Global Organizations Looking To CX For Differentiation
WHY IS CX IMPORTANT? THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER 4
“There is only one boss – the customer,” Sam Walton once said. “And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
Age of the CustomerPower comes from engaging with empowered customers
Age of InformationConnected PCs and supply chains mean those who control information flow dominate
Age of DistributionGlobal connections and transportation systems make distribution key
Age of ManufacturingMass manufacturing makes industrial powerhouses successful
Ford, RCA, GE, Boeing, P&G, Sony
Wal-Mart, Toyota, UPS, CSX
Comcast, Amazon, E*TRADE, American Express, Google
Contenders include Facebook, IBM, Best Buy, Apple
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Highlight why this research is important now.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
In April 2015 The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) embarked on a research programme, sponsored by Genesys, exploring how companies in the world (and in the Americas in particular) fare in their management of customer experience initiatives. The programme focused on the following questions:
What importance is attached to customer experience within companies? Who leads customer experience initiatives? How is the success of customer experience initiatives measured? Which customer experience channels are most favoured?
To answer these questions, the EIU conducted a survey of senior-level executives in the Americas (including the US, Canada, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico), nearly all of them C-level and about one-third CEOs. The survey sample is evenly balanced between smaller firms (less than US$500m annual revenue) and larger organisations. The respondents represent two dozen different industries.
5
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Presentation Notes
To learn how companies in Asia and Australasia manage their CX programmes, the EIU conducted a global survey of 516 senior-level executives in April 2015, including 139 respondents from the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these (111) were C-suite executives—of whom 45 were CEOs—with the remaining 28 respondents heads of a business unit. The research focused on four key questions: What importance is attached to CX within companies? Who leads CX initiatives? How is the success of CX measured? Which CX channels are most favoured? The responses were divided into four geographical groups; Japan; China and Hong Kong; Australia and New Zealand and South-east Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
ABOUT THE SURVEY6
Surveyed 515C-level executives globally
Including 190 from the Americas
28%
19%27%
36%
NorthAmericaLatinAmericaAsia Pacific
Europe
18%
18%
16%30%
18%
Mexico
Brazil
Columbia
UnitedStatesCanada
Presenter
Presentation Notes
To learn how companies in Asia and Australasia manage their CX programmes, the EIU conducted a global survey of 516 senior-level executives in April 2015, including 139 respondents from the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these (111) were C-suite executives—of whom 45 were CEOs—with the remaining 28 respondents heads of a business unit. The research focused on four key questions: What importance is attached to CX within companies? Who leads CX initiatives? How is the success of CX measured? Which CX channels are most favoured? The responses were divided into four geographical groups; Japan; China and Hong Kong; Australia and New Zealand and South-east Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
KEY FINDINGS FROM OUR RESEARCH
PROGRAMME
Make CX a priority: Companies that prioritise future investment in CX believe they are reaping the benefits of better revenue growth and improved profitability
Place the CEO in charge: Companies where the CEO is in charge of CX initiatives are more likely to believe in them, and invest in them.
Find the evidence: Companies that don’t measure the success of CX initiatives struggle to convince naysayers of the value CX initiatives will bring.
Look at your industry peers: Wide disparities exist in CX channel preferences of industries—what is right for one industry may not be the best choice for another.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Make CX a priority Across the board, companies that prioritise future investment in CX believe they are reaping the benefits of better revenue growth and improved profitability more than companies that consider CX less important. Place the CEO in charge CEOs in China, Hong Kong and South-east Asia, are more likely to have the final say on CX initiatives than CEOs anywhere else in the world. This is important because survey responses indicate that companies where the CEO is in charge of CX initiatives are more likely to believe in them, and invest in them. Find the evidence A third of companies globally don’t measure the success of CX initiatives. This poses a problem, as naysayers will have more sway if the evidence in favour of CX investment is not compelling. This is less prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, where almost two thirds of companies measure the success of their CX initiatives. The principal reason given for not measuring CX is that companies find it difficult to differentiate between the impact of CX and other factors that may improve performance. They urgently need to find a convincing method of isolating this impact, and measuring it accurately. Look at your industry peers Our global survey reveals wide disparities in the CX channel preferences of various industries. Some cling to face-to-face communication; others, such as those in Asia-Pacific, focus more on newer channels like web self-service or social media. Fashion should not be all-pervasive. What is right for one industry may not necessarily be the best choice for another.
