Find out where your current customer experience fits on the CX spectrum and how to optimize it for bigger ROI, ROAS, and profit margins.
Reading time: 8-10 minutes
Here’s what we’re discussing in this post:
- the data behind why customer experience is so important to your profit margins
- the 3 main types of customer experience, with examples, so you can analyze what type of CX your brand is using
- specific benchmarks, data, and symptoms of each type of customer experience
- how to recognize and optimize for the type of customer experience that has the highest KPI’s, profit margins, and brand champions who buy everything you sell refer everyone they know
The most successful customer experience for ethical businesses is the one that creates brand champions who buy everything you sell and refer everyone they know.
So your brand grows like wildfire and becomes a force for good in the world.
In the previous 3 sections of this series, we talked about the competitive advantage that ethical businesses have (that you might not be leveraging effectively) and how it can boost profit margins, reduce expenses, and make change the world money.
We also looked at the importance of happy customers who become brand champions and how they’re created (not attracted.)
And we made the shocking discovery about where most brands let hot leads go cold that causes them to struggle with retention rates, referrals, and repeat sales.
Now we’re going to dig into the data that helps you determine which customer experience (aka “CX”) you currently have and exactly how it impacts (or limits) your success.
My goal on this page is to leave you with a clear roadmap so you have the power to look at your own data and determine where you need to take action.
An Ethical Customer Experience Is A Profitable Customer Experience
Speaking of data, the numbers are immensely in your favor:
90%
of customers are willing to pay more to an ethical business,1
80%
want to support businesses who align with their values,2
86%
of customers spend up to 13% more when they’ve had a great experience.3
It simply makes sense for ethical brands to optimize their customer experience systems.
Especially when 89% of customers leave for a competitor after a bad experience.4 (Yikes!)
After working with numerous businesses in different industries, I’ve noticed that most customer experience funnels fit into one of 3 categories and each category has a different level of success.
2 of the 3 limit the overall success of the business while the 3rd has almost limitless potential for growth.
Hint: the 3rd one is the most ethical and it creates brand champions who want to help you grow your business and change the world!
Ok, quick stop to define a few terms we use regularly:
I’m using the word “funnel” here to refer to whatever your post-sales process is, whether it’s automated or not, low-touch, high-touch, or anything else. Like the funnel that guides leads to the sale, this is the funnel after the sale that guides your customers to becoming loyal fans and repeat buyers.
And we use the term “customer” throughout this series to refer to any type of buyer: clients, students, members, etc. “Customer experience” is a catch-all phrase just like “customer journey.” (And CX is the abbreviation for customer experience.)
One more important preface:
Customer experience funnels aren’t something most businesses focus on at the beginning.
We all start somewhere and optimize our way to higher and higher success. There’s no shame or judgement here!
3 Types Of Customer Experience
WHICH ONE DO YOU HAVE?
ONE
The Template: this CX means well but is actually chasing customers into the arms of the competition. It has the lowest profit margins.
TWO
The Corporate: this CX is designed to help the business succeed, not the customer. It leads to bigger profit margins but hits a glass ceiling.
THREE
The Champion: this CX creates superfans who boost every KPI and turn your brand into a force for good in the world. It leads to bigger profit margins with virtually no limits.
(INADVERTENTLY) CHASING CUSTOMERS AWAY
The Template
We (briefly) introduced this customer experience in part 3 when we talked about order confirmation/thank you pages that chase customers away.
I call this one “The Template” because it’s often just that ~ using the template that came with your sales funnel design. A lot of effort and expertise goes into the sales page, but the thank you page and beyond is sparse and formulaic.
The result, for customers, is feeling all the hype and excitement that the sales page built up…falls flat and fizzles out on the order confirmation page.
And then the brand has the audacity to ask for another sale in the pages/emails that follow? Outrageous.
This customer experience has been the norm for over a decade because online sales were new and easy and it didn’t take much to impress customers. Back before they were burnt by scammers & companies that only cared about quantity, not quality.
There’s nothing wrong with using this type of CX at the beginning, when you’re more focused on lead gen than lifetime value. But it’s a stepping stone, not a permanent solution.
How to recognize a Template CX:
- Order confirmation pages say things like, “check your inbox” or “join our Facebook group” which literally chases customers away from your site, to a place that’s filled with your competitors’ ads and messages.
(Plus, inboxes and FB are often associated with feelings of guilt and overwhelm when filled with messages/people they’ve been putting off or trying to ignore.)
