CX stands for Customer Experience. We use the term CX to refer to the interaction between you and your customer over the duration of their relationship with you. The CX movement has been a catalyst for the redesign of customer processes and interactions to increase customer loyalty, improve relationships and create more true advocates of your business.
And why is CX so important? It’s a space where you can demonstrate a real competitive advantage.
Many businesses talk a good game when it comes to being customer-centric, but often it’s just that. CX isn’t a fad, it just has a new moniker. It’s here to stay, and we need a new focus on it for the years ahead.
The size of the prize for us as a mortgage broking group is big. We’re looking to attract, convert and retain better customers, reduce our costs, reduce our churn and increase our efficiencies. We’re looking to lead the way in our industry when it comes to market intel and innovation, better respond to the needs of tomorrow’s customer, better anticipation of business trends and customer behaviours. We’re also striving to see the trend of customers choosing to engage a broker continue to rise. 52%+ of Australians choose to use a mortgage broker today and it’s our job to give clients the best CX we can, give them more and more reasons to keep coming back, and to illustrate wherever we can with the many benefits we bring to the table.
How can your business ensure you are focusing on your customers’ experience?
- Listen to your customers at every turn — understand how they are feeling before, during, and after their service experience with you to understand their expectations and how well you’ve managed and met them. Listen in to what they are saying on social media and take advantage of consumer sentiments. Become a thought leader when it comes to uncertainty around rate moves — let your clients know you hear their concerns and address them.
- Review your business processes regularly to ensure you are utilising technological innovation where possible, to make your customers’ experience easier.
- Reinforce your focus on the customer experience with your whole team to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Invest in business and data analytics to better understand what motivates your customers and when is the best time to get in touch with them or better understand the sorts of content or messaging they are looking to engage with. Our Business Intelligence tool is the perfect place to start when it comes to data on your customers to give you the insight you need.
- Spend time understanding the customers who choose NOT to do business with you and their reasons why. Often the most valuable lessons can be learned from those not in your patch and understanding more on the hurdles or barriers as to why they aren’t doing business with you or referring you to their clients.
It’s a well-known and often cited fact that around 80% of consumers will pay more for a product or service to ensure a superior customer experience1.
A recent report by KPMG suggests by far the biggest pain point for Gen Y professionals is the poor customer experience with their banks at a whopping 42%, compared to just 11% who cite interest rates as their biggest pain point2. With stats like this you can see why great CX is so important when it comes to our business and to our ongoing growth.
AFG brokers on the SMART program can easily keep track of their customer feedback with settlement survey data. Your full history is available via Business Intelligence. Talk to your PM to find out more.
1 White House Office of Consumer Affairs
2 KPMG – Banking on the Future report