CX AND BETTER PERFORMANCE
9
COMPANIES THAT PRIORITISE FUTURE INVESTMENT IN CX BELIEVE THEY BENEFIT FROM BETTER REVENUE GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY
56%
43%
71%
62%
64%
59%
63%
15%28%
39%
54%47%
40%
41%
Increase CXinvestment more than
10%
CEO leads
CEO in charge
Measures successMore profitable
Better revenuegrowth
Better customerexperience
Prioritiseinvestment
Don't prioritiseinvestment
% of global respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Most companies who prioritise future investment in CX believe they benefit from better revenue growth and profitability and are more likely to invest heavily in future CX initiatives. According to the EIU’s global survey results, 64% of executives who said CX is important to their organisation’s future investment priorities believe their company is more profitable than their competitors. Almost two thirds (64%) of these respondents also believe they have better revenue growth than their competitors, and 83% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. Among companies that don’t prioritise CX investment, only 47% of executives believe they are more profitable than their competitors, 40% said they have better revenue growth and 41% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. The benefits of CX are not going unnoticed by company leaders, with CEOs in companies where CX investment is prioritised more likely to directly lead CX initiatives (43%) or be in overall charge (71%) than in companies where CX investment isn’t a priority (28% and 39% respectively). The benefits are also likely to be forming the basis for a strong business case to invest more in the future, with the majority of respondents (56%) in companies that value CX investment planning to increase investment by more than 10% over the next three years, compared to 15% of companies who consider CX less important. Asia-Pacific firms experience similar benefits when prioritising CX, but the trend there is more acute in terms of planning for future investment. Globally, companies that don’t consider CX an important priority are missing out on the revenue and profitability benefits that prioritising CX can bring. As a result, they are struggling to build a business case for significant new investment—no respondents from companies that don’t prioritise CX expect to increase CX investment by more than 10% over the next three years. (Figure 2)
THE AMERICAS AS A WHOLE MIRRORS GLOBAL PATTERNS IN CX STRATEGY
There are only minor differences in overall CX strategy and outcomes between the Americas and the rest of the world. But there are important variations within the Americas:
By global standards NA firms have been slow to recognise the value of CX, while LATAM counterparts have made it a major priority.
NA firms see customer retention as by far the top benefit of CX, while those in LATAM give nearly equal weight to increased sales.
NA CEOs are more likely to say they lead CX transformation; other executives tend to disagree, and the gap is narrower in LATAM.
NA firms use a narrower range of CX metrics than LATAM counterparts, focusing heavily on measures of customer behaviour; LATAM firms also give priority to financial measures.
LATAM firms make greater use of social media and online assistance support; NA counterparts use web self-service more extensively.
