What turns you away from a website, advertisement, or a company?
Perhaps it’s the message itself or the way a brand is presented. Sometimes the information is just too scattered, time-consuming, or confusing! Today’s consumers face a barrage of competing messages, so each intersection between a customer and your business is critical.
These points of contact, or touchpoints, represent points of interaction with a customer or a prospect at any stage of their customer journey. Touchpoints provide you critical opportunities to engage leads, build brand awareness, address concerns, market products or services, or to tell your story.
Building an End-to-End Customer Experience
Grouping touchpoints chronologically can be helpful as it allows you to see things from an outside perspective.
Here are just a handful of touchpoints:
- Social Media Campaigns
- Print Advertisements
- Company Events
- Product Catalogs
- Conversations with Company Representatives
- Landing Pages
- Professional Website
- Point of Sale Displays
- Cross-Sales Promotions
- Thank You Letters or Post-Purchase Surveys
- Customer Support Services
- Newsletter Subscriptions
- Loyalty Programs
Are you looking for creative options for your customer touchpoints? This is where things can get really fun! Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
- One bicycle shop printed metal business cards that doubled as a pedal wrench.
- One cosmetics company found that engaging online shoppers with a chat box boosted sales by 20 percent.
- One home builder sent direct-mail testimonials from satisfied clients to leads who had inquired through digital channels.
- For one promotion, Nike packaged its Nike Air Max shoes in clear plastic wrapping that made it appear as if the shoes were floating inside a bubble.
- To highlight the space-saving benefits of home organization, one Ikea store painted its main staircase as a chest of drawers, with objects inside each “step” perfectly organized.
Evaluating and Improving Your Touchpoints
Many businesses overlook the power of coordinated touchpoints.
But put yourself in a client’s shoes. When you are engaging with a business, you enter each interaction with the assumption you can ask questions, receive support, or weigh costs and benefits for a potential purchase. As you take progressive steps, you are met with intentional, friendly, and helpful responses. Does this increase your chance of making a commitment? Absolutely!
Simply having a touchpoint in place is no longer an option. Rather, each touchpoint must perfectly represent your brand, offering a cohesive, captivating message. How can you be sure each point optimizes, satisfies, or invites? Here are three steps to consider:
1. LIST
List all your current touchpoints, including websites, e-mails, customer service, direct mail, etc.
2. EVALUATE
Use objective observers to give an unbiased review of each touchpoint.
This process of discovery enables you to find “weak links” and make necessary corrections.
3. TAKE ACTION
Overcome deficits by viewing weak touchpoints as opportunities for growth.
After listing and evaluating touchpoints, now take a customer-centered understanding of what’s working and what’s not. Excellent touchpoints should be relevant to customer needs, endearing in a way that builds emotional connection or increases interest, and appropriate to the greater context of the interaction.
Evaluating and enhancing your touchpoints will sharpen communication and help move people seamlessly toward a point of purchase. Build an end-to-end customer experience that unifies your brand message and optimizes every customer experience!