Research by IDC has found a significant disconnect between the service brands think they are delivering and the actual experiences customers are receiving, adynamic referred to by many as the experience gap.
The majority of brands surveyed (77 per cent) believe that CX is a key competitive differentiator and almost nine in 10 (87 per cent) feel they provide ‘excellent’ CX. This perception contrasted with the reality that only 11 per cent of customers agreed that companies did an ‘excellent’ job with CX.
Read: A Buyers’ Guide To Smart Customer Experience Investments
"Most companies remain painfully unaware of the gap between the experience they believe they are providing and the experience the customer actually receives," notes Alan Webber, IDC's program vice president for digital strategy and customer experience. "Companies that seek to close that gap will need to adopt new CX business processes and technologies if they expect to remain relevant and competitive."
Avoid the experience gap with customer centric strategies
According to IDC’s research, brands hoping to improve their CX need to implement four fundamental strategies regarding culture, customer needs and expectations and essential technology platforms:
- Build a culture around CX. Customer experience is often treated as a siloed function, or the responsibility is divided between multiple entities within organizations. This results in an unsatisfying customer journey which is often disjointed.
- Focus on customer needs. Understanding why potential customers choose your company, and how their needs evolve over time is essential to CX success.
- Understand customer expectations. Do not assume what your customers expect of your brand without asking them. Start understanding customer expectations by paying closer attention to net promoter and customer satisfaction scores and by surveying customers.
- Adopt appropriate technology platforms. By collecting the right data, focusing on improving omnichannel and cross-channel experiences and optimizing self-service when possible, companies can improve CX.