A subtle distinction between CX and UX

In a world full of neck to neck competition there is always the need to progress. Two of the most important things in the service sector, as well as the primary sector and manufacturing sector, are Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX). While both the terms are highly identical, they have their definite differences that makes them important individually. To be specific about their meanings, a product’s UX falls inside the purview of its CX; making CX a Bigger Circle. UX comprises of the research of the user, interaction with the product, design of the product, information collected from it etc. while CX covers the reputation, advertisement, price point and service of the products.

Digging deep into the terminologies

UX is often related to a customer’s acquaintance with a product, regardless of its nature. It can be a tangible product or an application on smartphone/web. There are a lot of aspects that a user looks out for, like the user interface (UI), the productivity, the information it provides, the built, visual experience and all that. All these factors when come together generate an idea of a UX being on the positive side or the negative side. Mostly, the motive of the developers is to make the UX as healthy as possible with everything they can put into it. Now, as aforementioned, CX is a broader term having a larger ambit. Though it is associated with a product too it is not entirely about the product itself, but the factors attached to it. It surrounds the product like a shell without which, a product might not even be useful. CX’s role starts with a product’s manufacturing and advertisement. It paves its ways through the pricing policy and brand’s reputation and settles around the service that is vested in the product sold.

The main motive of CX is to provide optimum support and a sense of satisfaction to the customer.

It is safe to say that a product’s overall success depends on both its CX and UX when combined well.

Reference from the real world

Though the difference between the two might be clear up to some extent, it is necessary to know how these two work simultaneously, or not? There is something known as a bad UX that comes with a good CX. Imagine you were to purchase a vacuum cleaner for your home or car and you see a really amazing and for a user-friendly cleaner. Since you have had previous experience with vacuum cleaners and you want to use it yourself, you buy it without thinking twice. However, the product you receive turns out to be extremely complicated and there is a DIY guide in it which is not at all graspable.But you get a 24-hour helpline number with which you get to speak to a very polite customer representative and also get to call a service guy to your doorstep in just a few hours. The service guy does all the necessary for you and also provides you with discount coupons for your next purchase from them. Here the complicated vacuum cleaning machine and its guide is an example of bad UX but the customer helpline makes up for it with its guidance and extra benefits which is an example of a good CX.

Similarly, the same situation can be reversed as well with a very well planned UX and a relatively bad CX. It can be illustrated in a situation where you have purchased an application to book Cinema tickets. The application in itself is very informative and tickets get booked without a hassle. It also provides proper information regarding the timings and how to reach the nearest Cinema Hall. However, upon reaching the cinema hall, you find out that there are mismanaged queues and the cinema hall is poorly organised. Here, the application, which is the product is absolutely brilliant, making it an example of a great UX. But the bad management of the cinema hall, precisely the part where you receive the service vested with the product is poorly presented, which is a classic example of a bad CX.

Derive the best

Though both the compromised ways work as either a good CX or a good UX manage the usability of the product, but for optimum satisfaction, there should be a balance and excellence in both of them together. It can be improved by noting down feedbacks from the existing customers to improve wherever it is lacking. It can also be benefitted by means of combining strategies in UX and CX at different time periods; and lastly keeping the tone of the product and its service attached to it, polite. UX being a small part of the bigger circle of CX, has a lot of importance. Even though they work separately, when both are managed together properly, the product would definitely get the boost it deserves.