Comprehensive Customer Experience Strategy Report for M&S

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of customer experience (CX) strategy, focusing on the British multinational company Marks & Spencer. It begins with an introduction to CX and its importance for business success, emphasizing customer loyalty, satisfaction, and brand image. The main body of the report includes a detailed customer journey map, outlining the stages customers go through before, during, and after a purchase. The report also evaluates the key digital influences on the consumer journey, particularly in the context of the fashion industry and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It formulates specific objectives for CX, such as increased customer support and improved communication. Finally, the report assesses the relevance of different metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and analytics used for evidence-based decision-making to enhance the overall customer experience strategy. The conclusion summarizes the findings and reinforces the importance of a well-defined CX strategy for business success. The report is a student submission, available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools.

Customer Experience
Strategy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Comprehensive map of customer journey for all the stages of journey of customers................3
With the help of customer's journey plan, evaluate key digital influence on consumer journey
to determine its relative importance at all stages of the customer journey process. .................5
Formulate the objectives of Customer Experience (CX)............................................................7
Evaluate the relevance of different metrics and Key performance Index (KPI) and analytics
that can be used for the evidence based decision making to enhance the Customer Experience
strategy........................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Customer Experience or CX is a perception of an individual or a customer of the
company which they have of a business or a brand before and after the purchase of any product
or services. CX is very important for any business and in this way the company will get to know
of the reviews of its customers and then accordingly they may make plans and strategies to retain
existing customers and also to attract more customers (Aweh and et. al., 2020). CX helps the
company in increasing their loyalty, satisfaction, positive brand image, etc. Every business can
be improved also by reviewing the experiences of its customers and planning customer
experience strategy. The company chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer. It is a British
multinational company who have its headquarters in London, UK. The company is a fashion
company sells clothes, home products and other items using its own label. The company is most
famous for its fashion and clothing. This report includes the comprehensive journey map of its
customers at various stages. This report also determines various digital influence a customer
have on their journey. The experience objectives of the customers have been developed in this
report. Also this report eventuates the key performance index and different metrics.
MAIN BODY
Comprehensive map of customer journey for all the stages of journey of customers
It is very important for the organisations and company to develop and plan a systematic
customer journey plan as it helps in carrying out the practices of the business systematically. A
journey map of customer is a process that have various stages through which any customer goes
through before making decision or purchasing any product or services. The plan basically is a
visual portrayal from the perspective of a client and also how they are associated with your brand
name and image (Havir, 2021). There are various strides towards the amplification of the
achievement of client like: rebuilding touch focus, separating client venture in stages, etc. after
all the things are considered it is important that the company mainly focuses on making the
customer journey more easy by helping them with issues if any. The customer journey map in
context to the company Marks & Spencer is explained below:
Stage 1: Defining persona
It is important that the company Marks and Spencer defines its persona to its clients as
this will help them to attract more customers It is beneficial for the company to describe about

itself and the experiences of the other clients with new people and existing customers so that they
have a positive image in the market and also more clients are attracted to the company and in
buying its products. Personas can be created by the company with the help of its inspirations,
objectives, current areas of problems, etc. This is the most important and first step which will
help Marks and Spencer in creating an effective customer journey map.
Stage 2: Defining customer phases:
After all the objectives and the degrees are distinguished by the company the next what a
company do is that they gather all the knowledge and information by investigating required
features of company's planning cycle. It is very important that the plan so made is made in
accordance so that it helps in attracting customers. This phase is important as the needs and
preferences of the customers are gathered by the company so that they can serve its customer in a
better way.
Stage 3: Describe touch points to your customers:
Touch points are those through which the company make better relationships with their
customers. Touch points are very helpful in maintaining strong contacts with the clients and stay
in touch with them from beginning to the end of their experience (Robinson and Robinson, 2017)
. Like in marks and Spencer the company stay in touch with its client through out the process till
they buy a product and also after they have purchased. The customers in this firstly discovers the
product of the company on some web page or advertisements. They look at the website and the
company provide its assistance throughout the journey of customer. This is very helpful for
marks and Spencer, before, while and after the purchase.
Stage 4: Conduct a research:
After the company has successfully determined all the important touch points, it is
essential now that the company is focused on the operations and performances of business
activities. The companies in this phase conduct a research which is very essential to plan
strategies. Conducting research will help marks and Spencer to take effective decisions for the
company that will lead to the increase in growth and success of the company by increasing its
revenues and profits. Research is helpful as by it the company comes to conclusion of the needs
and demands of the customers that results in making improvement in the customer experiences.
Stage 5: Determine points of friction:

