Magic Moments. From CX to Customer Delight.

The Expected

One of my Oxford professors, from Chartered Institute of Marketing, told me: “Alexandra, you must always ask yourself “what comes next after customer experience?”

Customer experience (CX) is undeniably critical in ensuring that a brand meets the baseline expectations of its customers, with around 71% of customers expecting companies to deliver a smooth, seamless experience. Despite the importance of CX, it does not inherently generate growth or brand loyalty. Many customers view a smooth experience as the bare minimum—something that every brand should provide. They expect a certain level of satisfaction and experience based on their previous interactions with the brand or other brands in the market. This means that simply meeting expectations might not lead to significant business differentiation or customer loyalty. Actually, most of the times a good CX leaves customers neutral.

So, if a solid customer experience doesn’t move the needle anymore, what does?

The Magic

A recent McKinsey report confirms that growth is built on delight evoked through customer magic moments (CMM), and that customer delight requires a certain philosophy and execution spread throughout the whole organization. 

Although quite difficult to measure delight and its immediate impact on business, advocates of CMM proclaim its potential to create strong emotional connections between customers and brands. And these strong emotional connections lead to loyalty, referral and higher revenues.

Data from McKinsey report, which analyzed 3 industries over a longer period of time, shows that introducing magic moments that lead to customer delight, has following average business impact:

·       20% increase in revenue

·       25% increase in retention

·       70% increase in likelihood to refer the brand

The Delight

It is of course easier said than done, and the general perception of executives is that magic moments cost money. Without careful planning and a good understanding of customer segments, it can without doubt result into wasted money.

3 drivers of delight companies can explore in their strategies in order to create CMM:

1.  Delight through product innovation

2.  Delight in customer experience

3.  Delight by social acts of magic

Brands such as Apple, Zalando or Netflix design their whole product strategy around introducing features that surprise and delight customers. This can only be done by using the right design methodology to help teams get a deep understanding and immersion into customer feelings, expectations and their surrounding environment.

Insurance companies such as AXA or banks like Revolut take a step forward in customer experience with instant claims payment or loan approvals. Sezamo’s CEO sends personalized letters to customers, thanking them for choosing his company.

Medical service providers offer concierge services, with doctors calling to check in on patients, or pro-actively helping them interpret medical results.

Social acts of magic refer to a company’s social activities, like giving back to communities and acting responsibly towards the environment.

While technology and, most recently AI, make it easier for brands to offer personalized solutions and delight customers, McKinsey report shows that human, personal connections star as number one source of customer delight. Prioritizing technological and digital investments remains crucial, but insufficient in the absence of trained employees in human centric design methodologies.

Steve Jobs was a pioneer of customer delight. His obsessive question led to the introduction of smart phones and a whole new generation of loved gadgets.

Creating Delight with Customer Magic Moments

Delight requires a design methodology that helps teams and organizations understand customer segments, and match them with the right intervention. In other words, delight is personal, subtle and sometimes spontaneous. You can plan for delight but you must also be able to deliver it in a flash, when the moment occurs.

Crafting magic moments for each target audience requires a design approach rooted in a profound understanding of emotions and their specific triggers. This process involves the practice of continuous customer interactions, experimentation, and ongoing adaptation of strategies that are tailored to elicit these emotions. Such strategies can range from building innovation portfolios, and introduction new products or features, to smaller, yet impactful actions, such as having the CEO answer a customer complaint message.

Moving from customer experience to customer delight requires a holistic approach, rooted in a company’s DNA, paired with the actions of all employees. Design Thinking, Lean Startup or Outcome Driven Innovation are just 3 supporting methodologies that teams can learn and apply in their daily operations.

What comes next after your customer experience strategy?

And what incredible benefits can you offer your customers?