Specialists say among the keys to customer experience success, the top 2 are delivering elegant interactions and providing speedy service, according to recent research from Pega.

The report was based on data from a survey of 5,000 business decision makers and CX practitioners in 12 countries.

Respondents say the most critical components of a great CX are enabling elegant, painless interactions (66% cite it as important), providing speedy service (66%), ensuring customers feel understood (65%), making relevant information easy to find (63%), and being consistent and connected across channels (63%).

Some 92% of respondents say customer centricity is a high priority at their organization, and 81% say "people issues" are the biggest challenge to delivering a great CX.

Some 35% of respondents say their firm has a C-level sponsor for CX, and 36% say their firm has a CX sponsor at the director level or below.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 5,000 business decision makers and CX practitioners in 12 countries.