We’ve talked a lot about Amazon in this article, so now we want to highlight other incredible examples of companies that have reduced friction and provided an incredible customer experience.
1. Uber: It’s hard to remember, but we used to stand outside in the glaring sun, pouring rain or freezing cold to hail a yellow cab. Uber completely redefined the experience through on-demand ride-hailing, seamless / contactless payments, instantaneous reviews and impeccable customer service. The company identified every pain point and offered a much more effortless and enjoyable solution.
2. Chewy: The customer experience team at Chewy, an eCommerce marketplace for pet food and products, aims to wow customers every day. It sends 11 million handwritten cards annually to new customers, birthday cards to customers’ pets, and sympathy cards when pets pass away. It’s these little WOW moments that can completely change a person’s perception of a brand.
3. WestJet: The Canadian airline’s Juliet chatbot fully resolves up to 87% of tickets without human intervention. So if a traveler needs to be rebooked on a flight or has a last-minute baggage question, an answer is immediate. Juliet proved her worth at the beginning of Covid-19 when travelers rushed to cancel or rebook flights or request refunds. The average hold time to speak to an agent on the phone during that time was over 12 hours, but Juliet deflected tens of thousands of calls by providing immediate, effortless resolutions to pressing and time-sensitive questions.
4. Slack: This online communication and messaging platform is recognized for its merging of engineering and customer service. It has specialist teams that become experts on specific areas of the product so customers are routed to the right expert every time. This ensures issues are resolved in a single touch, eliminating a customer from being passed from agent to agent and repeating themselves. With 33% of people saying getting their issue resolved in a single interaction is the most important thing for a company when it comes to customer service, it’s easy to see why Slack is celebrated for its CX.
5. Zola: The eCommerce platform helps millennial couples manage their wedding registries. In the past, a bride and groom would register with one or two retailers. Zola lets couples register for gifts across 600 retailers and has everything shipped directly from the manufacturer. In addition to an innovative product, Zola is a great example of taking feedback from its customers and adapting its strategy. According to Shan-Lyn Ma, Zola’s CEO and founder, “We interviewed hundreds of couples and formed the hypothesis that they no longer wanted traditional items for their registries. We thought they only wanted experiences, cash for their future, and cool gifts from up-and-coming brands. What we found out right away — through both our NPS [Net Promoter Score] research and the data we collected on the site — was that our thesis was not entirely correct. Couples want it all. We had to change our merchandising strategy very quickly.”