Marks and Spencer to make its decision effectively needs to firstly determine its strengths
and weaknesses. Every business will in an unexpected way glance the focal point of all their
clients (QUINCI, 2018). By strolling down all the stages will benefit the company by helping it
recognise erosion purpose inside of a client experience. This will help marks and Spencer to
know of the needs and preferences of the customers and they will fulfil them accordingly.
Step 6: Resolve:
This is the last stage of the customer journey map. In this stage the company keep its
focus on solving the issues and problems that are impacting business performance. This should
be adopted by marks and Spencer as it will help in enhancing business performance of the
company. Daily analysis can be done by the company so that the company can resolve the issues
on daily basis and find a solution that is convenient for the company. These solving of solutions
by marks and Spencer will help in improving the experiences of the customers.
With the help of customer's journey plan, evaluate key digital influence on consumer
journey to determine its relative importance at all stages of the customer journey
process.
Digital market plays a very important role in increasing the productivity of the company
and also its overall performances. This can be used by marks and Spencer as by using effective
digital approaches and various digital techniques company can attract and influence customers
into buying form them. Marks and Spencer generally target those customers that are very
fashionable and prefer high quality of products. By using digital marketing it will be easy to
reach out to more customers as this is a global platform.
Due to the global pandemic i.e. COVID-19, the fashion industry have faced many
problems in making sales of its product and services, marks and Spencer also lost many of its
customers (Bean, 2018). By using digital marketing techniques by the company, it will help in
providing its customers with the shopping experiences online by selling clothes online. The
company can comply with the provisions of the COVID-19 safety measures and then
accordingly they can plan strategies so that the customer experience can be improved and made
effective.
There are many key digital influence which is present in the journey of customer experience and
Digital marketing have lots of influence over the stages of the customer journey. They are
explained below:

 Determining needs of customer: Digital platform is a very good way in which provides
company with effective approaches to improve the process of customer experience. This
way the needs and preferences of the customers can be determined. There are various
digital tool which a company can use to take effective decisions in which they can
identify customers needs and requirements (Rahayu and et. al., 2018). This method is
very effective for the marks and Spencer specially in the period of COVID-19. There was
lock down in all over the world and the company did not stop its working, they conducted
their research by using digital platform and continued their services after lock down
keeping in mind all the new provisions relating to the COVID-19. Making improvement in customer experience: It is important for any company to make
expected improvements in its customer experiences. This is very helpful in the growth of
the company and serving customers by the company helps in retaining them and
spreading positive words of the brand name. By suing digital platform, marks and
Spencer can carry out the process through which they can improve customer experience
and also they help in providing its customers with better quality of products. With the
help of digital assistance the company is able to carry out the sale and operations of
marketing of the company very effectively and smoothly. This way marks and Spencer is
able to provide its customers with new and improved practices so that the overall
experience of the customers can be improved. Better communication: It is important that the company have better communication
system through which the customers can communicate to the company via digital
platform in an effective manner (Yerpude, S., 2020). This way Marks and Spencer will
provides its customers with facilities in which the customers can approach the company
at anytime they want. This way the experience of the customer will be enhanced and
improved.
 Strong relationship: Having good communication without any barriers and making
improvements in the customer experiences, will help marks and Spencer in building a
very strong relationship with its customers. This will help in creation of trust between
both. Having strong relationship with the clients is very beneficial for the overall growth
and success of the company.

Formulate the objectives of Customer Experience (CX)
Customer experience mainly describes the experiences of the customer which they have
from the services and the products that are offered by the company. It is important for marks and
Spencer to consider the experiences of the customers while carrying out its business activities
(Martin, 2021). The company can take various advantages and benefits from the enhancement of
the customer experience. This helps in retaining the existing clients, providing better quality of
products and attracting more customers. Customer experiences starts from the beginning where a
customer explore websites in search of products but it do not ends with them buying it. The
services are also provided to the customers even after they buy the product so that in case they
have issue with the product or any problem related, they may contact the company for the same.
Everything that a business do impact directly on the customer experience. The better the
experience of the client, the better will be the image of the company and the better it will
generate profit and revenues. If the experiences of the customer is high, it will help the company
in the increase of its sales and this will lead to the profitability of the organisation. This will also
help the company in getting competition edge over the other competitors. There are certain
objectives that are very helpful in enhancing the customer experience. They are as follows: Increase Customer Support: The company if increases its customer support benefits the
customer experience. This way the organisation or the company is in assistance to its
customers all the time for their queries and problems (Pavlić and Ćukušić, 2019). The
improvement of the customer services by the marks and Spencer will help the company
with maki9ng of the strong relationship with its client as they will always be available
for their clients. This is the way in which the customers can be satisfied by the
organisation and it directly affect the overall experiences of the customers. Customer
support help in providing services to its customers and this way the customer's trust is
gained by the company. By effectively carrying out the services of the company, marks
and Spencer can improve the customer experience effectively.
 Customer engagement: This basically is considered as an emotional connection which is
built between the brand and its customers. The customer's who are highly engaged with
the company eventually buys more of its product, they promote more and also they
demonstrate their loyalty towards the company on high level. There are many social
platform with the help of which marks and Spencer can increase their customer

