Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Why consumers feel marketers are 'doing it wrong'

Brands still falling short on customer experiences

Today's consumers have more options than ever before and high expectations of the brands they choose. Leave them unsatisfied or betray their trust, and they"ll go elsewhere. As the marketing landscape becomes more competitive and demanding, marketers need the very best insight, tools, and resources to compete. Yet, companies and data remain more siloed than ever.

The findings of Acquia's inaugural global survey on the state of the CX pose interesting questions about the disconnect between consumers and marketers, as well as the return on investment gained from an ever-growing inventory of marketing solutions. More than 5,000 consumers and 500 marketers across Australia, Europe and North America provided input for the report, 'Closing the CX Gap: Customer Experience Trends Report 2019'. It exposes several disconnects - that marketers rate their effectiveness much higher than consumers, that consumers are skeptical of how their personal data may be used by brands, and that consumers expect personalized customer experiences. It also shows that earning a customer's loyalty is critical, and the need to earn and keep their trust through CX is an imperative.

"The bar for customer experience has been raised. Marketers have expanded to new channels and adapted new technology to keep pace with consumer expectations. Yet our research found that technology has become more of a barrier than an enabler for a great customer experience," said Lynne Capozzi, Acquia CMO. "Closing the CX Gap is about arming marketers with new insight, so they can better review and evaluate their tech stack, people, and processes and plan for the new year. Now is the time for marketers to take back control and execute an open approach that provides the right level of personalization and data privacy to drive long-term customer relationships."

The report examines the CX gap through the lens of three frames: people, technology, and data. Results uncover several areas where marketers and consumers don't share the same view of the world. Key findings uncovered in the report include:

• People
  Although half of the consumers surveyed believe brands are failing expectations for a good CX and two-thirds could not recall when a brand exceeded expectations, marketers don't share this skeptical view of their own work. In fact, 87% of marketers feel they are hitting the mark in delivering engaging customer experiences. Yet 4 in 5 of the same marketers polled felt disappointed by their own experiences as consumers.
• Technology
  Nearly three-fourths (74%) of marketers globally feel like technology has made it harder, not easier, to offer customers personalized experiences. Overwhelmed and inundated with often-siloed tech, getting a clear view of customers often proves challenging. Sixty-five percent of marketers said complex technology makes personalizing the CX difficult, yet 62% of marketers surveyed globally plan to spend more on marketing technology in 2019.
• Data
  The data also shows that consumers prefer a personalized brand experience, but they"re skeptical about whether brands have their best interest at heart - and they"re concerned about the personal information brands hold about them. Marketers overwhelmingly indicated they"re confident in their data privacy practices with respect to personal information, with 85% feeling that they are doing a good job ensuring compliance with data regulations.

"We have the opportunity to break the mold with today's strategic marketing initiatives, capitalising - albeit thoughtfully - on mobile applications, chatbots, conversational interfaces, email, social, and so many other touchpoints to create personal, meaningful, and valuable experiences for customers," the report concludes. "Blindly investing in martech isn't the answer. Fundamentally, marketers and consumers aren't on the same page when it comes to experience or data privacy, and that needs to change."

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)