New CMO Council Research, in Partnership with SAS, Reveals Shortcomings in Current CX Strategies for Winning and Retaining Customers

It’s no secret that the last few years have upended the way customers want to interact with companies. SAS’ Experience 2030 report released during the height of the pandemic revealed consumers leaning into a hybrid experience that blends physical and digital interaction. In fact, consumers feel even more strongly about hybrid today with 71% telling the CMO Council that they want a blend of both physical and digital channels.

But new research from the CMO Council, “Cracking Tomorrow’s CX Code,” in partnership with SAS, finds few companies have succeeded in the digital transformation necessary to achieve successful hybrid-CX. Fewer than 1 in 7 marketers say they have a digital infrastructure to deliver mature hybrid models.

This is supported by the finding that more than half (56%) of consumers say brands aren’t very good at delivering a seamless experience across digital (e.g., social, email, mobile, website) and physical (e.g., in-store, call center, live chat).

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Key findings from two surveys of over 1,000 marketing leaders and 2,000 consumers globally uncover:

• 60% of marketers say the digital customer journey has dramatically changed their CX strategy
• 65% of marketers aren’t very confident in their current CX strategy’s ability to win and retain customers
• 67% of marketers say delivering hybrid CX over the next 12 months is either extremely (32%) or very (35%) important

But despite the clear emphasis by brands on CX for the digital journey, consumers aren’t satisfied with the result:

• Almost half, (48%) feel brands are not doing a good job at delivering the right experience to win and retain their business
• 66% of consumers don’t feel in control over what brands do with their data and privacy

“All CMO’s are concerned with driving growth, and that is the outcome of great CX” said Jennifer Chase, SAS executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “This report shows there is significant opportunity for CMOs to enhance CX and “Cracking Tomorrow’s CX Code” examines 13 critical CX capabilities across two groups — agile/actionable and rganizational/infrastructure — to pinpoint where marketers need to improve and how to implement these changes. As we head into uncertain economic times CX will be a growth engine for our companies that we cannot afford to neglect.”

“Cracking Tomorrow’s CX Code” examines today’s customer loyalty drivers, how brands can climb the maturity curve of CX capabilities, how to get ahead of consumer concerns about privacy, delivering on hybrid CX, embracing AI/machine learning to serve up rewarding experiences, and more.

“Chances are your CX strategy is crying out for a modern makeover,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “The challenge is to orchestrate a great customer experience that hits all the right notes, from digital self-service to meaningful personalization to privacy and trust to seamless omnichannel, including a ‘hybrid’ blend of physicald and digital experiences.”

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