10
Presenter
Presentation Notes
To learn how companies in Asia and Australasia manage their CX programmes, the EIU conducted a global survey of 516 senior-level executives in April 2015, including 139 respondents from the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these (111) were C-suite executives—of whom 45 were CEOs—with the remaining 28 respondents heads of a business unit. The research focused on four key questions: What importance is attached to CX within companies? Who leads CX initiatives? How is the success of CX measured? Which CX channels are most favoured? The responses were divided into four geographical groups; Japan; China and Hong Kong; Australia and New Zealand and South-east Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
NA FIRMS SLOW TO RECOGNISE CX VALUE
11
NA EXECUTIVES IN THE IT FUNCTION PLACE PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE ON INVESTMENTS IN CX, WITH 92% RATING IT AS SOMEWHAT OR VERY IMPORTANT COMPARED WITH 84% OF THOSE IN ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS
Only 55% of North America respondents believe the customer experience is “very important” compared with 63% in the rest of the world …
… yet North America is positioned to catch up, with respondents reporting an increase in CX investment priorities over the next three years while the rest of the world levels off.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
And if anything, investment figures are conservative: when CEOs are asked directly about their future plans, nearly half (47%) state that they plan to substantially increase their investment in the customer experience Most companies who prioritise future investment in CX believe they benefit from better revenue growth and profitability and are more likely to invest heavily in future CX initiatives. According to the EIU’s global survey results, 64% of executives who said CX is important to their organisation’s future investment priorities believe their company is more profitable than their competitors. Almost two thirds (64%) of these respondents also believe they have better revenue growth than their competitors, and 83% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. Among companies that don’t prioritise CX investment, only 47% of executives believe they are more profitable than their competitors, 40% said they have better revenue growth and 41% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. The benefits of CX are not going unnoticed by company leaders, with CEOs in companies where CX investment is prioritised more likely to directly lead CX initiatives (43%) or be in overall charge (71%) than in companies where CX investment isn’t a priority (28% and 39% respectively). The benefits are also likely to be forming the basis for a strong business case to invest more in the future, with the majority of respondents (56%) in companies that value CX investment planning to increase investment by more than 10% over the next three years, compared to 15% of companies who consider CX less important. Asia-Pacific firms experience similar benefits when prioritising CX, but the trend there is more acute in terms of planning for future investment. Globally, companies that don’t consider CX an important priority are missing out on the revenue and profitability benefits that prioritising CX can bring. As a result, they are struggling to build a business case for significant new investment—no respondents from companies that don’t prioritise CX expect to increase CX investment by more than 10% over the next three years. (Figure 2)
CX KEY PRIORITY IN LATAM
12
THIS VIEW IS PARTICULARLY PREVALENT AMONG LATIN AMERICAN CEOS.OVER ¾ OF CEOS POLLED GIVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATING IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE.
Seventy-one percent of Latin American respondents believe the customer experience is “very important” compared with 63% in the rest of the world.
One in four firms increased investment by over 25% in the past three years—a much higher proportion than in other regions. Nearly 65% of firms in the region plan to further increase their investment by at least 10% in the next three years and 35% plan to grow it by 25% or more.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
And if anything, investment figures are conservative: when CEOs are asked directly about their future plans, nearly half (47%) state that they plan to substantially increase their investment in the customer experience Most companies who prioritise future investment in CX believe they benefit from better revenue growth and profitability and are more likely to invest heavily in future CX initiatives. According to the EIU’s global survey results, 64% of executives who said CX is important to their organisation’s future investment priorities believe their company is more profitable than their competitors. Almost two thirds (64%) of these respondents also believe they have better revenue growth than their competitors, and 83% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. Among companies that don’t prioritise CX investment, only 47% of executives believe they are more profitable than their competitors, 40% said they have better revenue growth and 41% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. The benefits of CX are not going unnoticed by company leaders, with CEOs in companies where CX investment is prioritised more likely to directly lead CX initiatives (43%) or be in overall charge (71%) than in companies where CX investment isn’t a priority (28% and 39% respectively). The benefits are also likely to be forming the basis for a strong business case to invest more in the future, with the majority of respondents (56%) in companies that value CX investment planning to increase investment by more than 10% over the next three years, compared to 15% of companies who consider CX less important. Asia-Pacific firms experience similar benefits when prioritising CX, but the trend there is more acute in terms of planning for future investment. Globally, companies that don’t consider CX an important priority are missing out on the revenue and profitability benefits that prioritising CX can bring. As a result, they are struggling to build a business case for significant new investment—no respondents from companies that don’t prioritise CX expect to increase CX investment by more than 10% over the next three years. (Figure 2)
PRIMARY BENEFITS OF INVESTMENT IN CX IN NA
13
NORTH AMERICA FIRMS SEE GREATER VALUE IN IMPROVED CUSTOMER RETENTION (38%) THAN COUNTERPARTS IN THE REST OF THE WORLD (32%), AND LATIN AMERICA (29%) WITH PROPORTIONATELY LESS EMPHASIS ON INCREASED SALES.
