In today’s consumer-driven economy, customers set expectations and demand results. If you’re not delivering a consistent, superior end-to-end customer experience (CX), you’re losing their favor. Period.
Whether it’s answering a question, solving a problem, or demonstrating value, brands that prioritize CX differentiate themselves from their competitors. And with every great customer experience comes the potential for brand evangelism and advocacy — two critical drivers of success. Social proof is the name of the game.
Critical 2023 CX stats
In any measurement of a brand’s success, the power of customer experience is unrivaled. When surveyed, 86% of consumers claimed they would leave a brand after as few as two poor experiences, with nearly 50% of them stating they have done so in the last year.
And simply meeting customer expectations is not enough: To build true brand loyalty (and continue to grow revenue), a business must exceed them. A majority of consumers claim they will pay more if they know they’ll consistently receive good customer service, and those same customers are also more willing to share personal data if they feel it will elevate their experience.
But what, exactly, constitutes a great experience? According to Forrester, customers are 2.4x more likely to remain with a brand that can solve their problems quickly, while PwC found 65% of customers favor consistency in brand interactions. These factors are just two of myriad drivers that form the bedrock of a positive customer experience, with others including perceived value, convenience, and ease of interaction.
The most staggering statistic is a simple one. According to Gartner, CX drives over two-thirds of customer loyalty — more than brand and price combined. That’s why 74% of executives surveyed by Tice said “enhancing customer experience” is their top priority in 2023.
Understanding CX challenges
If perfecting the customer experience was easy, every company would have unlimited five-star reviews and completely dedicated customers, but of course that is not the case. In fact, CX is an ongoing struggle for organizations large and small. Some of the primary challenges include:
- Misunderstanding of customer needs/wants. One of the biggest hurdles in delivering a quality customer experience is the failure to understand what customers want and expect. Not every business has the resources to gather customer feedback, conduct surveys, and engage their audience to gain insight into preferences and pain points.
- Lack of problem-solving frameworks. If employees and customer service representatives struggle to understand customer issues, they’ll also struggle to resolve them. Employees don’t always have effective training to quickly assess and resolve problems, which can exacerbate customer frustration and perpetuate bad experiences.
- Language barriers and cultural differences. In today’s global marketplace, language barriers and cultural differences can pose significant CX challenges. Even as businesses embrace diversity and inclusivity, it’s not always possible to deliver multilingual support or train staff to navigate cultural nuances effectively.
- Service consistency across channels. Customers expect a seamless experience across all channels, whether they interact through voice, email, social media, chat or in-person contact. Each medium requires tactful, contextual interaction. Employees might not be as comfortable across all mediums, and interacting in silos can result in omnichannel dysfunction.
Each of these challenges has a direct impact on customer satisfaction and brand perception. Recognizing and addressing them are vital in optimizing the customer experience and maintaining a positive brand image. In lieu of heavy investments in technology, training, process development, and other transformational efforts, creating a winning CX strategy often involves partnering with a BPO provider.
A superior CX solution
At ClearSource, we focus on providing customized CX BPO solutions to all of our client partners. As a midsize BPO, we are large enough to scale with our clients as their businesses grow and small enough to never lose sight of each organization’s individual goals.
Our employee focus starts on the inside, with a culture that encourages engagement, opportunity, and long-term retention. Your brand is unique, and our staffing model ensures we provide you with a team that melds seamlessly with your internal staff and brand voice. We train our employees to do more than simply answer customer questions. With a focus on first-call resolution and quick problem assessment, our brand ambassadors minimize customer effort, resolve issues quickly and efficiently, and build relationships with your customers — helping to grow brand loyalty and enhance the overall customer experience.
Through AI-powered chatbots and analytics, we streamline customer interactions to provide instant support and personalized solutions. These tools enable us to gather valuable insight into customer preferences and behavior, helping us continuously optimize our services and tailor our approach to ensure their satisfaction and your organizational success.
With personalized, proactive communication at the heart of our strategy, we build strong customer relationships fostering loyalty and trust. Our dedicated team of fully supported, trained, and developed employees is equipped with skills and knowledge to provide exceptional customer interactions. They strive to exceed expectations and enhance satisfaction because they know your success depends on it.
