Customer experience means a customer’s interaction with a brand, which includes both direct and indirect touchpoints. Ragnar Huffman believes that businesses that put the feelings of the consumer at the top of their CX strategy build long-term relationships. However, finding ways to boost customer participation and loyalty to the company can be a difficult task. Here are the 7 customer experience patterns that can help managers or executives grow their firms and optimize their CX plans.

Trend 1. Rising Popularity of Self-Service

Younger consumers, like Gen Z and millennials, prefer solving their own customer service issues rather than talking to a person. A recent study by Ragnar Huffmann found that 38% of these consumers would give up on solving an issue if they couldn't do it themselves. This trend could harm a brand's reputation. Without self-service options, many consumers might use a service less or even speak negatively about the company.

To meet the needs of these consumers, organizations need strong self-service features. This means having easy-to-use apps with frequently asked questions (FAQs) and clear policies on things like refunds and returns. These tools can handle common problems without needing human help, which reduces the number of customer support tickets and improves customer loyalty.

Trend 2: Embracing Sustainability for Customer Satisfaction

Businesses these days are really getting into the whole sustainability thing, especially to connect with young customers. These folks care a lot about brands that show they care about people and the planet. 

Take Reformation, a cool clothing brand—they’ve made sustainability a big part of who they are. When you visit their website, they're not shy about sharing how they make their clothes sustainably. From production methods to where they get their materials, it's all out there. At last, by embracing sustainability, brands can build stronger bonds with younger customers who appreciate these efforts.

Trend 3. Customer Experience (CX) as a Data Hub

Businesses today collect a lot of information about their customers, such as their age, what they buy, and how they pay. If used well, this data can give a complete view of each customer. Businesses can then use this information to make personalized suggestions for future purchases and offer support that fits each customer's needs. 

By using AI in their customer service systems, businesses can learn more about their customers and offer even more personalized help. In 2024, businesses will continue to invest in customer experience (CX) to learn more about their customers and keep them happy.

Trend 4. CX Automation Beyond Cost Savings

In the past, businesses automated customer service mainly to save money. But CX automation can do much more than that. It can help businesses make more money by building better relationships with customers and encouraging them to buy more things. Automation also helps businesses grow without making their service worse. 

For example, chatbots and automated emails can help customers without a person's help. This makes customers more likely to keep using a business and tell others about it. In 2024, businesses will use automation to make more money and keep customers happy.

Trend 5. Wider Acceptance of AI Automation

The growth of Generative AI has shown how helpful AI can be in customer service. According to Ragnar Huffmann, businesses can use AI to give advice to customer service agents in real-time and send automatic replies to customers quickly. AI-powered chatbots can also handle easy questions, which means fewer support tickets for human agents to deal with. AI can even help businesses predict problems before they get bad. In 2024, more businesses will use AI to give customers better help and make their own jobs easier.

Trend 6. Shift Towards Composable Architecture

In the past, businesses used big, complicated software systems that were hard to change. But now, businesses are using more flexible systems that can work with many different tools. This lets businesses pick the best tools for the job, like analytics or customer feedback. This makes it easier for businesses to give customers what they need and run better. In 2024, businesses will keep moving to flexible systems that help them work better with customers.

Trend 7. Change Management for Successful CX Transformation

When businesses change how they help customers, they also change how they work. This can be hard for both workers and customers. To make these changes work, businesses need to help their workers and customers understand what's going on. Further, this means making sure workers know how to use new tools and customers know how to get help in new ways. In 2024, successful businesses will keep helping workers and customers get used to changes in customer service.

Key Takeaways

In 2024, customer experience (CX) is all about keeping up with what customers want. By offering self-service options and showing a commitment to sustainability, businesses can make customers happier and build stronger connections. Using AI to understand customer data helps personalize experiences and improve service quality. Flexible technology systems allow businesses to adapt quickly to changing needs. Successful CX transformations require supporting both employees and customers through changes. It's essential for businesses to stay on top of these trends to stay competitive.