More evidence out this week, as if any were needed, that better customer experience directly drives revenue growth. This time it’s a study by Sitecore and Avanade of 880 decision makers in six countries, including Australia.
The researchers found that for every dollar invested in improving the customer experience, businesses generated three dollars in return. In addition, they said, companies can expect to to see an 11 per cent increase in revenue in the next 12 months.
The study called Customer Experience And Your Bottom Line examined customer experience strategy, its adoption, benefits, challenges as well as the importance of building a long-term relationship with customers.
Among the key findings;
- 78 per cent of respondents say key technology upgrades helped their success.
- 65 per cent say payoff comes from giving customers personalised info at the right moment.
- Companies that invest in CX are seeing lifetime customer value jump 22 per cent.
The authors reveal that competition and customer feedback were the main reasons behind prioritising a customer experience strategy.
“A full two-thirds of respondents said that competition made their organisation realise the need to prioritise customer experience, while 52 per cent of global respondents and 60 per cent of Australian respondents reported customer feedback as the driver.” according to the study.
“Interestingly, 46 per cent of Australian respondents cited increased operational costs as a key driver for prioritising customer experience compared to 14 per cent in Canada, 24 per cent in the UK, 13 per cent in Germany, 31 per cent in the US, and 42 per cent in Singapore.”
The report also identified key impediments including outdated services, a lack of internal skills (compared to 41 per cent globally), and an inability to provide a seamless experience across different channels, according to the research.
“For Australian brands to truly succeed, they need to move beyond standalone marketing tools and shift marketing to their customers in context across every brand touchpoint no matter whether they’re targeting millennials or retirees,” said Scott Anderson, CMO at Sitecore. “Companies need to understand that customer experiences are now built around knowing what each individual is trying to achieve at that very moment in time and create the right brand experience around those insights.
He said, “By prioritising a customer experience strategy, almost half of those Australians surveyed have experienced increased customer loyalty over the past 12 months while more than one in three have increased their revenue, 23 per cent have increased their profitability and 34 per cent have increased both the retention and acquisition of customers.”
This article originally appeared on B&T’s sister business site www.which-50.com
