Seven of the top 10 brands in KPMG’s 2019 Australian Customer Experience Excellence Report are in financial services, accompanied by Subway and Dan Murphy’s, with Singapore Airlines topping the list.

In 2019, Australian brands are in tough competition in providing outstanding customer experiences, says KPMG.

According to the Report, customer experience scores in Australia, compared to the international market, reflect good but not great delivery. In 2019, the average customer experience excellence (CEE) rating in the Australian market was 7.14 out of 10, with around three quarters of companies clustered between 6.5 and 7.5.

“Responsibility for the customer experience of each channel sits in siloed business units in many Australian companies,” says Amanda Hicks, partner in charge – customer, brand and marketing advisory at KPMG Australia.

“This means there’s a lack of overall strategy, or indeed a sense of what ‘the big picture’ looks like.”

According to Hicks, Australian businesses are struggling when it comes to taking a holistic approach to delivering excellent customer experiences.

The overall CEE rating for Australian businesses in 2019 was only 0.04 points higher than last year’s result.

“Customer experience has been heightened as a topical conversation in the Australian market through increased attention over the past 18 months in areas as diverse as aged care and financial services,” Hicks continues.

Singapore Airlines’ 2019 top spot is the second in a row for the brand; seven financial brands including RACQ Insurance, Bendigo Bank, Paypal and NRMA Insurance also featured in the top 10.

The grocery retail category maintained its leading position for customer experience among the industries this year, with an improved overall CEE rating of 7.4 out of 10. Coming second was the financial services category with an overall CEE rating of 7.3. According to KPMG, this ranking was driven by strong performance on the part of both large financial services (featured in the top 10) as well as smaller brands and fintechs.

“Traditional Australian organisations, which are often tied to legacy ways of working, are struggling to match the digital experience offered by new market entrants,” says Hicks.

“The future challenge for these organisations will be successfully translating their physical presence into a digital blueprint that captures the essence of their brand.” 

Here are the top 10 rankings for KMPG’s Customer Experience Excellence 2019 Report:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. RACQ Insurance
3. Bendigo Bank
4. PayPal
5. Afterpay
6. ING
7. NRMA Insurance
8. Dan Murphy’s
9. RACV Insurance
10. Subway

Further Reading:

• The most valuable Australian brands in 2019: Afterpay joins top 40, retail giants slip »
• Is better customer support coming at the expense of your customer experience? »
• Bringing CX into the boardroom – stuck in the 20th century of business »

Image credit:Daniel Klaffke