer Experience Best Practices

    The following practices can help you deliver consistent and rich experiences to customers with a focus on transparency and efficiency:

    1. Collect regular customer feedback and act on it. Gathering and analyzing customer feedback enables a deeper understanding of the individuals you’re serving. For instance, with the help of a customer feedback questionnaire, you can ask targeted questions that give you relevant information. The data can help you make immediate adjustments to customer service operations.
    2. Be transparent with your customers. Prioritizing clear communication and transparency across all touchpoints of the customer journey will help you reduce frustration and enhance long-term trust in your brand.
    3. Streamline workflows. Simplifying the application and underwriting processes will help you attract prospects away from competitors. This is because customers are always going to choose the most convenient and easy to use option. Investing in automated pipelines for tasks like claims processing and policy issuance will reduce wait times for customers. It will also save you time that can be utilized in other aspects of your service.
    4. Personalize the customer experience. Tailoring your products and services to cater to individual preferences enables you to enhance customer satisfaction and retention.
    5. Continuously improve and adapt to changing customer needs. Customer expectations will keep changing, especially during these uncertain economic times. It’s a good practice for insurers to stay flexible and track customer sentiment over time. This ensures your services stay relevant and impactful despite the economic climate.

    Popular Customer Experience Trends in Insurance

    Looking at some of the CX trends in insurance can help you identify what you’re doing right and what you can improve. The following trends are emerging as key drivers of growth for insurers:

    • There is a growing demand for personalization. Customers expect personalized services more than ever before. This comes from a growing need for convenient and relevant experiences. Insurance providers can leverage AI to tailor their services to unique individual needs. As a result, customers feel understood, which enhances their loyalty to the company.
    • Omnichannel interactions are gaining relevance. Customers want to interact with their insurers through several channels. For instance, a customer on the move would prefer a quick chat via a mobile app. However, she might feel the need to have a detailed in-person interaction once she has enough time on hand. An omnichannel approach ensures that customers receive consistent service wherever they are.
    • Customers appreciate intuitive self-service. The need for quick and seamless experiences has also given rise to the idea of self-service options. Digital tools like mobile apps, chatbots, and online portals are relevant here. These tools allow customers to complete tasks on their own without taking too much time.
    • It’s important to think about risk mitigation. Customers are starting to embrace risk prevention and mitigation incentives. For instance, by offering safe driving discounts, your company can benefit by encouraging good habits. The safer your customers drive, the less likely you are to receive claims. Moreover, the discounts will prevent customers from seeking cheaper alternatives.

    Examples of Insurance with the Best Customer Experience

    Companies can achieve impactful business outcomes by delivering excellent customer experiences. The following insurance providers demonstrate the value of adopting a customer-centric approach:

    Ohio Mutual Insurance Group

    The Ohio-based insurance company maintained its competitive edge with a Voice of the Customer (VoC) program. It leveraged the InMoment CX platform, especially its text analytics and case management features, for this purpose. 

      As a result, Ohio Mutual boosted its survey response rate to 25% and reduced survey response times from a few weeks to just a few days. Also, it captured analytical insights from feedback that provided a clearer picture of customer satisfaction levels.

      A Fortune 500 insurance company

      This P&C national insurance company had a clear goal: maintain a strong brand reputation to thrive in the competitive industry. Through their partnership with InMoment, the insurance provider gained access to an intuitive and easy-to-use reputation management software. The decision was crucial to improving their public image to prospects.

        Their average star rating increased by 8.7% from 4.48 to 4.87, while the review volume increased by a staggering 452%. The increased brand credibility enabled them to rise up the Fortune 500 list by 57 positions!

        Allianz Trade

        Allianz understood the importance of text analysis software in gaining a deeper understanding of customers. It partnered with InMoment to add over 30 contextual data points to each piece of feedback. 

        The enriched data helped identify areas for improvement in issue resolution for frontline staff. As a result, Allianz witnessed a 5.7% and 6.7% growth in business and profit, respectively.

          What are the best Customer Experience Metrics for Insurance Companies to Measure?

          Once you’ve implemented your CX strategy, it’s imperative that you evaluate and measure its performance. Here are ten key metrics to help you see if your CX initiatives are delivering the expected returns:

          1. Customer Effort Score (CES): Measures how easy it is for customers to perform tasks like purchasing a policy, filing a claim, or resolving any inquiries.
          2. Claim Processing Rate (CPR): Tracks the speed at which you process insurance claims. A faster processing rate implies streamlined and efficient workflows that are likely to maintain or enhance customer satisfaction.
          3. Claim Denial Rate (CDR): Measures the percentage of claims you are rejecting. A higher rate, especially if it’s above the industry average, can result in increased customer dissatisfaction as policyholders will feel the insurance is not serving them according to their expectations.
          4. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): Evaluates customer satisfaction with specific interactions like filing a claim or talking to customer support. A higher CSAT suggests that your CX initiatives are succeeding at resolving customers’ pain points.
          5. Average Time to Quote: Measure how quickly you provide a policy quote to customers once they provide their information. A faster response time enhances customer satisfaction and makes it likely that your company will be recommended to others.
          6. Average Time to Bind: Tracks the time needed to finalize a policy after a customer accepts the quote. Shorter times indicate that you are properly utilizing digital solutions like automation to streamline your workflows.
          7. Average Handling Time (AHT): Measures how long it takes to resolve customer inquiries, whether over the phone, via chat, or through email. 
          8. Cross-Selling Rate: Measures how often existing customers purchase additional products or services, like adding home insurance to an auto policy. A higher rate implies a high level of customer trust in your brand, as they clearly find value in your offerings.
          9. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Evaluates customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend your insurance company to others. A high Net Promoter Score (NPS) suggests that your services and CX efforts are good enough to encourage positive reviews from customers.
          10. Policy Renewal Rate: Monitors the percentage of customers who renew their policies, reflecting how well you have fostered strong customer relationships.

          Customer Experience Challenges in Insurance

          A positive customer experience in insurance depends on overcoming obstacles like intense competition, fragmented journeys, and diverse preferences. Here’s a closer look at some of these challenges:

          1. Digital solutions fail to live up to customer expectations. While insurance customers appreciate apps and websites for their convenience, the current state of digital platforms leaves much to be desired. Clunky, slow, and difficult-to-understand digital channels are the reason why only 20% of customers rate them as their top choice for interactions.
          2. Customer journeys are fragmented from the beginning. There is a lack of cohesion in insurance customer journeys. Six out of ten customers switch channels before completing a purchase. Moreover, the transition between offline and online platforms tends to be sudden. These factors make it difficult for insurers to prioritize the right interaction channels.
          3. There is a strong customer need for interactions with human agents. Even the best digital systems can’t completely replace the human touch for insurance customers. Human agents are far better at handling complex issues like claims disputes and personalized advice. Therefore, it’s important for companies to maintain and train their workforce to this end.
          4. Customers have diverse channel preferences. The growing expectation for convenience means customers want to choose any communication channel at a given time. Without investing in an omnichannel approach, it will be difficult for insurers to fulfill this key demand.
          5. There is growing competition from big tech corporations. Tech giants like Google and Amazon are starting to enter the insurance space. Their resources allow them to offer innovative digital experiences and quick services. This growing competition puts pressure on incumbents to evolve and meet higher customer expectations.

          How to Select the Right CX Software to Manage Insurance Experience

          Insurance providers can streamline their customer experience management efforts by investing in intuitive and feature-rich CX software. Here’s what you should look for when selecting the right platform:

          Omnichannel Feedback Collection

          Customers interact with their insurers through multiple channels. This makes it crucial for companies to connect experience data from various sources. InMoment’s CX integrations ensure you don’t miss out on any insights by integrating your platform with all the systems you use to collect feedback.

          Data sources from different integrations being combined to provide a better customer experience.

          AI-Driven Text Analysis

          AI empowers you to unlock meaningful information from volumes of feedback so you can make data-driven decisions. The award-winning AI text analysis software offered by InMoment helps you automate the collection of analytical insights. As a result, you can save valuable hours that your workforce can invest in acting on the feedback itself.

          Review Monitoring & Response Automation

          The right CX platform should have features to monitor customer reviews across platforms such as Google, Yelp, or social media. Automating responses to these reviews helps manage your online reputation. It also shows customers you respond to them in real-time, enhancing satisfaction.

          InMoment’s platform allows you to generate review responses using AI. These responses can be set to adhere to specific brand guidelines to maintain a consistent tone across channels. 

          Review response automation using InMoment's XI Platform.

          Case Management

          It’s crucial to manage client concerns and issues to reduce complaints. This is where case management capabilities, such as the ones offered by InMoment, can help. These features empower your agents to address customer needs and build long-term relationships.

          InMoment’s case management software simplifies the tracking of customer experience cases by allowing you to solve cases, identify larger trends, and quickly identify the root cause of a case based on customer and employee perspectives. This solution also recommends the most efficient way to solve cases, which empowers employees to handle issues promptly.

          Case management tracking dashboard in InMoment's XI Platform

          Compliance & Security

          When selecting a customer experience software for your insurance organization, robust compliance and security are essential. Due to the sensitive nature of customer data, from health information to financial records, insurance companies must ensure that the software they select meets the requirements of strict data protection regulations. Considering this feature helps safeguard against risks while providing strong security protocols that protect your client’s privacy. 

