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CX insight Magazine

January 2020

An Early Look: Corporate Trends and Insights

By: Execs In The Know and COPC

Since 2012, Execs In The Know has partnered with COPC, Inc. to compile the hottest, industry trends, year-over-year insights, and advanced data in the form of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series.

With three different installments –Corporate Edition, Consumer Edition, and Vertical Insights – nowhere else will you find this level of actionable industry insights and trends all in one place.

We are pleased to give you a sneak peek into our upcoming release of the Corporate Edition – scheduled for full release in March at our Customer Response Summit Event in Hollywood, Florida.

This year, we introduced several new questions in the Staffing and Technology sections.

In the Staffing section we added a question on the utilization of “Gig Agents,” and another that examines the deployment of “universal agents” — that is, agents capable of handling a wide variety of issue types.

In the Technology section we added questions aimed at understanding the corporate objectives of artificial intelligence (AI) deployment, along with follow-up results for many of the AI-related questions introduced last year.

We’ve also added a special section devoted to comparing results from the 2019 CXMB Series Consumer Edition (released in September 2019) and the latest Corporate Edition results. By comparing the Consumer Edition and the Corporate Edition results, the CXMB Series provides readers with a unique and powerful set of insights.

Get your sneak peek now, and if you want to get the first look at the full version – attend our Customer Response Summit.

SHIFTING INDUSTRY FOCUS

Since 2014, CXMB Series Corporate Edition survey participants have been asked the question at right. At only 76%, the result from the 2019 survey is the lowest affirmative response ever seen in the data. This result could be due to the constant change within industry (and among consumer expectations), leaving many brands feeling like they are constantly trying to catch up to the world’s CX innovators, particularly when it comes to technology.

 

Like the self-assessment results above, survey respondents were less enthusiastic than in years past regarding their leaderships’ commitment to a customer first-strategy. Only 44% of respondents indicated their leadership was committed to a customer-first strategy (the lowest result on record), while 5% of survey participants responded with a firm, “No.” If brands are serious about improving the customer experience, deployment of a customer-first strategy is a must, and the most logical place to start.
While on the surface the decline of brands indicating customer experience as a top priority is a concern, further study is required to understand what may be driving the decline. Are companies moving away from CX to focus on financial productivity? Or is this indicative of a mature market looking to realize the financial benefits of the advanced CX technology they have implemented to drive improved CX.

 

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT

When asked what’s most important to their customers, roughly half of corporate survey respondents continue to point to “A Quick and Easy Process.” In fact, in the minds of corporate survey respondents, little else comes close to this response, with only 24% indicating “Correct and Consistent Information,” and the balance distributed among the other responses. But when consumers were asked a similar question (below), results reveal a somewhat different perspective.

 

While consumers do value “A Quick and Easy Process” for resolving customer care issues, this aspect is matched by consumers’ desire for “Fair and Honest Treatment.” This divergence presets brands with two distinct opportunities: 1) to seek an understanding of what “Fair and Honest Treatment” means to consumers ; and 2) to assess whether or not their CX program is delivering the “Fair and Honest Treatment” consumers find so important.