As technology advances at breakneck speed:

• 81% of customers now expect faster service, and
• 73% expect better personalization

The digital age demands more than a basic portfolio website or mediocre customer service; businesses must continuously exceed customer expectations or face obsolescence.

But, where do you start to exceed a customer’s experience expectations?

Today, we’re uncovering 10 innovative ideas to improve customer experience, backed by a business success story.

Table of Contents

1. What is innovation in customer experience?
2. How does innovation increase customer satisfaction?
3. How can innovation improve customer experience?
4. What are examples of customer experience?

What is Innovation in Customer Experience?

Innovation in customer experience looks for continuously creative ways to improve your customer experience (CX) across your website, digital products, store, customer service, and any other channel that touches customers.  

It starts by getting CX right by removing every possible friction and making it easiest for customers to achieve their goals. From there, it looks at leveraging new technologies, developing more personalized engagement strategies, or reimagining your entire customer service journey to be more personal, motivating, and gratifying.

Innovation is about staying ahead of customer expectations and setting new standards in customer satisfaction and engagement.

How Does Innovation Increase Customer Satisfaction? Technology Meets Data and Customer-Centric Strategy

Innovation increases customer satisfaction by finding infinite ways to help customers quickly and easily fulfil their intentions. These intentions differ by customer and business but might be helping a customer find the perfect online gift, an employee download a new report to impress their boss, or a mom relieve her worry by talking to a telehealth doctor.

You’ll notice each of these examples has a digital component – 74% of customers expect to be able to do anything online they can do in-person or by phone.

In our digital-first world, technology to improve customer experience is not just an option; it's a necessity.

Luckily, businesses today have more tools and data to understand where customers feel pain or frustration throughout their experience to incrementally make it better. They have more channels to talk directly to customers and learn how to surpass expectations.

Innovations in analytics, AI, personalization, and experimentation enable businesses to truly take a customer-first approach and offer more tailored, efficient, and engaging customer experiences, significantly boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

How Can Innovation Improve Customer Experience?

Improving customer experience through innovation involves a strategic blend of technology and data to fuel seamless delivery, improved engagement, and meaningful personalization.

Far from comprehensive, here are 10 ways to improve customer experience:

1. Channel Optimization

Give customers multiple options to get in touch with you — email, phone, in-person, mobile Apps, online chat, portals, SMS, social media, online communities, video chat, etc.

Make sure data from each channel is fed into a customer data platform (CDP) to empower your teams with a complete view of the customer experience.

Then, share information and engage customers on the channels they frequent most, tailoring your approach to avoid overextension and maintain quality.

2. Self-Service

Nine out of 10 customers globally would prefer a business to have self-service.

Whether it’s through a more content- and resource-website, mobile app, on online portal, empower customers to answer their own questions and complete tasks in the quickest and most convenient solutions.

3. Artificial intelligence (AI)‍

Artificial intelligence is supercharging all aspects of customer experience.

From product recommendations to automated chatbot responses, predictive analytics, and enhanced personalization, try out different ways to use AI to deliver more value for your customers and teams.‍

4. Human Element

Even with advanced technology, the availability of human assistance remains a critical differentiator, especially for complex customer needs.

For example, when customers reach out to your service agents for help, offer speedy options to get to a human – we all know the frustration of some painstaking automated call systems.

5. Superior Customer Service‍

First impressions last; ensure your initial customer service experience is exceptional to build brand loyalty.

This means, giving your customer teams quality training and integrated technology, so they can access past activity data about customers to better resolve their needs.

6. Anticipate Expectations‍

Use data and automation to proactively address customer needs and deliver personalized updates and information.

A great example here is emailing retailers when products they’ve previously stocked in their stores go on sale or sending reminder SMS messages to remind customers to complete necessary paperwork for upcoming doctor appointments.  

7. Feedback Loops

Implement systems to gather and act on customer feedback, continuously improving the customer experience based on real, actionable insights.

8. Accessibility

‍In the US, 26 million people live with a disability, which can make it difficult to impossible to use some websites and online products.

Ensure your services and platforms are accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities or lifestyle limitations (like poor wifi), to provide an inclusive customer experience.

9. Experimentation

‍There’s always room for improvement - experimentation tells you the most impactful ways to improve.

Run experiments and tests to learn how customers respond to different factors – like changing a landing page layout, improving messaging, or breaking a long webform into a short, multistep experience.

10. Expert Partners

‍Bringing in an outside POV (like a CX Audit) reveals ideas and opportunities that may not be obvious, when you’re in the weeds.

Hajar Mitchell, Whereoware's Senior Digital Strategist over emphasizes, "Having a proximity bias, or being too close to your product deterrers you from understanding where the 'chinks in your armor' are."

Collaborate with a customer experience agency to leverage their expertise and get ideas from other industries to craft cutting-edge customer experience strategies and differentiate from others in your space. (We’re not afraid of the shameless plug around here.)

Auditing your CX is like a 48-point car inspection ensuring every part is working perfectly. Hajar explains the critical importance of examining every element of your digital presence to build a brand that resonates loyalty and trust.

Remember, you don’t have to tackle all ten steps at once. Use data to continuously evolve your CX strategy over time and measure what works best for your audience.

What Are Examples of Customer Experience?

Customers want fast, consistent, and personalized interactions, every time they engage with a business.

Addressing this need, our client Century Communities, meets and exceeds these expectations through a transformative approach to the homebuying process.

With the ambitious goal of making the most significant purchase of a person's life—homebuying as easy as possible, Century Communities become the first homebuilder to sell homes online from start to finish.

Partnering with Whereoware and leveraging Optimizely’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to unify their offerings, Century Communities streamlined the transaction process and enhanced the customer journey at every phase.

This customer experience innovation example shows how Century evolved their offering to exceed expectations of modern homebuyers - showcasing the power of technology and strategy in transforming customer experience.

In Conclusion

Innovation in customer experience is not just about adopting new technologies; it’s rethinking how to engage and satisfy your customers' needs and goals as they change over time. It’s not one and done, there’s always an opportunity to deliver more value.

Working with a customer experience agency like Whereoware provides the expertise and insight needed to navigate these challenges and seize the opportunities innovation presents.