- Making customers feel like the energy and excitement of the sales page ended the moment they handed over their money.
- Predictable/formulaic email nurture sequences that start upselling without segmenting who is ready to buy right now and moving everyone else to a list that builds more trust before upselling.
- Pop up windows that pop up before your visitor has had time to read/watch what they came for.
BUSINESS SUCCESS BEFORE CUSTOMER SUCCESS
The Corporate
I call this one The Corporate because it’s designed for the success of the business more than the success of the customer. (But even ethical brands who genuinely care about customer success often end up with it until they learn about other options.)
The Corporate will increase profit margins because it’s optimized for upsells and repeat sales. But eventually, it hits a glass ceiling. Happy customers are buying, but not bragging about it. Every sale has to be bought at the current rising cost of ad spend.
As a result, The Corporate requires extra investment (money and effort) to generate reviews, testimonials, UGC, social proof, referrals, and recurring sales. And business owners start looking for ways to reduce costs without reducing sales.
It’s not a bad place to be, but it’s still a stepping stone to bigger impact and income (and growing a movement that changes the world.)
A MOVEMENT OF BRAND CHAMPIONS
The Champion
I call this one The Champion for two reasons ~
One, because it’s an example of peak performance.
And two, because it creates brand champions who do the marketing for you.
Brand champions are superfans who fall in love with buying from you. They tell everyone they know how awesome it is to be your customer and then buy everything you sell.
This CX has the biggest profit margins because customers do a lot of the marketing for you, for free. It focuses on impact (customer success) which increases income, without the extra expenses.
And let’s be real, it’s not just about the money. Bigger profit margins give your business room to scale, the freedom to take bigger risks, and the influence to truly change the world.
The Champion rallies your customers around your cause and turns your business into a movement that makes a difference every time you make a sale.
How to recognize a Champion CX:
- Customers excitedly talk about their amazing results in the comments section of your ads (without bribes, often without even being asked), leading to higher ROAS.
- Bigger and bigger LTV every year because customers jump at the chance to buy every time you put an offer in front of them.
- Consistent organic sales because your brand is mentioned, tagged, and talked about every time someone asks for recommendations.
- When you ask your audience to participate in an event, cause, or opportunity, they take action en masse (no bribes needed.) Your customer base is a movement that is easily inspired to action.
- Consistent UGC and posts that tag your brand/offers, by customers that are genuinely happy to show off their results.
The Champion Increases:
RETURN ON AD SPEND
which means more profits in your pockets instead of Zuck’s
ORGANIC SALES
which reduces ad spend and time spent on social media
SOCIAL PROOF
because brand champions love to tell others about their success
BRAND ACTIVISM
because you have the income to donate and the influence to inspire others
Optimize Your Customer Experience Funnels
By now, you’ve probably self-diagnosed which CX you’re working with.
And you’re probably right. (The data doesn’t lie!)
If you have The Template, you’re probably wishing you had at least The Corporate and dreaming of the day you’ll have The Champion.
If you have The Corporate, you’re probably happy with the CX that got you this far, and ready for bigger impact, influence, and profit margins.
And if you have The Champion, but you’ve hit a wall, you’re probably wondering where it’s broken or what needs tweaked.
Of course, no one expects you to learn all this from scratch ~ customer psychology, relationship marketing, user experience, conversion design, accessibility, and all the things.
You’re here to make a difference and a million bucks, not become a CX expert!
Instead, spend an hour inside our CX Starter Kit and we’ll help you optimize your current CX and start building for a better future.
We’ll meet for 30 minutes (video on or off) to discuss your goals, KPI’s and current situation. Afterwards, you’ll get a CEO-level video assessment plus a checklist of optimizations you can hand off or DIY.
Most of our clients see a minimum of 32% increase in customer loyalty from implementing this assessment alone.
Click to learn more (even if you’re just curious at this point) and/or book a spot on our calendar:
Examples Of A “Champion” Customer Experience
Thank you/order confirmation pages
Thank you pages that keep the energy going and help buyers get value right away. The first page a customer sees after completing their purchase starts delivering on the promises that the sales page made.
No time for buyer’s remorse because customers start getting value immediately, even if they have to wait for the actual offer to be delivered at a later time.
Delivery
Opportunities to leave reviews, feedback, and UGC woven organically into the experience like a conversation instead of an easy-to-ignore email asking for help.
That feeling of “I’ve barely started using it and I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth.”
Engagement
Using customer psychology and your customer’s own internal motivators to inspire engagement that feels natural and easy.
