CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Almost two-thirds of marketers not confident in their CX strategy

By our News Team | 2023

Changing consumer expectations mean many CX strategies won’t win and retain customers in this new business environment, study finds.

It’s no secret that the last few years have upended the way customers want to interact with companies. Digital engagement has led to higher customer expectations, bigger demands and many more choices if a brand doesn’t deliver. 

In a blog post published this week, the CMO Council adds that privacy laws and changes by tech companies have marketers scrambling to get the data they need to meet customer expectations. Chances are a company’s customer experience (CX) strategy may need a makeover.

Customer experience

Photo by Cytonn Photography from Pexels

According to the CMO Council, a recent study it conducted in conjunction with software company SAS found that more than 60% of marketing leaders say the digital customer journey has dramatically changed their customer experience strategy. 

In addition, nearly two-thirds aren’t very confident in their CX strategy’s ability to win and retain customers in this new business environment.

“The challenge is to orchestrate a great customer experience that hits all the right notes, from digital self-service to meaningful personalisation, to privacy and trust, to seamless omnichannel,” the blog post says.

Consumer expectations are not easy to meet

“Consumers want a frictionless, rewarding experience when buying great products at affordable prices despite volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic trends. Not so simple.”

The study found that, to successfully revamp their customer service to be in keeping with consumer expectations, organisations need to:

  • Understand what drives customer loyalty today.
  • Climb the maturity curve of CX capabilities.
  • Get ahead of consumer concerns about privacy.
  • Transform marketing technology (MarTech) from an inhibitor to an enabler.
  • Embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to serve up more rewarding experiences.

It quotes Serra Karaarslan, a senior marketer at pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Pfizer, as saying: “Over the last two years, our CX strategy has been changing. The reason is that everything is changing. We live in such a complex, digitalised, hybrid, face-to-face reality that it’s normal to not be sure about customer expectations.”

Adds Alicia Dietsch, Senior Vice President of Business Marketing at US-based telecommunications company AT&T: “We have plenty of customers and prospects who tell us that a common friction point with networking providers is the ease of doing business. They tell us, if we get it right, it would be a significant differentiation.”

You can read the full ‘Cracking Tomorrow’s CX Code’ report here.

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