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The growing list of responsibilities and titles given to marketing executives and the teams they lead, which today span from traditional marketing through to digital analytics and customer support, is evidence of this.
One critical area fast becoming the domain of many marketing teams is managing the customer experience (CX) with metrics such as NPS, customer lifetime value, retention and loyalty. This increasing focus and accountability on customer outcomes represents a significant opportunity for these teams to deliver greater bottom line impact.
Poor CX putting $5.5 trillion at risk
Research shows poor CX is hurting the bottom line, with executives concerned about its future impact too. The Qualtrics XM Institute found businesses in Australia put $74 billion in sales at risk every year due to poor CX – with $5.5 trillion on the line globally. According to PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey, CEOs rank changing customer demands as one of the greatest risks to profitability over the next decade.
At a time when investments in new martech tools are limited, Deloitte’s The CMO Survey states identifying tools for a stronger CX remains a priority. However, despite the focus and investment in CX, scores are said to be declining in Australia and across the globe.
It’s clear the CX discipline is in need of meaningful change.
To unlock the critical value of CX, organisations must evolve their traditional feedback programs to better understand and respond to the needs of today’s customers, while simultaneously enabling teams to easily make sense of increasing volumes of complex customer insights.
The blueprint for unforgettable customer experiences
While great CX looks different for every company, we see common principles in those leading the way:
- Successful organisations turn every customer interaction into an experience that matters
- They are able to identify and prioritise emerging needs and opportunities
- They empower their customer-facing teams to deliver unforgettable service
- They deliver on their brand’s purpose
As we see more marketing teams take the lead on maturing CX programs for modern consumer needs and expectations, there are four areas they are prioritising:
1. Listen to customers where they are
Customers are sharing feedback in more ways than ever before, from surveys through to in the contact centre, online reviews and social media. It’s a reality meaning organisations relying only on surveys to capture customer feedback are missing out on a treasure trove of rich, authentic customer insights enabling them to deliver great CX.
Today’s best CX programs enable teams to bring together and analyse customer insights – solicited and unsolicited – from a range of sources to create a complete, credible view of the customer. Flight Centre’s CX program is a great example of this, with the leading travel retailer using feedback from emails, chat, messaging and surveys captured across the entire customer journey to deliver customised experiences addressing unmet customer needs and opportunities.
2. Prioritise actionable business insights that matter
While measurement is a fundamental part of every program, the real value of metrics is through the actions they drive. This shift requires marketing teams to evolve their reporting mechanisms, placing greater focus on the why and what’s next – a shift being supported by new CX measurement tools, such as the CX Standards from Bain, Kantar, Qualtrics and the XM Operating Framework.
Modern CX reporting mechanisms proactively highlight key patterns, issues and opportunities to help teams contextualise and act on feedback with the recommended best action. Importantly, they are integrated with the systems and tools marketing teams are already using, and make it easy to analyse and prioritise feedback.
To give an example of actionable insights, a leading hospitality company measures ‘customer wellness’ across its core service offerings, such as accommodation, food and beverage, and fitness. Similarly, an automotive company measures ‘customer excitement’. Traditional metrics like NPS and CSAT have a role in these programs, but it is the experience-centric approach adopted that ensures brands take action when and where it matters.
3. Drive continuous improvements
Preferences change. Individual circumstances change. Cultures change. Economies change. Laws change. Change is one of the few constants in business, which is why the best CX programs enable teams to continually adapt and improve. It’s a shift supported by modern technologies, and aided by strong organisational cultures of customer centricity.
By ensuring a deep understanding of customers’ needs are built into the business’ operating systems and processes, organisations can drive ongoing improvements – big and small – that deliver a stronger, more consistent and tailored experience for the customer. In a sign of the value of iterative improvements, a leading retail bank in Australia increased credit card applications just by improving its online user experience to prevent page abandonment.
4. Cultivate a happy, engaged and productive workforce
Employees are often the greatest driver of positive CX, and yet separate Qualtrics research shows customer-facing employees – including cashiers, retail workers and call centre agents – often report the lowest levels of engagement and morale. As such, understanding how customer-representatives are thinking and feeling, and providing them with the resources and environment to do their best work is an impactful way to deliver great CX.
The benefits of prioritising employee experience (EX) are exponential. Organisations that prioritise delivering great EX tend to cultivate engaged, high-performing teams, which can translate to satisfied, loyal customers who spend more and increased cost savings made possible through the ability to accurately prioritise investments.
One of the world’s leading sports brands is a valuable example of why improving EX results in better customer and business outcomes. Using employee insights, the brand identified the characteristics of teams found to be delivering great CX, helping it to confidently and precisely focus its EX efforts and investments on things that positively impact these. The result was almost double the average sales and a 20-plus point increase in NPS in stores where employees had a positive experience.
Improving CX is about unlocking business impact
The increasing strategic importance and accountability of marketing teams coupled with the emergence of modern CX and AI technologies means it is one of the most exciting times to be a marketer. And equipped with the right tools, culture and capabilities, organisations can continually stay ahead of customer needs and the competition to deliver unforgettable experiences needed to fuel business growth.
Ivana Sekanic is the head of customer experience solution strategy ANZ at Qualtrics. She is a seasoned CX leader with more than 15 years of expertise in crafting and executing large-scale customer experience management systems that bolster impact, retention and growth.
Also, read about building brand loyalty by personalising the customer journey.