          At InMoment, we’re dedicated to safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our clients’ data; and our compliance programs reflect that. We’re committed to meeting and exceeding industry standards in regulatory compliance. Our platform is SOC 2 Type II compliant and ISO 27001 certified, and we’ve partnered with a hosting provider that adheres to Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley regulations, ensuring that your program is protected by the highest standards in the industry.

          Improve Your Insurance Customer Experience with InMoment

          Investing in excellent customer experience helps you win by boosting customer satisfaction. With InMoment’s comprehensive CX platform, you can automate the collection and analysis of feedback so that your agents can spend more time focusing on what truly matters: fostering rich relationships with customers. Schedule a demo today to experience the transformative capabilities of our platform for yourself!

          References 

          Insurtech Insights. Here’s How Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are Targeting the Health Insurance Market (https://www.insurtechinsights.com/heres-how-google-amazon-facebook-and-apple-are-targeting-the-health-insurance-market). Accessed 10/17/2024.

          McKinsey & Company. Elevating customer experience: A win-win for insurers and customers (https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/insurance/elevating-customer-experience-a-win-win-for-insurers-and-customers). Accessed 10/17/2024.

          Mendix. The Future of Insurance: 20 Stats That Show Customer Experience is Vital (https://www.mendix.com/blog/20-stats-future-insurance-depends-customer-experience). Accessed 10/17/2024.

          Hi Marley. CONSUMER AND CARRIER CX INSIGHTS: What Drives 1-Star and 5-Star Customer Satisfaction Scores in Claims (https://www.himarley.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Whitepaper-What-Drives-1-and-5-Star-Scores-In-Claims-1.pdf). Accessed 10/17/2024.

          Customer Loyalty: Experiences that Increase Retention

          Customer loyalty is when customers consistently choose your brand over your competitors. You can encourage feelings of loyalty by consistently providing smooth, personalized, and convenient experiences.
          Two people and a dog inside of a business showing customer loyalty.

          A loyal customer is a valuable asset to your business. In fact, 64% of loyal customers are more likely to purchase frequently, and 31% are willing to spend more to stay with their brand of choice. Since customers have so many businesses competing for their attention, investing in customer loyalty can give you a major competitive edge.

          What Is Customer Loyalty?

          Customer loyalty defines how willing a customer is to repeat business with a company. Positive experiences compel customers to engage with you again. After all, if you’re meeting their needs and expectations, they have little reason not to trust you. Meanwhile, one negative experience can be enough to drive them to your competitors. 

          Loyal customers help your business by:

          • Purchasing your product or service repeatedly
          • Recommending your brand to friends and family
          • Boosting your engagement by interacting with you online
          • Providing thoughtful customer feedback to help you improve

          The Importance of Customer Loyalty

          Customer loyalty is crucial to business growth and sustainability. 

          Loyal customers tend to spend more over time and refer new clients. They also require less marketing effort to keep them engaged compared to new customers. Since a repeat customer has a 60-70% chance of converting, you’ll have to spend less on other conversion strategies.

          Building customer loyalty results in higher retention, increased revenue, and positive word-of-mouth, which helps you stand out in competitive markets. To see how you could maximize your business revenue and ROI with InMoment’s voice of the customer (VoC) tools, fill out the ROI calculator below!

          Calculate your business’s ROI using InMoment’s VoC tools.

          Estimated Revenue Growth
          Use the calculator to find an estimated ROI
          Total ICX ROI

          Submit two or more calculators to show an overview of what your integrated CX program could return.

          What Are the Different Types of Customer Loyalty?

          In general, loyal customers are a by-product of excellent customer service. Positive customer experiences give rise to six distinct types of loyalty.

          1. Happy customers
          2. Price-loyal
          3. Convenience-loyal
          4. Loyal-to-freebies
          5. Loyal-to-loyalty program
          6. Truly loyal

          Happy customers have never had reason to complain. They are satisfied with your offerings and customer service. Even though they often engage with you, your competitors can still sway them. For example, by selling the same product at a lower price, your competitor could convince your customer to try them out.

          Price-loyal customers love your brand because of your pricing. Since affordability is key for them, they can easily leave if they find lower prices elsewhere. Retaining such a customer might seem simple, but you’ll have to compromise on your pricing model.

          Convenience-loyal customers appreciate smooth and simple interactions. If you’re easy to find, contact, and buy from, they’ll become long-term consumers. Pricing isn’t a huge concern for them. So, if a competitor somehow offers an even smoother customer journey, they can be swayed even if it means they’ll have to spend more.

          Freebie-loyal customers are drawn to your free offerings. For example, if your cafe offers free WiFi, you’ll attract many of these customers. They might not necessarily buy your coffee or other menu items, though. As a result, these customers don’t really contribute to your revenue streams despite being loyal to you.

          Loyalty-program loyal customers appreciate your loyalty rewards more than the products themselves. When choosing between businesses, they focus on which one offers the best deals or discounts. Despite your pricing or convenience, you can retain these customers if you reward them well for their loyalty.

          Truly loyal customers love your brand in every sense. They appreciate your offerings, convenience, programs, and customer service. As a result, they interact with you repeatedly and encourage others to do the same.

          What Kind of Experiences Are Customers Loyal To?

          Customers are loyal to experiences that save their time, make them feel valued, and satisfy their needs. The following aspects contribute to experiences that drive loyalty:

          • Consistency: Customers expect reliable service and product quality whenever they interact with your business. A consistent experience builds trust and encourages repeat business.
          • Quality: High-quality products and services are crucial to excellent customer experience. When customers see an unwavering commitment to quality, they are more likely to choose you over competitors every single time.
          • Loyalty rewards: Offering rewards for repeat purchases incentivizes more loyalty. Discounts or points-based programs make customers feel valued and encourage long-term engagement.
          • Nostalgia: Experiences that evoke positive memories can strengthen loyalty. For example, a sneaker brand releasing a new product line paying tribute to an iconic athlete would help it connect with nostalgic sports fans. Familiarity and nostalgia create a sense of connection that can strengthen customer relationships.
          • Personalization: Experiences tailored to customer profiles encourage loyalty. This is because they make customers feel understood and appreciated.
          • Convenience: Customers are loyal to brands that make it easy to find, purchase, and use their services. Simple and intuitive processes create a frictionless experience that appeals to everyone.
          • Customer service: Prompt, friendly, and effective customer support is crucial to retaining customers. It’s normal for issues to arise, but how you resolve them can be the difference between a loyal customer and one who decides to leave!
          • Brand values: Customers connect with brands that reflect their own values. Brands that show commitment to sustainability, ethics, or social causes can foster loyalty through shared principles.

          What Is the Most Direct Cause of Customer Loyalty?

          The most direct cause of customer loyalty is a consistently positive experience.

          By providing reliable services and seamless interactions on a regular basis, you can build trust and loyalty over time. Customers have little to no reason to look elsewhere if you’re checking all the boxes for them.

          Additionally, businesses that resolve issues in a swift and empathetic way show customers that they care. Responding to customer feedback within 24 to 48 hours boosts retention by 8.5%. Therefore, these actions can encourage loyalty even after a negative experience.

          How Do You Build Customer Loyalty?

          Building customer loyalty requires time and consistent effort. Use these tips to lay the groundwork for lasting customer loyalty and retention:

          1. Simplify everything for your customers.
          2. Meet customers where they are.
          3. Personalize the experience.
          4. Keep evolving to meet changing customer needs.
          5. Focus on effective communication.
          6. Invest in loyalty programs.
          7. Build a deep emotional connection.
          8. Build a community around your offerings.
          9. Express gratitude.

          Simplify Everything For Your Customers.

          Customers appreciate ease at every touchpoint of their journey. Simple and convenient experiences encourage repeat business because they require very little customer effort.

          For example, you can include a chatbot on your website to offer instant support to customers. Instead of waiting for a human agent, they can find quick answers to some of their pressing questions. This ease of finding support will prevent frustration and encourage repeat interactions.

          Meet Customers Where They Are

          Another way to offer convenient experiences is to meet customers where they are. For example, if a portion of your customers are avid Instagram users, it makes sense to have an active presence there. This makes it easier for them to discover your products or reach out to you for support.

          94% of customers will spend more with businesses that offer their preferred mode of communication to contact customer service. As a result, building an omnichannel customer experience will help you satisfy customers and drive revenue.

          Personalize the Experience

          With a growing demand for personalized services, it’s important to tailor customer experiences to individual profiles. Personalization makes customers feel understood and valued, which can lead to loyalty over time. This is where collecting and analyzing feedback can be a game-changer for you. There is no better way to understand your customers’ needs than by simply asking them!

          A CX platform like InMoment simplifies this process for you. It helps you collect feedback from every possible source so that you don’t miss out on valuable data. With the award-winning InMoment AI, you can then capture analytical insights from the feedback. These insights help you better understand your customers, allowing you to personalize your services.

          Keep Evolving to Meet Changing Customer Needs.

          You need to change the way you think about customer loyalty. Instead of treating it as the final destination, you should view it as an ongoing journey. Since customers tend to be loyal to a few different brands at one time, there is no room for complacency.

          Keep up with the times by tracking customer sentiment toward you and your competitors. See what trends are going viral and where customer preferences are leaning. If you have multiple locations across the world, it’s crucial that you don’t ignore regional trends.

          You can stay relevant by adopting a customer-centric approach and tweaking offerings where necessary.

