3 Major Companies that Provide Incredible Online Customer Experience

Online customer experience has become a focus of most businesses during this digital-first era. In order for businesses to provide an exceptional customer experience online, they first have to analyze their approach to virtual shoppers.

Here we will look at three big brands and how they are enhancing online customer experience, while taking it to the next level.

Let's dive in!

Amazon

Amazon is a champion not only of internet retailing, but the entire industry of customer satisfaction.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, places focus on looking after his customers and harnessing opportunities provided by the digital era. With 304 million Amazon customers, Amazon is an authentic, customer-centric company.

According to the Foresee Experience Index report, Amazon achieved 86 points (on a 100 point scale) for customer satisfaction.

So what makes Amazon so successful?

Amazon has a customer-first culture

The customer-centric focus comes from its CEO, Jeff Bezos and runs through the company to every employee (irrespective of their department). Collectively, they make sure that the central pillar of the company is always kept in sight— customers.

Amazon thinks of their customers first before creating any advancements. They pay attention to:

• Convenience. People lead very busy lives and demand convenience to help deal with this. That’s why consumers shop online from the palms of their hands via smartphones or tablets. Amazon offers an excellent online customer experience, 9 out of 10 times there is no need to interact with customer support. Amazon’s frustration-free packaging, smooth delivery, product reviews and more, keeps their customers satisfied.
• Customization. Amazon is an early adopter of customization through data, with its real-time customer browsing and product recommendations, to the overall buying history.
• Proactiveness. Most brands don’t make an announcement on Forbes because of saving a user 16 cents, but Amazon did - taking the opportunity to proactively reach out to customers and help save them money.
• Trust. As highlighted by the points above, Amazon cares for its customers. This helps create a high level of loyalty and trust in the brand. Bezos is even ready to forego extra profits for these two factors.

At times, when prices increased, Amazon didn’t follow suit because doing so would eventually erode customer trust. For Amazon, that loss of trust would be more costly in the long-run.

Here's Amazon's 14 core values:

Apple

Apple is a true phenomenon, but what exactly is the secret behind the company's success? As revealed by Gizmodo, it comes from a focus on the psychology of customers, and in particular their emotions.

Apple instructs their employees to make use of the "3 Fs”— feel, felt, and found.

Apple offers their customers the best experience through a variety of methods:

A) Position the brand in the consumer’s mind before the sale. Apple’s “Think Different” campaign gave entrepreneurs and creative people a brand to identify with. Apple’s ad agency understood how to speak to target customers.

Apple product launches had extraordinary production values and employed Jobs’ unique showmanship, turning them into must-see events. Unique and creative branding placed Apple firmly in the mind of potential customers, far before a sale took place.

The Apple retail stores are stunning spaces, spectacles of modern design. All the Apple hardware is displayed on spartan wooden tables. This helps focus the mind purely on the products, which are beautiful designs in their own right.

B) Paying attention to customer support experience. If something goes wrong with an Apple product in extended warranty, there is no need to visit the store and wait there for hours. Rather, you can make an appointment, far easier to manage your schedule and save time.

C) Caring about product packaging - Product packaging is simple but sleek. Many manufacturers don’t give packaging much thought, other than making sure it protects the product sufficiently. Apple’s packaging is a thing of beauty.

FedEx

Organizations are often faced with the challenge of trying to provide customers an engaging online customer experience that goes far beyond a website.

According to one survey, FedEx Corp is recognized as an industry leader in the online customer experience field. Customer experience includes every aspect of a company’s services—the quality of customer care, but also packaging, advertising, ease of use, product and service features, and reliability.

FedEx is delivering an outstanding customer service. Let’s see how they are making a difference:

• Education. FedEx trains staff to have the skills required to not only meet customers’ expectations, but go beyond them.
• Communication. FedEx encourages employees to share their success stories and client wins, employee and customer feedback, and ideas and strategies for enhancing the customer experience.
• Listening. Encouraging feedback from the coalface is the best way for management to gain a comprehensive understanding of the steps needed to improve customer service.
• Recognition. FedEx offers a strong rewards program (financial and non-financial) which it considers important in making sure teams deliver positive, memorable experiences to customers.

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Delivering a successful online customer experience

Innovations and advancements in technology are helping customer experience and every organization needs to get on board if they want to win loyal customers.

Even if your company isn't as massive as the three brands mentioned, you can still apply their tactics to deliver an incredible experience to your online customers.

What other brands should be on this list and why? Let us know in the comments.

Sam Suthar

CMO, Acquire.io

Sam Suthar is Acquire's Head of India office, where he manages day-to-day business operations.