38%
24%
17%
7%
7%
2%
2%
1%
Improved customer retention
Increased sales
Improved customer satisfaction
Lower cost of customer acquisition
Reduced operating costs
Fewer negative comments or reviews fromcustomers
Improved morale among employees with a CXfocus
No perceived benefits of investment in CX formy organisation
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Most companies who prioritise future investment in CX believe they benefit from better revenue growth and profitability and are more likely to invest heavily in future CX initiatives. According to the EIU’s global survey results, 64% of executives who said CX is important to their organisation’s future investment priorities believe their company is more profitable than their competitors. Almost two thirds (64%) of these respondents also believe they have better revenue growth than their competitors, and 83% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. Among companies that don’t prioritise CX investment, only 47% of executives believe they are more profitable than their competitors, 40% said they have better revenue growth and 41% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. The benefits of CX are not going unnoticed by company leaders, with CEOs in companies where CX investment is prioritised more likely to directly lead CX initiatives (43%) or be in overall charge (71%) than in companies where CX investment isn’t a priority (28% and 39% respectively). The benefits are also likely to be forming the basis for a strong business case to invest more in the future, with the majority of respondents (56%) in companies that value CX investment planning to increase investment by more than 10% over the next three years, compared to 15% of companies who consider CX less important. Asia-Pacific firms experience similar benefits when prioritising CX, but the trend there is more acute in terms of planning for future investment. Globally, companies that don’t consider CX an important priority are missing out on the revenue and profitability benefits that prioritising CX can bring. As a result, they are struggling to build a business case for significant new investment—no respondents from companies that don’t prioritise CX expect to increase CX investment by more than 10% over the next three years. (Figure 2)
PRIMARY BENEFITS OF INVESTMENT IN CX IN LATAM
14
IN CONTRAST, LATAM FIRMS PLACE NEARLY EQUAL VALUE ON CUSTOMER RETENTION AND INCREASED SALES. LARGER LATAMFIRMS PLACE THE MOST EMPHASIS ON INCREASED SALES, WITH 37% CITING IT AS THE TOP BENEFIT OF CX INVESTMENT COMPARED WITH 17% OF SMALLER ORGANISATIONS.
% of respondents
29%
27%
18%
10%
6%
4%
3%
1%
Improved customer retention
Increased sales
Improved customer satisfaction
Lower cost of customer acquisition
Reduced operating costs
Improved morale among employees with a CXfocus
Fewer negative comments or reviews fromcustomers
No perceived benefits of investment in CX formy organisation
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Most companies who prioritise future investment in CX believe they benefit from better revenue growth and profitability and are more likely to invest heavily in future CX initiatives. According to the EIU’s global survey results, 64% of executives who said CX is important to their organisation’s future investment priorities believe their company is more profitable than their competitors. Almost two thirds (64%) of these respondents also believe they have better revenue growth than their competitors, and 83% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. Among companies that don’t prioritise CX investment, only 47% of executives believe they are more profitable than their competitors, 40% said they have better revenue growth and 41% believe they offer a more positive customer experience. The benefits of CX are not going unnoticed by company leaders, with CEOs in companies where CX investment is prioritised more likely to directly lead CX initiatives (43%) or be in overall charge (71%) than in companies where CX investment isn’t a priority (28% and 39% respectively). The benefits are also likely to be forming the basis for a strong business case to invest more in the future, with the majority of respondents (56%) in companies that value CX investment planning to increase investment by more than 10% over the next three years, compared to 15% of companies who consider CX less important. Asia-Pacific firms experience similar benefits when prioritising CX, but the trend there is more acute in terms of planning for future investment. Globally, companies that don’t consider CX an important priority are missing out on the revenue and profitability benefits that prioritising CX can bring. As a result, they are struggling to build a business case for significant new investment—no respondents from companies that don’t prioritise CX expect to increase CX investment by more than 10% over the next three years. (Figure 2)
LEADING FROM THE TOP
Jobs and Apple took end-to-end responsibility for the user experience—something too few companies do. From the performance of the ARM microprocessor in the iPhone to the act of buying that phone in an Apple Store, every aspect of the customer experience was tightly linked together.