          Focus on Effective Communication

          Good communication builds trust and strengthens relationships. Customers who interact with a transparent and honest business are more likely to stay loyal to it.

          Be clear, concise, and responsive in all interactions. Address customer concerns promptly and provide regular updates when needed. Make clear announcements in case of a major change, like a product update or change in business hours. This will help you prevent misunderstandings and build trust over time.

          Responding is just half of effective communication. Listening to feedback and acting on it is just as crucial. Consistently engaging with your audience resolves issues and strengthens loyalty by making customers feel heard.

          Invest in Loyalty Programs

          Loyalty programs are a powerful tool for retaining customers. Customers who feel valued are more likely to return and spend more. 

          Offer rewards, discounts, or special perks to show appreciation for repeat business. Keep the program simple and easy to use. Exclusive deals or early access to products can also make customers feel special. 

          A well-structured loyalty program encourages long-term engagement. This drives continuous business and helps build stronger relationships.

          Build A Deep Emotional Connection

          Go beyond transactions to connect with customers on a deeper level. Forming an emotional connection is even more important if you want to elevate your marketing efforts. 

          For example, if you want to collaborate with a celebrity to promote your brand, your efforts will be more effective if customers are already emotionally invested. Otherwise, it will be difficult to generate significant interest.

          Start by establishing trust and transparency. Regularly collect and respond to feedback to show customers you are listening. Follow up with them to create a feedback loop to further show your commitment towards them.

          With the help of InMoment’s Active Listening, you can generate intelligent questions with ease that capture customer preferences and needs. This information enables you to create personalized experiences that appeal to customer emotions. As a result, you will earn emotional buy-in from customers, turning them into loyal advocates.

          Build A Community Around Your Offerings.

          Create spaces where your customers can connect with each other and your brand. This can happen through social media, forums, or events. Engage regularly by sharing content, hosting discussions, or offering exclusive insights.

          Encourage customers to share their experiences and ideas. A community fosters a sense of belonging, making customers feel part of something bigger than themselves.

          Express Gratitude

          Remember that your business succeeds because of your customers. They have several options to choose from, but they decide to trust you. Show your gratitude to them to reinforce the idea that they are valuable to you.

          Include thank-you notes after product purchase or delivery. You can take it one step further by sending special messages during the holidays. These actions add a personal touch, which creates stronger customer relationships.

          How Do You Measure Customer Loyalty Analytics?

          1. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
          2. Customer churn rate
          3. Customer retention rate
          4. Social media engagement
          5. Customer Loyalty Index (CLI)
          6. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

          Loyalty is easy to understand, but how do you quantify it? Some businesses measure loyalty by looking at how many customers they have retained. Other companies monitor social media behavior or churn rate. 

          A combination of these metrics can help provide a complete picture of customer loyalty to identify areas for improvement.

          Net Promoter Score (NPS)

          Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how likely customers are to recommend your brand to others. A high NPS indicates strong loyalty. Meanwhile, a low score suggests room for improvement in encouraging positive feelings towards your business.

          Customer Churn Rate

          Customer churn rate shows the percentage of customers who have stopped doing business with you. A low rate suggests that most of your customers trust your brand enough to interact with it again.

          Customer Retention Rate

          Customer retention rate highlights the percentage of customers who continue doing business with you over time. This is an important metric to track if you want to gauge long-term loyalty.

          Social Media Engagement

          While it’s not a quantitative measure, your customers’ social media activity can indicate their loyalty towards you. For example, if they engage frequently with your social media profile and leave positive comments, they are likely satisfied with your services. 

          Consider using social media management software to track keywords related to your brand. It can also help you identify customers who are advocates for your business.

          Customer Loyalty Index (CLI)

          Customer Loyalty Index (CLI) measures the strength of customer loyalty towards your business. It combines metrics like NPS, repurchase rates, and upselling to build a comprehensive loyalty score.

          Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

          Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures satisfaction with a product, service, or specific interaction. It typically features questions like “How satisfied are you with [product/service/interaction]?”

          Satisfied customers are likely to become repeat customers. Therefore, CSAT is a useful metric for measuring overall customer loyalty.

          What Should You Look For In Customer Loyalty Software?

          Customer loyalty software helps simplify the process of tracking key metrics and making improvements where necessary. Here are the key features to look for when choosing the right platform:

          1. Omnichannel Communication

          The ability to meet customers where they are is crucial to driving loyalty. It’s a significant part of creating smooth and convenient experiences. From Instagram DMs to emails, customers expect several options to communicate and seek support. The right software should allow you to gather customer data from every possible source in one place.

          The InMoment XI platform can help you provide an omnichannel customer experience to foster loyalty. Its purpose-built tools enable you to collect and connect high-quality data from multiple platforms into a unified interface. As a result, you don’t miss out on valuable customer insights.

          Customer signals from different channels being summarized to provide an omnichannel customer experience.

          2. Analytics and Reporting

          The software you choose should let you track and analyze key metrics like NPS, churn rate, and engagement levels. This will help you make data-driven decisions to improve the customer experience across all touchpoints.

          InMoment simplifies this process by letting you create a custom customer experience dashboard featuring your brand’s most impactful metrics. You can also create and share actionable reports that provide a clear picture of your customer loyalty efforts.

          Custom built CX dashboards and reports in InMoment's XI Platform.

          3. Social Media Management

          Social media is a key part of customer engagement. As a result, it’s important to monitor social media activity and leverage it for brand reputation. A good CX software should take care of this by helping you create content and track customer sentiment on various platforms.

          InMoment’s social media management software helps you tap into the power of social media. From content curation and scheduling to social listening features, the platform makes it possible to create targeted content and drive engagement.

          4. Custom Integrations

          The right customer loyalty software should also integrate with your existing CRM, POS, and other key systems. Custom integrations enable you to build a unified customer view so that you don’t miss out on anything essential.

          With InMoment’s CX integrations, you can easily connect all your current systems to your CX platform. As a result, you get to make the most of the customer data available to you.

          Data sources from different integrations being combined to provide a better customer experience.

          5. Automation Tools

          Automated workflows are key for closing feedback loops without wasting time. For example, it’s helpful to have automated responses and alerts that enable quick customer service. 

          InMoment offers automated alerts based on customer behavior so that you can act quickly and recover a customer before it’s too late. If a customer has a complaint, you are notified of it right away so that you can respond and resolve it in time. Similarly, you can use its automated tools to send personalized offers or reward notifications to customers.

          AI CX automation in InMoment's XI Platform.

          Inspiring Customer Loyalty Quotes to Get Buy-In

          Customer loyalty efforts are successful when every member of your team believes in their value. The following quotes can help you motivate your teams to focus on loyalty-driven strategies:

          • Satisfaction is a rating. Loyalty is a brand.” – Shep Hyken
          • The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.” – Sam Walton
          • There is a big difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer. Never settle for ‘satisfied’.” – Shep Hyken
          • The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.” – Shiv Singh
          • “Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” – Chip Bell

          Increase Customer Loyalty with InMoment

          Loyal customers bring more revenue by repeating business with you and recommending you to others. Therefore, converting a satisfied customer into a loyal one can make a world of difference for your brand.

          With InMoment’s customer loyalty platform, you can leverage feedback collection, sentiment analysis, and actionable insights to deliver memorable experiences. Schedule a personalized demo today to see how you can keep customers coming back!

          Why A Customer Engagement Platform Is Crucial for Business Success

          A customer engagement platform allows your business to interact with every customer, on every channel, all in one place. Organizations that invest in customer engagement platforms see increases in revenue, loyalty, and satisfaction.
          Two women shopping in a clothing store.

          Did you know that brands that invested in customer engagement saw an average revenue increase of 68%, with top-performing brands realizing a 123% increase in revenue? With acquisition costs at an all-time high, it has never been more important to engage your customers in a way that makes them lifelong fans of your brand. This can be done by using a customer engagement platform. 

          What is a Customer Engagement Platform?

          A customer engagement platform is a tool that allows businesses to interact with customers on different platforms, all in one place. Customer engagement platforms consolidate customer data into one location and provide tools to engage customers consistently and personally, regardless of how they interact with your business. This means you never have to leave your customer engagement platform if you respond to a customer via email, SMS, online review, or chatbot. 

          What is the Difference Between a Customer Engagement Platform and  Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? 

          Debating the differences between customer engagement platforms and CRM systems is natural. When doing so, some key differences need to be considered. 

          Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

          Customer relationship management systems utilize the data of existing customers and focus internally. CRMs are typically used by teams managing the current relationships of clients or accounts. They aim to convert leads to closed deals, identify the most successful business activities, and manage the communication between businesses and current customers. 

          Customer Engagement Platform

          Customer engagement platforms, however, are external and focus on the interaction between customers and consumers. They integrate with apps, websites, and social media to provide a consistent customer experience across all channels. These platforms focus on improving customer experience metrics such as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. 

          The Importance of Customer Engagement Platforms

          Today, 70% of consumers expect a response from a customer service team within the same day. If your brand takes longer than that to respond to customers, you risk damaging your customer experience and brand reputation management efforts. 

          Customer engagement platforms are crucial for organizations to maintain and improve customer experience. You can create alerts when a response is needed and respond to customers on different channels while never having to leave your chosen customer engagement platform. 

