CRM and UX: 2 Sides of the Same Story
Anyone who has ever been involved in a website creation knows what a "Herculean feat" it is. The difficulty grows exponentially when this website is meant to represent you. Professionally. Think of such puzzle pieces as design, structure, navigation, content, the technical part, and most importantly the User Experience (UX)!
As a CRM consultant, I needed a "virtual home", which would be able to achieve the impossible: to explain Customer-centricity and CRM in an easy language, outline my services in a concise, clear way and convey the essence of my personality to create trust and interest to collaborate. Frankly, I had high hopes and lots of doubts simultaneously. However, I got extraordinarily lucky as one of the talented UX experts suggested taking on this challenge.
A big surprise came out during a discovery session together. I was explaining the way I approach Customer-centricity and CRM. That is bringing together 3 areas of Data, Technology, and Communication, and ultimately putting the customer at the center of all we do. Lai, my partner in crime was baffled: "Wait a minute", she said, "but that's exactly what we do in the UX!". Now we both were intrigued to explore how far the overlaps go, and what the key differences and similarities between these 2 fundamental disciplines were:
DATA
Data is the core component of CRM as a discipline - it allows businesses to learn more about their target group(s), better cater to the needs of their customers, and thus ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. We run regular data synthesis, analysis, identification of behavioral patterns as well as making sure to share the findings with the internal teams to truly put the customer at the center. Customer insights and customer surveys can be a part of consumer-centric CRM, which enhances customer engagement and satisfaction. And that in turn influences the ROI of the company.
In UX we collect quantitative and qualitative data during several phases of the project. From click-through rates and user behavior, through interviews and surveys. At the start, it's especially important to learn about the problem to be solved and about the users who it will help. Since visual aspects and design solutions can be up to taste and very subjective, it is even more crucial to base design decisions primarily on data. During the project, data helps to make design decisions, when there are several options and we want to offer a great solution to the most common cases. Data tells us what these common cases are. After implementation, data plays an important role in evaluating if the UX design was successful, that is meeting the business goals and KPIs and if not, identifying where the opportunities for improvement are.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology is an enabler for collecting customer data, organizing it, processing, analyzing, and later establishing timely and relevant communication with each customer along their journey. Marketing Automation (MA) is one of the key pillars, which allows for long-term and relevant "relationship building". Data and tools fragmentation is typically the biggest technological bottleneck in the field of CRM.
Knowing technology and its possibilities, leveraging technology to the maximum for an outstanding UX, designing with technology in mind, compromising on technological constraints, being able to come up with alternative solutions, weighing out the benefits and effort of each solution from a technical but also business and customer perspective. Technology influences the UX design and vice versa.
COMMUNICATION
This part is often overlooked in relation to CRM, however, relevant, timely, and helpful communication is what helps build long-term relationships and help customers get to know your organization or product better. Customer-centric communication means putting a customer in the center and meeting their needs instead of focusing solely on the company's product or service. Communication means any interaction that a customer has with the company - be it Marketing, Sales, Product, UX, Legal, or Customer Support departments. Communication can take place as a one-way or be quite interactive. With the proper segmentation, the copy and the entire content can (and should) be specifically tailored to the customer persona or segment profile.
This area is also usually overlooked or done as a second thought in the UX. Nevertheless, UX writing has gained more and more importance recently: knowing who is going through the experience and how to communicate through design and content with them, following the guidelines of a clear, concise, useful copy. A microcopy is especially challenging to get right. The words used in the CTA can make a difference of 20% increase in conversion rate. One wrong word might leave a user confused, no matter how good the rest of the UX design is. The UX design is the symbiosis of the visual and the content, it goes hand in hand and leverages each other if done consciously and correctly. Communication not only happens with words but also with anything else that can be perceived and is part of the user experience. For example, a green error message might contradict the intention.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
It’s all about the customer who is at the center of what we do - whether we are designing a product, service, or website, whether we write a content piece or putting together the stages of the customer acquisition journey. It is about finding the “almost perfect” match between what a customer wants and needs, and where we as experts can be relevant, helpful, and supportive.
What’s more, we as professionals are encouraged to become curious about what others do and how our areas of expertise overlap, intersect, and ultimately bring customers forward. It was a fantastic experience and learning for both of us to get a sneak peek into the aspects of CRM and UX. No doubt, this knowledge will positively impact our future collaboration and ultimately translate into serving our customers better, smoother, faster!
Co-created by:
Nhat Lai Ngo - https://www.nhatlai.com/