New Study Finds Data Key to Unlocking Superior Customer Experience

New Study Finds Data Key to Unlocking Superior Customer Experience

News Highlights:

  • Treasure Data and Forbes Insights study reveals 74 percent of consumers are at least somewhat likely to buy based on experience alone
  • Eighty-three percent of executives face moderate to severe revenue and market share risks due to unimproved CX
  • Fifty-six percent of companies use data that captures the interactions of the most engaged customers to evaluate which customer segments to nurture

I often see the words “customer experience” or “customer-centric” used in marketing messages as companies look to meet increasingly high consumer expectations. That’s not a surprise as today’s technologies and data-driven approaches have enabled brands to provide more personalized experiences across the customer journey—and consumers have taken notice. According to a new Treasure Data and Forbes Insights study, “Proving the Value of CX,” nearly three in four consumers (74 percent) are either somewhat or very likely to buy from a company based solely on their experience, regardless of product or price. This shows the incredible importance placed on the customer experience (CX), but what does CX really mean and how can companies better deliver it to their consumers?

Defining the Customer Experience

While every company wants to be more customer-centric, the term CX can mean many different things to many people. The study found that 45 percent of CX leaders define CX as “the customer’s aggregate perception of your company based on all their interactions with your brand, product or service.” Essentially, that speaks to the customer journey from initial interest to purchase to customer service and everything in between—a critical process to building loyal and repeat buyers. In fact, 65 percent of consumers say a consistently positive experience through their entire interaction would make them a long-term customer of the brand. Focusing on Customer Experience Management (CEM) is a key part of this.

Placing CX at the Forefront

However, it’s not easy building an effective CX strategy into an existing business. According to the report, one out of four CX executives say not having the right people involved is a constraint that prevents their team from implementing a streamlined CX approach. To be successful, businesses should look at CX as the whole business, not just part of it. Reorganizing around CX requires reimagining a company’s processes and taking a data-driven approach that breaks down silos across the organization. In fact, the companies that are excelling in personalization and individual customer preferences are those that can understand and draw insights from their individual-level customer data.

Harnessing Data for Better CX

The CX and customer journey are heavily reliant on data from start to finish. It starts with obtaining a holistic view of all the customers’ interactions with the brand across both digital and in-store. While this can often be challenging as touchpoints are spread out across multiple systems—such as POS, CRM, social, customer service, and more—leveraging a customer data platform (CDP) can help securely unify all of the data to provide a single source of truth. Data can then help to define which features will encourage said customers to stay loyal. Finally, data is essential to assessing the potential lifetime value of a customer. Predictive modeling that compares usage patterns of new customers with longer tenured ones can help project which are the most valuable.

Creating a cycle of data-driven improvement is what differentiates the most successful companies from their peers. To create that cycle, having the right tech stack is a minimum investment that directly enables the talent, skill sets, and customer-centric mindset. This is well worth the investment as 83 percent of executives surveyed said they faced moderate to severe revenue and market share risks due to unimproved CX. Not to mention that 56 percent of companies now look to data that captures the interactions of the most engaged customers to evaluate which customer segments to nurture. Ultimately, the urgency to implement such plans to drive better CX cannot be ignored and taking control of your data should be at the forefront of your approach.

To download a copy of the complete report, visit Proving the Value of CX.

Survey Methodology

The Forbes Insights and Treasure Data report is the result of two surveys.

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The CX executives survey includes the views of more than 200 global CX executives. Executives held marketing, sales, CX, product, and IT titles, and represented a variety of industries. All executives came from organizations with over $150 million USD in annual revenue, with almost half from large enterprises (revenue over $1 billion USD).

The consumer survey includes more than 1,000 consumers globally, spread across all age groups (18+ years old) and income brackets. In addition, they represent a variety of purchasing categories including automotive, appliances, consumer technology, media and entertainment, retail and e-commerce goods, and financial services.

Tom Treanor
Tom Treanor
Tom Treanor was head of marketing at Treasure Data. He focuses on marketing, martech, CDPs, and digital marketing. Follow him on Twitter @RtMixMktg.
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