Only 36% of brands can link CX feedback and increased sales
The lack of a well-defined roadmap and clear key performance indicators is among the biggest barriers to customer experience (CX) improvements, according to 40 per cent of professionals surveyed in a CapGemini research report.
Best known as a provider of outsourcing and consulting services, CapGemini gathered responses from 1,200 executives and frontline employees as well as 9,000 consumers across 16 countries to produce its study, titled Reimagining customer experience: Human-led, AI-powered.
The relatively low numbers who saw increased sales after acting on CX feedback may be connected to the fragmented experience many consumers said brands are delivering. For example, 57 per cent cited this as a CX barrier.
Meanwhile, a majority 83 per cent of executives admitted their firm fails to offer a seamless transition between channels. The biggest issue is switching between digital and physical channels, according to 57 per cent of those surveyed.
Data is also a key CX challenge, particularly for those directly serving customers. More than half (57 per cent) of frontline workers said they lack real-time access to customer data, which the report noted limits the ability to offer the personalized
customer engagement many consumers now expect.
On the plus side, 87 per cent of executives said simplifying the customer journey is key to improving satisfaction and loyalty.
“While many organizations believe they are delivering strong
CX, customer sentiment often reveals a clear disconnect
between organizational and customer perceptions,” the report’s authors wrote. “Our research shows that executives significantly overestimate customer willingness to recommend their brand.”
360 Magazine Insight
If revenue growth doesn’t stem from CX efforts, what’s the point? There’s customer retention, of course, but as more organizations place greater scrutiny on CX return on investment (ROI), direct contribution to sales is likely the best way to defend your budget.
CapGemini explains the 36 per cent by noting brands often fail to properly correlate changes in Net Promoter Score (NPS) with revenue, which makes sense. This reflects the tricky balancing act CX leaders face between measuring the results of their efforts and simply executing their strategies.
Of course, the title of the report talks about AI, but there are little in the findings that don’t reflect similar market research studies. Yes, AI adoption is rising in CX, but customer trust is lagging. Human-led processes are really important. And for the thousandth time, consumers prefer phone calls vs. interacting with an AI agent.
There’s so much more to delve into with this ungated 96-page report. particularly in the later prescriptive sections on implementing AI in a way that customers will appreciate. However the more CX-focused chapters are a reminder that many brands need to get other aspects of their house in order long before they reap the full potential of what AI has to offer them.
