Many companies have an almost obsessive focus on customer touchpoints. These moments, such as a call for technical support or a visit to a store, are important, without a doubt, but what happens when we are left alone with that fragmented vision? Well, the full perspective of what customers are actually experiencing is lost. And that, in today's world, is no longer enough.

It's the customer journey that matters

The article “The Truth About Customer Experience” captures this concept well. And what I rescue the most is how companies tend to measure satisfaction at specific times without considering the entire customer journey. Let's imagine that someone interacts with a company six times in three months: each interaction could be “perfect” on its own, but if those six experiences don't connect well with each other, the customer may be frustrated.

When we think about the customer experience, we should imagine a complete journey, not a series of isolated events. If we don't focus on how those interactions are linked together, we're leaving out the most important part of the equation: the overall impression that remains in the customer's mind. And this is where I think a lot of companies - and I'm not just talking about the big ones - are falling short.

It's not just what we do, it's how we connect it*

A specific case mentioned in the article is that of a pay TV company. They were impeccable at managing each interaction separately: calls to the care center, technical visits, attention on the website. But when they looked deeper, they discovered that customers were dissatisfied with the process of signing up new users. The problem was not in the points of contact, but in the lack of cohesion between them. Every call or technical visit was resolved correctly, but there was no effort to understand how those pieces fit together. At the end of the day, what appeared to be an excellent individualized service ended up being a poor overall experience.

I think these types of lessons are invaluable for those of us who work on the continuous improvement of the customer experience. Not only must we be attentive to each point of contact, but to how they intertwine and generate a coherent story.

Key Trips: Detect and Redesign*

What I like most about the article's approach is that it's not about solving all problems at once, but about identifying the customer journeys that most impact customer satisfaction and business performance. Often, these critical points are right in front of us, but it's easy to overlook them when we're focused only on the metrics specific to each touchpoint.

The interesting thing is that, when we manage to redesign these key trips, the results are surprising. Efficiency improvements, lower customer abandonment rates and, what matters most to us, happier customers. And that not only benefits the customer, but it creates a much more motivating work environment for all of us behind the curtains.

At woku, we connect the moments to see the full story*

At woku, we've taken these principles and taken them one step further. It's not just about analyzing each review or interaction in isolation, but about understanding how they connect to each other over time. The wokus we capture represent those specific moments in which a customer interacts with a product or service. Each woku is an instant that reflects the customer's perception, but what's truly valuable is how those moments are connected.

To achieve this, we group the wokus into a folder system. In this way, not only do we have a fragmented view of what happened in each interaction, but we can unite those moments in a logical and coherent sequence, obtaining reports that reflect the complete customer experience. The most interesting thing is that, being homogeneous to each other, wokus allow us to generate these connections in a clear and precise way. This makes it easier for our customers to make decisions that are more informed and aligned with the bigger picture.↑

The focus on customer journeys teaches us that perfection in every interaction isn't enough. We need to see the big picture and design experiences that not only solve specific problems, but that create a coherent and seamless story. That's where the real magic of the customer experience lies, and at woku, we make sure to offer just that comprehensive vision.↑

References

Rawson, A., Duncan, E., & Jones, C. (2013). The truth about customer experience. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/09/the-truth-about-customer-experience