Your customer experience has changed and there’s no going back to how things were. You know the narrative for the past year because you’ve lived through it – we all have. The world’s gone digital. This much we know. But how is the rest of the CX story unfolding? What will the reward be for businesses that invest in purpose-led customer experience? What’s the outlook for brands that are hedging their bets on doing nothing or going back to the old normal? We’ve rounded up 23 customer experience statistics that give you an insight into the shape of things to come. Let’s get started.
Customers care about CX now more than ever
1. 58.5% of consumers post-Covid care more about customer experience when deciding which companies to support and buy from (Customer Contact Week)
2. 80% of consumers say experience is as important as product or service (Salesforce)
3. While 82% of consumers feel that customer experience has improved since the pandemic, one in two (53%) has switched providers and 11% did this after a negative experience (Sas)
Changing customer behaviour and values
4. 21.8% of UK consumers have tried a brand for the first time since the start of the pandemic (Attest)
5. 17% of consumers are planning to increase spending once the vaccines have been rolled out. But brands that deliver a poor experience could miss out on this windfall as 51% of consumers say they would ditch a brand after one or two bad experiences (Sas)
6. Sustainability is the top topic that UK consumers are interested in at 71% (Attest)
How are customer expectations changing?
7. 88% of consumers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives due to the pandemic (Salesforce)
8. 25% of UK consumers want their favourite brands to make them feel special and the same number again want them to motivate and inspire them (Attest)
9. 62% of consumers say that experiences in one industry influence their expectations of other sectors (Salesforce)
10. Technology is just the enabler of great experiences. 82% of the top performing companies report paying close attention to the human experience around digital and technology (PwC)
Business stakeholders have different views on what customers value when it comes to customer service
11. 29% of consumers rank first contact resolution as the most valued customer service interaction. A knowledgeable representative comes second at 18% (Genesys)
12. 20% of customer care executives agree with their customers on the importance of first contact resolution but just 13% of IT managers and 15% of marketing managers rank it as the most important customer service interaction (Genesys)
Customers are prepared to pay more for a better experience
13. 30% of consumers would be willing to pay a premium to receive a higher level of customer service (Genesys)
14. 43% of consumers would pay more for convenience and 42% would pay more for a friendly experience (PwC)
Organisations need to use deep insights to understand their ‘new’ customers
15. 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations (Salesforce)
16. 30% of customers are more willing to share their personal data with organisations than they were before the pandemic – around a third of this group say they would do so in return for a bette experience (Sas)
A lack of customer knowledge is holding organisations back
17. While 88% of businesses say that understanding customers’ changing needs to improve CX is important, only 55% of CX and marketing decision makers plan to implement CX analytics in 2021 (Mapp)
18. Just 13% of US leaders are confident that their CX measurement system (based on surveys) gives them a representative view of their customers (McKinsey)
The outlook on CX investment
19. Only 44% of businesses expect their CX budget to increase in the next year, while 34% expect their budget to stay the same and 22% expect to spend slightly less (SuperOffice)
20. 45.9% of businesses are making customer experience a top priority over the next five years (20.5% are focussing on pricing and 33.6% are prioritising product) (SuperOffice)
Delivering the experience – investing in employee learning and development
21. Upskilling and reskilling programmes are a top priority for 59% of L&D professionals as they adapt to workplace changes (leadership and management comes next on 53% and virtual onboarding takes third spot on 33%) (LinkedIn)
22. Resilience and digital fluency are the most important, and second most important, workplace power skills (LinkedIn)
23. Organisations that invest in employee development report 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees (Gallup)
What does the future hold for your business?
These customer experience statistics give us a glimpse into what the future holds. But what’s the outlook for your organisation? One thing’s for sure, you can’t rely on your old knowledge and insights in the new reality. You’ll need to get close to your new customer data to give your business the strategic direction it needs.
If you’re rethinking your CX plan, there is some helpful advice here on how to understand the changes in your customers’ behaviour.
