Understanding the Differences Between Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX)
In the world of user experience (UX) design, there are many terms that can be confusing, especially when it comes to the differences between customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX). While these two terms are often used interchangeably, they actually refer to different aspects of the user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products. In this article, we'll explore the differences between CX and UX, and why it's important to understand these differences.
The Evolution of UX
Years ago, the term UX was defined to encompass all aspects of a person's interaction with a company, its services, and its products. However, over time, the term has taken on a more limited interpretation and practice. Today, UX tends to be associated with just a single interaction between a user and an organization.
What is Customer Experience (CX)?
Customer experience (CX) is often used to describe the larger experience a user has with an organization over time, or the full relationship between a person and an organization. This includes all of the interactions between the person and the company throughout the life of the customer relationship.
The Three Scopes of UX
Regardless of what you call it, it's important to understand the different scopes of UX that can exist. There are three levels of user experience:
1. Single Interaction Level
This level reflects the experience a person has performing a singular, specific task. This is the smallest scope of UX. An example of this might be filing a claim on an insurance provider's website or getting money at a teller window in a bank.
2. Journey Level Experience
The journey level includes a person's entire experience as they work to accomplish a goal. This journey could potentially take place over time and across channels and devices. So, the user experience of filing an insurance claim online is just one interaction level experience in a whole series of related interactions that make up the entire customer journey around that claim. This journey would likely also include other interactions such as receiving a confirmation email and getting the check in the mail.
3. Relationship Level Experience
The largest scope of UX is the relationship level. This level of experience is what is often referred to as customer experience or CX. The relationship level includes all of the interactions between the person and the company throughout the life of the customer relationship. It might be made up of a bunch of customer journeys over time. One example of this might be the combined experience of researching, buying, using a product, and receiving support for that product over the course of several years.
Why Understanding the Scopes of UX is Important
It's important to acknowledge and differentiate between these three scopes because what it takes to deliver good UX at each level can be quite different. Designing the experience should not only take place at that interaction level. When these individual experiences are designed and evaluated in silos, they work great on their own. But when you put a bunch of independently designed interactions together into a realistic user journey, things often begin to break down because the interactions just don't work well together. This causes problems in the broader scopes of UX.
Pros and Cons of CX and UX
Pros of CX
- CX focuses on the entire customer journey, which can lead to a more holistic and satisfying experience for the user.
- CX can help build brand loyalty and increase customer retention.
- CX can help identify pain points in the customer journey and improve them.
Cons of CX
- CX can be difficult to measure and quantify.
- CX can be expensive to implement and maintain.
- CX can be difficult to scale across different channels and devices.
Pros of UX
- UX focuses on the individual interactions between the user and the organization, which can lead to a more seamless and intuitive experience for the user.
- UX can help increase user engagement and satisfaction.
- UX can help identify usability issues and improve them.
Cons of UX
- UX can be too narrowly focused on individual interactions and may not take into account the larger customer journey.
- UX can be difficult to scale across different channels and devices.
- UX can be expensive to implement and maintain.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while CX and UX are often used interchangeably, they actually refer to different aspects of the user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products. Understanding the different scopes of UX is important because it can help you design better experiences for your users. Whether you're focused on CX or UX, it's important to keep the user at the center of your design process and to continually iterate and improve your designs based on user feedback.
Highlights
- CX and UX refer to different aspects of the user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products.
- There are three levels of user experience: single interaction level, journey level experience, and relationship level experience.
- Understanding the different scopes of UX is important because it can help you design better experiences for your users.
- Whether you're focused on CX or UX, it's important to keep the user at the center of your design process and to continually iterate and improve your designs based on user feedback.
FAQ
Q: What is the difference between CX and UX?
A: CX refers to the larger experience a user has with an organization over time, while UX refers to the individual interactions between the user and the organization.
Q: Why is it important to understand the different scopes of UX?
A: Understanding the different scopes of UX is important because it can help you design better experiences for your users.
Q: What are the three levels of user experience?
A: The three levels of user experience are single interaction level, journey level experience, and relationship level experience.
Q: What are the pros and cons of CX?
A: Pros of CX include a more holistic and satisfying experience for the user, increased brand loyalty and customer retention, and identifying pain points in the customer journey. Cons of CX include difficulty in measuring and quantifying, expense to implement and maintain, and difficulty in scaling across different channels and devices.
Q: What are the pros and cons of UX?
A: Pros of UX include a more seamless and intuitive experience for the user, increased user engagement and satisfaction, and identifying usability issues. Cons of UX include being too narrowly focused on individual interactions, difficulty in scaling across different channels and devices, and expense to implement and maintain.
Resources:
- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-vs-cx/
- https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/customer-experience-vs-user-experience-what-s-the-difference