          Benefits of Using a Customer Engagement Platform

          Customer engagement platforms can be extremely valuable for organizations focused on delivering a positive customer experience. By providing the tools necessary for effective communication, personalization, and analytics, these platforms enable businesses to build stronger relationships with their customers. Here are some expected benefits of using an omnichannel customer engagement platform: 

          More Valuable Customer Interactions

          Customer engagement platforms will lead to more productive interactions with your customers. When you can engage with customers across different platforms and see where those customers have contacted you and what they have said, you are more equipped to help them with their inquiries. 

          Improved Customer Loyalty

          Customer engagement platforms increase customer loyalty by making the customer experience engaging and consistent throughout the whole customer journey. Research shows that loyal customers are 64% more likely to make more frequent purchases from your business than regular customers. 

          Higher Customer Retention 

          Organizations that are engagement leaders, companies that are trailblazing omnichannel engagement and providing a personalized customer experience, have a higher retention rate than companies that do not have mature customer engagement programs. Engagement leaders have a retention rate of 77%, whereas non-engagement leaders have a retention rate of just 43%. By succeeding in customer engagement, you have a better chance of keeping your customers coming back. 

          Competitive Advantage

          While most companies claim to be customer-obsessed, a recent study showed that only 15% are actually customer-obsessed, meaning their business is focused on growing by delivering value to their customers. One key factor in becoming a truly customer-obsessed company is using a customer engagement platform. When you reach customer-obsessed status, you set yourself apart from the competition and stand out in the market. 

          Higher Profit Margins

          Most organizations that prioritize customer engagement reported higher margins than those that do not. An omnichannel strategy plays a crucial role in this success. It ensures that customers can seamlessly transition between different platforms and communication channels during their journey—whether they start by browsing on a mobile app, switch to a desktop, and later engage via social media.

          Best Customer Engagement Platforms

          Customer engagement platforms are critical in helping businesses build long-lasting relationships with their customers by streamlining communications, enhancing experiences, and providing actionable insights. Here are five of the best customer engagement platforms available:

          1. InMoment

          InMoment is the best customer engagement platform for organizations looking for the premier solution for their customer experience initiatives. G2 ranks InMoment the highest of the available platforms, with a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. InMoment has also been recognized for having the fastest ROI time, the best support, and the easiest to use. 

          InMoment excels at offering a platform that connects customer data from every channel into one easily accessible location and offers consulting services from in-house industry experts. InMoment’s advanced analytics and AI-powered tools allow businesses to track customer sentiment, identify trends, and personalize interactions across the customer journey. This makes it a top choice for companies looking to improve customer loyalty, satisfaction, and overall experience.

          2. Sprinklr

          Sprinklr is a customer experience management platform specializing in social media, emails, and messaging apps. These integrations allow users to communicate directly with customers via comments and direct messages. This platform is used primarily by small businesses looking to scale their customer engagement efforts. 

          3. Zendesk

          Zendesk is a customer service and engagement platform best suited for businesses looking for a highly customizable solution. One of the most notable benefits of Zendesk is that it can be used immediately upon purchase and can be customized for a business at a later date. This solution is ideal for businesses wanting to improve their ticketing systems while maintaining personalized customer interactions. 

          4. Hubspot

          The Hubspot customer engagement platform is differentiated by its inbound marketing capabilities, which makes it an excellent choice for organizations looking to bring marketing, sales, and customer service under one roof. HubSpot offers robust tools for automating communication, creating personalized email campaigns, and tracking customer interactions throughout the entire lifecycle. It’s user-friendly and scalable, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

          5. Klayvio

          Klayvio is a customer engagement platform that is tailored to e-commerce businesses. It excels in creating personalized, data-driven email and SMS marketing campaigns that boost customer retention and drive conversions. Klaviyo integrates seamlessly with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, allowing businesses to segment customers based on behavior, purchase history, and more. This solution is ideal for businesses looking to improve their direct-to-consumer engagement efforts with targeted communication. 

          Omnichannel Customer Engagement Platform Use Cases

          It may be easier to understand the functionality of customer engagement platforms by seeing how they work in real-world scenarios. Here are some examples of omnichannel customer engagement platforms being used to engage with customers proactively: 

          1. Retail: Retailers use customer engagement platforms to send personalized promotions, manage customer messages, and improve post-purchase support. These customer engagement strategies lead to increased customer satisfaction and repeat business. 
          2. Financial Services: Banks and financial institutions use customer engagement platforms to manage customer support, offer individualized financial advice, and ensure that customer inquiries are handled securely on different channels.
          3. Healthcare: Healthcare providers can use digital customer engagement platforms to manage patient feedback, send appointment reminders, and deliver personalized information such as a care plan. 
          4. Hospitality: Using a customer engagement platform, hotels and restaurants can streamline reservations, respond to guest messages, and manage personalized offers. 
          5. E-commerce: E-commerce companies use customer engagement platforms to manage customer service, send personalized product recommendations, and automate follow-ups after purchases.

          Key Features in a Customer Engagement Platform

          Not all customer engagement platforms are built the same. Some are more geared towards marketers and sales teams, while others focus on customer support. Regardless of your use case for an omnichannel customer engagement platform, here are some key features to look for: 

          Omnichannel Communication

          The most important feature of a customer engagement platform is effective omnichannel communication. Customer engagement platforms are built on the premise that you can interact with your customers wherever they are. Omnichannel communication means more than just being present on multiple platforms; it’s about integrating those platforms into one unified interface to build an omnichannel customer experience. This allows businesses to manage all customer interactions from a single dashboard, which can streamline workflows and ensure that no customer inquiry or engagement falls through the cracks.

          With the InMoment XI Platform, you can handle all your customer data in one place. The InMoment platform is not only built to connect data from everywhere, it also contains purpose-built tools to ensure that you collect the highest quality and most actionable data. 

          Omnichannel communication summarizing feedback from reviews, web chats, and phone calls.

          Customer Segmentation

          While some may think that customer engagement platforms are only for communication with individual customers, you also want to be able to communicate with specific segments of your customer base. Advanced segmentation allows businesses to tailor their messaging and engagement strategies based on customer preferences, behavior, or demographics. 

          For example, a retail store may realize that they are experiencing high customer churn with consumers ages 18-24. As a result of this, they will want to post a targeted message for those consumers across multiple channels and be ready to answer any comments or questions. 

          Customer churn analysis charts.

          Analytics and Reporting

          Customer engagement analytics can help you analyze metrics such as customer interactions, campaign performance, and engagement levels to refine your engagement strategies and see what you are having the most success with. 

          With InMoment, you can create your own customer experience dashboard that only shows you the most important metrics to your business. Similarly, you can also create reports that can be shared outside of the platform to stakeholders within your organization so that they can have a clear understanding of your customer engagement efforts.

          Customizable CX reports and dashboards that can be created in the InMoment platform.

          Automation Tools

          Automation tools are crucial for quick and proactive customer engagement. Automated responses, workflow triggers, and chatbots help streamline operations and ensure quick customer service.

          InMoment’s XI platform gives you an advantage over the competition by offering automated alerts based on customer sentiment or business action, meaning that your organization never misses an opportunity to recover a customer or drive a customer further down the funnel.

          Customer experience improvement alerts created with AI.

          Integration Capabilities 

          Another key factor of a successful customer engagement platform is its ability to integrate with the systems your organization is already using. The platform should integrate with other key business tools, such as CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, and sales tools, to provide a unified customer view. 

          InMoment’s CX integrations allow you to connect your customer engagement platform with every software you are currently utilizing. The integration of your entire tech stack into one place allows you to never miss an important piece of the puzzle and gets you on track to increasing acquisition, retention, and more. 

          Data from different sources being consolidated for businesses using the InMoment platform.

          Digital Customer Engagement Platform Trends

          As customer needs and preferences continue to evolve, so too will customer engagement platforms. To stay ahead of the curve, businesses must remain aware of the latest trends shaping these platforms and their capabilities. Adapting to these changes will ensure that customer communication remains effective, personalized, and secure. Here are some key trends in customer engagement platforms to keep in mind as you evaluate current and future partners:

          1. AI-Powered Engagement

          A majority of organizations already use AI in their customer-focused activities such as chatbots, recommendation engines, and more. Over 70% of marketers agree that AI helps them create more personalized content and customer experiences. As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, we can expect further advancements like natural language processing (NLP) to enable even more meaningful and human-like interactions with customers.

          The majority of businesses that currently use AI plan to increase their investment in AI-powered tools in the coming years. As AI continues to evolve, businesses leveraging these capabilities will have a significant edge in terms of efficiency, customer satisfaction, and engagement outcomes.

          2. Hyper-Personalization 

          Consumers love personalized experiences, and that will not change anytime soon. The majority of consumers agree that they will pay more for personalization. In the future, customer engagement platforms will attempt to capitalize on that by becoming more advanced in their ability to deliver hyper-personalized content, offers, and experiences based on real-time data analysis.

          Hyper-personalization goes beyond basic demographic, behavioral, or segmented targeting. It involves using AI and machine learning to predict customer needs, preferences, and behaviors, which allows businesses to deliver timely, context-aware messages and offers at each touchpoint. 

          For example, a retail digital customer engagement platform could automatically suggest products based on a customer’s browsing history, location, and purchase behavior, ensuring that each interaction feels personal and relevant.

