Top 10 Customer Experience (CX) Trends
Customer experience is a constantly changing phenomenon, with trends coming and going in yearly cycles as technology, industry, and innovation change. In a few years, present patterns will fade away, giving way to newer ones that better suit current client wants.
Here are the Top 10 customer experience trends to be aware of if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
CX Trend #1. Real-time Customer Experience Analytics
Customer experience analytics are critical for enhancing customer experiences across all marketing, sales, and service channels used by a company.
Companies that effectively use customer analytics are focusing on the objective of offering personalization at scale by fine-tuning every part of the marketing mix in real-time for each customer group or persona. Machine learning algorithms will be built by the most successful businesses to understand when and why customers feel happy or frustrated, thereby gaining the ability how to make product recommendations, alter the price, and so on.
58% of enterprises are seeing a significant increase in customer retention and loyalty as a result of using customer analytics.
Data-driven consumer insights can aid firms in analyzing customer behavior, segmenting consumers, setting goals, and more. Due to the availability of improved information and a better understanding of consumer expectations, organizations may improve the whole customer experience using data. Data may also aid in the creation of a consistent experience across many channels.
CX Trend #2. Expect Higher Human and Automation Integration
Automation is a smart way for an organization to save money on customer service while still reducing the time it takes to resolve basic service requests. But how do customers respond to this?
Only 63 percent of consumers are comfortable with chatbot support!
Businesses still need human customer service representatives. Customers are hesitant to trust chatbots. At this time, humans are still critical to the service element of digital CX. To have the best possible user service, they can still be used in conjunction with chatbots.
CX Trend #3. Omnichannel is the Future
When consumers connect with companies on numerous digital platforms, they want consistent and highly tailored experiences. They may, for example, begin connecting with a brand on Facebook and then continue the dialogue via e-mail. Regardless of the platform, they’ll want a smooth and connected experience.
51% of businesses using at least eight channels for CX alone.
From the beginning to the final point of contact, a successful omnichannel CX smoothly connects online and physical communication channels to provide a cohesive and unforgettable experience.
A unified customer experience is required if a customer base interacts with a brand via phone, e-mail, live chat, social media, and SMS, as well as offline.
CX Trend #4. Demand for Hyper-Personalization
Customers have come to demand hyper-personalized service. Consumers now want hyper-personalized experiences more than ever before, and big data analytics offers the insights needed to make this happen.
“75% of customers are more likely to buy from a brand who knows their identity, their buying experience, and/or makes recommendations based on their past purchases”, according to Accenture.
Companies may do this by segmenting their ad efforts depending on the preferences of their target customers. This is most often used in email marketing or on e-commerce websites.
People who have recently bought a laptop from an online store, for example, can receive suggestions for other pairs of laptops such as a wireless mouse, laptop sleeve, etc., or that can be combined with the laptop to create a personalized shopping list.
CX Trend #5. Voice Commerce Will Be the New Normal
Customers may simply ask for what they want using technology such as smart home speakers like Alexa or mobile devices, which is known as voice commerce. When contrasted to surfing using a keyboard, the invention has been hailed as a natural way of buying.
Voice commerce sales are anticipated to reach $40 billion by 2022.
Talking or speaking is a far more natural experience for people than typing, which is why voice commerce is seeing higher acceptance.
In the future, a greater percentage of voice search users want their digital assistants to assist them with retail transactions. It’s evident that, as smart technology advances, voice commerce will follow the suit.
CX Trend #6. Customers Expect Greater Data Transparency
One of the most critical and urgent trends in customer experience is the improvement of transparency. Transparency in advertising, pricing, marketing strategies, and other areas will help you establish and retain credibility with your customers.
66 percent of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities in a brand.
A company’s marketing efforts should also demonstrate transparency and integrity. Customers trust authentic messaging that aligns with a company’s core principles.
Dishonesty is often revealed in the modern era, and it may jeopardize customer interest that has been built over time.
CX Trend #7. Video Marketing Will Reshape Customer Experience
Because video content is engaging, it generates a lot of interest. Whether it’s funny or serious, the video holds a viewer’s attention and keeps them focused on the issue. This helps marketers to express their narrative while simultaneously immersing viewers in their brand identity and culture.
85% of people would like to see more video from brands in 2021.
Using several video styles at critical touchpoints along the consumer journey creates strong brand storytelling.
CX Trend #8. Customer Data Protection
One of the great examples of being transparent is being a complaint about customer data gathered and used by the firm. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law in Europe is all about data disclosure regulations.
Research says that 50% of consumers will view a brand negatively over 1 year after a data breach!
While collecting customer data is one thing, protecting the data is an entirely different story. A data breach will wreak havoc on the digital consumer experience while also eroding confidence in the company.
CX Trend #9. Convenient and Quick Payment Options
Customers today expect businesses to communicate with them in a seamless and effective manner. This also applies to payment. To put it another way, the easier the better! This needs firms to guarantee that their customers have access to smarter and better payment options. All for the sake of providing the best possible customer experience.
The digital payments market is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 18% between 2018–23, with a turnover expected to reach $ 87 billion by 2023
Digital payment is here to stay. With the majority of sales still taking place online and more physical establishments offering digital payment choices, it’s imperative for brands to increase the number of payment choices accessible and to include as many alternatives as possible.
CX Trend #10. AI is Transforming Digital Customer Experience
AI has the potential to be one of the most innovative innovations in recent memory. Many customer experience trends are dependent on AI technologies, and they can help to change the modern customer experience as we know it.
38% of businesses are using some form of AI technology; it is projected that the number will grow to 62% by the end of 2021.
Brands can achieve a much more precise view of their customers by combining AI and machine learning for collecting and analyzing demographic, historical, and behavioral data.
By leveraging AI to know the customer better and taking advantage of real-time decision-making and predictive analysis, the customer journey can be improved through all touchpoints and across all channels.
Winding Up
This year has taught us to expect the unexpected at all times. Whether you like it or not, e-commerce is only going to be bigger. In the future, higher automation, personalization, voice commerce, omnichannel shopping, video marketing, digital payments, and the other customer experience trends listed above are expected to take off. Gain a foothold on these trends to grow your business.