Research by Walker predicted that by 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the main differentiator. We’re just a couple of years away and most brands have already arrived in the future especially when it comes to strategic thinking. The pioneers aside, customer experience is still ranked as a top priority by businesses. Dimension Data in its 2017 Global Customer Experience (CX) Benchmarking Report found that 71% of organisations cited customer experience as a competitive differentiator. However, many organisations are still behind the curve when it comes to implementation. The research also showed that just 13% of brands self-rated their CX delivery a 9 out of 10 or better. There’s clearly still more work to do on improving customer experience programmes, ensuring customer relationships are mutually beneficial and establishing a meaningful point of difference.

As the new year unfolds we’ve put together 15 helpful customer experience stats to inform and evolve your CX strategy

Who ‘owns’ customer experience?

  1. 1. Around two-thirds of CMOs are accountable for customer experience for their organisation (Forrester)
  2. 32% of B2C CMOs see improving customer experience as a top three objective. The figure stands at 23% for B2B (Forrester)

The bottom line

  1. 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience (ThinkJar)
  2. 84% of organisations working to improve CX report an increase in revenue (Dimension Data)
  3. 79% of consumers want brands to demonstrate they care before considering a purchase (Wunderman)

There’s value in keeping your best customers

  1. Acquiring a new customer costs around 6X more than keeping an existing one (ThinkJar)
  2. 44% of companies say they prioritise acquisition over retention (Invesp)
  3. 54% of UK consumers feel more loyal to brands that show a deep understanding of their preferences and priorities (Wunderman)
  4. Organisations with a poor omnichannel strategy retain just 33% of customers. Brands with effective omnichannel engagement programmes keep 89% of customers (Aberdeen Group)

A consistent experience

  1. 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience wherever they engage -social networks, in-person, online or by phone (Salesforce)
  2. 87% of consumers think brands need to do more to provide a seamless experience (Zendesk)

Big data and customer analytics

  1. 12. By 2020 more than 40% of all data analytics projects will relate to an aspect of customer experience (Gartner)
  2. 70% of companies that deliver exceptional customer experience use customer feedback (ThinkJar)
  3. 33% of organisations are not able to track customer journeys (Dimension Data)

Investment in technology

  1. 15. Artificial intelligence will be a mainstream customer experience investment in the next couple of years. 47% of organisations will use chatbots for customer care and 40% will deploy virtual assistants (Gartner)