          3. Data Privacy Regulations 

          While consumers prefer personalized experiences, they are concerned about the use of their data. Consumers across every generation agree that protecting their data is the most significant driving factor of trust in a business. However, only 48% of consumers feel confident that brands are transparent about their data usage. 

          As a result, future successful customer engagement platforms will need to incorporate robust data privacy features. This includes adopting security measures such as encryption and secure storage, as well as providing more transparent privacy settings and data control options for customers. Responsible data handling will be key for the long-term success of any customer engagement platform. 

          Choose InMoment for Your Customer Engagement Platform

          InMoment’s customer experience platform has been named a Leader in Gartner, IDC, and Forrester evaluative reports. The XI Platform is best-in-class at connecting data from everywhere to help you get a holistic view of every customer interaction. See what InMoment can do for you by scheduling a demo today!

          References 

          Statista. Acceptable response time for customer service according to consumers in the United States as of June 2022. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1338396/customer-service-response-time-usa/). Accessed 10/11/2024. 

          Mckinsey & Company. Winning in loyalty. (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/winning-in-loyalty). Accessed 1014/2024. 

          Twilio. The State of Customer Engagement Report. (https://www.twilio.com/en-us/state-of-customer-engagement/report). Accessed 10/14/2024. 

          Forrester. The Omnichannel Difference. (https://emarsys.com/learn/white-papers/the-omnichannel-difference/). Accessed 10/14/2024. 

          PingIdentity. 2021 Consumer Survey: Brand Loyalty Earned at Login. (https://hub.pingidentity.com/surveys/3597-2021-consumer-survey-brand-loyalty-earned-at-login). Accessed 10/15/2024.

          Customer Experience in Banking: A Guide to Improve Trust & Satisfaction

          In the current competitive landscape for banks, customer experience stands out as a crucial key advantage. Customer expectations and needs have evolved to demand faster and more efficient services. These requirements make it essential for banks to leverage the right tools and practices to deliver smooth and personalized experiences.
          Couple having a good banking customer experience.

          It’s no longer enough for banks and credit unions to simply provide financial services. Customers expect to walk into a branch and want to immediately feel valued. From personalized services tailored to their needs to a welcoming space where they can do more than just deposit their checks. Needless to say, providing a memorable customer experience in banking should be a top priority for all financial institutions.

          What is Customer Experience in Banking?

          Customer experience in banking refers to the thoughts, opinions, and feelings customers have about every interaction with your financial institution. From visiting your physical branch to paying an electricity bill through your app, each interaction with a touchpoint contributes to a customer’s perception of your business. Without managing this customer experience properly, you risk losing clients, failing to acquire new ones, and creating a negative public image for your brand.

          Importance of Customer Experience in Banking

          We are currently living through times of financial worry. More than 65% of customers express pessimism over the economic outlook for the coming year. This shift in perspective is causing people to reconsider their financial needs and banking relationships. 

          In fact, 15% of survey respondents said they are open to a new banking relationship, while 20% are already considering changing banks. Here are a few reasons why customer experience in banking is an even bigger competitive advantage than ever before:

          1. It helps build trust during uncertain times. In a period of financial anxiety, customers are looking for institutions they can trust. Your bank can present itself as a reliable option by demonstrating a commitment to making their customer journey smooth and personalized.
          2. It is a proven way of retaining customers. With many customers considering switching banks, a positive customer experience can be the deciding factor in retaining them. Consistently providing exceptional service can strengthen loyalty and reduce the likelihood of customers looking elsewhere.
          3. It helps you attract new clients. With 15% of customers open to forging new banking relationships, consider offering a memorable customer experience. This gives your bank a significant edge in acquiring these prospects.
          4. It enhances the customer lifetime value for your bank. Happy customers are more likely to use multiple products and services from the same bank. Focus on customer experience, to improve cross-selling opportunities. As a result, this can increase the overall value of each client relationship.
          5. It enables you to boost your brand reputation. Customers who have a great experience with your bank are more likely to recommend it to others. The positive online reviews you receive as a result of your CX strategy will be beneficial to your financial services reputation management efforts.

          How to Improve Customer Experience in Banking?

          Improving the customer experience in banking relies on a complete understanding of customer behaviors and expectations. Explore key practices to consider for improving CX across different types of banking. Discover how to improve services in branch, commercial, digital, retail, and credit unions.

          1. Customer experience in branch banking

          You need to re-think the concept of branch banking in order to leap ahead of the competition and improve customer experience across all your physical locations. The following approaches will help you make the most of your bank branch to boost customer satisfaction:

          • Create a “branch of the future” for your bank. Modern bank branches are transforming into consultation hubs. Focus less on routine transactions and more on offering expert financial guidance. Also, consider investing in self-service technologies such as interactive teller machines (ITMs) to handle basic transactions. Therefore, your staff can focus on offering personalized financial services.
          • Re-design your branches to encourage customer interactions. Move beyond traditional teller lines and adopt open, flexible spaces where customers can comfortably discuss their financial needs with advisors. For instance, the Capitol One Café demonstrates how including community spaces in your branch is a great way to make clients feel at ease and view your brand in a positive light.

          2. Customer experience in commercial banking

          Commercial banking clients usually seek complex financial services, including lines of credit and foreign exchange transactions. As a result, you will have to adopt a tailored approach to improve their experience. Focus on the following steps:

          • Assign dedicated relationship managers to clients. A great way to deliver a personalized and consistent service to a client is to have a relationship manager. This manager serves as the single point of contact for all their banking needs. From offering specific advice to identifying growth opportunities, these managers help foster trust and long-term partnerships.
          • Adopt a consultative approach. Unlike traditional banks that simply offer products, you can stand out by offering consultation as well. This approach adds another layer of value to your services. It also helps you better understand the financial profile of the customers you are serving.
          • Provide enhanced risk management and security. Needless to say, risk management is of utmost priority for commercial banking clients due to the nature of their transactions. Providing services like fraud detection, secure transaction platforms, and encryption will enable you to secure your customers’ data and transactions.
          • Offer industry-specific solutions and insights. Whether it’s agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, or healthcare, having a team of experts who are knowledgeable in that sector can significantly improve the customer experience. By providing industry-specific insights, whitepapers, or reports on market trends, you can establish yourself as an authoritative bank.

          3. Customer experience in digital banking

          Survey asking a customer about their banking customer experience.

          There is a growing willingness among customers to embrace digital banking because of its convenience. Customers who regularly use a bank’s smartphone app or website report higher satisfaction levels on average compared to those who infrequently use digital channels. These best practices will help you improve the digital customer experience in banking:

          • Support digital transformation initiatives in your bank. Many customers are not yet fully comfortable with digital banking services. You can encourage digital adoption by offering in-branch or online tutorials. Your bank can also assign dedicated staff to onboard customers onto digital platforms to ensure a smooth transition.
          • Provide digital literacy resources to educate customers. Offer regular digital literacy classes or webinars to help customers become familiar with banking apps, online transactions, and cybersecurity practices. This approach will help customers take full advantage of your digital services, making it more likely for them to be satisfied as a result.
          • Invest in intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. If your banking app or website feels clunky or confusing to navigate, customers are unlikely to want to spend much time on it. With the help of an easy-to-understand digital interface, you can simplify user navigation and encourage higher levels of engagement with your service.
          • Digitize account openings and loan applications. Allow customers to open accounts, replace cards, or apply for loans entirely online. Offer step-by-step tutorials and on-call support for any questions. Completing their banking tasks from the comfort of their homes is not only convenient for customers, but it also saves time and paperwork.

          4. Customer experience in retail banking

          Retail banking focuses on the individual customer’s needs. The following steps can help improve CX in this area to enhance both satisfaction and loyalty:

          • Make it easier for customers to manage their accounts. From mobile apps to physical branches, each interaction channel for a customer should offer a frictionless and smooth experience. For instance, you can invest in a straightforward and user-friendly interface for your mobile app. This will make it easier for users to navigate. 
          • Proactively communicate with customers. Keep customers in the loop with personalized messages about account activity, new products, or special offers. Regular communication helps build trust and keeps customers engaged with your services.
          • Encourage long-term relationships with rewards and initiatives. Introduce loyalty programs to reward long-term customers for their continued use of your banking services. By offering benefits like cashback offers, you can drive both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, these initiatives can also help encourage feedback to accomplish your customer experience management goals.

          5. Customer experience in credit unions

          Credit union members expect smoother interactions than ever before. Follow these steps to enhance their satisfaction levels:

          • Provide omnichannel customer support. Offer 24/7 customer service across multiple channels, including mobile apps, social media, chatbots, and live chat. This ensures that customers can get help on the platform of their choice, which improves accessibility and satisfaction.
          • Encourage personalized member services. By tailoring financial products to their members’ unique needs, credit unions can establish themselves as trustworthy advisors. They show they’re invested in delivering the best possible customer experience. For example, providing customized savings plans to members will elicit a more positive response from them. This is because the plans are relevant to their specific financial situation.
          • Leverage and emphasize community engagement. Credit unions can actively engage with their communities through events, sponsorships, and local initiatives. Hosting financial wellness workshops, supporting local businesses, or volunteering at community projects reinforces the credit union’s role as a trusted community partner.

          Popular Customer Experience Trends in Banking

          Some of the emerging CX trends in banking reflect the ever-increasing demand for faster, smoother, and more efficient customer journeys. It also highlights key differentiators for banks to help them thrive in a competitive landscape. Here is a look at the popular trends that are driving CX strategy for banks today:

          1. Online and Mobile Banking

          More customers prefer the self-service option of managing their finances on their own time. Mobile banking is one of the most important considerations for banks. However, building an app alone isn’t enough. The performance and reliability of digital products can impact customer satisfaction for better or worse.

