The Difference between Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience

Retailer are often mistaken in determining the concept of customer loyalty and customer experience. Errors in determine could cause further errors. Therefore, it is important to know exactly the difference between these two concepts, so we can formulate strategic decisions in both concepts.

Customer loyalty

Loyalty is a concept of relationship. Although impressed abstract, but the concept became concrete in the form of customer behavior. Customers show their loyalty and deliver value to the company through some of the following:

• Being a regular customer, which means providing value retention.
• Purchase products or services more or more expensive. This increases the value of cross-sell and up-sell.
• Recommend a company or product to the people around them. This action gives the value of is positive word-of-mouth for the company.

To build loyalty, then a business should connect with the rational and emotional dimensions of the customer's decision-making process. That way, we have a greater opportunity to improve the customer wishes to continue to keep loyal and do the three things above.

We should exert every effort to win customer loyalty. Due to the fact, it plays a very big role in the success of the company.

Loyalty will create an advantage when dealing with the cost and revenue. These benefits accumulate and ultimately have a big impact for business growth.

Customer Experience

Every experience, touch, and customer interaction is an opportunity for companies to deliver value and strengthen relationships with them. Experience is important because they affect and part of the customer relationship itself.

However, keep in mind that experience is not the same with relationships, and loyalty is much more complex than just a collection of customer experience. In short, the customer experience can tighten (or loosen) our relationships with customers, which in turn contribute to the formation of loyalty.

Customer experience can obtained from a variety of things, starting from the quick transaction using POP (Point of Purchase) to something more complex such as the use QR Code. The customer experience is nothing but the link in the relationship with the customer. We need to make sure that every link chain that connects closely with the customer relationship is solid.

Retail store need to focus on investments to deliver a better customer experience. Why? Because a memorable customer experience can provide several things, namely:

• Create differentiation between our business and our competitors.

• The way to attract customers to use our products and services.

• Increase customer loyalty.

Those are the difference between customer experience and customer loyalty. Good experience gained by the customer will create a loyalty, which in turn can enhance business growth in the future.