Emails that delight and surprise because they’re so different from the predictable emails customers ignore from every other business, which leads to higher open rates, higher click-through rates, and higher conversion rates.
Not relying on email alone to engage with customers and prioritizing the customer’s preferred communication style. For example, giving them the option to leave comments, use the chat widget, DM you on social media, text message, video message, audio message, Voxer, and/or telephone you.
Automation
Automations that feel high-touch and authentic, even when the customer is completely aware that they’re automated.
Brand values
“Walking your talk” when it comes to brand values, using the experience itself to show your brand values in action.
How A “Champion” Customer Experience Boosts KPI’s
Higher customer success rates
which means more people are ready (and qualified) to buy the next thing from you.
Higher engagement rates
because customers feel inspired and motivated to engage right away and they associate your brand with engagement over the long-term (which makes them more likely to leave reviews, comment on your ads, tag you in social media posts, and create UGC.)
Higher retention rates
because customers who see results in the beginning are more likely to keep coming back for more.
Higher attendance rates
at group calls, in customer communities, at live events, and even webinars – because your events have a higher perceived value than average.
More referrals
because customers who enjoy their experience also enjoy referring others, knowing the other person will go through the same experience. It makes them look like the hero for recommending this amazing experience.
And, you can count on them to share it with more than one person! According to Esteban Kolsky, 72% of customers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people! Imagine getting 6 new customers for free for every brand champion you create.
Higher return on customer acquisition costs
because more of your existing customers are buying from you again and again.
Higher ROAS and conversion rates
because new prospects see the positive comments on your ads from previous customers.
More organic traffic and sales
as a result of the increase in referrals, social proof, UGC, and positive reviews.
Higher average cart values, higher LTV, and bigger profit-margins
because (as we saw at the top of this page) 86% of customers spend up to 13% more when they’ve had a great experience.
Clearly, an optimized customer experience is the key to boosting profit margins and reducing expenses to grow your ethical business!
Let’s continue this conversation!
Of course, customer experiences evolve as consumers become more sophisticated (or jaded) and as technology evolves to give us new ways to personalize each touch point.
We hope you’ll join us on this adventure to change the world via customer relationships and make a difference every time you make a sale!
We’ll continue publishing blog posts, mini-courses, workshops, done-with-you, and done-for-you services to keep you at the forefront of ethical, movement-growing CX.
Here are a few of the ways you can keep in touch or go deeper into this topic with us:
Done-for-you customer experience resources:
We offer unique, built-from-scratch strategies and funnel builds, CRM customization, content creation, UGC strategies, email copywriting, automations, and more. You can email us directly to chat about your specific situation here: Contact Us
We also highly recommend starting with our CX Starter Kit so we can get to know you, your brand, and your funnels. This allows you to get something in place quickly while we work on the bigger solution (and it gives you a risk-free taste of what it’s like to work with us before investing more time and money.)
For CEO-level conversations about CX (or just to stay in the loop), join our email list and hang out with us on Instagram.
Done-with-you customer experience help: (or dip your toes into what it’s like to work with us)
The CX Starter Kit is the best place to start for every budget and brand. This gives us a chance to work together on the first 24 hours of your customer experience for a single funnel so you can see results quickly and get a taste of what’s possible.
Keep in touch and stay in the loop about ethical customer experience ideas and practices by joining our email list and hanging out with us on Instagram.
DIY customer experience tips:
The CX Starter Kit is also a great DIY option because you’ll get expert help that you can implement on your own within a bootstrapping budget.
Also, hang out with us on Instagram and click the star to add us to your favorites so you don’t miss our next DIY workshop.
You’re also welcome to join our email list for CEO-level discussions about how to get the best ROI from your CX, but please note: we don’t share DIY tips there (unless it’s something ridiculously quick and easy to implement.)
DIY is something we feel requires more time and focus than an email can responsibly provide to a wide audience so we save the DIY stuff for our workshops where we can get hands-on together.
Thanks for reading and thinking about how your business can change the world through customer experiences!
~Mollie
- We talked about this in part 1, but here’s that sauce again. ↩︎
- Also from part 1, here’s the proof. ↩︎
- American Express originally published this stat in 2011, saying 74% of consumers spend up to 13% more for a great customer experience, but then this article published in 2023 says it’s up to 86% now. ↩︎
- This is an older stat from an Oracle report in 2011 but I haven’t seen the number change since then, so we’ll keep it until we hear otherwise. ↩︎
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