CX scores for enterprise tech providers rise by 13%
The expectations within business-to-business (B2B) environments is arguably higher than in the consumer space given how much corporations invest in products and services. Despite the complexity of enterprise IT, those customers are five per cent more satisfied than at this time last year, according to the latest findings from Information Services Group (ISG).
Based in Stamford, Conn., ISG looked specifically at companies providing IT or business process outsourcing services for its quarterly ISG Star of Excellence CX Insights Report.
ISG scored providers based on factors such as business continuity and flexibility, collaboration and transparency, education and delivery, and governance and compliance. All these areas saw a lift, but governance and compliance was particularly stronger, according to the report.
In a breakdown of provider categories, application development and maintenance companies saw their CX score increase by 60 per cent, while those in the contact center space also saw a small 20 per cent bump.
Some pillars were are more important to enterprises than others, of course. ISG found that “Execution and Delivery” ranked highest among buyers, followed by “Innovation and Thought Leadership.” There was only marginal improvement in these scores, however.
On the plus side, the research suggested vendors are doing better in how they work with their customers.
Efficiently defining milestones and handoffs between teams was a key focus for providers, which was also responsible for substantially improving their collaborative approach with their customers,” the report’s authors wrote. “Prominent service providers have been successful in providing services that cover consulting, managed services and support services
that can ensure seamless end-to-end operations for their customers, while
significantly reducing operational costs.”
360 Magazine Insight
While you might buy a new pair of jeans to look good or go on vacation to rest and rejuvenate, enterprises buyers make investment decisions based on what will contribute to organizational success — and further their own careers in the process.
The fact many providers got good marks for cybersecurity and compliance is really table stakes. If a third party can’t adequately protect your data and align with industry regulations, why would you stay in a relationship with them? The real gap that might get obscured in this research is in how technology providers are actually transforming or enhancing customer experiences. The scores suggest they’re not doing enough.
What research like this can’t show, naturally, is whether providers are offering innovative solutions to take CX to a higher level and getting turned down because the price tag is too high. Most firms are still navigating challenging economic times, and it could be that we’ll see better scores for innovation once purse strings are little looser.
ISG’s 21-page report, which was not gated, could be a fantastic way to help those looking for new providers (or who are at the point of contract renewal) create a checklist of what they need most from these relationships. There’s lots of helpful breakdowns here by type of provider, regions and industries.