From the authorised biography “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson.
15
STEVE JOBS, FOUNDER OF APPLE
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Highlight Apple as a good example of leading from the top.
CEOs SAY THEY LEAD CX CHARGE IN NA, BUT OTHER EXECUTIVES DISAGREE 16
EIGHTY-ONE PERCENT OF NORTH AMERICAN CEOSBELIEVE THEY LEAD CX TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES WITHIN THEIR ORGANISATIONS. BUT OTHER EXECUTIVES DISAGREE, WITH NEARLY ONE-QUARTER POINTING TO THE CMO OR CIO AS LEADING THIS ACTIVITY.
81%
7%
0%
4%
17%
23%
23%
11%
CEO/President/Managingdirector
CMO/Head of marketing
CIO/Technology director
Line of business leader
CEO Non-CEO
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Latin American CEOs are leading the charge, but there’s disagreement at the top When asked who is leading the charge for customer experience initiatives within the organisation, more than half of Latin America respondents (52%) point to the CEO. The second-most popular answer, the chief marketing officer (CMO) or head of marketing, lags far behind at 16%. But there’s more to the story. A cross-functional analysis reveals that while 77% of CEOs in the region say that they themselves are leading the way, their subordinates don’t necessarily agree. Only 40% of non-CEO respondents—themselves predominantly C-suite executives—indicate that the CEO is actually in charge of customer experience transformation. The majority point to a variety of other C-level positions as having a leadership role, including the CMO (19%), chief operating officer (COO) and line-of-business leaders (tied at 7%). This difference of opinion indicates confusion—or even a problematic lack of direction—at the top when it comes to Latin American customer experience initiatives.
CEOs ARE MORE FIRMLY IN CONTROL OF CX IN LATAM 17
77%
10%
6%
0%
40%
19%
7%
7%
CEO/President/Managingdirector
CMO/Head of marketing
COO
Line-of-business leaders
CEOs Non-CEOs
WHILE LATAM CEOS AND NON-CEOS ALSO DISAGREE ABOUT WHO IS IN CHARGE, THE GAP IS MUCH NARROWER THAN IN NA. IN LATAM CMOS ARE THE ONLY OTHER POSITION WITH A SUBSTANTIAL CLAIM TO LEADERSHIP. THIS REFLECTS THE GREATER IMPORTANCE ATTRIBUTED TO CX AMONG LATAM FIRMS.
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Latin American CEOs are leading the charge, but there’s disagreement at the top When asked who is leading the charge for customer experience initiatives within the organisation, more than half of Latin America respondents (52%) point to the CEO. The second-most popular answer, the chief marketing officer (CMO) or head of marketing, lags far behind at 16%. But there’s more to the story. A cross-functional analysis reveals that while 77% of CEOs in the region say that they themselves are leading the way, their subordinates don’t necessarily agree. Only 40% of non-CEO respondents—themselves predominantly C-suite executives—indicate that the CEO is actually in charge of customer experience transformation. The majority point to a variety of other C-level positions as having a leadership role, including the CMO (19%), chief operating officer (COO) and line-of-business leaders (tied at 7%). This difference of opinion indicates confusion—or even a problematic lack of direction—at the top when it comes to Latin American customer experience initiatives.
MEASURING SUCCESSPage
18
PETER DRUCKER, AUTHOR AND ECONOMIST
“What gets measured gets managed”.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Importance of measuring and the tools which are being used by our survey respondents.
