43% of digital experience pros don’t know customer preferences
The secret to developing web sites, mobile apps and other digital experiences that drive conversions and revenue is anyone’s guess, based on research published by FullStory.
Atlanta-based FullStory, which provides a software platform digital experience (DX) insights and data, surveyed 700 business professionals to produce its report, The Expectations and Realities of Digital Experience Optimization.
While 73 per cent of those surveyed said their organization has a DX strategy in place, half lack visibility into customers’ online behavior, and 62 per cent are similarly in the dark about customers’ attitudes and beliefs.
Part of the issue is a lack of data: 31 per cent said they struggle to collect relevant DX information that could guide improvements. An even greater portion admitted they struggle to convert the data they have into insights that would benefit their organization.
These numbers would explain why 37 per cent of respondents said they spend the majority of their time trying to identify issues to address, such as a slowly-performing app or a site page that’s not loading properly.
Data isn’t the only issue, though: 66 per cent said their team lacks the skills necessary to improve DX, while nearly as many (63 per cent) don’t have the tools they believe they need.
“There is no room for redundancy or inefficiency in companies’ strategies, processes, or tech stacks,” the report’s authors wrote. “Access to complete and reliable digital experience data leads to faster, smarter decision making, as well as the ability to confidently prioritize projects that will be the most impactful.”
360 Magazine Insight
Besides making a not-so-subtle call to invest in its software, FullStory’s research also shows that the increased emphasis on DX is not merely a matter of showing up on all the relevant digital channels.
The statistics presented here could be useful for those in CX who want to argue for more resources to close the data gap. This is urgent, given that 51 per cent said they are facing budget cuts.
What’s not covered here is the potential use of more traditional market research tactics to get a baseline or benchmark of customer preferences. Even a simple e-mail survey — much like the one that probably produced this report — could give companies a better sense of DX needs and expectations. Social listening and even online forms can be other viable approaches to capturing the voice of the customer.
There is also nothing here about the possible connection between DX and in-person experiences. While some of the industries represented are online-only, like fintechs, others — such as travel — only use digital channels in part of the customer journey.
If a company is serious about offering a robust, error-free web site and associated mobile apps, this gated 13-page report could be helpful in showcasing the level of manual work and duplication of effort that is going on within many organizations. As we potentially see greater adoption of wearables, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), these issues will only become more serious in terms of jeopardizing customer relationships.
