18 Online Customer Experience Statistics That Should Shape Your CX Strategy
Sometimes, you just need some powerful stats to supercharge your online strategy. And when it comes to customer experience, being aware of recent research and findings is crucial. Plus, you certainly don’t want to be left behind when it comes to the latest customer experience developments. We’ve cherry-picked 18 of the most intriguing and powerful stats that are an outline of things to come in 2018, and beyond. Feast your eyes on these juicy CX stats…
1. Omnichannel wins
Aberdeen Group Inc. claims that companies with the strongest omni-channel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers in comparison with 33% for companies with weak omni-channel strategies.
If you haven’t heard of omnichannel marketing yet then you’re not down with the kids. It’s not just a buzzword, it’s happening, right now. The reality is that you need to make sure all your channels are interconnected and working in unison. Which means addressing the relationship between your online and offline stores.
2. Consistency is key in customer experience
According to Kampyle, 87% of customers think brands need to put more effort into providing a consistent experience.
This year, it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure everything is aligned. Whenever your customers come into contact with your brand, they need to have similar thoughts and experiences. Whether they’re browsing products on your website, watching a video or following your brand on social media.
3. Customer experience needs to take priority
Gartner reports that by 2018, more than 50% of organizations will implement significant business model changes in their efforts to improve customer experience.
4. The number one differentiator
By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product and the key differentiator between brands. (Walker Info)
This is a phrase that’s plastered all over the internet, and for good reason. We actually expect this to happen sooner than 2020, in fact, it’s already happening. A perfect customer experience is the holy grail.
5. Cost effective
A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy and Mark Murphy)
6. Get an edge over the competition
According to Tempkin Group, customer experience leaders have more than a 16% advantage over competitors in willingness to buy, reluctance to switch brands, and likelihood to recommend.
7. People are willing to pay for a better customer experience
According to a Walker study, 86% of buyers would pay more for a better customer experience.
It couldn’t be?? Will people pay to get a better customer experience? Gone are the days where people were solely focused on price. People are willing to pay for convenience and to support brands that they’re on board with.
8. The customer experience needs to be personalised
52% of consumers are likely to switch brands if a company doesn’t make an effort to personalize communications to them. Salesforce.
9. A bad experience can put customers off for good
Customers who had an unpleasant experience on your site are 88% less likely to return to your website – Adobe
Losing potential customers is more costly than ever. It seems as though customers are becoming less forgiving, especially in the initial search for a product. Do you really want to lose out to your competitors due to a poorly constructed website and sub-par user experience???
10. Mobile first
Google says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead. MicKinsey & Company
11. Don’t dismiss or underestimate emerging AI opportunities
80% of marketers predict artificial intelligence will revolutionize marketing in the next few years. Econsultancy
12. Instant chats can help improve the customer experience
67% of people expect to see/use messaging apps when talking to a business. Chatbots Magazine
People expect instant answers to their questions. If they’ve got a problem during their path to conversion, and can’t find any way of solving it, most likely they’ll bounce and go elsewhere. Everything is instantaneous and people have a lot less patience these days. Having live chat software can help some brands to retain customers who may otherwise have given up and moved on. Did you know, 52% of consumers more likely to repurchase from a company who offer live chat support.
13. Allow customers to solve problems themselves
50% of customers think it’s important to be able to solve product/service issues themselves.
Picture this, you’re on a website, you get part way towards buying something, and you encounter a problem. Often the last thing you want to do is have to call a company up. If there’s enough help and guidance on the website to solve the problem there and then, you’ll be much happier and you can proceed with your purchase.
14. Humans not always needed
Gartner predicts that by 2020 a customer will manage 85% of the relationship with an enterprise without interacting with a human.
There are obviously certain times where human interaction is key, but keep in mind in 2018 that a lot of the customer journey will be completed by customers on their own. They expect a seamless experience throughout, and a lot of the time smart design can help deliver a top-notch experience.
15. Word spreads fast, especially in 2018
95% of consumers talk about poor customer service experiences with other people. American Express
You just can’t risk bad customer experiences getting voiced on social media. The Twittersphere loves a good brand shaming session, especially when it comes to awful service. If your website delivers an awful experience, visitors will make sure others know about it. And news travels extremely fast these days.
16. Customer loyal morphs into customer obsession
A Forrester study found that 90 percent of the 250 finance leaders surveyed, reported an uptick in cash flow due to the activity related to a customer obsessed strategy.
Forrester suggested in late 2016 that customer obsession would become prominent, and they’re right. When people find a brand that works for them these days, they almost become worshipers of that brand. It’s time to spend more time on getting your online customers hooked.
17. Know your product better than your customers
According to Salesforce, 44% consumers typically know more about a product than a store associate.
This may be an in-store stat, but it’s relevant to the online customer experience too. It doesn’t look very good if a customer knows more about a product than they see on your website. Up your product descriptions game and provide insightful information that will help stimulate conversions.
18. Timely responses
Super Office reported that 75% of customers claimed that the most important attribute of good customer service is a fast response time.
If your customers get to the point where they don’t have the info they need and have an urgent query, they will want an answer, pronto. When it comes to online chat services, make sure they are working properly and customers get a speedy response. If you’ve got a phone line, don’t make customers go through zillions of options and wait before they can speak to anyone. They’ll simply hang up and go elsewhere.