MEASURING SUCCESS OF CX INITIATIVES19
Mexican companies are among the most likely to
say they measure the success of CX initiatives. North American firms are much less likely to do so
78%
76%
71%
68%
68%
67%
61%
58%
54%
53%
53%
53%
49%
48%
China & Hong Kong
France
Mexico
SE Asia
Brazil
Australia & New Zealand
Colombia
Italy
United Kingdom
Sweden
Germany
Canada
United States
Japan
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Asia-Pacific companies are more likely to measure the success of CX initiatives than those in Europe or North America; China and Hong Kong most likely to measure, Japan least likely. Two thirds of companies (66%) in the Asia-Pacific region say that they measure the success or return on investment (ROI) of CX initiatives. This compares favourably with Europe (59%) and North America (51%), and is very similar to results in Latin America (67%). Once again, we see a similar trend emerging within the region, with respondents from China and Hong Kong the most likely in the world to measure their CX success (78%), and Japan the least likely (48%). It could be that more measurement leads to more enthusiasm, with companies investing more in CX once they believe they have proven its effectiveness. Or it could be that more enthusiasm for CX leads to more activity in general, including more measurement. (Figure 8)
NA FIRMS FOCUS ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOURMETRICS
20
NA FIRMS ARE FOCUSSED ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, WITH FEWER THAN 28% USING ANY TYPE OF FINANCIAL METRIC. MORE THAN HALF USE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORES, WELL AHEAD OF ANY OTHER MEASURE WHILE CUSTOMER RETENTION RANKS SECOND AND REVENUE IMPROVEMENT IS A DISTANT THIRD.
54%
41%
28%
26%
26%
24%
20%
20%
20%
15%
15%
Customer Satisfaction Score
Customer retention rate
Revenue improvement
Average revenue per user
Return on Investment
Customer Effort Score
EMO Index
Customer relationship or lifetime value
Customer acquisition cost
Usability or efficiency measures
Net Promoter Score
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Importance of measuring and the tools which are being used by our survey respondents.
LATAM FIRMS USE A BROAD RANGE OF CX METRICS
21
LATAM FIRMS TEND TO TAKE A BALANCED APPROACH TO CX METRICS, WITH A MIX OF BEHAVIOURAL AND FINANCIAL MEASURES. NEARLY 40% USE ALL OF THE TOP FIVE METRICS, AND NO INDIVIDUAL MEASUREMENT STANDS OUT.
45%
42%
39%
39%
39%
38%
30%
27%
17%
14%
12%
Customer Satisfaction Score
Customer acquisition cost
Customer relationship management or…
Customer retention rate
Return on Investment
Average revenue per user
Revenue improvement
Customer Effort Score
Net Promoter Score
Usability or efficiency measures
EMO Index
% of respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Importance of measuring and the tools which are being used by our survey respondents.
MOST IMPORTANT CX CHANNELS GLOBALLY 22
37%
31%
37%
49%
13%
26%
25%
36%
43%
25%
20%
29%
26%
47%
23%
24%
34%
31%
42%
22%
Social media
Web self-service
Online assistance support
Face-to-face communications
Telephone operations
Asia Pacifc
Latin America
North America
Europe
% of global respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
In Asia-Pacific, social media is a more important CX channel, and telephone communication a less important one, than in any other region. More than a third of companies in Asia-Pacific (37%) said social media is one of their most important CX channels, compared to just 23% in the rest of the world. The region also stands out in its attitude to telephone operations, with only 13% of respondents believing it is important, a significantly lower proportion than in the rest of the world (22%). It could be that this fast-developing region has had the advantage of skipping a phase, and been able to jump directly to social media without being tied down by legacy systems. China and Hong Kong especially keen on social media but now turning attention to web self-service. Executives in China and Hong Kong are particularly enthusiastic about social media, with 70% saying it is important, way ahead of respondents anywhere else in the world. However, that proportion is set to drop to 51% within three years, as Chinese and Hong Kong companies divert more attention to web self-service (such as web transactions without human assistance). Whereas only 24% of executives in these countries said it is presently an important channel, more than half (54%) believe it will be important three years from now. As companies in China and Hong Kong are planning to substantially boost their CX investment over the next three years, we can surmise that much of this investment will be directed towards web self-service. Australasia and South-east Asia value face-to-face communication; but this attachment is set to wane in Australasia in the coming years. Companies in Australasia still lay great store in face-to-face meetings, with 60% of executives saying they are an important CX channel for their organisation. South-east Asian respondents also favour in-person communication, with 53% saying meetings are an important CX channel. Although South-east Asian respondents believe face-to-face meetings will remain important three years from now, the proportion of executives in Australasia who believe they will still be important in three years shrinks to 45%. It seems that attention in Australasia will switch to web self-service, as only 33% of respondents said web self-service is important now, but 48% believe it will be important in three years.
