Some describe customer experience (CX) as the way a customer feels about your brand whenever they do business with you. But a more actionable definition of CX is how you make a customer feel whenever they interact with your brand.
Over the years, digital retailers have amplified the importance of CX. The convenience of online shopping, immediate gratification of next or even same day shipping, and responsiveness to customer requests have raised the bar for consumer expectations. For better or worse, these expectations have transferred to B2B, professional services, and practically every other market. But in order to really understand the importance of CX, you need to see the numbers. These five statistics provide the most compelling reasons for prioritizing CX.
Our digital, connected world provides easy access to multitudes of competitors, regardless of your industry. With this statistic in mind, taking CX for granted can lead to significant customer churn.
Businesses can reduce customer churn by 67% if they provide the right customer experience.2
Positive CX has a nearly identical benefit for customer retention. But what is the “right” customer experience? When a customer’s problem is solved during the first interaction with support, and their expectations are appropriately managed.
42% of consumers will pay more for a superior customer experience.3
In a global marketplace, many businesses find themselves primarily competing on price in a “race to the bottom.” But many people are willing to pay more for a similar product or service if they are confident in receiving exceptional CX.
This number may seem rather high, but considering that ~80% of US adults from 18–64 use social media,5 it may actually be an understatement. CX can provide free promotion that comes with the veracity of a personal recommendation.
80% of businesses believe they provide exceptional customer experience, but only 8% of consumers agree.6
This is called “the experience gap,” the difference between an organization’s opinion of the CX they provide and how their customers actually feel about the CX they receive.
