Now that I've defined what the customer experience isn't, let's take a look at what it is and should be.
In my post "What is Customer Experience" I started with a general definition from Wikipedia. It says that the customer experience is "the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services..."
This is definitely a good basic starting point. However, in our society of an open web and social interactions, is it enough?
In a comment, indicated that in defining the customer experience "a company should try to understand everything about [the experience], is not limited to experiences with the supplier."
I agree with Wim. Products and services aren't used and valued in a vacuum. We need to extend the customer experience to everything that influences the customer's perception of the product.
Wim continues with: "The Customer's experience with a brand extends all the way to experiences with the product or service itself and/or the partners involved in delivery of the value proposition, to name but a few."
Going even further, we should include the customer's social interactions which affect the brand perception. What do I mean? Let's try a crazy example...
Wild Lawn Maintenance
Let's say that your company produces lawnmowers but instead of making them red or green, you paint them hot pink. Your customer gets up Saturday morning and goes out to cut his/her lawn with their new hot pink mower.
What kind of reaction and interaction will they get from their neighbours? It will almost certainly bring about comments and discussion but will this be a positive or negative influence and for whom. Your customer may very well get positive comments from people who like the originality but also get negative comments from those who resist change.
This will impact the customer's experience and their likelihood of purchasing from you again or recommending your product. It will also influence those neighbours who see it and comment on it.
Now, what if, to reduce the price point, your company has skimped on the motor and it is underpowered or needs frequent maintenance? This may take more time to elicit a reaction but their now ill-maintained lawn may elicit negative reactions from neighbours.
Or, let's say that you want to tout your mowers as being eco-friendly and make them run on alcohol? Your customers may feel good about doing something for the environment which is a positive influence, but will it still be positive when they have to find sources of this alcohol and notice that they're buying it in plastic 1 litre bottles?
These may seem like ridiculous examples but I wanted to show the breadth of the potential impact. Many things that are outside of your direct control will influence the customer's perception. If you don't take them into account, you aren't looking at the "customer" experience, your still focusing on yourself.
New Enhanced Definition
So let's try a new enhanced definition of the customer experience that is about the customer.
The Customer Experience is the sum of all experiences that a customer has with or about a specific product or service. This includes interactions with the supplier, related suppliers/distributors/vendors, usage and social interactions. It is about how the customer experiences the product and/or service; not about how it affects the supplier.
What do you think? Am I missing something? Or is it too complex?
Cheers!
Eric
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photo credit: Matt McGee