THE FACE-TO-FACE CX CHANNEL IS SECOND ONLY TO WEB SELF-SERVICE IN NA (NEXT 3 YEARS) 23
% of respondents
44%
41%
38%
26%
26%
18%
15%
12%
6%
3%
37%
37%
28%
33%
21%
25%
21%
19%
4%
23%
Web self-service
Face-to-face communications
Online assistance support
Social media
Customer insight
Email based communications
Automation of processes
Proactive communications
Paper based communications
Telephone operations
Canada United States
Presenter
Presentation Notes
In Asia-Pacific, social media is a more important CX channel, and telephone communication a less important one, than in any other region. More than a third of companies in Asia-Pacific (37%) said social media is one of their most important CX channels, compared to just 23% in the rest of the world. The region also stands out in its attitude to telephone operations, with only 13% of respondents believing it is important, a significantly lower proportion than in the rest of the world (22%). It could be that this fast-developing region has had the advantage of skipping a phase, and been able to jump directly to social media without being tied down by legacy systems. China and Hong Kong especially keen on social media but now turning attention to web self-service. Executives in China and Hong Kong are particularly enthusiastic about social media, with 70% saying it is important, way ahead of respondents anywhere else in the world. However, that proportion is set to drop to 51% within three years, as Chinese and Hong Kong companies divert more attention to web self-service (such as web transactions without human assistance). Whereas only 24% of executives in these countries said it is presently an important channel, more than half (54%) believe it will be important three years from now. As companies in China and Hong Kong are planning to substantially boost their CX investment over the next three years, we can surmise that much of this investment will be directed towards web self-service. Australasia and South-east Asia value face-to-face communication; but this attachment is set to wane in Australasia in the coming years. Companies in Australasia still lay great store in face-to-face meetings, with 60% of executives saying they are an important CX channel for their organisation. South-east Asian respondents also favour in-person communication, with 53% saying meetings are an important CX channel. Although South-east Asian respondents believe face-to-face meetings will remain important three years from now, the proportion of executives in Australasia who believe they will still be important in three years shrinks to 45%. It seems that attention in Australasia will switch to web self-service, as only 33% of respondents said web self-service is important now, but 48% believe it will be important in three years.
