Customer experience (aka “CX”) can be the best marketing tool a company can have. If the customer experience is good, it means better sales, better revenue, and long-term loyalty.

There are several ways to generate policy and implement changes that come at very little cost to the company. Or, for the bigger expenses, the enhancement of customer experience is great enough to make it a wise investment on future returns. Below are four ways to enhance CX, in order to get a boost in customer loyalty and company reputation.

• Expand communication  options. Give customers a chance to initiate a customer experience at the level that is most convenient for them. If they want to start out with a phone call, then move to chat, or send a follow-up email, they should be able to do so. All communications should not be like starting over every time. This can be accomplished by giving the customer a reference number on their first communication that they can use throughout their entire experience with the company.
• Know the customer base.  If a company is aware of who their customers are, they can offer products and services that are aligned with the customers’ comfort zones. For      example, if the main demographic is over 60 years of age, they might not enjoy having to communicate via chat bot or email. They may want a help line that doesn’t have an impersonal menu, and has a person who speaks their language right on the other line. Other demographics may never want to make a phone call, preferring to resolve things via email and SMS.  Offer services that are appropriate to your demographic as well as to your  brand.
• Enhance employee experience. Well-trained, knowledgeable employees who are motivated with simple systems to navigate and rewards for excellence will pass along that great experience to their customers. Make sure that employees are given      considerations, and they will, in turn, give excellent considerations to the customers. This shows with companies such as Starbucks and Apple. The better the employees are treated, the better they treat the customers, thereby enhancing the customer experience.
• Solicit feedback from  customers, and listen. Customers love surveys and getting their say regarding a product, service, or other contact. It is important not only to take this feedback from customers, but to take it seriously. This can be acknowledged by feedback on feedback from customer care representatives, or it can be demonstrated by implementation of some of the customers’ ideas. It can be done by publishing survey results,  announcing changes suggested by customers in a newsletter, or other communications.

Using these tips to generate a better customer experience can increase profitability while keeping costs under control. It’s well worth the expense to implement some of these and come at very little risk to the company’s bottom line.