With the changes in consumer behaviors brought on by COVID-19, marketing leaders appear to be feeling a resultant need to change their approach to the customer experience. According to new data [download page] from Isobar, a notable 85% of CMOs have changed their CX strategy to some extent since the global crisis.
The study of more than 1,350 global CMOs highlighted significant changes being made, particularly among medium and large businesses. Close to one-third (31%) of respondents from medium-sized organizations claimed to have gone as far as to completely change their CX strategy because of COVID-19, as have 28% of large businesses and 22% overall. A plurality (42%) have moderately changed their strategy.
And, with consumers naturally turning to digital channels as face-to-face contact is compromised, it’s no surprise that CMOs are keeping commerce top-of-mind. Of those respondents that have changed their strategy, 4 in 10 (39%) have made commerce a greater focus of their CX strategy, while 36% are developing direct-to-consumer sales channels.
Additionally, as well as securing these more short-term strategies to reach consumers, CMOs are making sure to consider how to differentiate themselves going forward. Overall, personalization was cited as the most key ingredient for building a differentiated customer experience, followed by innovative use of technologies and a galvanizing organizational idea.
Respondents indicated that CMOs are already exploring emerging technologies to deliver improved customer experiences, in particular conversational technologies. After AI’s #1 spot as the most used emerging technology, CMOs are exploring voice technology, chatbots, VR and machine learning.
These insights into how organizations are dealing with heightened pressure on the customer experience come after a study by Forrester Consulting found that enterprise companies were struggling with some customer experience tasks, including deriving insights in real-time and personalizing customer experience.
Read the full study here.
About the Data: Findings are based on a June 2020 survey of more than 1,350 CMOs across 12 global markets.
