Leveraging Trends to Drive Business Success through Customer Experience

In last week’s post, I shared my appreciation for global customer experience research conducted by PwC. That post prompted me to think about all the organizations that invest time, money, and energy to capture insights that help us deliver improved customer experiences.

I see my job as curating much of that research and sharing it with you in this context and also helping my clients leverage that knowledge through tools and technologies.

In keeping with that objective, let’s look at some data reported by Adobe and Econsultancy in a report titled Experience Index 2020 Digital Trends. That study reflects the input of more than 13,000 marketers, IT professionals, and creatives from across the globe. At a macro-level Adobe and Econsultancy found that business leaders are:

  • Effectively differentiating themselves from competitors by personalizing experiences through integrated marketing and CX technology
  • Prioritizing the importance of customer journey management
  • Facing legacy barriers to achieve a CX cultural transformation
  • Investing heavily in consumer data management
  • Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) at an unprecedented rate

Let’s take a look at a couple of these findings and what they can mean for your business.

As it relates to effective CX differentiation, Adobe and Econsultancy report that world-class customer experience companies are three times more likely to have “significantly exceeded their 2019 business goals. Their progression toward customer-centricity has deep effects, pushing them to eliminate the structural, cultural and technological barriers that prevent most companies from managing data and providing great experiences.”

From the perspective of customer journey management, the 2020 Digital Trends report notes:

“Today’s consumers expect easy, valuable experiences that marketers in 2010 could scarcely imagine. The modern customer journey is complex and unpredictable; it can only be understood and managed in real-time, putting customer data at the centre of marketing.”

In addition to mapping customer journeys and driving customer ease, the 2020 Digital Trends report reflects the importance of leveraging consumer data to enhance personalization and to drive experiences suited for the unique wants, needs, and desires of core customer segments.

Respondents to the survey also highlighted the importance of capturing and protecting customer data. The report authors note, “Leading companies are attempting to adapt to a new marketing dynamic, demanding that they lean into privacy, demonstrate transparency and continue to build trust with consumers.”

Finally, artificial intelligence is no longer a cutting-edge phenomenon – it is increasingly becoming a mainstream tool for understanding and expediting customer experience delivery.

According to the 2020 Digital Trends report:

“Artificial intelligence is rapidly being integrated into the systems and platforms of marketing, much of it happening invisibly, powering new features or streamlining existing ones. But leading and large companies are also actively exploring where smart technologies can maximise efficiency, solve difficult problems and offload repetitive tasks from marketers to machines. The ability to rapidly analyse and act on data defines the ceiling for customer experience. Large organisations’ use of automation for data analysis jumped by nearly 20% in this year’s study, rising from 55% to 64%.”

So, what do all of these trends mean for you and your business:

  • You CAN deliver outstanding Customer Experiences
  • When you do so, you will outperform competitors and exceed business objectives
  • Carefully evaluate and deploy integrated marketing and CX technologies
  • Access and protect customer data to deliver personalized experiences
  • Learn customer journey mapping technologies and scale them across your organization
  • Blend human intelligence with artificial intelligence to leverage customer insights that drive innovation

I’d love to create a personalized plan for how you can use these insights to exceed your 2020 business goals! Simply reach out to me here and we will schedule a complimentary call.

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Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D. is a professional speaker and chief experience officer at The Michelli Experience. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, Dr. Michelli and his team consult with some of the world’s best customer experience companies.

Follow on Twitter: @josephmichelli

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