The key to successful CX transformation

In an age where connection has become both easier and more complex, human beings continue to desire to be heard and understood. We want to be sure that what we’re saying has an impact, and that our views matter.

This is perhaps most true of the customer-business relationship. Building deep and meaningful customer connections requires not only listening to their needs, but demonstrating understanding and care. With barriers to switching brands often just a click of a button, the experience has become the key differentiator between customers staying or going elsewhere.

Forward-thinking companies are right to move toward a new strategy based on experience management, focusing on optimizing and personalizing the experiences they create and deliver.

Why focus on customer experience?

91% of business leaders now believe customer centricity is a top priority and essential to driving growth. They’re not wrong. Our research has found that eight out of 10 people think customer experience needs improvement across multiple areas, and two-thirds of consumers believe companies need to be better at responding to feedback.

With over 60% of consumers saying businesses need to care more about them and that they’d buy more as a result, businesses can make huge strides by making sure they understand, and act on their customer’s needs. There’s added risk for not doing so, too. Our research found that your bottom line is at risk when you neglect the customer experience – by as much as 9.5% of your revenue. For brands looking to grow, CX transformation is not a nice to have, it's a necessity.

The stages of customer experience maturity

For brands, success comes from understanding customer needs and expectations. Tapping into customer emotions to design products and services means you can more easily create positive, memorable experiences. However, mastering the art of customer-centricity is not a simple process. It requires a cultural change within the organization, facilitated by employee buy-in across all departments. Having worked across different industries and markets with a variety of brands, we know that building CX momentum is not a quick win. It often takes two or three years, sometimes even longer.

CX transformation usually occurs across four maturity phases:

• Establish - The brand lays the foundation and defines customer centricity as one of its top priorities. They start changing their approach to customers and create awareness of CX and why it is important. Sporadic CX activities are set up.
• Develop - The brand acknowledges the need for deep organizational change to enable a successful CX transformation. They define what CX is and set up more effective tools and processes. A CX programme is launched to improve the delivery of CX.
• Realize- Customer feedback guides business decisions and customer relationships strengthen significantly. The brand sees and communicates success and continues to embed customer centric thinking and behavior in the organization^[1]. All CX activities get aligned and processes automated. The value of CX is measured and used to enhance trust in the programme and embed change.
• Maintain - The impact on business growth is visible. The brand achieves a high level of CX maturity. Brand promise and actual customer experiences are aligned. Further investments are required to maintain the momentum and sustain engagement in order to continuously delight customers in moments that matter

Where does your business stand?

Where is your organization on this journey? And how can you gain momentum and reach the next level of CX maturity?

Kantar + Qualtrics’ CX Maturity Audits assess an organization’s current CX maturity level. They help identify gaps, optimize existing CX activities and align the organization to a common goal for a successful CX transformation.

Kantar and Qualtrics’ strategic global partnership helps you put customers at the heart of your business to create lasting relationships that drive business success. Together, we provide you with timely, actionable and easily accessible insight, supported by consultancy, industry-specific learnings and advanced analytics.

To find out more about the value of a CX maturity assessment in your organization, please contact Chloe Woolger at Kantar.

Meanwhile, download our Global 2023 Consumer Trends report to find out how consumer behaviour and preferences will change in the year ahead and what you can do to attract and retain customers moving forward.