Posted by Bangalore: Customer Experience is increasingly crucial to business success and highly successful companies are adopting new technology at record speed. The latest global Zendesk Customer Experience (CX) Trends report 2021 revealed.
About half (53%) of organisations in APAC are planning to invest more in CX software in 2021. While 44% of customers in the region say that customer experience is more important now compared to a year ago.
And 67% of companies say their organisation prioritises CX more than a year ago. This view is also echoed by a majority of companies (90%) and customers (56%) surveyed in India.
The report looks at the top trends in customer experience through the Zendesk Benchmark. It is a unique data index on how more than 90,000 companies use their support solutions.
The global report includes survey insights from India, US, UK, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Korea, Italy, the Nordics, and Benelux.
“We’ve seen companies in APAC embrace digitalisation at an incredible speed this year in response to the dramatic shifts in the operating landscape they’ve had to navigate,” said Wendy Johnstone, COO – APAC, Zendesk.
“Customer experience has never been more important. We think this accelerated adoption of technology is likely to continue in 2021,” added Johnstone.
“Organisations need to ensure they have the right strategies, processes and technology in place to empower customer support teams and drive business success,” he emphasized.
91% of organisations said CX was one of or the primary goal of their digital business transformation efforts, as per a Gartner survey in 2020.
“Even as businesses in India are looking forward to a new year of possibilities and are gradually returning to their workplace, one thing remains – the new normal is here to stay,” said KT Prasad, MD and RVP, India & SAARC, Zendesk.
The pandemic has accelerated the digital wave in the country within just a matter of days, raising the bar of customer expectations and demands.
“The CX Trends Report 2021 highlights how a seamless customer experience (CX) journey can elevate the overall experience and satisfaction that a brand offers its customers to drive long-lasting loyalty,” added Prasad.
From navigating changing behaviours to adopting new channels to reimagining the workforce. The Zendesk CX Trends Report 2021 gives companies a roadmap to navigate this new CX landscape.
Top findings include:
Stay ahead of the digital curve: Companies are adopting technology at light speed, and it’s adapt or get left behind. 73% of Indian customers are willing to spend more for a better online experience, while 40% of customers will switch to a competitor after one bad experience.
Organisations identified as ’high-performing’ in APAC are based on customer service metrics such as CSAT and reply speed. They are more likely to have adopted omnichannel solutions with 54% offering self-service in addition to other channels including phone, email or messaging, compared to just 20% of low performers.
Be part of a more conversational world: As customers adopt new behaviours, the soaring messaging apps’ popularity opens the door for more streamlined, conversational experiences.
93% of Indian customers have tried a new way to get in touch with customer service in the last year – the highest in the region. For many, that includes using messaging for support requests over apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. That has spiked significantly during the pandemic with social messaging up 117% in APAC since February 2020.
Realise the power of employee experience: In an increasingly distributed world, companies must rethink how they work smarter across teams.
Many employees across APAC still don’t feel like they have the right tools to succeed in this new distributed environment. Whether it’s keeping track of their performance indicators, staying connected with their colleagues, or feeling supported by their companies.
However, employees in India feel otherwise. Only 14% of Indian managers say they don’t have the right analytics tools to measure success for remote teams. And 13% of agents don’t have the right tools to work successfully from home – the lowest in APAC.
Set teams up for success by emphasising agility: Facing continued volatility, service and support organisations must find ways to keep up with their customers.
The ability to quickly adapt to the evolving customers’ needs is the biggest challenge in 2020, cited customer experience leaders.
Make it easier for customers with a focus on CX: Unprecedented in speed and scale, the recent surge in online channels puts pressure on companies to meet rising expectations as customer experience takes centre stage.
72% of Indian customers are willing to spend more with a company that offers good customer experience. While 62% will take their business elsewhere following bad experiences.