NTT Ltd., a world-leading global technology services provider, today revealed the findings of its annual Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report titled The Connected Customer: Delivering an effortless experience.
According to the research, only 12% of Asia Pacific organizations are delivering a fully functioning experience, yet more than half consider customer experience (CX) to be a primary differentiator.
The main problem arises when companies stay stuck in the developmental stage due to siloed technology systems, inconsistencies in experience, and a lack of clear processes. As a result, they struggle to align their CX strategies in voice of the customer (VoC) feedback, with 54% having no formal process for considering this data and 19% which capture no feedback at all. Only a small percentage fully define and track the value contribution of CX. From this small proportion, merely a third are able to connect data relationships between channels – leaving the rest operating ‘blind’ with no full view of the customer ecosystem.
Many organizations also know AI and automation is the future for creating operational efficiency, hyper-personalization, and providing an effortless customer experience. Rules-based robotic solutions are the preferred option both now and in the short term with AI being the top five-year priority. However, the implementation of AI remains difficult.
“Businesses must look at how technologies such as AI and RPA can work as part of their organizational team structure,” said Pranay Anand, Asia Pacific Director, Intelligent Workplace for NTT Ltd. “But to do this successfully, AI needs to work with the voice of the customer data which is collected by advanced social listening tools. This data must also be compiled from across the business’s value chain in order to help AI realize its potential. Therefore, design thinking and an ecosystem focused approach are imperative.”
And upon their study, NTT has found that the majority of organizations believe customer operations will be positively affected by AI and CX robotics. Looking forward, they continue to find solutions for the current lack of skills across their respective businesses, which is currently considered a challenge that should be tackled head-on. Across the globe, the collection of VoC feedback of companies has also been improved by 45% since 2019. More and more companies are also beginning to perceive their VoC program to be at an advanced level across all channels.
“Customer expectations are higher than ever – businesses cannot afford to fail in CX,” said Anand. “By listening to the voice of the customer, integrating data across systems, in addition to adopting emerging technologies like AI and RPA, companies can leverage CX to gain a competitive advantage.”
At the end of the day, organizations must learn to fill the gap between data management and integration, and prioritize an efficient data management platform. Businesses need to create a smart CX strategy, which bases AI on optimum data, in order to stay relevant and better connect with customers across every touchpoint.
