In order to provide the best customer experience, companies need to first create a customer journey map and customer personas; then make a positive connection with their customers; finally, follow up for feedback and act on it, while constantly producing helpful content and building a community.

Poor customer experience example

An example of poor customer experience that is worth studying is the incident of Blake Morgan and Groupon, a typical e-commerce website. The thing that bugged Morgan about this page was the trouble he faced trying to delete his account, which should be an obvious need of any user. According to Morgan, this might be an intentional act of the company in order to prevent customers from deactivating their accounts and keep their user metrics up high. In other words, Groupon is using a trick to inflate their index to look better in the eye of stakeholders, instead of improving their marketing strategies or services.

Good customer experiences require consistent efforts from the companies to satisfy their customers at every stage, including the showcase of transparency throughout the journey. In the case of Groupon, its lack of transparency resulted in bad practices and poor customer experience. 

Exemplary customer experience example

On the other hand, Blaze, a pizza company based in Boston, is an excellent example of providing positive and memorable customer experiences.

The promo was simple: to celebrate Pi Day, March 14th (yes, there is a Pi Day), they offered a discount on all pizza at only $3.14. Newsletters were sent via email and banners about the promo were hung in stores, and all customers can enjoy the special price without having to register by phone or hand in a coupon. 

As a math geek myself, it was impossible for me to ignore the event. The store I dropped by was crowded, but the staff still greeted me warmly and thanked me for coming in. In a big city like Boston where people have lots of choices for restaurants, this kind of experience makes a huge difference. I had such a splendid time there that I promised myself to soon come back for more, and even recommended the deal to all of my coworkers and friends. Some of them actually went to Blaze on the same day or later.   

This success of Blaze is a combination of many notable factors:



They do not spam my email with tons of repeated content. I have never received more than one email a week, and the newsletters are very relevant with promos that I actually want to be informed of.

It was so easy to enjoy the deal, I didn’t have to pull out my phone out of the pocket or remember to bring a coupon. Also, even though they were super busy on the promo day, I was still treated kindly and served food quickly. The ease and comfort they offered left a positive experience that stands out. 

I took my girlfriend to the place once and she ordered a gluten-free pizza, which means a lot of extra work for the staff, including changing gloves, cleaning the surface areas and switching out utensils. We expected a grunt, but there was none.

And while Blaze’s employees were swapping their gloves and preparing the gluten free crust, they created a level of trust that attracts loyal customers.

Last but not least, the pizza was delicious. I ate the whole pie in one sitting, and for under half of the normal price. Sometimes customer experience is just simple as that.

⁃ Reference source Hubspot

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