Customer experience has been the main topic of conversation for industry leaders within the last year. So what exactly is it? Customer experience is the sum of all the interactions that a customer has with an organization over the life of the relationship with that company or brand.

It should come as no surprise that companies have started to shift their focus on enhancing their customer experience. Over the last year, COVID has impacted how customers interact with brands. The world has become more digital, you want to ensure your customers are getting the best experience throughout the purchasing cycle. Whether it’s through their browsing of your website, talking to live chat agents, all the way down to the purchase stage, you want to fill the gaps in their experience. Below are five key customer experience statistics to keep in mind as you plan for 2022.

1. ⅔ of companies compete on customer experience

In 2010, 36% of companies were competing on this factor. This number has since skyrocketed to over 66%! Having a great CX used to be something that was a bonus for a brand, but in today’s world, it’s a necessity. Just a few years ago, it may have felt like offering a live chat option on top of phone support to customers was a “nice feature to have,” but in today’s current CX age, if a customer is forced to wait on the phone without any other option for touchpoints, they are more likely to take their business elsewhere. In fact, studies show that if a customer has to wait any longer than a minute on hold, almost 60% will just hang up. Ensure your customers have multiple ways to get into contact with you to enhance their experience!

2. Customers base their loyalty on their experiences

Having a great or poor customer experience can make or break your customer retention. Customer loyalty can’t be bought with low prices, it has to be earned. This is when it’s important to remember that when a customer does business with you, it isn’t just a sale, it’s the start of the relationship. You want to ensure your customer is satisfied and continue to nurture the relationship throughout their customer journey. Some questions you can ask yourself when thinking about your brand’s CX are:

Are we personally reaching out to new customers to strengthen the relationship?
Are we adding value when making a sale, or just making the sale?
Are we re-engaging with our customers post-sale?

3. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience

On top of the previous point, customers are even willing to pay more for a product or service when they know the customer experience is great. Customers will pay a premium price of up to 13% - sometimes even 18% for luxury and indulgence services when they know their satisfaction is guaranteed and that the brand they’re working with values them. You don’t want to wait for customers to find other businesses because of a problem - it’s important to consistently demonstrate how important your customers are to your business.

4. The heart of CX is empathy

Not only do you have to ensure open and easy communication with your customers, but you must understand them. You don’t have to necessarily agree with what the customer is saying, but it’s important to put yourself in their shoes and understand where they’re coming from and what they’re experiencing. Let the customer know you hear them and are there for them. In this blog, 5 Ways to Show Empathy in a Remote CX World, we discussed that one of the best ways to show empathy is to focus on using positive words over being negative - make sure the customer knows they are in good hands!

5. 56% of B2B companies have a dedicated CX team

Now that you’ve gained a better understanding of the importance of customer experience, it’s time to start pushing to improve your brand’s CX. Customer experience isn’t something to take lightly, businesses have started assigning specialized teams for their CX. The key role for Customer Experience Associates is to troubleshoot customer complaints, issues, or questions, as efficiently as possible. It’s important to have a team dedicated to doing so because you want them to go above and beyond the norm to enhance your brand’s CX.

In Conclusion

Customer Experience is a topic that has shifted more into focus within the last few years. You must earn your customer loyalty, just having low prices won’t cut it anymore. A key competitive factor amongst brands is the customer journey, if your brand isn’t offering the best, customers will move on to the next company. Show your customers that you care by implementing your own team of customer experience specialists!

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CX Statistics You Need To Know For 2022