How important is it to have a competitive edge, or a competitive advantage over the competition? Firstly, let’s identify exactly what it means. A competitive advantage distinguishes a company from its competitors – this is what will set a company apart from the rest and more importantly, help obtain interested prospects and hopefully loyal customers. In today’s world, it is essential to business success. Without it, companies will find it difficult to flourish. Achieving a competitive edge can be obtained in several ways and one of it is by having an effective customer journey map.
Mapping your customer’s journey helps a company have more competitive advantage by being able to see the gaps in the buyer’s process, and the experiences they will have through the overall journey. This clarity and certainty will enable you to determine how to improve your services and nurture your relationship with your customers even better.
Additionally, a competitive advantage can be obtained by having a personalised approach towards your customers. Yes, you have heard this several times. But the fact that you should know now is that ‘personalization’ is an expectation. It is no longer just an option. 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions. What this means is that you can’t be ‘generic’ or treat everybody like a robot or a number!
There are several ways to personalise your relationship with customers. For example:
- you may celebrate their important milestones
- send them content that meets their needs at that particular time
- make your self-service portals easier and more satisfying to use
Including this in your customer journey makes it more effective as well as personable, which in turn helps give your company a competitive advantage.
We all know the truism that when a customer is happy, they’re more likely to repurchase. In 2018, experience-driven businesses grew revenue 1.4 times faster and increased their customer lifetime value 1.6x more than other companies (Smaply.com). An effective customer journey map should be one that keeps your customers happy. It will help make them loyal and in turn those loyal customers can promote you to others as well.
Start by checking on the status of your customer journey map today. What does it look like? Where are the gaps? Innovate and improve it so you can get insights about your customers and identify the gaps in their journey. Once you have an effective customer journey map, you’ll be a lot more confident in having a competitive edge.
