Today's consumers value the customer experience (CX) just as much as the product or service they are purchasing when they are dealing with a company. This fact hasn't escaped businesses, and according to a study by Avanade, more organizations are investing in improving the customer experience. The report found that doing so generated $3 in return for every dollar companies invest in their customer experience. However, this doesn't mean everyone is leveraging this technology to its potential. And according to the Forrester Canada 2016 Customer Experience Index (CX Index) report, it has been a stagnant year, with traditional companies making headway while digital disrupters remain the same.
The Forrester report has been put together to determine how leading brands are building loyalty with their quality of CX, as well as revealing top performers in Canada and what contenders must do to be leaders in their own industry. Additionally, the report also looks at how traditional industries are faring against digital competitors to uncover the role of CX.
This was a thorough study involving around 75,000 Canadian online adult consumers and 193 Canadian brands across 15 industries to determine how brands are doing based on the CX they provide.
In addressing the improvements traditional players are making in CX compared to digital disruptors, Rick Parrish, principal analyst at Forrester, said, “It’s not surprising to see that traditional players are gaining CX traction on While most digital companies that start out with a customer-obsessed mindset have trouble staying focused on CX as they grow, many traditional companies understand their CX weaknesses. Because of that, they’re able — and willing — to work systematically to improve their CX management maturity. This year’s CX Index data makes that clear.”
Some of the other metrics the study revealed include: there were minimal score changes from the previous study at the brand level; 14 industry averages showed slight movement; leaders and laggards by industry were mostly unchanged; 23 companies saw an increase in score, while 30 companies saw a decrease in score; 12 companies gained five points or more and the same amount lost five points or more; the biggest gain was eight points and the biggest loss was seven points.
As far as traditional industries, the report revealed they are now performing just as well or better than their digital counterparts. According to lead report author Rick Parrish, traditional banking pulled further ahead of direct banking; direct investing failed to catch full-service investing; bricks-and-clicks retail pulled nearly even with digital retail; and Over-the-top (OTT) services debuted at parity with traditional TV service providers.
The Forrester Canada 2016 Customer Experience Index revealed consumers and businesses pretty much agree with the value of great customer service and the experiences they have. But this is no longer the domain of digital companies that use the latest technology to make it possible. Everyone can deliver quality customer experience, whether they are operating in the physical or digital world.
Edited by
Alicia Young
