Think Like a Customer: Why Beginnings and Endings Are So Important in the Customer Experience

The way you begin and end your interactions with customers is crucial. First and last impressions go far beyond the moment; in fact, they may well be the only things customers and clients remember about your brand. That’s why it is so important to make sure that the beginnings and endings that your brand shares leave positive impressions that will continue to bring customers back.

Truly memorable beginnings stick with clients because they make them feel comfortable and secure in their choice of company, product or service. The same goes for endings. Whether you’re telling a client goodbye for now or farewell for a while, you want to make sure your last contact with them is positive.

Your Brand and the Customer Experience Journey

The customer experience will look different for every business and brand, but there are key components that remain the same, no matter what type of business you’re in. When you deliver customer satisfaction they can’t match anywhere else, you’re telling them you care about more than just the bottom line. You can improve customer experiences by doing things like paying attention to feedback, rewarding loyalty, using personalization to enhance the brand experience and working on ways to improve your customer service. Your customers are looking for these specific things and more when they shop, and businesses that deliver will be rewarded with their loyalty.

Customer experience insights tell us that nearly half of consumers are likely to become loyal to a brand during a first purchase or experience. That alone is reason to focus on strong beginnings! But what happens when a brand experience ends? In a recent survey, a whopping 66% of consumers have committed to never shopping with a brand again—all because of a single bad experience, a compelling case for never ending an interaction with a customer or client on a bad note.

Customer experience journeys are so important that 61% of customers will pay 5% more if they know they will get a good customer experience. Couple that with the fact that 60% of consumers have switched brands because of a poor customer experience, and it becomes pretty clear that consumers place a high value on experiential brand moments.

61% of customers will pay 5% more if they know they will get a good customer experience.

SOURCE: Emplifi

We don’t need to tell you that it’s a crowded marketplace and competition today is fierce. That means businesses like yours must be better and sharper than ever before. You not only need to focus on selling and building your brand, but you also need to deliver customer experience journeys and positive consumer interactions that lead to strong, lasting relationships. By creating a positive customer perception of your business, you’ll gain a huge advantage over the competition.

Favorable First Impressions and Skillful See-You-Laters

When you go out of your way to ensure a positive first impression, you are making your business more memorable in the eyes of your customers. And when your customers are sent on their way after having had a positive experience with your brand—whether that’s in store or online—they are much more likely to return and shop again.

A traditional cognitive psychology experiment asks professors to read a list of items to college students. After hearing the recited list read aloud, students are asked to write down as many words as they are able to remember. A majority of students generally remember the first and last items on the list, but the items in the middle are fuzzy in their memories. Why is this?

This phenomenon is known in psychology as the serial position effect, which simply states that people most clearly remember the first thing and the last thing in a long list of items. Everything in between is usually a bit fuzzy.

Connect … and Stay Connected with Your Customers

Hallmark Business Connections is here to help you get the most out of your business relationships, and we’ve got all the insider info when it comes to what to send, what to say and when to reach out. Want some ideas? Send a card or a small token of your appreciation immediately after your initial contact with a customer and after purchases, and be sure to reach out on special days throughout the year to keep your business relationship current.

For client birthdays, anniversaries, new baby, retirements, weddings and more, visit our website and select the perfect greeting cards to express your well wishes, along with your gratitude for their business. You can even get tips from our Hallmark writers on what to write and ways you can personalize your greetings to make them even more special. Plus, our Mail to One service is available for those times when you have a single recipient. Personalize your greeting, just like you would any of our greetings, then we’ll stamp and mail it for you.

And when the timing is right, don’t forget about our corporate gift selections like fresh cut flowers and decadent Christopher Elbow chocolates that are perfect for saying “thank you,” “get well,” or for surprising a client who has been exceptionally gracious and fun to work with.

Your customers want to connect with you, and when you give them a great experience from beginning to end, you make relationship-building look easy.

Firsts and Lasts Are Where It’s At

The ways you greet and say goodbye to your customers are your “firsts” and “lasts.” When you handle them superbly, they will remember. Additionally, they will have a great reason to tell all their friends and business connections about their excellent experience with your brand. This kind of advertising is priceless because it grows incrementally over time. And it will continue to reach more potential clients as your reputation for good service keeps spreading.

It's essential to get into the customer mindset and know what they value as you craft your brand experience. Make sure clients and customers have plenty of positive stories they can share about what they’ve experienced with your brand and focus on impactful beginnings and endings they’ll be eager to talk about.

By focusing on the impactful openings and memorable closings that customers really remember, you’ll end up with happier people, a booming business and a stellar reputation.