CX, or Customer Experience, is the sum of a customer’s perceptions of a brand or a business as the result of their interactions with it. CX is an ongoing and evolving process that spans from before a customer engages with an organization to the point of interaction to the time after a product or service has been received. Each touchpoint along the customer journey—from a company’s website to its email campaigns—influences CX and, consequently, a customer’s relationship with the company.
Companies leverage CX technologies to make customer experience more enjoyable, engaging and conducive to buying their products or services. Examples of CX technology include self-service portals, intelligent virtual assistants (IVRs) and chatbots and voicebots. Many companies employ a customer experience management (CEM or CXM) system to manage and evaluate multiple CX touchpoints. Unlike CRM, which uses data to track, analyze and facilitate customer engagement, CEM gauges a customer’s perception of a brand or a business, often through Voice of the Customer surveys and other feedback methods.
Because company perception impacts sales, customer loyalty, brand advocacy and more, building a positive CX is vital to a company’s bottom line. The emergence of conversational AI and automation is enabling companies to integrate and streamline their CX programs, creating an easier and more intuitive customer experience across all touchpoints. The result: higher conversion rates, better customer satisfaction (CSAT) and net promoter scores (NPS) and reduced customer churn.