          The ideal mobile banking experience is one where the user can intuitively find what they are looking for. They can also quickly access customer support if need be. The app or website should support every aspect of a customer’s interaction, including opening an account and getting financial advice. 

          2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

          AI in customer experience can’t completely replace human experts. It can provide personalized recommendations and services at scale making it a must-have technology for modern banks. Machine learning algorithms, for example, can learn from individual customer behaviors. Based on their learning, they can recommend financial products and services that are tailored to each user profile.

          Moreover, by handling repetitive analytical tasks, AI systems allow human agents to invest more of their time and energy into forging strong customer relationships by resolving more complex issues.

          AI-powered feedback analysis can also help your bank capture meaningful insights from customer data to improve CX strategy. For instance, First National Bank partnered with InMoment to better analyze data across all touchpoints using a custom text analytics model. The insights provided opportunities for enhancing customer retention and satisfaction.

          3. Personalized Customer Service

          Personalization is quickly gaining significance for banks because of shifting customer expectations. 62% of consumers agree that personalized recommendations are better than general ones. This approach is crucial for driving loyalty. 

          AI-powered solutions like InMoment’s predictive customer analytics explore customer data to unveil actionable insights into customer behavior. These insights are then used to make personalized recommendations that engage and satisfy customers.

          4. Proactive Communication

          Instead of waiting for customers to reach out and seek help, proactive communication aims to stay one step ahead of them. This trend is also linked to a growing customer expectation for faster communication and issue resolution. 

          By analyzing customer feedback and activity across all touchpoints, it’s possible to predict their needs and next steps so that you can proactively help them. It’s important to manage the volume of feedback requests you send. Too many of those can cause survey fatigue and turn away your customers altogether!

          Examples of Banks with the Best Customer Experience

          The growing emphasis on improving CX in banking has made it essential to adopt the right trends and tools. The following financial institutions demonstrate how utilizing customer-centric strategies has empowered them to deliver excellent customer experience in banking:

          1. Virgin Money: The British financial services brand launched its CX Success program with the help of InMoment in 2018. Since then, it has collected feedback from over 100,000 customers. This has empowered its workforce to act on enhancing customer satisfaction right away. As a result, it succeeded in reducing the targeted monthly complaint volume by 27%.
          2. Chevron Federal Credit Union: The credit union partnered with InMoment to leverage the power of AI. This helped them provide friendly, personalized services to its members. With the help of advanced text analytics, Chevron FCU was able to capture actionable insights from open-ended survey responses and online comments to improve its CX efforts.
          3. Metro Bank: The UK-based retail and commercial bank has successfully transformed its customer insight program. Part of the transformation enhanced retention and acquisition, along with improving key business metrics through its partnership with InMoment. Metro Bank leveraged AI tools like Active Listening™. This created a customer-centric culture that increased its revenue by 5%. They also grew their number of customer accounts to three million.
          4. First National Bank: With the help of journey mapping and AI-powered feedback analysis, First National Bank unlocked opportunities for CX improvement across all touchpoints. It utilized InMoment’s custom text analytics model to accurately analyze customer data and determine how to cater to their unique needs and expectations.

          Managing a Customer Experience Transformation in Banking

          Understanding how to improve the customer experience for your clients is one thing, but putting it into practice is another challenge altogether. A successful CX transformation combines strategic implementation and continuous monitoring to make the most of customer feedback and insights. The following steps show how you can accomplish such a transformation:

          1. Start by capturing customer insights.

          The first step towards managing a customer experience transformation is to gather data and insights through meaningful customer survey questions. Customer feedback platforms like InMoment can help your bank deploy surveys and collect data from users to identify pain points and areas for improvement. 

          The analysis of this data yields insights that can help map out the entire customer journey. It can prioritize aspects of your business that need the most attention. This includes your mobile banking experience and your customer support teams.

          2. Implement CX initiatives in phases.

          A full-scale transformation can be overwhelming, so it’s essential to implement changes in phases. Banks can start by improving one touchpoint at a time based on the most high-priority issues and opportunities. 

          For instance, if your bank’s mobile app is lagging behind competitors in terms of user-friendliness, your first step should be to upgrade it to current industry standards. Moreover, each step should be evaluated with customer feedback to ensure it’s meeting expectations.

          3. Focus on employee training to create a customer-obsessed culture.

          Employees play a crucial role in delivering excellent customer service. They are either the first point of contact for customers or responsible for solving their specific pain points. You can boost your CX efforts by training the workforce to be customer-focused. Train your team on how to provide personalized services, manage online reputation with timely responses, and handle customer concerns with empathy. 

          4. Leverage technology for consistency and efficiency.

          With customers preferring faster and more efficient service, it’s essential for banks to utilize technology to meet their growing expectations. AI-powered solutions, such as InMoment’s advanced analytics, can accelerate CX transformation by analyzing large volumes of customer feedback at scale. By handling repetitive analytical tasks for you, these tools allow your human agents to focus on building meaningful relationships with customers.

          5. Continuously monitor and improve customer satisfaction through measurement.

          Once the initial changes are in place, it’s crucial to continuously monitor customer satisfaction and make adjustments as needed. This is where it can help to keep an eye on customer sentiment and opinions on social media. 

          InMoment’s brand reputation management tools help track customer sentiment in real time and identify new areas for improvement. This analysis will enable you to create a feedback loop with customers to ensure you are continuously meeting their evolving needs.

          How Banks are Using Customer Data for Personalized Experiences​?

          AI-powered systems have enabled personalization for businesses across various industries, including financial services. The ability to process volumes of customer data to quickly capture trends and insights has transformed the way banks service their clients.

          Learning from customer behavior enables banks to provide tailored services to customers, including:

          • Personalized financial product recommendations like loans, credit cards, or investment options based on analysis of the customer’s spending habits and financial goals.
          • Customized offers such as personalized discounts, cash-back rewards, or special interest rates based on individual customer profiles.
          • Targeted financial advice in the form of budgeting tips or investment strategies tailored to the customer’s financial portfolio and goals.
          • Community spaces in physical bank branches designed to cater to customers’ lifestyles and work-related needs, like remote work, business meetings, or lounging.
          • Custom notifications and alerts for spending activity or fraud detection based on real-time monitoring of individual customer accounts.

          For instance, Virgin Money allows its customers to access lounges. This is a space where they can meet with others, work, or simply relax, all while fulfilling their banking needs. This service, alongside its effective use of customer insights through its partnership with InMoment, has positioned the bank to stand out against competitors. Many people view it as a brand capable of delivering personalized experiences that make customers feel valued and heard. 

          In fact, after launching its customer success program, Virgin Money’s response rates grew by 13%. Its relationship NPS (a metric that focuses on long-term relationships between customers and businesses) doubled year-on-year.

          Therefore, banks can better anticipate customer needs and build deeper relationships by investing in personalization and data-driven approaches.

          How Banks Should Measure Customer Experience?

          Banks should measure customer experience by identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect customer engagement and satisfaction. Here are some of the most common customer experience KPIs and methods used in this process:

          • Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is commonly used by banks to measure customer loyalty and the likelihood of customers recommending the bank to others. A high NPS score indicates strong customer satisfaction and brand advocacy.
          • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): CSAT measures how satisfied customers are with specific interactions or experiences. Banks can use CSAT scores to gain insights into customer experiences at key touchpoints like branch visits, customer support, or digital transactions.
          • Customer Effort Score (CES): CES evaluates how easy it is for customers to complete banking tasks, such as paying a bill online or filling out a loan application form. A lower effort score typically translates into higher satisfaction, as customers appreciate frictionless and smooth experiences.

          Along with looking at these KPIs, banks can also rely on feedback forms and surveys to gain a deeper understanding of customer sentiment. The main goal should be to create customer feedback loops that allow banks to monitor behaviors and make informed decisions. This way banks can further improve their CX strategy.

          How to Select the Right CX Software to Manage Banking Experience

          Choosing the right CX software is essential for effectively managing and improving customer experiences in banking. Here are a few features to look for when investing in the right platform to boost your CX efforts:

          • Omnichannel data collection: Your CX software should be able to capture customer feedback from various touchpoints. Touchpoints can be in-branch experiences, mobile apps, websites, and customer support interactions. This provides a holistic view of the customer journey and ensures you don’t overlook any aspect of the customer experience.
          • Real-time feedback and analytics: Software that provides real-time data collection and analytics empowers your bank to address customer concerns immediately, track evolving trends, and make timely adjustments to improve service.
          • Personalization: The ability to personalize services based on customer data is critical for driving loyalty and retention in this age. The software should help banks offer tailored advice and recommendations by analyzing customer behavior and preferences.
          • Integrations: A good CX platform should easily integrate with your bank’s existing systems. These integrations can include your customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation. This ensures that customer data is accessible and actionable across departments, which encourages consistent service delivery.
          • Actionable reporting and insights: The software should offer comprehensive reporting tools that provide actionable insights. Clear, easy-to-understand reports will help your bank quickly identify trends, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.

