As brands invest further in seamless journeys, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered personalisation and omnichannel engagement, customer experience (CX) has become both more important and more difficult to execute consistently. The fragmentation of the media and advertising landscape means brands now interact with consumers across more platforms than ever before, leading to the creation of several new brand touchpoints across both digital and physical spaces. At the same time, the integration of AI and automation have led to an influx of data that is collected from consumer interactions. While this creates opportunities for deeper engagement with consumers, it is a double-edged sword.
Despite growing investment, CX can still suffer from data not translating into decisions and designs that consumers actually interact with, creating a gap and disconnect between what the brand believes it delivers and what consumers actually encounter. A recent global State of CX report by Medallia highlights this divide, finding that while 66 per cent of CX practitioners believe that experiences are improving, only 17 per cent of consumers agree.
To understand how this gap is created and what needs to change to close it, Campaign Middle East reached out to industry experts to share their perspective:
The industry is no stranger to what good CX looks like. Previously, good consumer experience was limited to convenience alone. With the growth and maturation of the market and consumers becoming more sensitive and educated, the focus has now grown to encompass consistency, personalisation and emotional relevance.
Cheil Middle East’s Yek shares that what makes a memorable CX today is something that is “seamless, personalised and consistent across every touchpoint – whether digital, physical or human-interaction.”
From a brand perspective, Stellantis Middle East’s Mohanna agrees with the sentiment, noting that it “requires a smooth, frictionless process at every touchpoint”. Publsh’s Desai says that “a memorable customer experience is all about transparent and seamless storytelling”.
Owing to rising consumer expectations, the quality of experience with the brand while interacting with it plays a big role when it comes to brand choice. The report mentions that 58 per cent of consumers chose a company in their most recent interaction because it provided a better experience than its competitors.
This comparison of experience is not limited to like-versus like.
“Customers no longer compare brands only within the same industry,” says Yek. “Instead, they compare every experience against the best experience they’ve had anywhere.”
The change in consumer expectations has also led to a change in how brands should measure customer experience. They’ve moved from purely transactional key performance indicators (KPIs) to emotional indicators.
“Customers today not only value personalisation and transparency but also seamlessness and speed,” says Mohanna. “In the automotive industry, we can measure customer satisfaction through customers’ experiences with call centres, aftersales and our service team. Each of these interactions plays a major role in building long-term customer loyalty, as people often value convenience and consistency as much as they value the product itself.”
While brands commonly measure CX through net promoter score (NPS), consumer satisfaction score (CSAT), and consumer effort score (CES), those metrics alone are not enough, according to Yek. “...