hooked on a feeling

A delighted customer is more likely to engage with a company in a number of valuable ways:

Purchase more from a company

87%
74%
42%
28%
12%

Recommend a company

87%
53%
20%
14%
6%

Trust a company

87%
68%
34%
21%
10%

Forgive a company after a mistake

71%
49%
24%
14%
11%

Try new products and services

65%
48%
24%
11%
8%
But delighting customers is not always easy. According to executives, the top obstacles to delivering a successful experience include:
Service requests require a lot of follow-up activities
Processes are not fully covered by IT systems
Channel experiences are difficult to integrate
Lack of real-time operative reporting
Struggle to support consistent experiences across key channels
Service requests require a lot of follow-up activities
Processes are not fully covered by IT systems
Channel experiences are difficult to integrate
Lack of real-time operative reporting
Struggle to support consistent experiences across key channels
Line of sight
It is impossible to improve the customer experience without visibility into it.

The vast majority of executives say their companies lack a comprehensive view of their customers' interactions, transactions and requests:
see 1-25%
see 26-50%
see 51-75%
see 76-99%
see 100%

Here is how executives have gained better insights:

Improved data analytics 48%
Promoted more active data sharing between departments/functions: 47%
Increased use of tools/platforms to deliver automation: 46%
Created customer experience map to better understand touch points and process flows: 43%
Stepped up employee training and skills development: 43%
Implemented workflow solutions and frameworks: 41%
Launched efforts to better integrate and connect applications and data: 41%
Designated responsibility to dedicated department or
executive, such as customer experience officer or chief customer officer: 33%

Ear to the ground

Your customers might be trying to tell you something. Are you listening?

Most marketing leaders say they are not great at listening to customers:

39%
OK job
38%
poor or horrible job
23%
very good or excellent job

One solution? Listening initiatives. Executives who implement them say the programs:

Guided decisions around content, channels and engagements
Deepened relationships by creating new conversations with customers
Improved results and return on marketing campaigns
Helped the entire organization better understand the customer
Created new products, services or solutions to meet customer needs

Preferred Channels

Do you know how your customers want to be contacted?

Under 25 years old
  1. Social media
  2. Mobile app
  3. Email
25-34
  1. Email
  2. Mobile app
  3. Telephone
35-54
  1. Telephone
  2. Email
  3. Mobile app/
    web chat
55-70
  1. Telephone
  2. Email
  3. Other
Over 70
  1. Telephone
  2. Other
  3. Email

Who is on the customer experience team?

Creating the right roster for serving customers depends on the company's industry and specific challenges.

Members of the CX team most commonly come from:

Sales
Customer
support/service
Digital
Operations
Analytics
40%
of large businesses ($500 million+ annual revenue) had more than five full-time employees on their centralized CX team as of 2015.
42%
expect CX team size to increase; none expect it to decline.
41%
of CMOs report "battling" with the C-suite to acquire a budget for customer experience. Their biggest issue? Proving ROI.
Changemakers
Marketing leaders think these technologies and abilities will have the biggest impact on the customer experience:
Changemakers
Marketing leaders think these technologies and abilities will have the biggest impact on the customer experience:
61%Big data-driven engagements and intelligence
37%The Internet of Things
28%Digital dexterity (employee cognitive ability and social practice)
25%Mobile payment, transactions and m-commerce

But not all companies are prepared for these opportunities...

34% Extremely ready
32% Ready, but with reservations
13% Getting ready, but still working on it
11% Falling behind, but strategizing for rapid improvement
10% Not ready at all

...perhaps because most take an ad hoc approach to technology investments:

52% made as need arises
35% strategic and implemented in advance
13% made as infrequently as possible