News
The quality of CX in US brands has seen an unprecedented decline for the second consecutive year, according to Forrester’s US 2023 Customer Experience Index.
Despite 80% of business leaders recognizing the importance of enhancing CX, only a meager 6% of brands reported a significant improvement in 2023, down from 10% the previous year.
Luxury Cars, Retailers Win Out for Customer Experience
The report analyzed over 96,000 US customers across 221 brands and 13 industries. The results revealed that luxury auto manufacturers and retailers are the only industries to record significant CX improvements in 2023.
Prominent brands such as Infiniti, Lincoln, and Tractor Supply joined the coveted list of elite brands, which represents the top 5% of brands in the entire CX Index. The list also includes seven repeat achievers from 2022, such as Chewy.com, Etsy, and Trader Joe’s.
Emotions Remain Top CX Factor
According to Forrester's findings, evoking positive emotions remains a potent tool for high CX performance. Elite brands in 2023 elicited an average of 29 positive emotions for every negative one.
Rick Parrish, VP and research director at Forrester, acknowledged the unpredictability of the past year for consumers and brands alike, especially in maintaining CX quality levels during the pandemic. However, he added, "The silver lining is that more organizations are aware that they need to prioritize their customers’ needs to drive business growth."
Although the decline in CX quality continues, Parrish emphasized the importance of companies investing in improving their CX quality, which in turn can yield higher customer loyalty, retention and devotion.
Not Enough Attention to Holistic Customer Journey
Why the low scores in CX?
Patrick Gibbons, SVP of marketing and XM for Walker, an experience management services firm, told CMSWire too many CX programs remain stuck at a low level of maturity, gathering basic feedback from customers and struggling to get buy-in across their organization.
"Too few organizations are examining the entire customer journey to develop a holistic, intentional customer experience," he said. "I believe progress is being made, but customer expectations are apparently rising faster than CX is progressing.”
CX leaders need to skillfully communicate the value of great customer experiences as well as the risks of having a substandard experience, Gibbons added. "Customer retention, competitive advantage, faster growth, cost savings, are all benefits of CX," he said. "This message must resonate at all levels — executives that allocate resources, middle managers who establish operations, and frontline employees who interact with customers every day."
Peter Mullen, CMO of Interactions, predicated that within 10 years, CX success or failure will be the No. 1 predictor of most businesses' recurring revenue.
"Companies not paying attention will first lose market share and ultimately be forgotten," Mullen said. "Listen and solve. Personalize relentlessly. Push automation. But strongly enhance the human element when it matters most. The playbook is simple. Businesses need to commit."
Related Article: Customer Journey Mapping: A How-To Guide
Employ the Best Customer Experience Teams Possible
Nichole Devolites, owner and principal consultant for LYSI Holding Company, said the Forrester findings are very similar to what she sees, both as a practitioner and a customer/consumer.
The challenge? Organizations are trying to do more with less in CX, using the "1:many" approach due to small budgets and not enough resources. Why?
"We're seeing a correction in budgeting — bigger travel budgets for sales teams and shrinking budgets to keep the customer happy and engaged," Devolites said. "We were more or less 'spoiled' during the pandemic with the inverse, due to unused travel budgets having been reallocated for more special 'virtual' experiences, swag, and personalized attention we wouldn't have received otherwise."
- Her view as a CX professional? It doesn't matter how much you do for the customer; the expectations on treatment will continue to grow and it will continue to be more expensive to keep a customer happy.
- Her view as a customer/consumer? We've gotten too "greedy" with what we think we "need" to keep us happy.
"So how do we combat this, since the latter is very difficult to change?" Devolites asked. "It starts with the human connection and trust. Now, more than ever, we need to ensure our customer-facing teams are well-equipped to provide the best customer service possible, have a well-designed and well-working customer journey that customers come to rely on, as well two to three customer programs that still allow for specialized experiences, but don't break the bank."
This means, she added, putting people in front of the customer that are personable, professional, and above all else, patient. It means having strong leaders that inspire and motivate their teams, as well as oversee the internal processes that are guiding the journey.
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"And," she said, "it means understanding your customer base so thoroughly that you know what programs need to be developed to satisfy groups of customers that may need to be included in them, for reasons such as account-saving means."
Editor's note: Commentary from Devolites, Gibbons and Mullen were added to the story June 14. And, despite the author's promise last week to be on site at Forrester CX North America, the best of intentions to do just that never came to fruition. Thanks to a sea of airline cancellations, our fearless reporter will have to settle for watching trends from afar this year instead of from Music City.
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