What is driving the move to immersive CX?

A recent survey by Zendesk of 3,700 consumers and 4,800 business leaders and data from over 99,000 Zendesk Benchmark participants has helped to identify what consumers expect and the changes  businesses need to make in 2023 to deliver immersive CX.

Customer expectations have changed

Today's customers want immersive customer experiences. According to Zendesk's report, businesses that have understood this expectation shift and invested in how they respond to their customers have seen tangible results. 

• 77% of business leaders have seen their investments pay off.

• 81% see customer experience and support as growing priorities over the coming years.

• 76% of customers say they were satisfied with the service they received during 2022.

5 trends driving immersive CX in 2023

1. AI experiences are becoming more evolved and seamless

With the increase in use and growing popularity of AI, now is the time for businesses to take advantage of it.

Business leaders attributed investments in AI to performance improvements, with 59% of those surveyed attesting it to measurable ROI. 

There's still a long way to go in developing AI in customer service. But, of those customers who interact with service bots regularly, 72% said there was a noticeable improvement in quality and satisfaction levels.

As AI develops, 75% of consumers think interactions will become more natural and human-like. But there are high expectations, as 75% of consumers also believe that AI should be able to provide the same level of service as human agents.

2. Conversational experiences are empowering customers

Consumers want an interaction that's fluid and natural and to be in charge. This could be moving the conversation to another channel or stopping a discussion and picking it up again with a different agent. 

• 70% expect anyone they interact with to have the full context, including purchase history and previous interactions.

Customers want to receive help immediately - this could be via an AI-powered bot or an actual human agent. It doesn't matter which one; what does matter is that the interaction is natural, friendly, and personal.

Automation will play an increasingly important role for businesses in increasing efficiency and directing the right data to agents.

Although most businesses are not offering the conversational customer experience consumers want, they are working towards achieving this form of immersive CX.

3. Customers are eager for deeper personalisation

Personalisation no longer means an email sent to the masses with the individual customer's name at the top. Customers expect and demand more.  

• 59% of customers want companies to use the data they collect about them to deliver experiences that are tailor-made for them.

Offering truly personalised experiences will help businesses to build stronger customer relationships and encourage loyalty.

• 77% of business leaders recognise that better personalisation leads to increased customer retention.

• 66% believe it lowers acquisition costs.

4. Consumer wellbeing and sentiment are reshaping CX

Although efforts have been made to improve customer wellbeing, businesses still struggle to understand customer emotions. Efforts tend to be reactive and unfocused.  

• Only 22% of business leaders say that customer sentiment is used to personalise the experience a customer receives.

This puts pressure on agents who have to deal with angry and frustrated customers. 

• 53% of agents say that their company's approach to service directly leads to negative customer behaviour.

A negative experience with a company can cause long-lasting damage to customer relations and lead to a customer becoming a vocal critic.

• 73% said they would switch to a competitor if they had multiple bad experiences.

• Over half said they would leave after just one unsatisfactory interaction.

However, a positive experience will build consumer loyalty. 

• Two-thirds of consumers who feel that a company cares about their emotional state are likelier to become repeat customers.

5. CX teams are breaking down silos as they become more integrated

Business leaders have regarded their customer service organisations as cost centres rather than revenue generators. This has created siloed teams with little connection with their wider organisations, meaning agents have little relevant data, resulting in poor CX.

Customers expect data to be shared to enable an immersive CX, but only 22% of business leaders say their teams share data well.

Silos must be broken down to enable true integration between customer service, sales, and marketing. 

Companies that do recognise support as a revenue driver have already taken decisive action:

• Over half have trained agents in how to identify expansion and sales opportunities

• 47% have ensured their agents have access to the type of customer data that makes revenue generation easier

• 38% have developed workflows and processes geared toward revenue expansion

Investing in technology to remove friction and deliver immersive CX will increase efficiency, customer acquisition, loyalty, and revenue.

Click here to read Zendesk’s CX Trends 2023 Report – The Rise of Immersive Experiences

If you have any questions or need help with your CX strategy, get in touch, we're here to help.