Nowadays, the customer experience (CX) is a lot like an orchestra. Just as a conductor orchestrates the timing and rhythm of various instruments to create a harmonious symphony, organizations need to synchronize all channels and touchpoints to deliver a seamless customer journey.

From social media and email to voice calls, chat, and text, people are interacting with brands in different ways. That means businesses need to manage many omnichannel journeys simultaneously.

Easy, right?

No.

CX quality fell for 19% of brands in 2022—the biggest proportion of brands to drop in one year since the survey began, according to Forrester research.

Forrester attributes decrease to the waning focus on customer-centricity. In fact, just 3% of US companies are "customer-obsessed." That's like being a conductor who doesn't care about the show's audience.

The truth is that CX is more important today than ever before, but it's also increasingly difficult to manage.

Why? Because of the challenges of creating a connected customer experience.

What Is a Connected Customer Experience?

A connected customer experience delivers smart, contextual interactions across all touchpoints in the customer's journey.

The idea is to provide a consistent experience across the board, no matter how or why a customer reaches out to the brand—whether through your company's website or its contact center. Modern consumers want a cohesive experience from start to finish.

By contrast, a disconnected CX inherently generates friction as people transition from one interaction to another and one department to another.

Such roadblocks are no longer acceptable in the minds of your customers. Consider the following statistics:

• In its State of the Connected Customer report, Salesforce found that 85% of consumers expect consistency when interacting with teams across departments. Yet, 60% say they don't receive the cohesion they're looking for.
• Connected customer experiences increase loyalty. The same report found that 83% of customers are more loyal to organizations that deliver consistent experiences across departments. Moreover, 94% say they're more likely to purchase again from a business that provides a positive service experience.
• Disconnectedness frustrates today's purchasers, leading to costly churn. That is a significant concern: The cost of acquiring a new customer is typically 4-5 times that of retaining a current one.

Five Ways to Deliver a Connected Experience

Here are five ways you can offer a more connected customer experience.

1. Improve customer data accessibility

Truly optimizing customers' experience requires a holistic view of their wants, needs, and evolving expectations.

In other words, it all boils down to understanding customer data. Without data, it's impossible to connect the dots and carry information over from one interaction to the next.

The challenge is that many enterprise data sources are siloed, preventing teams from accessing the information they need, when they need it. Organizations need connected data sources to give departments a single source of truth about individual customers and their specific needs.

One option is to deploy a solution with a single dashboard to view customer interactions. That way, data is easy to access for everyone on the team.

2. Obtain complete company alignment

Connected experiences start with a connected vision. In simpler terms: everybody within the organization should have a collective understanding of your CX goals.

Fully 76% of executives agree that technology for seamless collaboration across departments is crucial for a connected customer experience, according to recent research. Even more telling? Only 22% of companies have a dedicated executive for customer experience, and 39% report having a part-time leader of CX.

But when all departments take ownership of CX, they actively share data, ideas, and insights that can bridge the gap between their respective lines of business.

3. Build personalized customer journeys

Once customer data flows frictionlessly and your teams are aligned on common goals, you can start tailoring CX and fostering connectedness. One way to do that is to personalize interactions whenever possible.

Customers expect companies to understand their needs. By using data, you can focus on helping customers reach their specific goals at every touchpoint.

For example, certain contact center solutions use real-time analytics of both human and digital interactions. That allows companies to identify trends and solve the most relevant issues for their customers.

Plus, a centralized desktop view for agents, showing all previous customer interactions across channels, gives them the ability to offer contextual resolutions to customer issues. Such tools enable proactive customer service that yields long-term results.

4. Use artificial intelligence (AI) to your advantage

People look for fast, convenient, and direct resolutions. AI tools, such as self-service chatbots and interactive voice response (IVR) systems, offer customers a way to access 24/7 support at a moment's notice.

What's great about those tools is that they use customer data to deliver the same consistent experience that someone would receive in person or over the phone. Likewise, contact center agents can easily elevate the inquiry to a call while retaining all the same information.

Notably, self-service options are increasingly popular. More customers are using chatbots and self-service account portals now than in 2020.

5. Use an omnichannel solution

Omnichannel tools, such as a contact center as a service (CCaaS) solution, help customers engage with brands no matter their preferred channel of communication. From Instagram to Google Business to the entire communication stack, businesses can be exactly where their customers are to deliver a positive experience at every interaction.

With an omnichannel CCaaS solution you can gather interaction data across multiple channels to glean more granular insights into the customer experience to quickly help consumers arrive at more positive outcomes no matter the circumstances.

* * *

No matter the scale or scope of your business, one thing is certain: Customers want connection. Not only between themselves and your brand but also between every interaction across all possible channels.

If you're not in tune with your customers, you're essentially a conductor delivering a disjointed symphony—and the audience might just walk out.

More Resources on Improving CX and Connected CX

How to Use Voice of the Customer in B2B to Improve CX and Increase Engagement

Building Better Customer Outcomes With a Customer Experience Quality Framework

Five Tips for Enhancing the B2B Customer Experience to Generate More Sales