IN LATAM ONLINE ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE THE TOP CHANNELS (NEXT THREE YEARS) 24
% of respondents
58%
19%
48%
32%
19%
39%
32%
19%
13%
3%
53%
53%
24%
29%
35%
21%
6%
18%
6%
6%
26%
38%
29%
26%
29%
12%
21%
12%
15%
3%
Online assistance support
Social media
Face-to-face communications
Customer insight
Web self-service
Automation of processes
Telephone operations
Proactive communications to customers
Email based communications
Paper based communications
Colombia Mexico Brazil
Presenter
Presentation Notes
In Asia-Pacific, social media is a more important CX channel, and telephone communication a less important one, than in any other region. More than a third of companies in Asia-Pacific (37%) said social media is one of their most important CX channels, compared to just 23% in the rest of the world. The region also stands out in its attitude to telephone operations, with only 13% of respondents believing it is important, a significantly lower proportion than in the rest of the world (22%). It could be that this fast-developing region has had the advantage of skipping a phase, and been able to jump directly to social media without being tied down by legacy systems. China and Hong Kong especially keen on social media but now turning attention to web self-service. Executives in China and Hong Kong are particularly enthusiastic about social media, with 70% saying it is important, way ahead of respondents anywhere else in the world. However, that proportion is set to drop to 51% within three years, as Chinese and Hong Kong companies divert more attention to web self-service (such as web transactions without human assistance). Whereas only 24% of executives in these countries said it is presently an important channel, more than half (54%) believe it will be important three years from now. As companies in China and Hong Kong are planning to substantially boost their CX investment over the next three years, we can surmise that much of this investment will be directed towards web self-service. Australasia and South-east Asia value face-to-face communication; but this attachment is set to wane in Australasia in the coming years. Companies in Australasia still lay great store in face-to-face meetings, with 60% of executives saying they are an important CX channel for their organisation. South-east Asian respondents also favour in-person communication, with 53% saying meetings are an important CX channel. Although South-east Asian respondents believe face-to-face meetings will remain important three years from now, the proportion of executives in Australasia who believe they will still be important in three years shrinks to 45%. It seems that attention in Australasia will switch to web self-service, as only 33% of respondents said web self-service is important now, but 48% believe it will be important in three years.
BARRIERS TO CX SUCCESS IN NA
Twenty-five percent of NA executives say they are overwhelmed by the complexity of implementing new CX initiatives, eclipsing the global average of 16% and only 11% in LATAM. Furthermore, about 34% of respondents say that insufficient resources are a major obstacle, compared with 26% of LATAM counterparts. In contrast, obstacles LATAMfirms cite are more related to organisational and technological issues.
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THE FACT THAT NAFIRMS TEND TO LAG THOSE IN LATAM IN IMPLEMENTING CX TRANSFORMATION IS EXPLAINED IN PART BY MORE COMPLEX IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND ASSOCIATED RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS
CONCLUSIONS
SUCCESS OVERALL, BUT SOME CHALLENGES REMAIN
Americas executives attribute as much importance to the value of CX as their counterparts in ROW. They are investing even more heavily to achieve it. But NA lags substantially behind LATAM in this respect.
Firms in the Americas are generally open to risk with new technologies like social media, and they are near global averages in this respect. But face-to-face communications will likely remain a considerable feature of CX for years to come. NA leads LATAM in the use of face-to-face channels while LATAM firms have made more aggressive use of social media and online assistance support.
Americas executives are more likely than those in ROW to rate their own customer experience as stronger than their peers. But there appears to be confusion as to which senior executives are at the vanguard. CEOs are very likely to think that they themselves lead these efforts; but a majority of other C-level respondents disagree.
This lack of clear direction at the top, coupled with a degree of complacency and overconfidence, are potential pitfalls that Americas firms should keep top of mind.
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BEWARE COMPLACENCYHow companies believe customers rate their experience
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COMPANIES SHOULD BE WARY OF AN EMERGING GAP BETWEEN THEIR OWN PERCEPTIONS AND HOW THEIR CUSTOMERS VIEW THEIR EXPERIENCE.
29%
58%
12%
21%
56%
20%
23%
54%
19%
Very positively (ie, an industry leadingdifferentiated experience)
Positively (ie, slightly differentiated)
Neither positively nor negatively (ie, notuniquely differentiated)
Latin America North America Rest of the world
% of global respondents
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Complacency may be the greatest enemy to companies. An overwhelming proportion of companies currently believe their customers have a positive view of their experience. If their customers continue to support this judgement, then all is well and good. But companies should be wary of the gap that is emerging between their own perception and how their customers view their experience. After all, companies may not know that things are going wrong, as Sam Walton prophesises, until customers start spending their money elsewhere.
