How Good Are Today's CX Programs? It Depends on Whether You Ask Customers or Companies

How well do customers think companies are doing when it comes to the customer experience?

Not nearly as well as companies think they are, according to new research.

A recent study completed by SurveyMonkey uncovered a drastic disconnect between consumers’ feelings and customer experience (CX) and digital marketing professionals’ perceptions about customer experiences.

The study, which was based on an analysis of 1,000 consumers and more than 600 CX and digital marketing industry professionals, found that customers and companies do not see eye to eye in four important areas: AI and its value, the level of post-pandemic support, consumers’ preferred feedback channels, and the amount of personalization they receive. The findings exposed insights that can be used to "transform how these professionals work and engage with consumers to provide a better experience and enable greater customer satisfaction," said SurveyMonkey.

Despite customer experience programs proliferating and expanded, 40% of survey respondents said customer experience is not a priority for leaders, who occasionally talk about CX but fail to act on it. (And only 25% have a single CX leader who oversees and manages the entire customer journey.) The disconnect on these topics likely stems from a lack of information, said SurveyMonkey, with more than one out of three (35%) CX and digital marketing professionals saying they don’t have the customer data and insights they need; specifically in the consideration stage (57%), purchase stage (53%), and awareness stage (45%).

“Providing experiences that better align with consumer needs and expectations in 2023 and beyond starts with leveraging the right insights,” said Marci Kirkpatrick, Customer Experience Program Director at SurveyMonkey. “The experience gap we’re seeing stems from limited knowledge across the entire customer journey. This presents a significant opportunity for CX teams to further invest in initiatives that bring them closer to a deeper understanding of how customers perceive experiences throughout their entire journey with a brand or company and explore best practices to optimize those experiences.”