In a highly competitive business world, customer experience (CX) has become an essential pillar for any organization that aspires to grow sustainably. Especially if we talk about the digital era, and specifically technology companies, where differentiating yourself is a challenge in itself. But beyond the fact that CX is a strategy to retain customers, how can we understand CX from a holistic perspective? And more importantly, why is it important to understand CX horizontally in your company?

What is customer experience?

Customer experience is the product of a customer's perceptions after interacting rationally, physically, emotionally and/or psychologically with any part of a company. It is the relationship that the brand has with the people with whom it interacts (customers or leads).

CX covers every interaction that a brand has with each customer throughout their life cycle (customer journey), from the first interaction (for example, first visit to the website), to after-sales service. 

We can identify 2 key paths of experience: 

1. Purchase process: every interaction that impacts purchase decision
2. Loyalty process: when customers are very satisfied, they will want to recommend us. These are ideal clients for cross-selling strategies as well.
   
   

The importance of a holistic vision

For many companies, customer experience is still perceived as the exclusive responsibility of marketing or customer service departments (such as Support teams). However, taking a holistic approach means that every area of ​​the business, from sales to management to product development, plays a key role in creating a consistent and seamless customer experience.

This comprehensive vision ensures that all points of contact between the client and the company are aligned and that there is coherence where the client, no matter who they communicate with, always feels that they are talking to the same company, with the same values ​​and the same style of communication. In this way we maximize user satisfaction and encourage loyalty, as well as the coherence of communications and the general message we want to give. This ensures that both the logical and emotional perception of our clients is consistent, transparent and in unity.

Tangible benefits of a holistic CX

1. Greater customer loyalty and retention: When customers feel that their experience is seamless and personalized, they are more inclined to continue choosing your brand/company.
2. Competitive differentiation: In saturated markets, a superior customer experience can be the decisive factor that sets you apart from the competition. Instead of competing by product or price, the CX gives us a huge and highly valued differential factor.
3. Impact on brand reputation: Positive experiences tend to generate word-of-mouth recommendations and favorable feedback, which strengthens the brand's reputation.
4. Optimization of internal processes: A holistic approach requires all departments to work together to improve processes that directly impact the customer, from logistics to product innovation.

So how can I implement a holistic CX strategy?

1. Know your client: Collecting and analyzing data from your customers is essential. Tools such as satisfaction surveys, NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys and real-time feedback analysis will help you better understand expectations.
2. Encourage internal communication and work jointly between different teams: This helps ensure that everyone is working in the same direction.
3. Train your team: Customer experience does not only depend on external interactions; Employees who feel valued and well-trained will provide better service.
4. Adapt technology: Use technology to your advantage to personalize interactions, from advanced CRMs to chatbots and predictive analytics tools.
5. Sell ​​solutions, not products or services: More and more customers want to interact with people, and feel special in the purchasing processes. They want to feel that they are not just a customer with whom there was a transaction, but they want to feel something of that process. Thinking about creative and innovative actions, in this sense, can stand out from the competition, both in B2C and B2B companies.

Conclusions

A holistic customer experience is not just a passing trend, but a key strategy for long-term business success. As customer expectations continue to evolve, companies that prioritize an integrated, consistent and memorable experience will position themselves at the forefront of innovation and sustainable growth.

✨If you want to know more about the tactics we use at WorkWithPlus, to generate a holistic customer experience strategy in the GeneXus community, you can contact our Marketing team, and we will be happy to help you.