A Touchpoint is any interaction that affects the way your customers feel about your product, brand, business or service. It is a powerful subject on customer experience and also on marketing.Time invested in mapping and improving Touchpoint can improve your customer experience and your relationship with them.
It is important to recognise the Touchpoint you are using. By understanding the totality of your customers interactions, you can step back and see what things could be improved to give the best experience possible to your customers. The process of mapping Touchpoint will help you design a better, easier and more enjoyable customer journey.
Some people get confused with the terms Touchpoint and Channel. The channel is where the interaction takes place, whether that be through the medium of email or social media, via TV or even in store before buying a product. The touchpoint is the actual moment of interaction with your company: reading your message, talking to you or a member of your team, or smelling, tasting or literally touching your product.
Not all the Touchpoint are within your direct control. Customer reviews, for example, are something that you can’t control. However by treating your customers in the right way, you can certainly influence their experience and their ultimate review. Even a bad review should be seen as a touchpoint that you should influence. It’s a golden opportunity to reach out to your customer and address their concerns on a one-on-one level. In so doing, you are also letting potential new customers (who are checking out your reviews) see that you are invested in truly looking after your customers.
Your goal should be to meet and - hopefully exceed - expectations at each and every touchpoint. Make it easy for your customers. Help them to find what they are looking for in a fast and easy way. Make it easy for them to contact you if they have a problem.
But it’s not enough to simply identify the right channels and the right sort of message. Every action you take to interact with your customers, has to be relevant and meaningful for them. And that means understanding the behavioural and interpersonal subtleties of each of the countries you are dealing with. You need to be aware of who your customers are, what their needs are and what the target market is.
Not all companies succeed in the process of mapping and perfecting their Touchpoint. Those that do have one thing in common: they all follow the principle of satisfying their customers in each and every interaction in order to create a genuine connection.