Regardless of the industry you find yourself in, it’s safe to say it’s probably a competitive space. Each business with a similar offering to you is looking to find ways to make people choose them over anyone else. They might lower their prices, they might consider special promotions, they might ramp up their advertising, either way, it’s challenging for all.
Many companies are helping themselves find the way to the top of the pile through customer experience centres. You’ll also see these named CECs, so throughout this blog, if you see us reference a CEC, don’t worry, it’s the same thing!
How and why are CECs making such a difference though and what do they bring to the table that other marketing methods do not? In this blog, we take a look so you can get a clearer understanding and perhaps incorporate it into your next marketing plan.
What is a customer experience centre?
A customer experience centre is a dedicated space a business uses to introduce customers to a new product, brand or service. Rather than being flooded with sales staff trying to encourage a sign-up or a purchase, it encourages interaction with the product and people through immersive experiences. As a result, it is hoped that a customer or prospect gains a better understanding of the company and has a memorable experience that leads to a positive overall relationship with the brand.
Customer experience centres base themselves on the thought of a customer wanting to be talked to and not at. They deliver an experience that is perhaps unique to each customer and, as a result, appears authentic and memorable.
Which industries benefit from a CEC?
Almost all businesses could find a CEC beneficial, but they do lend themselves to some more than others. The industries you’ll most likely see take advantage of this form of marketing are:
- Retail: Immersive brand experiences such as those found in an Apple store go some way to fostering a positive and memorable brand experience.
- Tech: The tech industry spans so many niches. Gaming, hardware, IT solutions and more. Having a platform to put innovation and news directly in front of your customers allows them to gain first-hand experience of the product and what benefits it could bring to them.
- Motoring: Companies like Tesla are seen as the height of innovation and having a CEC to showcase the newest vehicles or tech upgrades goes some way to help them reinforce why they are a market leader.
- Healthcare: On a B2B level, healthcare can benefit from a CEC. Now medical equipment, new technology and new services can all be showcased giving medical professionals a closer understanding and feel for the innovation that could help save lives.
The importance of a CEC
Depending on whether you are B2B or B2C you could have vastly different offerings and significantly different persona types in your CEC but the blueprint for why you have one remains pretty much the same.
At the end of the day, the objective of your CEC is sales, whether they are instant or fostered through lead generation at the experience centre. Even if the reasoning for the CEC being in place is purely for brand awareness, you ultimately want that awareness to convert to sales at some stage.
As a result, if you are considering a CEC, you should look to speak with a specialist agency first. A brand experience agency London based or further afield will be able to use its experience to help you create something that resonates with your customers and provides full interaction and immersion with your business. Let’s look at what you should be considering when setting up a CEC.
Brand building
A customer experience centre allows you to show your brand to new and existing customers in a way that makes them part of what they are seeing, feeling, hearing and doing. With a visual feast and immersive experiences, the word-of-mouth reputation many companies struggle to find can be obtained when people start to spread the word of the incredible world they were transported to.
Tailored product demonstrations
Rather than flicking through a brochure or seeing products on a look but don’t touch display, a CEC allows customers to jump right in. They can take the demo as far as they need to and ask questions based on their experience and not the experience they assume people will encounter.
Becoming the voice of authority
The people visiting your CEC will have questions, some product-based, and others focused on the business itself. Think of these as the challenges that those buying your products will encounter. By answering these and showing how problems can be overcome, you’ll become a voice of trust and authority.
Networking opportunities
If you are B2B, the CEC gives you a tremendous opportunity to be in front of important decision-makers as they engage with the products and immerse themselves in the company story.
How to make your CEC the one that people remember
As we said in our intro, it is likely a competitive market you are in, so standing out from the crowd isn’t always easy. Consider these key tips and you might be the one people remember!
Make it authentic
There is no point spending vast sums on trying to launch a product or showcase who you are if the customer doesn’t “feel it”. Whether your customers are heads of department you want to win over or members of the public you want to convince, they need to see the connection between your CEC and the business. If they can’t, they will take the free drinks, spin on their heels and leave. Aim to create a story that communicates brand values, perhaps the brand journey and demonstrates who you are and why you are different from the others. This uniqueness will work wonders. If you take our earlier advice and hire an experiential agency, they will easily be able to help you create this effect.
Make it engaging
It is all too easy for people to show up, walk around, take a flyer and leave. But how does that remain in the memory? How does that make the brand stand out? Simple answer, it doesn’t. Instead, your CEC needs to encourage visitors to experience the brand, the products and the feel. As the title suggests, it is an experience centre. Allow for a free-flowing experience where those in attendance can soak up your brand through gamification, demonstrations, performances and more. This way, you can hit a host of emotions and leave a positive thought embedded in the minds of those you want to target.
Keep it personal
Where possible, you want people visiting your CEC to think “They did that for me”. This sounds impossible, and on a grand scale, it would be. However, by building knowledge of customers’ challenges with your products, their pain points with your service or the way they want to interact, you can bring that thought much closer. This allows them to feel seen, heard and understood, a CEC gives you this opportunity.
Show what makes you unique
Why are you better than the rest? What do you offer that others can’t or won’t? Are you more innovative, are you more established? Your CEC should reflect whichever of these may be a significant strong point for you. You want to be able to show customers and the competition that you are set apart. Not just through the products on offer, but through the unique attributes of the business. Encourage new custom by showing how others have bought into you via case studies, testimonials or on-stage talks if need be!
Embrace tech
The purpose of your customer experience centre is to create a truly memorable experience for customers. With the addition of a host of tech, you can elevate the experience from boring to brilliant quite easily. Video walls, interactive demos, gamification, menus generated via AI, the options are more or less, endless!
Technology provides an additional level of immersion, and it gives people a way to use their senses, shall we say, differently. And it is differently that helps you lead the way in experiential marketing.
