The customer experience is the set of emotions and feelings felt by a customer before, during and after the purchase of a product or service. It is the result of all the interactions a customer can have with the brand or the company.

This definition easily describes the path followed by the customer during his entire adventure with the company. We can see the first phase in which he is exposed to the company and or its services through traditional and digital means of communication. Then comes the engagement phase where the customer is truly converted and is recruited into the company’s database as such. And the last phase is the perpetuation of loyalty to the brand or the company, this phase is generally framed in the company by the After Sales Service. Throughout all these stages, the company must implement a series of activities in order to provide the customer with a level of satisfaction at least equal to what he had expected or in accordance with the marketing promise of the brand. It is this path that is generally called the “customer journey” and the level of customer satisfaction that is expressed through emotions and feelings aroused during this journey is called the customer experience.

For public sector companies, the customer experience is part of an approach to optimizing social and community impact. And for private sector companies, it is part of a competitive context and a concern for differentiation. Economic operators in both the private and public sectors are therefore fully concerned by the challenges of implementing a satisfactory customer experience. To do this, some are embarking on service transformation projects, often turning to digital technology, which is increasingly becoming an essential part of the service offering. For example, in the financial sector, the use of technology is a key success factor.

Take the case of money transfers from a bank account or microfinance for the electronic wallet, which is only possible thanks to the technological support, it is a service that is highly appreciated by users. This strong appreciation increases tenfold the feeling of satisfaction among users, but this should not be a sufficient indicator to conclude that the customer experience is successful. Because the experience goes beyond technology and beyond digital.

Many experts agree that a customer experience is more likely to be successful when it matches the expressed and latent expectations of those consumers. To do this, certain elements are necessary for its implementation:

• Know your target well. Here it is a question of setting up processes to collect the maximum of information on the customer, to identify him, to determine his expectations, his insights.
• Define your offer and define the brand promise.
• Optimize the customer experience and the customer journey on products and services in an opticanal perspective, i.e. not believing that digital is a panacea. Far from it! Because there is still a need for human contact, not to mention the barriers to entry such as the Internet penetration rate and the limited purchasing power of a segment of the population that cannot afford certain means of communication (smartphone).
• Put in place mechanisms to monitor the evolution of performance indicators and implement “catch-up” systems. Prioritize complaints according to their acuity, relevance and redundancy.
• Leverage all staff to avoid silo management. Top management must have a vision and transmit it to teams at all levels and in all departments.
• Have a look at the management style of the staff because if the customer is ROI, the staff is “reins”. In order to provide assistance at all times in a serene and friendly atmosphere, the employees themselves must feel stimulated.

From the above, we can see that the use of technology by economic operators should be part of a multifaceted and broader policy or approach to optimize the likelihood of providing a successful customer experience.