The Pitfalls of Traditional CX Practices—and How to Grow Customer Loyalty"
Today, customers are constantly inundated with requests for feedback. Companies know that success hinges not only on delivering what customers need but also on making them feel valued and heard. But ironically, traditional CX programs designed to foster these connections can backfire. Instead of strengthening brand affinity, they can actually erode it.
Take a moment to reflect on your own experiences: when was the last time you received a feedback request? Did you ignore it, or perhaps delete it outright? If it was a company you felt connected to, you might have opened it, wanting to be supportive. But, chances are you abandoned the survey halfway through because it was just WAY too long or not relevant. The irony is that even professionals in the CX industry find themselves annoyed by traditional CX practices!
If this sounds familiar, let’s break down what’s wrong with traditional CX and how to fix it!
1. Feedback Fatigue: Too Many Requests
The Problem: CX programs often operate like feedback machines, driven by AI, bombarding customers with constant requests. When everyone is doing this, customers just ignore them.
Solution: Prioritize Timing and Relevance: How about asking every three or four experiences instead of every time? By being selective, you can get higher engagement with fewer requests, resulting in better quality and quantity of feedback.
2. Long Surveys are Annoying Customers
The Problem: Many traditional CX surveys are long and tedious. As a result, customers may feel that companies are insensitive and disrespectful of their time.
Solution: Keep It Short and Personal: Customers are more likely to respond when surveys are quick and relevant. Ask for comments- not surveys, with no more than 3-5 short questions. Combine one-tap multiple-choice questions that are easy with text based questions that require more effort but are more actionable.
3. Latent Timing
The Problem: Surveys often appear in customers’ inboxes long after they’ve moved on from the experience. Feedback request can feel intrusive and out of the current context.
Solution: Ask in the Moment: Reach out when emotions are fresh, whether positive or negative. Integrate feedback into natural touchpoints like checkout terminals, customer service interactions, or product pickup and delivery processes.
4. Giving Feedback is Too Hard
The Problem: Customers often have to go out of their way to provide feedback, making it unlikely they’ll do so without extra incentive. Those that take the time to seek out rewards, may not be your most valuable customers.
Solution: Don't ask for feedback on sales receipts: Instead of antiquated QR codes and URLs on receipts (which typically get less than 0.001% engagement), deliver “comment cards” directly to customers’ phones before they leave the store.
5. One-Way Engagement
The Problem: Companies ask for customers’ time and effort without giving anything in return, which can feel thankless and doesn't inspire a willingness to share.
Solution: Quid Pro Quo: Show customers you appreciate their effort by offering an immediate gift or discount. Done right, this can bring them back sooner and reinforce loyalty.
6. Lack of Acknowledgment
The Problem: Customers rarely see any follow-up or evidence that their feedback made a difference, leading to disengagement.
Solution: Close the Loop: Follow up with customers to show how their feedback has influenced change. Personalized messages or public updates on customer-driven improvements build trust and encourage continued engagement.
7. Missing the Emotional Connection
The Problem: Many surveys focus on transactional elements like speed, convenience, and cost, often overlooking the emotional factors that drive loyalty. Questions are fixed, and the same each request, not responsive to feedback.
Solution: Shift Focus from Transactional to Relational: Move beyond basic metrics. Drill down into problems customers highlight, and focus on understanding how they feel doing business with you. Show your customers you listen and their feedback is shaping your company.
8. CX as a Head Office Function
The Problem: CX management is often headquartered away from where experiences actually happen—on the frontlines. CX teams analyze feedback in 30 day cycles when there is enough data to identify trends. But, you can lose a lot of customers in 30 days.
Solution: Move CX to the Frontlines: Raise frontline team accountability for great customer experiences. Empower them to solve problems as they happen, in real-time. Make Customer Success a support function for what frontline teams need to deliver exceptional experiences. Take problems to the frontline teams for their ideas.
Final Thoughts: It’s Time for a CX Evolution
Traditional CX makes customers feel like data points rather than valued individuals. The typical feedback engagement rate is less than 0.05%—hardly enough to understand what’s really happening on the frontlines. By solving the problems with traditional CX, you can get 20% of your customers giving feedback and gain a powerful understanding of what customers love and where to improve.
The CX industry needs fresh, non-intrusive way to make customers feel valued and keep their feedback integral to your operations. With Drive CX, feedback feels natural, asking the right questions at the right time, making it easy, and sending a thank you gift. And, most importantly, we empower your frontline team to address issues immediately, by automatically flagging actions so you stop losing sales and build strong customer connections for sustainable, long-term growth.
Let us help you transform feedback into customer loyalty and “brand power”.
Book a Growth Consultation to learn more
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