engagement so that this way they can increase their experiences as well. This will help in
the increasing performances of the company. This also enhance the overall quality of the
business and its brand name.
Evaluate the relevance of different metrics and Key performance Index (KPI) and analytics
that can be used for the evidence based decision making to enhance the Customer
Experience strategy
For any organisation, it is important that they determine various metrics or performance
index so as to take decisions effectively in an organisation which can be helpful in the
improvement of the customer experience (Sammour, 2017). Key performance index i.e. KPI is
basically a way through which the performance of the business is measured which later
demonstrate that how effectively the key objective of the company is achieved by it. There are
many levels in an organisation according to its structure and different levels have different
objectives. The KPI can be used by the organisation at various measure to know of the
performances of the company so as to know of the success and failure of such performance or
task. KPI are also very effectively used in the process of improving customer experience as by
measuring various methods used by the company in its important, KPI measures it and helps the
company in knowing of the failure or success rate of such a method.
Customer experience if is very good will benefit marks and Spencer in many ways. This
would be helpful in the expansion of the business and its income. Also it is helpful in the
development of the loyalty which customers will have for the company. The clients who are true
and loyal with their brands are very much faithful and are always sharing their experiences and
referring other people to buy products from that particular brand.
Customer experience strategy mainly is the sum of each of the interactions which is there
between a customer and the business. This interaction may be before or after the sales of the
product by the company to the consumer (Luna, 2020). This also is described as a plan that is
actionable which delivers the affirmative and meaningful experiences to the customers across
those interactions between company and customers. KPI's are also vital for the improvement of
the customer experiences strategy. All of these will be helpful for the marks and Spencer to help
in achieving the strategic objectives and the operations of the company. There are few type of
customer experience key performance indicator that are proved to be very effective for the marks
and Spencer so that the company can take its decisions effectively. They are as follows:

 Satisfaction: It is the most important aspect which is to be measured by the company. If
the customers are satisfied, then only they will be approaching the brand again to buy
product (Goodman, 2020). If the customer is not satisfied, they will not buy any products
and also the brand name of the company will be destroyed in the market. Observation,
evaluation and the determination of the satisfaction level is considered as the baseline
metric for the tracking of whole of the customer tracking programme. With an effective
KPI, marks and Spenser can evaluate the satisfaction level of its customers. If the results
are good it means that the customers are satisfied with the services which are provided by
the company to them. But if the results are poor then the company will be able to work
upon that to improve the customer experience.
 Net promoter Score: The KPI's are mainly the indicators that helps in determining the
satisfaction level of the customers and also the score of their customers to which they will
promote the company. This score is directly related to the satisfaction level of the
customers. The higher the level of satisfaction will be, the more the customers will be
referring the brand to others and promoting it. It score is measured on the scale of 0-10. if
the scores are between 9-10 then the customers are promoter, if between 7-8 then
customers are passives but if the score is below then those customers are not satisfied an
dare detractors (Haumann, 2019). This also helps company or brand with making of the
strategies to improve customer satisfaction and their experiences.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the the strategy of customer experience is very
beneficial for the growth and success of the company. This helps in the enhancement of the
business and overall development of the brand and its image. Customers are the most important
part of the company as they are the reason by which the company grows and succeed. To analyse
the journey of customer it is important that the company prepare a great journey map for them.
There are many benefits and advantages for the company if the customer experience it increased.
This helps in attaining more customers and retaining existing customers by the company. More
the customers more will be the profit of the company. This will help in enhancing the overall
development of the company which eventually will lead in the growth and success of the
company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Experience to Meet Higher Expectations. Climate and Energy. 37(1). pp.10-17.
Bean, E.P., 2018. Benchmark Academy Study Ties Customer Experience to Emotional
Branding: A University of Phoenix Center for Leadership Studies and Educational
Research Assessment. In Driving Customer Appeal Through the Use of Emotional
Branding (pp. 41-54). IGI Global.
Goodman, J., 2020. Behind the Customer Experience. Lean & Six Sigma Review. 19(4). pp.10-
15.
Haumann, B., 2019. AI can help financial services improve customer experience: news &
opinion. MoneyMarketing, 2019(Dec 2019). pp.7-7.
Havir, D., 2021. What is so special about the sharing economy: The customer experience view.
In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 92). EDP Sciences.
Luna, L., 2020. Tune Up Your Customer Experience with Vista-Integrated Field Service.
Martin, J.W., 2021. Lean Six Sigma for the Office: Integrating Customer Experience for
Enhanced Productivity. CRC Press.
Pavlić, D. and Ćukušić, M., 2019, November. Developing a Structured Approach to Converging
Business Process Management and Customer Experience Management Initiatives.
In IFIP Working Conference on The Practice of Enterprise Modeling (pp. 151-166).
Springer, Cham.
QUINCI, L., 2018. The adoption of digital tools during the travel agency customer experience:
an analysis of the Italian context.
Rahayu and et. al., 2018. Marketing 4.0: a digital transformation in pharmaceutical industry to
reach customer brand experience. Farmaka. 16(1). pp.80-85.
Robinson, S. and Robinson, M.M., 2017. Customer Experiences with Soul: A New Era in
Design: A New Era in Design. Lulu. Com.
Sammour, A., 2017. Corporate heritage brand identity, customer experience and satisfaction: the
case study of John Lewis Partnership.
Yerpude, S., 2020. Real-Time Data Analytics–A Contemporary Approach Toward Customer
Relationship Management. In Data Science and Analytics. Emerald Publishing Limited.