Why customer experience is a top opportunity for growth

As people spend more and more time at home on the internet, customer experience (CX) optimisation is quickly becoming an area of opportunity for businesses to improve in order to stand out from competitors and drive growth.

In fact, more than two-thirds of companies that led in customer experience outpaced others in their sectors in the second half of 2020, and C-suite executives rank CX as their greatest avenue for growth.

While having a captive audience whose behaviour on your channels is trackable has its benefits, the internet is also rife with choice, distractions, the ability to compare with competitors and read reviews, and an extremely high expectation of immediate, seamless, and personalised experiences.

So it’s not so much a business priority to have the best product or service - though that’s important, of course - but rather to provide unique experiences along the customer journey.

How a top-notch CX strategy benefits your business

Any organisation that can take advantage of the vast array of digital options available and gets CX right will be able to retain and capture customers’ attention and loyalty.

The benefits of enhanced customer experience are evident when it comes to customer engagement, conversion, and loyalty.

When organisations use effective data-capture processes to understand their existing customers’ needs and reach out to them with value-added, mutually beneficial propositions, these customers are more likely to trust the companies, share their information and needs, and help the companies provide the improved product or services they’ve asked for.

In this cycle, each party is continuously benefiting the other, and organisations make consumers happy while also improving their bottom line and pulling ahead of competitors who don’t have all the data and who are only creating products and services for perceived consumer needs.

CX is a priority for business leaders in 2021

The pandemic and the ensuing shift to the internet for every aspect of our working and social lives has brought marketing to the fore of business strategies at an unprecedented rate, making the digital experiences organisations offer a metric for success.

In Adobe’s 2021 Digital Trends report, VP of International Marketing Alvaro Del Pozo writes that the uncertainty of the pandemic “has led to the most innovative period in the history of marketing, essentially rewriting the rulebook for many businesses.”

“As business leaders look towards the new year and scan the horizon for a return to normal,” he continues, “it’s apparent that the new era in experience will be born digital.”

The report points out that sophisticated CX strategies were the common thread of all businesses that pulled ahead during the pandemic, and that in 2021 the focus will remain to create digital interactions that treat customers as humans.

One warrant concern is simply, why are organisations only shifting their focus towards CX now?

Obstacles to implementing a CX strategy

CX has been gathering momentum for years. Its potential has always been apparent, yet barriers prevented widespread adoption. Historically, the message that CX optimisation is worth diverting spend from other initiatives fell on deaf ears. Even today, C-suite executives face an uphill battle with the boardroom to obtain investment.

Fortunately, Adobe’s research shows that it is a battle that can be won. Executives should present strong business cases for the kinds of ongoing investments that support CX strategies, working closely with CEOs who in turn must provide top-down guidance. All departments must be aligned for a CX strategy to bear fruit.

Further, advancements in technology are exponentially upping the value of CX enhancement.

“AI is increasingly powering customer journey management and is helping to provide the most relevant real-time experiences to customers at scale,” Adobe’s 2020 Digital Transformation Trends report explains.

“While senior executives are typically tuned into a wide range of AI use cases within their organisations, many companies have been slow to recognise the opportunities in areas such as data analysis, automation, optimisation and personalisation.”

With transformative technology available, it’s time to take full advantage.