          Transform Your Banking Experience with InMoment

          Customers have growing expectations from their banks. Data suggests that they won’t hesitate to switch allegiances if their needs aren’t met. With the help of InMoment’s CX platform, your bank can rise above the competition by delivering personalized and seamless customer experiences. 

          Our award-winning AI and reputation management tools will empower you to consistently track and enhance your customers’ perceptions of your brand. Schedule a demo today to revolutionize your financial services and boost key business metrics.

          References 

          McKinsey & Company. Five ways to drive experience-led growth in banking (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/five-ways-to-drive-experience-led-growth-in-banking). Accessed 10/14/2024.

          Zendesk. 35 customer experience statistics to know for 2024 (https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics). Accessed 10/16/2024.

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire: Capturing Actionable Insights from Customers

          Businesses can collect insightful feedback with the help of questionnaires to improve their products, services, and customer support. But, in order to capture actionable data from customers, it’s worth thinking about the right questions to ask them.
          Customer selecting emoji to reflect experience on questionnaire.

          Understanding customer expectations and behaviors is crucial to delivering consistent value and accomplishing key business metrics. In fact, 66% of customers expect companies to understand their needs. With the help of the tried-and-tested customer feedback questionnaire, businesses can take the first step toward boosting satisfaction, retention, and brand reputation.

          What is a Customer Feedback Questionnaire?

          A customer feedback questionnaire is a set of structured questions that aims to collect information from customers about their experience, opinions, and thoughts about your product or service. These questionnaires can take several different forms, but the main goal is to understand customer feelings toward your business. For instance, a customer satisfaction survey presents a list of specific questions to customers to gauge their satisfaction levels with your brand.

          Why is Asking the Right Customer Feedback Questions Important?

          A customer feedback questionnaire is only as good as the questions it presents to customers. Low-effort and vague questions will either yield basic responses or be ignored by potential respondents altogether. Here is why asking the right feedback questions is crucial for your business:

          1. They provide relevant and targeted insights. Good questions attempt to collect feedback on specific aspects of the experience of a certain customer profile. The targeted nature of these questions makes it easier for respondents to explain their pain points and how their experience can be improved.
          2. They improve survey response rates. Clear and specific questions are easier for customers to understand and answer, which helps reduce fatigue and improve response rates.
          3. They help collect actionable feedback to guide customer experience strategy. High-quality questions with a clear purpose behind them can capture actionable insights from customers. Survey respondents like to provide suggestions on improving their experience, especially when they feel the questions are relevant to them.

          Knowing the right questions to ask can positively impact your customer relationships, but designing good questionnaires is certainly a challenge.

          InMoment survey utilizing Active Listening to get more actionable customer feedback

          With the help of InMoment’s AI-Powered Active Listening™, you can leverage the power of award-winning generative AI to intelligently listen and respond to customers in real-time. By learning and adapting to customer feedback, the AI agent can ask better questions. This helps gather useful insights without tiring respondents.

          Types of Questions in a Customer Feedback Questionnaire

          The most effective customer feedback questionnaires feature several different types of questions to help you gather comprehensive and actionable insights. From easy-to-answer ranking questions to open-ended queries, each question type has its unique strengths that can add value to the feedback you collect.

          1. Multiple-choice questions

          Multiple-choice customer survey questions present respondents with a question and a set of predefined answer options from which to select. This format is ideal for quickly gathering standardized data, which allows for easy analysis and comparison. These questions also help identify trends in customer behavior and easily compare satisfaction levels across various customer segments or time periods.

          2. Open-text questions

          Open-ended customer survey questions allow respondents to answer in their own words, which is a great way to collect valuable qualitative insights. These questions are particularly helpful when you want more detailed feedback or when customers need to elaborate on their experiences. They also provide crucial context and reasoning behind your customers’ quantitative scores.

          While open-text questions provide rich data, analyzing them can be time-consuming. InMoment’s award-winning custom text analytics platform can help quickly categorize and summarize open-text responses.

          3. Likert Scale Questions

          Likert scale questions ask respondents to rate their level of agreement or satisfaction, typically on a 5-point or 7-point scale. This question type is excellent for measuring attitudes or perceptions about specific products or services. For instance, you can easily track changes in customer attitudes toward your website design by looking at how much more or less they agree with its user-friendliness over time.

          4. Ranking/Order Questions

          Ranking questions ask respondents to rank items in order of preference or importance. This question type helps to identify which factors matter most to your customers. Therefore, this is the ideal question to use if you want a quick sense check on whether you’re prioritizing the right product features or services. It will also help inform strategy on which improvements to make based on potential impact on customer experience.

          5. Drop-Down Questions

          Drop-down questions are similar to multiple-choice questions but provide a list of answers in a drop-down menu format. This format can help keep questionnaires concise and prevent survey fatigue for respondents. If you have a clear list of predefined response options for certain queries and want to capture specific information, drop-down questions can add variety and value to your surveys.

          Building a quick survey questionnaire with InMoment.

          Effortless Surveys with Pre-Built Questionnaires

          Creating a customer feedback survey can be overwhelming with so many options available. Finding the best way to present a questionnaire that’s both user-friendly and efficient can also be time-consuming. That’s why InMoment offers pre-built surveys tailored to your industry, helping you save time and collect customer feedback immediately.

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire Examples

          In this section, we will look at examples of good questions to include in your customer feedback questionnaire to capture relevant and useful information. From getting to know the customer better to industry-specific queries, these examples provide inspiration for consistently collecting high-quality feedback.

          Questions to know your customers better

          The best way to start collecting meaningful customer feedback is to understand the exact user persona you are targeting with your product or service. You can start doing so with the help of the following questions:

          1. What is your primary goal when using our product or service?
          This question helps you understand the customer’s expectations. What compelled them to turn to your product or service? What are they hoping to accomplish by interacting with your business? The responses can help you better align your offerings with customer needs.

          2. How frequently do you use our product/service?
          Knowing how often customers engage with your product helps identify potentially loyal customers or those who may need more support to get the most out of your business.

          3. Are you satisfied with the pricing of our product/service?
          The responses to this question will help you understand if you’re targeting the right customers with your pricing model. It will also highlight any gaps between your business goals and customer expectations.

          4. What concerns, if any, do you have about our product/service?
          This question addresses potential areas of concern related to your brand that might make your customers uncomfortable. Understanding these concerns and resolving them immediately goes a long way toward converting prospects and improving customer relationships.

          5. How would you describe your overall experience with our product/service?
          This question attempts to capture general thoughts from existing customers on how well your product/service is helping them achieve their goals. It can be presented as part of a Likert scale survey (rate your experience on a scale of 0-10) or in the form of an open-text question.

          Questions to evaluate overall customer satisfaction

          The following questions can help you determine the CSAT score for your business by evaluating overall customer satisfaction:

          6. How would you rate your overall experience with our business?
          Ask customers to rate their experience across their journey with your business so far.

          7. Is there anything additional you’d like to share regarding your interaction with our business/product/service/?
          This open-text question allows for further context and detail regarding the customer’s experience with your product/service.

          8. What is one improvement we could make to enhance your experience with our company/product?
          By narrowing down your question to a single improvement, you are likely to elicit high-priority feature requests from respondents. 

          9. What recommendations would you provide to help us improve our product/service?
          Encouraging suggestions from your customers will help you pinpoint areas for improvement and opportunities to stand out in the market.

          10. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your satisfaction with our product/service?
          A numerical rating will help you quantify customer satisfaction and identify patterns in satisfaction levels.

          11. How likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend or family member?
          This question, often presented in a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, helps measure customer loyalty. With 77% of customers willing to recommend a brand based on positive customer experience, the responses here will also give you some insight into how well you’re delivering on your CX goals!

          12. Do you have any additional feedback or suggestions to help us enhance our product/service?
          You can use this question as a final request for insights and suggestions from customers before completing the survey.

          Questions for improving marketing strategy

          Understanding how customers discovered your business and why they chose your product over competitors can help you with marketing and brand reputation management. Here are a few questions for inspiration:

          13. How did you hear about our company?
          Customers discover your business through various channels, from their colleagues to social media posts. Collecting this information provides insights into which marketing channels or referral methods can be the most effective for you.

          14. Have you used a similar product/service in the past?
          If prospects or existing customers have previously interacted with your competitors, you gain useful context into how you can make yourself stand out. 

          15. What made you choose our product/service over other options?
          This is where you gain insight into any competitive edge you may have in the market. If a customer has used a product like yours in the past and is now interacting with you, there is a good chance that your business is addressing an unfulfilled need for them.

          16. Did any reviews, testimonials, or influencer endorsements impact your decision to try our product/service?
          This question attempts to gain insight into your public image and how much of a role it plays in boosting customer acquisition and revenue.

          Industry-specific customer feedback questions

          While there are some excellent general satisfaction questions you can ask, customers appreciate it when you collect feedback relevant to the exact industry. It shows that you aren’t asking questions for the sake of it and are invested in improving the customer experience.

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire for Banks and Financial Services

          1. How would you rate your satisfaction with the process of applying for our banking services?
          2. How satisfied are you with the clarity and openness of our financial products and/or services?
          3. Did our services align with your financial objectives and expectations?

          Healthcare Questionnaire

          1. How satisfied were you with the quality of care provided by our doctors and nurses?
          2. How would you rate the cleanliness and hygiene standards of our facility?
          3. Does the ease and process of booking an appointment meet your expectations?
          4. How would you rate the communication you received from our hospital staff?

