5 Customer Experience Lessons from the World’s Biggest Brands

The brands that win the battle for consumer attention—and ultimately loyalty—are those that offer their customers an outstanding customer experience.

What was considered innovative last year, is the minimum consumers expect the next—as the biggest brands out-do each other and set new norms.

In this blog post, we explore five customer experience lessons from the world’s biggest brands to inspire your strategy. Learn how to offer a better customer experience than your competitors—and increase your bottom line.

Netflix: Getting personal with your recommendations

Netflix has revolutionised the way most people watch films and TV shows. At the heart of their strategy is an understanding that personalization is the key to offering customers an experience that gets them hooked.

Netflix uses machine learning algorithms to learn what their customers want to see. This data helps them to create personalized marketing, with recommendations tailored to each customer’s individual tastes. The email example below shows this strategy in action:

When the recipient engages with the bold call-to-action buttons to watch, or add to a personal list, the algorithms Netflix uses will learn more about that person’s taste. Next time, the recommendation Netflix sends will be even more on point.

Starbucks: Connecting bricks and clicks

Starbucks is well known for offering a consistent brand experience across all of its stores. But Starbucks also understands how seamlessly connect the instore experience with the online customer experience.

The Starbucks mobile app offers a rewarding customer experience that builds loyalty. As the app is connected to their card, customers can scan their phones to buy a coffee in store and earn points in the app.

Customers are compelled to keep checking the app, as they receive a number of personalized marketing offers. By making it possible for customers to send coupons and gifts via the app too, Starbucks is able to turn loyal customers into brand advocates.

Amazon: Clearly explaining what happens next

It’s no surprise that Amazon features in our list of customer experience lessons. The shopping experience they offer is pretty much unrivalled and is central to their enormous success.

We could write a whole post on the customer experience Amazon offers (and in fact we have). But if we were to highlight one lesson, it’s actually a surprisingly simple one: Amazon excel at making it crystal clear what will happen when you click that button.

One of the keys to cutting down friction in a consumer’s decision-making process is giving them all the information they need, at a glance, easing them towards conversion.

When brands fail to explain things like delivery times, or cost of shipping, they are putting blockers in the way of conversion.

If you’re ever in search of a brand to emulate when it comes to super clear messaging and compelling calls-to-action, look to Amazon for inspiration.

Disney: Bringing the magic of personalization into the real world

It is not uncommon for brands to offer personalized experiences on their websites and throughout their marketing. But when this personalization seeps into real-world experiences, this is when the magic happens.

The Disney MyMagic+ mobile app not only allows customers to tailor and plan their trips, but during their time in the park, it adds the personal touch. When users walk past a screen their name may appear, or photos taken while they were on a ride might appear in the app.

This level of integrated physical and digital customer experience allows Disney to stand out from the crowd. As this sort of feature becomes more common place, we’re looking forward to seeing what sorts of real-world personalization other brands come up with.