The most common challenges in customer experience strategy

The most common challenges in customer experience strategy

There’s a reason why companies in every field are making customer experience (CX) a priority.

In May 2020, a survey by Qualtrics XM Institute revealed that a monumental 94% of US consumers over 18 said they were “very likely” to buy from businesses with “very good CX.” This trend held across industries—from banking to buying groceries to choosing a streaming service.

Not only that, but a truly stellar CX can do the unthinkable. In an age of endless options, 77% of respondents said that they could overlook a bad experience with a business if they had positive ones overall.

With that in mind, let’s explore some of the latest research on CX strategy–and what’s holding many businesses back.

Flawed or limited data collection

Crafting a seamless customer experience requires clear insight into what your customers want and the obstacles they face when they engage with your business.

According to a 2021 report from McKinsey & Co, 93% of CX leaders surveyed in 2019 and 2020 relied mostly on customer satisfaction scores and other survey-based feedback to assess their CX strategy. However, 85% weren’t happy with their evaluation method.

Surveys can be helpful tools, but they also have their limits. The insight you gain depends on who chooses to participate. Plus, you can only seek customer input after a transaction. You can’t assess their experience or adapt to their needs in real time.

One possible solution to this concern is to make sure you’re drawing from as much data as possible at every stage of the customer journey.

Every detail, from past interactions with your company to the items sitting in their cart, can inform how your representatives engage with a customer. Depending on your system, you can also harness AI and machine learning to personalize your CX on a larger scale.

Too tied to a traditional, department-driven approach

Great CX means simple, effective, and enjoyable interactions with your customers wherever they are in their journey. However, traditional corporate structures can make it harder to enforce more comprehensive CX strategies.

When different departments have complete ownership over various stages of the customer journey, the result can feel disjointed and inconsistent.

A 2020 SurveyMonkey report showed that companies working in a cross-sectional collaborative way were 67% more likely to see financial gains during the pandemic.

But shifting from a standard department-centric model to something more holistic isn’t easy–especially if you don’t have buy-in at every stage. So, step back and revisit your customer journey.

How much do you know about your customer’s experience at each touchpoint, or about your colleagues’ vision for each stage? Where does each department intersect?

Every aspect of the customer journey feeds into an overall impression of your brand and your CX. Approach your role from a more holistic lens. Instead of abrupt handoffs, think how you can work with other members of your organization to create seamless transitions.

Still struggling to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience

We all know that more customers have moved online in response to the pandemic, driving more businesses to invest in ecommerce. But that doesn’t mean there’s no place for in-person experiences in your CX strategy.

UMA 2022 report by CM Group showed that while 75% of Gen Z consumers shop on their smartphones, this generation also values in-person shopping experiences. In a cross-generational survey of 1,000 participants, they found that Gen Z shoppers often preferred in-person shopping more than their Millennial counterparts.

In fact, last year Vogue and GQ surveyed 1,300 of their US readers aged 18–65 and found that Gen Z was 56% more likely than other age groups to have shopped for clothes in-store in the past three months.

As digital natives, Gen Z consumers are more comfortable navigating among commerce sites, social media platforms, mobile apps, and yes, even brick-and-mortar buildings, to explore their options.

Yet, companies are still struggling to create a consistent experience across all channels.

A report released by London Research and BlueVenn found that, globally, only 29% of client-facing companies felt they’d established a seamless experience across their digital properties. When asked how their CX strategy held up online and off, just 9% said they delivered a consistent customer experience at every touchpoint.

At first glance, it seems that companies can’t keep up with these new and highly fluid consumer preferences. However, these stats also reveal an opportunity for brands that fully commit to omnichannel excellence­–especially if that includes in-person interactions too.

Don’t let limited data sets or siloed thinking stop you from delivering best-in-class CX at every step.

Learn how Oracle Advertising and CX’s connected suite of applications can help you build a complete view of your customers and empower your entire business to deliver exceptional customer experiences—from acquisition to retention—and everything in between.

Source:
https://blogs.oracle.com/cx/post/issues-with-customer-experience-strategy