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire for Restaurants

          1. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your recent dining experience at our restaurant?
          2. Was the ambiance in our restaurant in line with your expectations?
          3. How would you evaluate the quality of the food and drinks during your visit?
          4. Were you satisfied with the level of service provided by our waiting staff?
          5. Were there any specific dishes or menu items that made an impression on you?

          E-commerce Questionnaire

          1. Were you satisfied with how easy it was to navigate our website and find the items you were looking for?
          2. How would you rate your satisfaction with the payment and checkout experience?
          3. Did the delivery and packaging of your purchase align with your expectations?
          4. How would you rate your satisfaction with the speed and dependability of our shipping service?

          Real Estate Questionnaire

          1. How satisfied were you with the process of finding and viewing properties through our service?
          2. How would you rate the professionalism and communication of our real estate agents?
          3. Were you happy with the clarity and transparency of the contract terms?
          4. How satisfied are you with the overall experience of purchasing or renting a property through us?
          5. How likely are you to recommend our real estate services to friends or colleagues?

          Software Questions

          1. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the ease of using our software?
          2. How satisfied are you with the level of technical support provided by our team?
          3. How would you rate the product’s performance in terms of speed and reliability?
          4. Did our software meet your business needs and expectations?
          5. How likely are you to recommend our software/platform to others in your industry?

          Education Questions

          1. How satisfied are you with the quality of the instruction and the course materials provided?
          2. How would you evaluate the accessibility and availability of the resources offered?
          3. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the level of support provided to you throughout this course?
          4. Would you recommend this course to others interested in the subject?

          Automotive Questions

          1. How satisfied were you with the leasing process at our dealership?
          2. How would you rate the quality of service during your recent vehicle maintenance?
          3. Were you satisfied with the knowledge and assistance provided by our sales staff?
          4. How would you rate the value for money of the vehicle you purchased or leased?
          5. How likely are you to recommend our dealership to others?

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire for Hotels

          1. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with your recent stay at our hotel?
          2. How satisfied were you with the upkeep and cleanliness of your room?
          3. Did the amenities offered meet your expectations?
          4. How would you rate your experience with the check-in and check-out process?
          5. On a scale of 1-5, how likely are you to recommend our hotel to others?

          Questions to assess customer support performance

          From improving the contact center experience to understanding customer expectations on a deeper level, the following questions help you analyze your customer support efforts:

          1. How would you rate the communication you received from our customer support team?
          Responses to this question provide insight into the clarity, tone, and professionalism of your support teams.

          2. How satisfied were you with the timeliness of our customer service response?
          This question helps you evaluate response times and if they require significant improvement.

          3. How helpful did you find our customer service representatives to be?
          Collect feedback on the value provided by customer support, including the knowledge and responsiveness of the representatives.

          4. How would you rate your overall experience with our customer support team?
          A general question to capture the customer’s satisfaction with the entire interaction.

          5. Was your issue resolved to your satisfaction?
          45% of customers want their issues resolved in the first interaction. Therefore, a question like this highlights your customer support team’s ability to address problems effectively so that you can make adjustments if necessary.

          Questions to test a new feature

          The following questions help you make customer-centric decisions on releasing a new feature for your product or service:

          1. If we released this new feature, would you be willing to test it?
          This question helps you get a general idea of customer interest in product updates and new features.

          2. Does this new feature solve a specific problem for you?
          This is an opportunity to test the waters and see how well your feature will be received by customers once it is released.

          3. Would you recommend our product based on this new feature to others?
          This question will help determine if your new feature is adding enough value to your product to make it appealing to prospects.

          4. What improvements would you suggest for this new feature?
          Collecting feedback for improvements ensures you maintain a customer-centric approach to product development.

          5. On a scale of 0-10, how relevant is this feature to your experience with our product?
          Ask customers to rate the relevancy of this potential update to their interaction with your product.

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire Best Practices

          1. Design your questionnaires with purpose. Ask yourself why sending out a survey to customers at this point in time is so important to you. By clearly identifying your goals and desired outcomes, you can ask more targeted questions that are likely to provide the precise insights you’re looking for.
          2. Keep the questionnaire short and focused. Avoid long or overly complex questionnaires. A hallmark of good survey design is a set of short and specific questions focusing on key areas of concern or improvement. A survey that takes no more than five minutes to complete also reduces the risk of respondent fatigue.
          3. Send questionnaires at the right time for maximum impact. Timing is crucial for maximizing response rates and addressing concerns before it’s too late. Send surveys after key touchpoints, like a product purchase, customer support interaction, or cancellation of a service, to collect feedback while the experience is still fresh for the customer.
          4. Utilize various types of questions. A detailed response to an open-text question will provide different insight than a multiple-choice question response. By leveraging various types of questions in your survey, you can collect both quantitative and qualitative feedback that gives you a better overview of customer behavior.
          5. Ensure consistency with rating scales. If a customer responds to a rating scale question featuring the least to most satisfied order, they will expect the same order throughout the survey. Mixing up the order will only create confusion and yield inaccurate insights.
          6. Select the right channels for sending surveys. A guaranteed way to improve response rates is to choose the right distribution method according to customer activity. For instance, if your customers are mainly active on social media, sending survey requests via email would be a waste of your time. Customizing your distribution method to your customers’ online habits will help boost engagement and response rates.
          7. Test your questionnaire before sending it out. Don’t treat your survey as a hopeful shot in the dark. Test it with your staff members or a small group of participants to ensure it checks all the boxes for a good questionnaire that will engage your customers without making them feel intimidated.
          8. Check-in with respondents. If your questionnaire collects information like email addresses, use that information to contact respondents and follow up with them. Express your gratitude for their feedback and assure them that their concerns will be resolved at the earliest.

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire Sucess Stories

          Utilizing customer feedback questionnaires as part of your CX strategy can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and retention. The following examples demonstrate how businesses have leveraged surveys to transform their customer relationships:

          Juniper
          Juniper Networks, a global leader in network management software, was struggling to effectively collect feedback from its 30,000+ enterprise clients. The underlying cause was a lengthy feedback system that was neither mobile-friendly nor good at asking targeted questions. 

          However, through its partnership with InMoment, Juniper managed to reduce its survey length by 70% and optimize its questionnaires for mobile use. As a result, it witnessed a 10x boost in survey responses, which in turn enabled it to collect actionable insights, resulting in 62% faster issue resolution for customers.

          Metro Bank
          Metro Bank was able to stand out from its competition by making the most of its customer feedback questionnaires. By leveraging InMoment’s Active Listening™ tool and strategically relocating surveys within its app, the British bank improved its survey response rate and the quality of feedback it was collecting. 

          The impact on Metro Bank’s business metrics shows that the approach paid off, with a 5% increase in revenue and a growth in the number of customer accounts to three million.

          St. Luke’s Medical Center
          St. Luke’s, a private healthcare facility based in the Philippines, revolutionized its patient feedback management by understanding the importance of good survey design. One of the biggest challenges it faced was a delay in receiving feedback, which made it difficult to address patient concerns in a timely manner.

          After teaming up with InMoment, St. Luke’s was able to connect customer feedback questionnaires to their CX platform for prompt issue resolution. Every time they receive a complaint, an email alert triggers a response from dedicated staff who address patient concerns right away. 

          This enhanced approach helped St. Luke’s collect 40,000+ responses and boost its patient satisfaction score to 8.4/10.

          If I could go back in time and do one thing differently at the beginning of our patient experience program, it would be partnering with InMoment sooner.

          – Dr Narciso Jr. S. Navarro

          Customer Feedback Questionnaire Software

          The right survey software for customer experience will make it easier for you to build, send, and track customer feedback questionnaires. With the help of such a platform, you can:

          • Easily create custom surveys by using templates and customization options that fit your specific business needs. For instance, you should be able to customize surveys in multiple languages to cater to a global audience or choose from various types of questions for comprehensive feedback collection.
          • Distribute surveys across various channels to reach customers where they spend the most time and enhance your response rates. The ideal software should allow customers to access your surveys through different mediums, including in-app, email, SMS, and links/QR codes.
          • Track and analyze responses in real-time to ensure you never miss a trend or opportunity for improvement. Instant analytics that helps you track metrics like NPS or response counts and provide an overview of customer sentiment helps you tweak your CX strategy accordingly.

          Automate the creation of feedback loops to immediately address customer concerns and enhance satisfaction levels. Automated responses to feedback, like a follow-up question or a note of gratitude, help create feedback loops that make it easier to engage customers and make them feel valued.

          CX Manager created a customer feedback questionnaire.

          Get Actionable Insights from Customer Feedback with InMoment

          A customer feedback questionnaire featuring relevant and targeted questions is crucial to collecting insightful feedback. InMoment’s XI platform can help you make the most of your surveys, questionnaires, and feedback forms to enhance customer relationships and your brand reputation. Schedule a demo today and see how our state-of-the-art tools, including Active Listening™, can help you elevate your feedback collection efforts!

          References 

          Zippia. 25 Must-Know Customer Experience Statistics [2023]: The Benefits Of A Positive Customer Experience (https://www.zippia.com/advice/customer-experience-statistics). Accessed 10/10/2024.

          Deloitte. Customer Service Excellence 2023 (https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/fr/Documents/consulting/deloitte_customer-excellence-report-2023.pdf). Accessed 10/10/2024.