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Fully 80% of customers churn as a result of dissatisfaction with service quality, TechSee reports. So, to prevent avoidable churn, businesses must improve their service at every point, on every channel.

Sounds easy, right?

We all know the challenge is more complex, mostly because service occurs in various channels at different points along any customer's journey. The challenge for business leaders is to connect those moments of service into a continuous feedback loop so customers are as engaged with the brand as they'd like to be.

Mind the Gap

So, how are CX leaders doing now?

In short, the news is not great. There is a well-documented gap between how brands perceive their ability to deliver on CX promises and what customers think of the experience delivered.

n fact, 80% of companies believe they deliver "super experiences," but only 8% of customers agree. The CX delivery gap is a chasm.

More recently, Forrester reported that the average CX index score is still above pre-COVID years, but the increases from 2020 and 2021 have almost been erased. CX quality fell for 19% of brands in the CX Index in 2022—about twice as many as the 10% of brands that gained points in 2022, and the "highest proportion of brands to drop in a single year" in the history of the Forrester report.

How do you cross the delivery gap? How do you improve your CX in the face of strong headwinds?

The answer is easier than you may think. Closing the loop—defined by Forrester as "communicating with customers about their feedback"—is the best way to show your customers that they've been heard. Doing so leads to deeper relationships, which in turn leads to greater retention, advocacy, adoption, and growth.

It should come as no surprise to learn that 61% of companies have no formal process for closing the loop with customers, Forrester reports. But if you fall into that unfortunate majority, don't worry. It is never too late to implement good CX practices.

At least part of the difficulty of closing the loop is the omnichannel world we live in. CX leaders are responsible for customer interactions across multiple channels, sometimes with little visibility into or data from the actual interaction. And that is no small challenge.

How Was Your Flight?

Consider the touchpoints in your typical cross-country airline flight. Customers use many different service channels:

  • Web: Initial research and reservation; post-flight follow-up survey
  • Mobile app: Check-in the night before the flight; boarding pass during boarding process
  • In-person: Gate agent check-in process; in-flight service
  • Retail: Airline lounges; gate area

Each channel, each interaction with the brand, occurs in a vacuum. The brand logo tells me that the in-app experience is the same experience I should get when I check my luggage, but there is often no link between the two interactions. If I have a bad experience while checking in, there's no way for the bartender in the lounge to offer me a free drink, no way for the flight attendant to deliver a discount for my next flight. All of the service channels work in silos, without communication or coordination among them.

Closing the loop with customers requires a more holistic approach.

A Central Nervous System for the Business

How can CX leaders bridge the CX gap? Software may be part of the answer.

Leaders often lack a system to connect data silos and boost accessibility to data. They lack a customer central nervous system.

As a consequence, customer experiences are fragmented and inconsistent. If there is no single, enterprisewide source of customer data, CX leaders are hindered in their ability to respond.

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Closing the Loop: How to Deliver Personalized CX at Scale, Even Across Channels

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Chris Benham

Chris Benham is the CMO at Alchemer, an enterprise online survey software company.

LinkedIn: Chris Benham