Brand owners prioritise CX but fail to break down silos

Customer experience is now more important than even profit and revenue growth for most businesses, but successful implementation is being hampered by siloed systems and people.
So says a new report from Engage Hub, which shows that over two-thirds of C-level executives see customer experience as a top business priority, yet 32% see their departments working in siloes as a major barrier to progress, while 29% see a lack of integration between business systems as the biggest problem.
The research also revealed that while businesses have made investments in AI, chatbots and big data to help automate and improve the customer experience, a third saw IoT and connected devices as a key part of this.
Engage Hub chief executive Ray Tierney said: “Businesses have realised that the only way to profit and grow is by getting the customer experience right, and have prioritised accordingly. With their priorities now in order, the challenge is in delivery – which is where many businesses report significant issues.”
The findings were consistent across all sectors, with only minor variations. Retailers saw a lack of employee engagement as what was hurting the customer experience most, whereas telecoms saw gaps between systems as the biggest barrier in the way of success.
Engage Hub chief technology officer Nicola Pero added: “The research makes it clear that businesses do understand the need to connect together disparate data and business systems to deliver a connected customer experience.
“We expect centralised CX teams, responsible for improving the customer experience, will emerge as a dedicated business unit within companies, as well as new heads of customer experience – a chief experience officer or chief engagement officer – taking up the fight to keep organisations customer centric.
“Businesses with no such team or role must consider if they need this within their organisation to meet the challenges they face.”

TOPICS:customer experience CX data strategy