JULY 2020CIOAPPLICATIONSEUROPE.COM9· Over 80 percent of customers say they will pay more for a superior experience. 70 percent say they will abandon a bad experience. This cost the US retail industry over $1.6 trillion in 2017. (Qualtrics 2017). · A fully engaged customer represents a premium of 23 percent, a differentiated 360 experience will increase spend 18-36 percent and omni-channel shoppers have a 30 percent higher lifetime value. (Gallup 2017)· Elite brands provide 22 emotionally positive experiences for each negative experience. The bottom 5 percent were at 2:1.(Forrester 2018) · People will pay 16 percent more for what your selling if the experience is good for them. Conversely, one out of three will walk away from a product or experience they love, with one bad experience. (PwC 2018)We cannot be in the people business if we are unwilling to consider human factors. With people, influence is far more powerful than control. The difference in output based on "want to do" versus "required to do" is considerable. Engaged employees create engaged customers. Which is not to say customer experience is the same as customer engagement: engagement is an outcome of a good experience.Customer Experience Design is about intentionally shaping the customer's interactions with the business or the Brand to deliver experiences that increase emotional engagement, elevate consideration and ultimately, deliver long-term sustainable value. Companies cite experience as a differentiator but for the customer it is more personal, it is the difference. A seamless, integrated experience is a requirement. So, as business people we must purposefully synchronize the online thinking into physical planning. As leaders, we should find ways to bridge the chasm that exists between analog hearts and digital minds. Frequently, people gloss over those details, but if we consider, that 80 percent of CEO's consider they are doing well with the customer Experience and only 8 percent of customers agree, it validates we have a gap and an opportunity! With that, if we also contemplate an average 70 percent of employees in the U.S. are not fully engaged, it says we have work to do--beyond tactical maneuvers for short term optics--to more long term strategies.Together, we must purposefully and collaboratively create relevant, seamless experiences with less friction, aligning the physical and digital experiences as one end-to-end customer journey. Bain and Co. report 70 percent of purchases are influenced by online shopping but over 70 percent still occur in stores. 95 percent of customers use at least three channels. To optimize potential, the experience must be convenient, consistent, cohesive, seamless and frictionless for the customer.42 percent say they will pay more for a friendlier, welcoming experience, 65 percent find a positive experience to be more influential than great advertising with 73 percent pointing to experience as important in purchase decisions. 82 percent of customers want more human interaction and 54 percent say it needs improvement. The customer drives revenue, our associates help drive the experience. We need to co-create a more effective navigation system so they can drive the results.We have adequate data to define the opportunity and highlight the importance of the customer Experience. Most companies are resisting the data. We have to admit we don't know what we don't know and approach it as a continuous learning to advance the business objectives. What we do know is that over 50 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 in 2000 no longer exist. The projection is that over 40 percent of companies in the current Fortune 500 will not exist in 2025. With the pace of change in the industry and in technology, we cannot continue to do business and develop process as we have always done it. The industry is a catalyst for continuous change. Sustained transformation requires significant capability building. Continuation is as important as activation. The potential for sustained growth is optimized by collaboratively building from the roots up. By harnessing the collective power of cross-functional teams, working with the business from within the business, we can cause change. It's not about validating opinions or finding answers, but tirelessly asking the right questions. We should encourage our troops to move from "my business" to "our customer." We must have courage seeking the optimal outcome, working beyond the organizational chart to maximize organizational benefit.Customer Experience is not an initiative; it is a change in mindset. The concept of "a new frontier" is intentionally a little tongue-in-cheek. The facts and the sciences have supported the reality that experience drives behavior and results, for decades. Companies resist because it is hard. However, it is a new frontier if we decide it's finally time to bridge the chasm between digital minds and analog hearts and we are ready to tackle the long-term journey collaboratively. Customer Experience is not an initiative; it is a change in mindset. The concept of "a new frontier" is intentionally a little tongue-in-cheek
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