Research by Walker predicted that by 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the main differentiator. We’re just a couple of years away and most brands have already arrived in the future especially when it comes to strategic thinking. The pioneers aside, customer experience is still ranked as a top priority by businesses. Dimension Data in its 2017 Global Customer Experience (CX) Benchmarking Report found that 71% of organisations cited customer experience as a competitive differentiator. However, many organisations are still behind the curve when it comes to implementation. The research also showed that just 13% of brands self-rated their CX delivery a 9 out of 10 or better. There’s clearly still more work to do on improving customer experience programmes, ensuring customer relationships are mutually beneficial and establishing a meaningful point of difference.
As the new year unfolds we’ve put together 15 helpful customer experience stats to inform and evolve your CX strategy
Who ‘owns’ customer experience?
- 1. Around two-thirds of CMOs are accountable for customer experience for their organisation (Forrester)
- 32% of B2C CMOs see improving customer experience as a top three objective. The figure stands at 23% for B2B (Forrester)
The bottom line
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- 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience (ThinkJar)
- 84% of organisations working to improve CX report an increase in revenue (Dimension Data)
- 79% of consumers want brands to demonstrate they care before considering a purchase (Wunderman)
There’s value in keeping your best customers
- Acquiring a new customer costs around 6X more than keeping an existing one (ThinkJar)
- 44% of companies say they prioritise acquisition over retention (Invesp)
- 54% of UK consumers feel more loyal to brands that show a deep understanding of their preferences and priorities (Wunderman)
- Organisations with a poor omnichannel strategy retain just 33% of customers. Brands with effective omnichannel engagement programmes keep 89% of customers (Aberdeen Group)
A consistent experience
- 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience wherever they engage -social networks, in-person, online or by phone (Salesforce)
- 87% of consumers think brands need to do more to provide a seamless experience (Zendesk)
Big data and customer analytics
- 12. By 2020 more than 40% of all data analytics projects will relate to an aspect of customer experience (Gartner)
- 70% of companies that deliver exceptional customer experience use customer feedback (ThinkJar)
- 33% of organisations are not able to track customer journeys (Dimension Data)
Investment in technology
- 15. Artificial intelligence will be a mainstream customer experience investment in the next couple of years. 47% of organisations will use chatbots for customer care and 40% will deploy virtual assistants (Gartner)
