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Excellent Customer Experience as an Expectation: Trends in 2023
Contributed Article by Liza Smyth, SVP of Customer Experience for Formstack
With an economic
downturn on the horizon for 2023, customer experience is paramount. A
positive customer experience drives
customer loyalty, leading to retention and, ultimately, a stronger bottom
line. According
to McKinsey, improving customer experience is the fastest-growing priority
for surveyed customer care leaders.
Let’s look at how we expect customer
experience to evolve in 2023 and how it will impact forward-thinking
organizations.
Keeping pace with customer expectations in
2023
In the coming year, companies will continue to
focus on customer experience, but must also keep up with heightening customer
expectations amid stiffer competition. Because of the last few years of
digital-first experiences driven by the pandemic, customers now increasingly
expect personalized interactions and a secure, seamless buying experience that
intuits their needs, regardless of the channel they choose to make a purchase.
An exceptional customer experience is a key
factor in your organization’s competitive edge. In fact, 73% of surveyed
customers said that experience
was a driving factorin their purchasing decisions. Exceptional customer experiences keep
customers coming back, and retaining existing customers is essential during
times of economic turmoil when new customers are difficult to come by.
Look
at the customer experience holistically
In
2023, the responsibility of customer experience will be shared across the
company — from tip to tail, every segment of an organization will play a role
in improving the customer experience. Ensure your departments are communicating
with each other to deliver the most unified experience, as 85% of customers
expect cohesive interactions across departments, according
to Salesforce data.
But
how do you know if you’re improving your customers’ experiences? The best way to measure CX is to listen to your customers. Customer
satisfaction surveys will clarify what you’re doing right while allowing
customers to provide feedback. These results will let you dig deeper into what
is working and identify pain points to address. This information can help you
recognize any silos to break down between departments, which will ultimately
improve interdepartmental communication and the comprehensive customer
experience.
Invest in digital transformation
Digital transformation’s second wave will
bring humans into the digital experience. This is crucial, as 82% of surveyed
Americans said they want more
human interaction in their customer experience. Even as digital
transformation becomes more commonplace, the human touch is still integral to
customer satisfaction.
The most forward-thinking organizations will
invest in digital transformation even with the forecasted economic uncertainty.
The shift to digital will determine how to personalize experiences, anticipate
customers’ needs, and offer a smooth customer experience from start to finish,
overall increasing value for the customer and strengthening customer
relationships — a result that 72% of
surveyed leaders said they expected from a digital shift. Strong customer
relationships are linked to improved retention and increased loyalty, both of
which will play a part in where consumers decide to spend their money during
2023.
In the coming year, vendors will commence this
next wave of digital transformation by using different channels and forums to
communicate with customers. Using multiple channels for communication will lead
to better data to analyze to identify key insights. Using this data, you can more
effectively fulfill customers’ needs and facilitate seamless, intuitive
self-help. This pivot to digital will contribute to improved customer
experiences.
As the importance of customer experience
continues to trend upward, businesses will increasingly look to differentiate
themselves through their offerings. The smartest organizations will look at the
customer experience as a whole to better unify experiences, while also
investing in digital transformation to personalize experiences and assume
customer needs in 2023 and beyond.
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About the Author
Liza Smyth is SVP of customer
experience of
Formstack, where she leads customer experience efforts, building a vision
for delivering customer care and supporting the company’s 25,000 customers.
Before joining Formstack, Smyth spent 15 years working for some of the world’s
most prestigious tech companies, including Apple and LinkedIn. With experience
throughout the customer journey—from international sales to growth and
engagement—Smyth is a proven customer experience leader.