Today, business leaders are feeling the need for speed to accelerate digital customer experiences (CX). They may not, however, have a solid idea about how to do so. Real insights can get lost in the noise, and with billions of customer interactions each year, companies are hearing a lot of noise.
This spring, customer experience, revenue management and payments solutions company CSG released a report titled, “The State of the Customer Experience 2023 Report.” The study was compiled using data from over 12 billion global customer journey interactions and 710 million supported end consumers. Some insights the report uncovered include:
Reorganizations. Many businesses are reorganizing from the top down to reinvigorate and unify their customer experience efforts. This has resulted in new leadership roles – such as a CXO -- and incremental enhancements to better understand the customer. This shift starts with the adoption of sophisticated AI solutions to automate certain processes as well as customer experience technology like journey orchestration that supports real-time customer segmentation with intelligent decisioning and data analytics.
Continued focus on the offline world. In a world of rapid digitalization, businesses cannot neglect non-digital, traditional processes. There will always be a portion of customers who prefer to have their boarding pass printed, handed to them by airline personnel or loaded onto their phone. Just like there will always be a portion of customers who prefer manual processes, physical check payments, paper statements, and live customer support. The move toward digital experiences must strike a balance with continued high-quality, non-digital experiences and offer creative, hybrid approaches that meet the needs of all customers.
A renewed emphasis on security. Security is critical to a confident customer experience, and consumers are hyper-aware of the data they put into the hands of brands. Security, transparency, and privacy drive trust, which is one of the most critical elements of today’s customer experience and the reason why we can anticipate the rise of the CTrO (Chief Trust Officer).
“This year’s findings illustrate a clear runway for the future of customer experience,” said Mark Smith, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at CSG. “Brand leaders are more eager than ever to board the CX plane but understand they first need a clear flight plan to get to their destination. This all starts with the basics – understand your customer, receive their trust by integrating security, and maintain the quality of non-digital experiences for customers who aren’t ready for the leap. Once you lay this solid foundation, the horizon for digital innovations in CX like digital wallets, virtual reality, and ‘phygital’ customer experiences is limitless.”
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
