58% of CX leaders invest based on customer feedback vs. competitor activity
Brands that demonstrate excellence in the customer experience they offer may be aware of what their rivals are up to, but more than half of them prioritize what customers are telling them first, according to research published by Merkle.
The Columbus, Md.-based company owned by ad giant Dentsu surveyed more than 820 global business leaders and a cohort of consumers to produce its report, Winning in Today’s Experience Economy: What CX Leaders Do Differently.
Merkle uses customer satisfaction (CSAT) metrics and respondents’ own assessments of their organization’s customer centricity to determine who falls in the “CX leaders” segment. In contrast, only 37 per cent of all other respondents said they used customer feedback to guide their investments. Sixty per cent said they made investment decisions based on competitor activity instead.
CX leaders also tended to be more advanced from a technology perspective. For example, 54 per cent said their marketing technology (martech) systems are well integrated, compared with an average of 40 per cent of all other respondents.
Perhaps more significantly, 72 per cent of CX leaders said they have already invested in and implemented artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve their CX.
Merkle suggested that there is plenty of opportunity for other organizations to catch up to leaders. This includes those who are quick to embrace innovations that align with their CX strategy.
“Small shifts in focus can pay big dividends,” the report’s authors wrote. “Notably, CX Adopters – organizations that are committed to becoming more customer
centric – are seeing the highest increases in revenue, customer retention, and customer acquisition year-over-year. That commitment is the first step. The key is to just get started in some small, measurable way.”
360 Magazine Insight
Merkle has a good track record of delivering helpful insights in this annual research study, but the latest edition reveals the limitation of a standard survey questionnaire. The stat around listening to customer feedback vs. imitating competitors, for instance, almost begs a free-form followup question where respondents could share examples.
The adoption of AI solutions, meanwhile, invites skepticism simply because it very much sounds like leaders are attempting to keep pace with their rivals. Most organizations have products with some AI capabilities, for example. Are they intentionally focusing on AI to improve CX, or are they merely being grandfathered in some AI features to their existing tech stack?
That said, there is a lot of solid advice presented alongside the numbers in this 40-page gated report that could inspire brands to level up their CX practices. If nothing else, they could consider the customer feedback vs. competitor activity and their own organization — and be honest about what’s really the most influential in driving spending.
