How are User Experience and Customer Experience different?

While most designers are directly affected by User Experience (UX), it is very important that they also need to understand the meaning and impact of Customer Experience (CX). Customer Experience appears in every step of the process since users compare prices until they try out the product or request customer service support when their needs are not met.

In this article, let's explore the individual nuances of each concept and better understand the meaning of CX in helping you become an even better UX design expert.

What is User Experience?

User Experience (UX) is a user / customer experience for a specific product. For web designers, the product is website, application or software. Interface design - including usability, information architecture, navigation, comprehension, learningability, visual hierarchy (visual hierarchy) . - all combined will create a user experience , whether positive or negative.

At this point, the goal of a UX Designer is to ensure the interface design of a product can solve the problem, create efficiency and fun for users.

What is Customer Experience?

Customer Experience (CX) has a wider range: It is the customer experience for all brand-related channels, including specific products , such as a software or application. CX can be considered a term that covers everything of the same brand and how users perceive them.

Basically, CX refers to user perceptions of:

1. Customer service (Customer service).
2. Advertising activities (Advertising).
3. Reputation of the brand (Brand reputation).
4. Sales process (Sales process).
5. Fairness in price policy (Fairness of pricing).
6. Product delivery (Product delivery).
7. User experience (UX) of each product.

The goal of a CX consultant is to help business strategies align with a customer's overall experience and their true satisfaction.

The difference between Customer Experience and User Experience

To understand the difference, you can follow the two illustrated examples below:

A poor UX and a good CX

First, buy a photo editing application on your phone.

You buy it because you like photo editing software like Photoshop and you also want those great features to be available on your phone. However, when you start using the app, you find that the app's interface is very confusing and can't even find the feature you want (UX).

Thankfully, this app developer has a built-in "help" feature. You call the processing center and a very friendly customer care worker takes the call. She quickly gave clear, step-by-step explanations of how to access the features you need in the application. At this point, you see everything more clearly. In addition, the developer also gives you $ 25 "compensation" to purchase additional high-level features (CX).

This is a good example of a product with poor UX but CX is great. The interface of the application is quite complicated and the non-intuitive layout makes the user experience unexpected. However, other aspects of the application "offset" the above errors - that is customer service and compensation.

A good UX and a poor CX

You want to book tickets online. You think that downloading a flight booking application will be more convenient in understanding low-cost airlines and buying tickets. Exactly.

Although you have never used this application before but with a clear interface, easy to navigate, fast download speed and do not take time to learn the features, you quickly find the ticket you want. , less than 10 minutes (UX).

However, when going to the airport everything went smoothly. Check-in counters lack staff and unnecessary waiting times. The support staff showed an unpleasant attitude and you didn't like the way this person dragged his bag on the floor, moreover, didn't even know where to put it. On the plane, too, the service is nothing special (CX).

While the application makes you feel good, the other aspects of the service itself are not. No matter how good UX is, it doesn't make your product perfect in the minds of users if there is any factor that doesn't guarantee quality. Finally, the carelessness in the supply process will destroy the entire customer experience - Customer Experience.

Therefore, if you want customers to be really satisfied with the product, you need to ensure consistency in both UX and CX - meaning that both must be of good quality.

Samuel Daniel

Update 26 March 2019